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Showing posts from 2020

Launching the Center for Ageless Entrepreneurs (CAE)

The launch of the book Ageless Startup continues despite - and because of - the pandemic.  What a crazy year to launch a new book... maybe.   With millions of people losing their jobs, and millions more jobs threatened, perhaps it's time we all look for options. Those of us in the second half of life are especially vulnerable to employment issues, from the ever-present ageism to current downsizing decisions that focus on our age not our value in the market. A group of us are launching the Center for Ageless Entrepreneurs (CAE) to create a home for people in the second half of life to explore entrepreneurship and to find peers to grow with. I will continue to write personal thoughts about Ageless Startups here but for those of you looking to explore and launch the next steps, I welcome you to the Center for Ageless Entrepreneurs.  Visit Center for Ageless Entrepreneurs. 

Ageless Startup: Start an enterprise that represents your values, your goals, and your legacy.

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Ageless Startup  A great review of Ageless Startup by Skip Prichard.  Older workers are facing many hard choices as traditional employment options fade, and health concerns rise.  And yet, our knowledge and networks combine to make this a Renaissance age of entrepreneurship.  Rick Terrien is a lifelong entrepreneur and author of the book Ageless Startup: Start a Business at Any Age .   For people in the second half of life, there has never been a better time to start your own business.  The world needs you. Your community needs you. You have the time to make a difference, and you have the experience, resilience, and networks to make the world a better place.  Read the full review at Skips blog  Also be sure to check out Skip's great podcast - Aim Higher

Our peer-to-peer business development network for people in the second half of life.

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  I had a great conversation with Callum Laing at Callum Connects recently.   I got to introduce our Center for Ageless Entrepreneurs (CAE): A peer-to-peer business development network for people in the second half of life.   Callum's micro podcasts are short.  This is just over 3 minutes, but a good description of our focus for the CAE. My interview with Callum Connects

Ageless Startup audio book at Audible / Amazon

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Ageless Startup is now available through Audible.  I think it sounds just right.  Thank you Audible.   For a limited time you can get the book for free with an Audible trial subscription.   Most of the books in my life now come through my ears.  I'm an Audible customer.   Happy listening! Amazon LINK TO THE AUDIO BOOK

New Podcast interview - The Exit Coach with Bill Black

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I had a great conversation with Bill Black, on Exit Coach Radio recently.   Here is a quote, summary and podcast link:  Rick - "There is a happy medium of small, one-person businesses that can contract their services, their knowledge and their networks.  You can approach this carefully and slowly, and at your own pace to set them up to match your own values." Rick Terrien, author of the new book  Ageless Startup: Start a Business at Any Age , describes how older workers can plan and launch small, independent businesses of their own to build more financial and personal resiliency into their lives QUESTIONS WE DISCUSSED • What are the biggest impediments older workers face when considering entrepreneurship? • What are the key steps to take for those considering entrepreneurship in the second half of life? • What is the key takeaway from your book? LISTEN TO THE FULL EXIT COACH INTERVIEW HERE

The Podcast with Cameron Tousi - New video / podcast interview.

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I  recently  had a great conversation with Cameron Tousi.  Cameron hosts a valuable new podcast that I highly recommend. Visit our full conversation here . Cameron is the Managing Partner at IP Law Leaders PLLC, with offices in DC and Silicon Valley.  We had a wide ranging conversation about the value of entrepreneurship for older workers in the current market. " Enter Rick Terrien. A lifelong entrepreneur, Rick has written Ageless Startup: Start a Business at Any Age. You see, 1/2 of startups today are founded by people aged 45 – 64, and the biggest growth is for 55 – 64-year-olds. Having achieved many of his own successes, Rick is looking to transition the over 45 to start their own businesses. This is especially timely with COVID 19 pressures for this age group. And Rick has enormous credibility as a lifelong entrepreneur. In fact, before personal computers were widespread, Rick’s startup hacked ink chemistry to produce custom banners. Talk about successful. His customers inclu

New podcast interview - Unobtainium with Oz Kahn

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What a fun and interesting interview with Oz Kahn host the Unobtainium podcast, based in Manchester, England.  Thank you for a great conversation Oz! Listen to the podcast.   Released 8-3-2020 “It’s a matter of learning from my own mistakes.  The biggest mistakes I’ve made have come from going too fast, and rushing to market, getting things to market before they are ready, before they are properly tested.  This doesn’t mean you can’t do it behind the scenes – you should do it behind the scenes – but giving yourself time to think through each step, and to think through the activities during the launch and post launch gives you an opportunity to tweak things, and to get your business to match your own values.   These (businesses) are for the entrepreneurs.  They need to solve problems and they need to serve their communities, but at the end they need to match up with the entrepreneur’s values.  this is a way for all of us – especially those of us in the second half of life to leave prope

