Ageless Startup

New at Entrepreneur Rick Terrien VIP CONTRIBUTOR March 26, 2020  26 Questions to Help You Decide If a Late-in-Life Business Is Right for You "Instead of just asking "Why me?" ask yourself these questions to determine if becoming an entrepreneur after you retire from your job is a smart move for you." How do you know if starting a business is the right path for you? And how do you know when the time is right to lay the groundwork for the next chapter of your work life? If your answer is that you’ll figure it out when you get there, then you’d better start figuring it out soon. Creating new income streams with a new enterprise is entirely possible, but it takes time and resources. It’s always best to start small, start slow and start smart—with some self-assessment. When you ask yourself some simple questions about where you’ll be working at 60 or 65, don’t see work as a burden to live through. See it as a path to liberation in the...

As the last post indicated, there is great value in slowing down when making key decisions.  It doesn't mean you need to take all your business processes slowly.  In fact you need to develop and test minimum viable products quickly and often. But when considering WHICH decisions to make, and which to shelve - especially in these troubled times - it is best to slow down, compare proposals to your mission, goals and values, then act. This just popped into my email from a person I consider the founder of modern business writing, Tom Peters.  Many people consider Tom Peters the 'father of the modern corporation.'Mr. Peters included my blog on his home page for many years for which I am profoundly indebted. Link to Tom Peters site   To dramatically speed up business processes—implement a new structure, shorten product development cycles, make decisions faster to better serve customers—slow down.” — Tom Peters

Nice article about this work in the March 20,2020 issue of Association News. RUNNING A NEW ORGANIZATION? TAKE IT SLOW. Michael Hickey. Mar 20, 2020 Why rapid growth isn’t necessary for success. Also: Picking the right learning management system for your association. So you’ve launched your own organization and you’re looking to grow. There’s no need to rush, suggests author Rick Terrien in Entrepreneur. While you may be itching to expand your operations, the smarter startup path might be the slow startup. “Slow startups are new organizations that are typically self-funded that don’t need to meet rapid financial goals. They’re enterprises designed [for] their founders’ personal goals and aspirations for success,” Terrien says. “These organizations benefit the greater goals of the communities they serve as well as the goals of the entrepreneur in several ways.” Terrien says when starting slow, leaders can revitalize their communities and their industries by not only ...

I just learned that my publisher, Entrepreneur Press, is going to be releasing an eBook as well as an audio book for Ageless Startup. The book is available for pre-order / delivery (below). I believe the eBook will be released at the same time as the hard copy on April 21. Audio book should follow soon after. Thank you Entrepreneur Press! Pre-order the book at Amazon

I wrote Ageless Startup because I was concerned that my peers did not have enough options to thrive in the workplace as they aged. Under normal circumstances this was a significant problem.  We are now well beyond that.  Traditional employment options for older workers will be diminished as we work our way out of the pandemic shutdown.  There will be fewer jobs initially and the ageism bias in workplaces will only grow stronger. Now is the time to create more and better options for ourselves. So how do we frame this so we can take effective steps now?  When things return to ‘normal’…. •  All existing organizations will need to be nimbler and more resilient.  This was a clear trend that will only get stronger. This is true for employees as well as employers. •  It seems likely that existing organizations may begin offering ‘phased retirement’ programs to help older workers transition to their next roles in life.  This i...

Entrepreneur Magazine just posted a full page advertisement for the Ageless Startup in their March 2020 issue. I really love the graphics. Nice.  Thank you Entrepreneur Magazine!