In Barcelona

Start Up at 60

Alice Horn
Jul 24, 2017 · 3 min read

I just read an article in the New York Times about baby boomers. Apparently, we are in a bad mood. We are depressed by the beginning of retirement, the start of Medicare, financial uncertainty for some of us. Not to mention the “crepey cleavage, popping veins, trifocals and sagging breasts strewn across a lifeless vista.” Wow.

I was born in 1957, the peak of the baby boom. Go ahead, do the math — that means I turn 60 this year. Admittedly, this birthday has felt a bit different than other milestone birthdays so far in my life. I have been a bit hesitant to mention my age to my peers. The Times article prompted me to share my story.

A bit over a year ago, I quit a job that I loved. I was the founding director of the local chapter of a highly successful nonprofit, teaching low-income youth to think and act like entrepreneurs. I had been doing this work for over ten years and was well-known in the city where I live.

But I quit. At the age of almost 60, I quit. I left my job, my retirement plan, my health benefits (scary!) and my team that I loved.The work was no longer challenging, and new national leadership at the nonprofit made it difficult to follow my heart and my vision for the organization. Friends counseled me to “at least find another job before you leave.” I made a half-hearted attempt, but then I just left.

After some soul-searching, I realized that what wanted from life was an entrepreneurial challenge that felt my own. I also wanted to spend more time with my family. The answer suddenly became crystal-clear: I joined our family business. For the past 14 months, I have been working in our family’s vacation rental business, www.resorthomesflorida.com, helping to scale this successful but (for now) small enterprise.

It has been exhilarating, terrifying, immensely gratifying and extremely humbling. After over 10 years spent teaching entrepreneurship (albeit to young people), I thought I knew a thing or two about how to start and run a business. I didn’t know…what I didn’t know. That soon became clear, and I immersed myself in courses on digital marketing and growing exponential companies. For the most part, my classmates were millennials. I was stretched to the limit of my comfort zone by the material, and supported by a new group of peers.

The work has been intensely rewarding. Every day brings a new idea, a new challenge and new people to meet. Most importantly, I am sharing this experience with my husband and my son. My husband and I talk about business all the time. Sometimes, we don’t see eye to eye. But for the most part, we are sharing in an exciting creative process: writing the business plan, developing our growth hacking strategy, honing in on our core market. I feel alive, and retirement is the furthest thing from our minds.

So for what it’s worth, to my fellow baby boomers, if you’re feeling a bit disgruntled or depressed:

  1. It’s ok to take risks later in life, even big ones. We’ll see how this all pans out. But the journey is now far more interesting than before I quit my job.
  2. Never stop learning. It’s ok if you are the oldest person in the room and some of the class terminology sounds like a foreign language. Trust me, you will learn if you try.
  3. Take on scary challenges. That’s what keeps your brain elastic and young. Crossword puzzles, learning a new language and book group may be great enrichment. But prepping for a business plan competition and pitching to a room of strangers get my adrenaline flowing. Stay at the edge of your comfort zone.
  4. Exercise IS important. It’s not the only way to turn back the clock, but it is important. For me, yoga is the secret to keeping me sane enough so I can take on all the other challenges.
  5. Don’t stop giving back. I now volunteer for the organization I used to lead. It feels great.

Alice Horn

Written by

Lifelong traveler and entrepreneur

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