Joe Churchward (left) and Julian Melhuish. Photo: Supplied
Entrepreneurs are usually in their 20s when they start their first business, data shows. But there are many advantages of starting an enterprise later in life. Experience and a calm head are just two.
Julian Melhuish, 50, and Joe Churchward, 55, left advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi last September to start their own design and advertising agency Churchward/Melhuish, in Sydney.
Have you started a business later in life? What were the advantages/disadvantages? Comment below
Patience comes with age ... Gary Israelsohn.
Their decision bucks the trend of relatively young people starting businesses. According to 2010 research conducted by professional services firm Ernst & Young, the average age of someone starting their own business is 25.
Although Melhuish and Churchward were at the pinnacle of their careers at Saatchis, having achieved senior positions, worked on major campaigns and won awards, they wanted a new challenge.
“I thought I would retire at Saatchis then Julian said 'for the last years of our career, why not do something for ourselves'?” says Churchward.
“The decision to go out on our own would have been easier if we had been made redundant ... in your 50s you're not natural risk takers, especially when you have kids and a mortgage. It was kind of terrifying, but now we're not terrified any more,” Melhuish says.
Churchward says the advantage of setting up a business in your 50s is having experience. “And coming from such a creative environment meant we left Saatchis still brimming with ideas; it's in our DNA. You also know how to value yourself when you're older.”
He's also much more hands on now, which benefits clients. “We're more involved in the work now. Approval processes are simpler. Our day used to be made up of meetings, but now we're doing the work ourselves, which is more satisfying.”
“In large agencies creatives are not usually in front of clients. But now we get the brief, do the work and go back to show the client, which means we get the brief right 95 per cent of the time.”
The pair now has to do everything in the business from putting out the bins to winning work, and running their own business is more of an emotional rollercoaster. But Melhuish, says setting up on their own has allowed them to learn new skills they otherwise would have delegated.
“At Saatchis one of my mandates used to be looking after a digital department. But now if we need to produce a piece of electronic direct mail we have to do it ourselves,” says Churchward.
'Serial entrepreneur' Gary Israelsohn has just turned 50. He says there are clear advantages to being an older entrepreneur.
“Patience is one of them. I was much more impatient when I was younger because everything was about getting immediate results. But you actually have to be patient to get results. When I was younger I was much more anxious about this,” says Israelsohn.
Israelsohn moved from South Africa to Australia five years ago and established an arm of his business Inventive Networks in Sydney when he arrived. The business provides electronic billing products, designed to increase business efficiency while reducing costs. One of the company's newest innovations is a piece of software called MX Billing, which businesses use to send documents such as bills to customers via SMS.
“My focus is on supporting small, micro and emerging businesses. I look for business opportunities that can give them a competitive edge,” he says.
Another of Israelsohn's ventures is a website called marketscentral.com.au, an online resource for markets and market lovers in Australia and one of the largest directories of markets.
Stallholders list their business on the site, tell people where they trade, open online stalls and even post deals on a daily basis.
“It's like an online digital market for all markets,” says Israelsohn.
Israelsohn agrees experience is an advantage of being an entrepreneur in his 50s.
“My approach is now more considered because I don't have to test the water about fundamental operating issues because I know which systems work,” he says.
He acknowledges there are some disadvantages to being an older entrepreneur. “There are more distractions and you become more risk averse because you have more to lose. You also have less energy because it's directed to children and family. Entrepreneurs who are older have to be more focused because there is no time to waste.”
Israelsohn's advice to others considering going out on their own later in life is to take the risk.
“You can't get to the other side of the river unless you leave the side you're on,” he says.
No comments:
Post a Comment