It did not help that other people did not think I would succeed, either.

You have no idea how many times I heard naysayers tell me things like:

>Why even bother? You can easily get a job at the local supermarket! Join the grey army working part-time.

>You are too old to start a business.

>You cannot do this because you don’t know enough about working online or the technology

Not forgetting the ‘it’s a scam’ rhetoric. Let's face it, there are scams everywhere, you get them through the door, on the phone and even in shops. Be real though, there are also a gazillion opportunities out there.

They were excuses, barriers to starting out. There is a need to re-educate ourselves and those around us here. If I had said I was starting up a physical shop, I would be met with more approval. Just run through what you need; premises, stock, staff, to be present 5,6 or 7 days a week, not to mention being situated in a position to get enough footfall. An online shop requires no premises, no stock, no staff and is open as long as the platform you are using is open, like 24/7.

Ok, the technology think may be a tad overwhelming to start off with, but you do not need to know it all. You can utilise other platforms to host your products and grow a market.

Now do not get me wrong – I still needed to do a lot of other work in order to decide on which business model to use. I studied the online business models I found interesting and that matched my skillset. I talked to others who had set up their own simple online business. And I learned a whole lot about making a living online simply through the process of trial and error.

A major benefit of being online is that you can change direction and format pretty easily if you find something not working for you. Can you do that if you have business premises?

So, to answer the question; can you start an online business in your 50’s, hell yes. The main issue is going to be deciding what you actually want to do, there really is so much choice.

Listen, I know it is hard to change direction, especially if you have not needed to before. However, I did it despite losing almost everything and having just a grasp on my own self-confidence. And I just know that if I can do it, then you can too.

Go ahead and try it – you might just surprise yourself!

if you already have an idea and in need of a platform to start off try here.