Are You Too Old to Start Making Money Online?

Technology is often thought of as a young-man's game (or a young woman's) and that might perhaps explain why you regularly hear of these young entrepreneurs like Zuckerberg and Nick D'Aloisio (the Summly kid). Presumably younger people generally have a better understanding of technology, are more in touch with what's happening, and are thus better poised to set up their own businesses utilizing technology to make themselves billionaires.

But is this actually true? Do you really have to be young to get rich online or is it possible at any age? How about over fifty?

Why 50 is Just Right

Well actually it may surprise you to learn that you are actually at the very best age to start making money online if you are over fifty. The reason we hear more about guys like Zuckerberg and Nick D'Aloisio is partly just that they are more media-friendly. Getting rich online at a young age just makes a great story for the papers, and so when someone youthful has a hit app or website you're much more likely to hear about it. At any age these sorts of stories are the exception, but there are more successful entrepreneurs aged over 40 than any other demographic. And that must be rather encouraging.

There are many things that make you better poised to be a success online once you reach your later years too. For one, you will of course have more experience – perhaps not with tech – but probably with business, with finance, with people and with all the other elements required to make a successful product and business.

At the same time you are also likely to have a bit more money behind you which you can then invest into your new company should you wish and you're likely to find it easier to get loans if you want them.

As you get older still and are perhaps working fewer hours, you might also have more free time to dedicate to running your online business. Imagine being in a situation where you have all the time you need to work on a website, no day job anymore to take up your time and some disposable cash to pour into your idea. That's really rather ideal…

The Challenges

There are challenges as well though, which include the potentially relative lack of tech knowledge. If you find yourself in a situation where you'd like to be an online entrepreneur but don't know anything about programming or internet marketing, then that leaves you with two options:

a) Learn the topic you need to know about – again you should have the time and this will likely be a skill that benefits you in other ways too.

b) Outsource the elements you're not confident with – if you're a good writer or a designer then you can handle those elements of your online business but outsource the actually coding or the SEO to others. This is what good businesses do anyway, and there are plenty of ways you can find cheap services online that will handle your business for you for a reasonable cost.

The other thing to do is to try and choose an industry and a business model that plays to your strengths. One way to do this in particular is to create a website, an app or an eBook that is targeted at your demographic. This is a good strategy because you will find that your sensibilities that way become an asset rather than a set-back. You will have more idea of what other people over fifty want from a website or an app, and as such you'll be able to fend off the competition. This is a great captive audience with the most disposable income, so in fact you're in the perfect position to make a killing online!

Author Bio:

The author is this article is Jenny Wadlow. She is a professional freelance blogger. She writes articles for Bentham IMF, a commercial litigation finance company. She uses her free time to indulge in reading and sports activities.