“But Mark Zuckerberg was already a billionaire by the time he was twenty-two?” While that fact may be true, is age really a factor when it comes to success? Though most often it seems young entrepreneurs are the ones making headlines, there are many reasons why older business professionals have more overall success. We’ve done our research on the qualities of a successful entrepreneur and it’s become abundantly clear why having a number of years behind you can actually provide an advantage in business.

Experience

Having completed years in the workforce and probably in several different industries, you’ve surely learned a lot along the way. A deep well of knowledge and hindsight to draw from can be invaluable in the business world. Unfortunately most often “experience” includes both successes and failures. But there are many lessons to be learned from a plan-gone-wrong. Just having experienced a stalemate situation, your fear of failing is probably significantly less than it was when you were twenty-two. This strengthens your ability to make decisions and hold true to your plan.

Connections

Steve Jobs once said, “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” Over the years, you’ve probably built up a good size network of aquaintances. They’re now going to be a necessary factor in your path to success.  A wide range of friends also means a wide range of skillsets available to you, these are resources you are going to need.

Passion

Most people don’t know for sure what they want to do immediately after finishing their education. Sure, we all have ideas of jobs we might be good at or industries that interest us. But as a young person, it’s difficult to know if you’re taking your career in the right direction, and many of them end up changing their minds! As someone who’s figured out what they like and don’t like, you have the power to tailor your new business to exactly what you want to do. We all know when you believe in an idea, you’re much more likely to succeed and stick with it. Loving what you do creates a strong passion and drive for your business.

Responsibility

As a mature person, you understand the importance of having set goals and sticking to them. Vital factors like having a financial or business plan, are ones that many young entrepreneurs view almost as disposable. But having a strong sense of value for work done out of the public eye is highly important for a successful company.

These principles we’ve discussed should be of top priority to anyone interested in starting their own business. To learn more about becoming a leader that is both loved and respected, follow the links below.