Ageless Startup on Audible - get the audiobook free with Audible trial

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Proud to announce Ageless Startup will be available as an audiobook through Audible on August 25th, 2020.  Audible has a program to deliver the audio book Ageless Startup free of charge with a 30 day trial subscription.  Visit the offer / Pre-order via Amazon here

Entrepreneur-Leadership Network

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I'm very grateful to be recognized as a VIP member of the Entrepreneur Leadership Network. The link below will take you to my new author biography. My Entrepreneur author-page: https://www.entrepreneur.com/author/rick-terrien

Transitioning Older Workers Into New Opportunities Doesn't Have to Be Hard

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Organizations have a responsibility, as well as a clear economic incentive, to support them in their next steps. Entrepreneur.  Rick Terrien.  July 16, 2020. Organizations and the people who work for them, especially their older workers, are heading into a time of significant economic disruption. As health and economic crises mount, significant new challenges will confront the economy.  The Chinese word for crisis includes characters representing both danger and opportunity. How do older workers and the organizations they work with turn this crisis into an opportunity? We need new maps to navigate this transition. Entrepreneurship offers a strong direction. We can create policies and options that allow older workers to transition from full-time employee to people who are able to create smart new business, while continuing their service to organizations, markets and communities they care about. Simply cutting off contact between older workers and their former employers

New interview - The Author Inside You.

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I was recently ask to join podcasters Leah and Matt Rafferty on their excellent podcast, The Author Inside You.  Many thanks for a great conversation! Here is a bit of our discussion:  "I learned a lot about what hinders people from exploring entrepreneurship in the second half of life.   I wanted to make a contribution to help fix that if I could. (Isn’t it scary starting a business?) You’re right, but I have a different take on that.  It is scary when starting a business, but in this day and age, post-pandemic, and with yet another recession upon us, I posit that it’s scarier NOT to have your own business.  It is not that hard to actually start one.  You don’t want to do it to have to pay the rent, or to buy shoes for the kids.  That’s not what we’re talking about here.  The ability to start something small, carefully, and wake it up and bring it to life, and learn the ropes of sending invoices and cashing checks, paying taxes, and all the rest of

Older Entrepreneurs Should Embrace Working From Home - ENTREPRENEUR

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Making a remote office your core strategy is a path toward exciting new peer-to-peer opportunities. Entrepreneur Rick Terrien July 9, 2020 Anyone can use this sea change in remote-work opportunities to launch new small enterprises that they control, whose values represent their interests in communities or markets they are passionate about.  And it can create a particularly significant economic opportunity for people exploring  entrepreneurship  in the second half of life. In a post-pandemic world, no one cares about pretense. No one needs to be impressed by elaborate commercial settings. The world needs competence, problem-solving and sustainable solutions. The Scaling Power of Peer-to-Peer Networks Small groups of independent  entrepreneurs , working remotely from one another geographically, can come together to tackle significant societal and commercial issues quickly and effectively. But how do you make this collaborative model work while working from a home offic

Amazon Kindle sale! - July only.

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Need a good reason to pick up Ageless Startup as an eBook?  Amazon is offering a Kindle version during July only - for just $1.99!  Visit the Ageless Startup site at Amazon to learn more (  https://amzn.to/2Vbcmc4  )

Ageless Startup - interview with Expert Insights

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“One of the biggest detriments to entrepreneurship, especially among older folks, is that they don’t know entrepreneurs.  Give yourself permission to explore it.  It’s nothing you can’t do.  We’re putting together a Center for Ageless Entrepreneurs that will introduce people to one another…. learning from people who are doing simple basic things, that don’t have halos over their head, but are really good at solving problems.”  -  Rick Terrien New businesses created by people 45-years-old and above have been a growing trend for more than two decades, and in the wake of the pandemic, even more people are wondering if now is the time to make their move. "Ageless Startup" author Rick Terrien explains why the second half of life is a great time to launch your own business and walks us through the smart ways to do it. Thanks to Greg Corombos for the great conversation. LINK TO THE FULL CONVERSATION AT CT EXPERT INSIGHTS

Ageless Startup - Inc. Magazine

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This  is from Inc., June 2020.   Thank you Inc. for this thoughtful review… Inc. - Ageless Startup - Why Now Is the Time to Have a Second Career as an Entrepreneur.  The rate of entrepreneurship is growing most rapidly in seniors.  Here are the key reasons why. Inc. Martin Zwilling June 2020 “Is it possible that age and experience are more of an advantage in this business than young passion and fearlessness? I've long had my own views about why this is happening, and they were supported by what I found in a new book,  Ageless Startup , written by a fellow successful entrepreneur and senior, Rick Terrien. We summarize the advantages of older entrepreneurs along the following lines…” 1. Older entrepreneurs think life-changing, not lifestyle. 2. Older entrepreneurs find and see the opportunities hidden in plain sight. 3. Older entrepreneurs have had time to think about and develop a purpose and a "why." 4. Older entrepreneurs

