Experience versus youth: an exploratory study of the motivations of older entrepreneurs

The decision of someone over the age of 50 to switch from traditional employment to being an entrepreneur is found to arise from a complex mix of personal motivation, access to resources, and environmental determinants. When beginning their careers, people over 50 who became entrepreneurs only ever considered traditional employment with corporate companies and did not consider or even believe that entrepreneurship was a viable option. Advances in technology have been a significant enabler for their ability to have their own businesses due to lowering the barriers to entry. Attitudes to work have changed twofold: entrepreneurship is now a viable career choice and the traditional job for life no longer exists