Starting a small business in your 40s/50s? has anyone done it?

[ElectraBlue]

I feel like I have reached the end of the road as an employee and I want to try to become fully self-employed/start my own business. I wonder if anyone has managed to do it in their 'mature years' and how this worked out?

I have worked in the charity sector for 20 years, currently a team and project manager but I simply can't do it anymore. The last straw is that
, as I have a long term health condition, when I took the job it was put in my contract that I could work from home and spend one day in the office. But now the CEO is pressuring me to work in the office. I just can't battle useless managers anymore. I have had the same scenario time and time again: start a job with a charity, fine for a few months, then they start turning the job into something really different from what was advertised and they get to the point of bullying about my health condition which does not prevent me from work, just sometimes requires some adjustments. I also went through a traumatic event recently (assault by a partner) and again although they know this they have not been supportive in any way.

I have always wanted to run a shop, a market stall or maybe a coffee shop. I also like the idea of starting a social enterprise. I am already registered self-employed as I make and sell paintings but this is not enough for a full time income.

I don't want to just become a self-employed consultant, as a project manager for example, I just need a completely new start as I think I truly hate what I am doing now at this stage.

If anyone has any tips it would be much appreciated!

I run my own business.

There are definitely perks and i earn more than i would in an employed role with more flexible hours.

However i dont spend that much time doing the thing i love- a lot of time is spent doing sales, marketing, networking, dealing with finance and staff and there are NO days off- its always there. As the business has grown i have been able to outsource some of that stuff.

Sometimes i would love a job i could walk away from at the end of the day and forget about, or just do the thing i’m good at and enjoy. But i also love the flexibility and having two kids with additional needs and my own health issues it is good to roughly choose my hours.

For me it was the only way i was going to financially catch up from being a bit rubbish with money when i was younger and having a chunk of time out of the workplace raising the kids. However it is really stressful as well, i particularly find having employees a massive responsibility.

"Deliberately unpleasant". FFS.

@ElectraBlue I'd say your first post with very negative and critical and that is what led to the responses you got. Many businesses fail, becoming self-employed is not a panacea - it's bloody hard work - dh and I are sitting here on our pcs planning tomorrow's events - not whinging at other people for not doing it.
Maybe you are not the person you have come across on your initial post - easy to blame everyone else - you have to own it and fix it. Prove us all wrong why don't you!

@ElectraBlue do it! Go for it! You only live once and you might as well give it a go. If it fails then you can just find something else but you might succeed and it could be the best thing ever, there’s only one way to find out.
I do think a coffee shop would be ridiculously hard work though, and if you struggle in an office one day a week then maybe 7 days on a shop is not the best idea. I have spent many a chilly winter afternoon sitting in the local play park after school and wishing there was a hot drinks van that would come by - like the ice cream van does in the summer, but serving us poor parents hot tea and coffee instead.
Alternatively have you looked at an online business? There is so much online freelance work out there, become a virtual assistant, or a coach of some description. This is what I am currently doing (although I’m late 30s, not 40 yet!). I’m done with having my time and life dictated to,

I became self-employed when I was 40 and love it. However, I have a marketable and lucrative skill... and even then, some years (hello Brexit, how ya doing pandemic?) it's been very difficult. I did have a wobble a couple of years ago and tried to get an employed job, then realised I was pretty much unemployable...

So I say do it. But do your homework, be realistic about what you need to earn vs what you can earn. And if you are thinking about hospitality or retail and it's been a while, get a few shifts somewhere to see if you can still hack it. I know I wouldn't deal well with being on my feet all day these days.