Interview - School for Startups

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I had a great conversation recently with The School for Startups Radio, hosted by Jim Beach. The link to the show notes is here:   https://schoolforstartupsradio.com/2020/06/start-business-at-any-age/ The direct link to the audio is here:   http://cdn1.cyberears.com/33957.mp3 Here are a few highlights: Q: What about people who declare themselves entrepreneurs with nothing behind them?   A: The landscape is littered with those kinds of people who approach business with that in mind.  That is something that is a caricature of itself.  In fact, real businesses solve problems.  They look for things that are broken and they apply themselves to that.  They’re not after the glory.  They’re after fixing the problem.  They’re after making their communities better, markets better that they care about and love.  Those are the people who are changing the world and are the real entrepreneurs here.  There are millions and millions and millions of us doing that kind of work every day around the world

Market Optimization Is the Way to Boost Your Late-Career Startup - ENTREPRENEUR

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What's vital in this process is defining your company's mission, goals and values in advance. Entrepreneur Rick Terrien  June 4, 2020 An employment crisis for older workers is looming. We are facing an upheaval in work options like no other in our lives. We can’t wait for the cavalry. It’s not coming. How you position yourself for what’s coming — how you optimize your position in the market -  will be critical to how you live through it. We need to create independent platforms for generating work and income on our own terms. A late-career small business  of your own may be just the right solution for you.   READ THE FULL STORY

Older Workers – An Opportunity Created from Danger

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Rick Terrien,  May 27, 2020.   Strategy Driven Older workers are facing profound work challenges. Almost all areas of commerce have been impacted by the health crisis. How we respond will define our business and personal lives for years to come. Among the groups that will feel a lasting effect will be our older workers. As older workers, we have a choice. We can accept that we are stuck with working around misguided employment assumptions, or we can create smarter, newer options that serve your own purposes and goals. Creating your own small business is not a prescription for quick riches or fast results. It is an approach to life that highlights your own passions and puts in place effective tools and policies to help that effort – and the communities and industries we love – succeed. Start Small. Start smart. Start right now. It’s not hard. It’s just new. READ THE FULL ARTICLE

MarketWatch - This entrepreneur says you’re never too old to launch your own startup, even in this economy

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How to bootstrap a new business in midlife or in retirement—even in a pandemic. People think it’s scary to start a business. In my opinion, it’s much scarier not to start your own business. If you give your life to forces outside your control, you’re asking for trouble. Rick Terrien, a Pittsburgh serial entrepreneur and author of the new book “Ageless Startup,” is a firm believer that you’re never too old to launch a business. In fact, he thinks becoming an entrepreneur — either full time or part-time — in your 50s or 60s may be the best time of life to do it. Yes, even in a pandemic. Based on Terrien’s experience and success, I think he’s worth listening to if you’re considering launching a business in midlife. I recently spoke with him for his tips; highlights of our interview are below... Richard Eisenberg   May 28, 2020 READ THE FULL INTERVIEW

"Real Wisdom people can learn and earn by." "A visionary and award-winning writer." Bloomer Boomer interview.

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"I just finished reading the book Ageless Startup by Rick Terrien who is a visionary and award-winning writer about post retirement – and people who make a difference in industry and innovation by creating new solutions for today’s world."   "Real wisdom people can learn and earn by." Andy Asher Bloomer Boomer interview, May 2020. Andy described their 'quirky format' especially the background graphics.  What fun! LINK TO THE FULL INTERVIEW

Ageless Startup - Free webinar this Thursday, mid day.

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This webinar is a shout-out to our most experienced workers.  The world needs you.  Your communities need you.  Markets you love need you. Give yourself permission to explore entrepreneurship in the second half of life. Here is a link to the registration site: http://entm.ag/dne1 Welcome!

Older Workers Must Be Proactive About Their Future

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Rather than simply keep your head above water, take steps right now to build economic resiliency. The world has changed. This is not a drill.  Older workers are especially vulnerable to being left behind. No matter what our career is, we are all facing a new normal in our work life . There are more than 100 million people in the U.S. between the ages of 40 and 65. All of us need to consider new options to create value  and work in the future. If older workers wait for help, we will likely find ourselves waiting a long time. We need to get ahead of this entire problem, not just the immediate issues this crisis presents. Planning for the recovery means taking stock of where you will be working 10 or 15 years from now — or even a couple years from now. You can choose a course for yourself of just keeping your head above water in roiling business currents, or you can take active steps right now to build more economic resiliency into your life. A better approach is to be proa