50 is the New 25 for These Entrepreneurs, proving that changing your career at mid-life can make a lot of sense.
When we think about start-ups, most people think of IT whiz kids making millions in their basement before they get out of college. We love these success stories because they make us feel good. But in the changing employment world, more and more entrepreneurs are getting their start after 50.
With more experience and maturity, these entrepreneurs actually stand a better chance of longer-term success. Many of them have had other jobs before and maybe even different careers, but they have seen how successful businesses succeed.
The workplace has changed dramatically in the past two decades. Today, companies prefer to buy in expertise rather than train. And they would rather outsource jobs to a knowledgeable and capable partner than try to do it in house. This is the opportunity for the entrepreneur with lifetime of work experience.
Starting a business at 50 years old is a bold move and these new entrepreneurs, even if they are late bloomers, are certainly in line for making their mark on the business world.
These five older entrepreneurs, all of whom have got their start after the age of 50, show us just how business-sense, determination, and experience can be a recipe for a great startup.
50-plus really is the new 25 in the world of entrepreneurship.
1. Wings (and legs!) of Success
Business: Kentucky Fried Chicken
Started by: Harland David Sanders (at age 62)
Location: North Corbin, Kentucky
Sanders worked at a great many different things in his life. He was a steam engine stoker, insurance salesman, a lawyer, and a gas station franchise owner. He became locally well known in North Corbin for his chicken recipe that they served at his service station. But in 1939 it was destroyed by fire and Sanders decided to concentrate on food service.
The first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise was opened in 1952 when Harland was 62 years old. Since then it has become one of the best-known chicken fast-food chains in the world. KFC is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands one of the largest restaurant companies in the world.
Global Sales in 2017: Over $21 billion
2. Changing the Business World
Business: IBM
Started by: Charles Ranlett Flint (started at age 61)
Location: Armonk, New York
In 1911, Flint orchestrated a merger of three separate companies into the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company which later came to be known as IBM. Flint had always had an eye for bringing good businesses together. He started with companies which formed U.S. Rubber and then American Chicle, a consolidated chewing gun manufacturer.
Today, IBM remains a contender in the highly competitive PC world and as a provider of full B2B business solutions.
At 61, Charles Ranlett Flint could have retired, but instead he changed the world!
3. Doing it Yourself
Business: Home Depot
Started by: Bernie Marcus (started at age 50)
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Bernie Marcus had been working in a small company called Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers until 1978 when he was fired from his job. Handy Dan went out of business soon after, but Marcus – together with another ex-employee at Handy Dan – decided to take matters into his own hands and founded Home Depot in 1979.
Home Depot now has 2,300 outlets and Bernie Marcus a reported net worth of $4.9 billion. Instead of being angry about being fired, Bernie found a DIY solution!
4. Service with a Smile
Business: McDonald’s
Started by: Ray Krok (started at age 52)
Location: Desplaines, Illinois
Before joining McDonald’s in1955, Ray Kroc worked a variety of jobs – selling paper cups, a real estate agent in Florida, and playing piano in bands, and a traveling salesman of milkshake mixers. He met the McDonald brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald, who had purchased eight of his Multi-Mixers for their San Bernardino, California store in 1954.
Seeing the opportunity for greater success, Kroc joined them as a franchiser in 1955 and soon bought the concern from them, spreading the franchise to all 50 states and abroad.
Kroc’s career before McDonald’s seemed like a life of quiet desperation. However, all the experiences he had until then prepared him to launch a new concept in national franchising, capitalizing on the trend for fast-food and the importance of real estate in the restaurant business.
Kroc’s role in McDonald’s development made it a huge success. At age 52, Ray Kroc proved that an older entrepreneur has what it takes to succeed.
5. The Flavors of the Good Life
Business: Denali Flavors
Started by: Wally Blume (started at age 57)
Location: Wayland, Michigan
After 20 years in the dairy business, Wally Blume decided to open his own business in 1995, Denali Flavors. Since then, Moose Tracks has become the company ice cream leader. Moose Tracks alone makes an annual estimate of $80 million. Moose Tracks, Blum’s creation, is a chocolate and peanut butter mix. Peppermint Bark Moose is another top seller during holiday seasons.
Denali carries 40 other flavors as well as cookie, snacks, and other milk-flavored treats. It is interesting to note that Blume was 57 years old when he started the business.
In 2006, Denali Flavors bought the former CoolBrands and Eskimo Pie ingredients manufacturing in New Berlin, Wisconsin and then renamed it Denali Ingredients. Blume owns and operates Denali Flavors with his wife June.
Selling other people’s ice cream for 20 years taught Blume and important lesson for as an older entrepreneur: it is the flavor that makes the sale!
