At 51, Leslie Ledogar is taking her first baby steps toward starting her own business.
She is a lawyer who took on the weighty responsibility of bringing her parents east from Arizona several years ago.
Officials at National Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Day discuss encouraging older entrepreneurs in Delaware.
Officials at National Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Day discuss encouraging older entrepreneurs in Delaware.
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Managing the logistics of moving two frail and elderly people 2,500 miles was a job in itself. Ledogar quickly realized that handling transitions for seniors, including the parents of other busy professionals, could be a profitable and fulfilling enterprise.
“I want to offer turn-key services for relocating seniors, not just organizing closets and moving their stuff,” she says. “I would be the concierge who offers a mosaic of services, from arranging for changes in power of attorney, to psychologists, to taking care of a mountain of paperwork.”
Ledogar, who works in government, has never run a business. To get the ball rolling, she attended a half-day seminar in Wilmington for aspiring business owners over 50, sponsored by the Small Business Administration and AARP.
In SBA and AARP speak, she is an encore entrepreneur, a mature adult intent on becoming her own boss.
In fact, entrepreneurs aged 55 to 64 have been starting businesses at a faster rate over the last three years than Generation Y’ers in their early 30s, says a study published earlier this year by Duke University’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization.
In 1996, enterprising oldsters launched 14.3 percent of startups, according to a study by the Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City-based foundation devoted to entrepreneurship. In 2011, their slice of the pie was 21 percent.
Many become their own bosses out of necessity. The Duke study points to multiple motivations, including job loss, shrinking retirement investments and declining home values.
“We are here to tell people you do not have to figure it out by yourself,” says Antonio Leta, SBA director in Delaware. “There are a lot of resources for people who want to start a business.”
Gov. Jack Markell says Delaware’s streamlined processes and lack of red tape make the state an ideal destination for older entrepreneurs who want to get their businesses up and running quickly.
“It can be a scary process if you have worked for other people throughout your career,” he says. “We want to help people who have the drive to start a business succeed.”
Audrey Ellen Brodie, owner of First Class Properties in Dover, has reinvented herself several times. After a career at General Motors, she founded her own training firm advising owners of dealerships.
At 55, she began investing in real estate in Kent County, focusing on residential properties priced under $200,000, a niche she says most other brokers shunned. And when the real estate bubble burst, Brodie launched a management service for owners who have been unable to sell their properties.
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As a serial entrepreneur, her strategy is to identify new niches in the market and then fill them. Brodie enjoys doing business and expects to be working for a long time.
“When I turned 60, I made a life plan for 30 more years,” she says.
Like Brodie, a growing number of people over 50 approaches aging with a positive attitude. At least 60 percent believe they look at least five years younger than they actually are, according to GetOld.com, an online community launched by the pharmaceutical maker Pfizer. Of people ages 50-64, 42 percent are optimistic about getting older.
James Provo, a nuclear engineer, sold a profitable business and came out of retirement to work with the SBA.
In a persistently sour economy, running a small business strikes him as less risky than depending on an employer.
“Who is the last person who is going to be laid off from your business?” he asks. “You are.”
Still, about one third of businesses fold within two years, according to the SBA.
“A lot of businesses fail because they don’t get help and then they run out of capital,” says Bob O’Brien, president of the Delaware SCORE chapter.
That said, a bad economy could provide good reasons for starting a business.
“This is not the time for companies to hunker down,” O’Brien says. “It’s the time to grow so you can be the first one out of the gate when the economy improves.”
SCORE, a volunteer group of seasoned managers, was founded in Delaware in the 1950s by executives from the DuPont Co. who wanted to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Today, the organization is a nationwide resource for startups and fledgling enterprises.
The hard truth is that older entrepreneurs need to be especially aware that time is fleeting. If they make a mistake, there is less time to recoup losses and rebuild.
One of the most important things a prospective business owner needs to know is if a business model simply won’t work. That requires an unblinking and often painful evaluation, says Robert Rausch, business adviser at the Delaware Small Business Technology and Development Center in Newark.
“It’s telling someone your baby is ugly,” he says.
Wendell Womble envisions a beautiful expanse of green. He wants to expand his part-time business as a consultant for golf tournaments into a full-time enterprise.
“I am looking at expanding to a driving range, a nine-hole course and a training center,” he says.
Womble, 63, of Rock Hall, Maryland, is still working full-time in the public school system. He came to the encore entrepreneur event to explore opportunities for financing a parcel of land south of Middletown where he would set up his business.
“I want to learn all I can about creative ways I can obtain capital for my business,” he says.
Last year, the SBA connected entrepreneurs with $58 million in loans, says Mike Rossi, a lending officer. This year, borrowing already has exceeded that amount.
Ledogar will use a small inheritance she received from her mother to finance her business.
“My mother had great style and wanted to start her own personal branding company,” she says. “She wasn’t able to get started, so it is very meaningful to me that my inheritance from her is giving me a start.”
Being her own boss will enable her to move full-time from her home in Philadelphia to her vacation house in Rehoboth Beach and spend more time with her partner, who is retired. With its mix of retirees and professionals, Rehoboth also strikes her as an ideal launch pad for her business.
Ledogar views her maturity and life experience as plusses that will serve her well in business.
“When I was younger, I thought I could do it all,” she says. “At this age, I am a more collaborative person. I’ve gained that ability to bring things together.”
