Did you know that one in four individuals between the ages of 44 to 70 are interested in becoming entrepreneurs? In fact, entrepreneurs over the age of 50, also known as encore entrepreneurs, are one of the fastest-growing groups of entrepreneurs in the United States.

If you are one of the 63 percent of Americans planning to work during retirement, then small business ownership may be a good option for you to use your experience and knowledge gained during your career toward starting a new business.

Each year, the SBA helps more than one million aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners to start, grow and succeed. If you are thinking about starting a business, the SBA and our resource partners can provide you with the tools to help. During the month of April, SBA and AARP are teaming up to host National Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Month to provide a range of resources to entrepreneurs and small business owners over the age of 50.  The events will help connect encore entrepreneurs with mentors such as those from SBA’s network of Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, and SCORE chapters that can help throughout the life cycle of an entrepreneur’s business.

Events will include speed mentoring, which allows mentors with small business experience and entrepreneurs to share information during one-on-one counseling sessions, and workshops for entrepreneurs to get advice and assistance from successful business owners and community leaders.  You can find local events taking place around the country to learn more about how to become an entrepreneur or how you can grow your existing small business.

Now is a great time to explore your options. SBA has free online courses targeted at helping encore entrepreneurs to get started.  Go online to access SBA’s online small business learning center that offers free courses on how to start your own business and a course designed for women entrepreneurs over the age of 50.

SBA and AARP are also hosting free webinars on related topics that you can easily access, Are You Ready to Start Your Small Business? and Steps to Starting Your Business: Encore Entrepreneurship Webinar Series.

You can find more encore entrepreneurship information at www.sba.gov/encore and www.aarp.org/workresources.

We look forward to seeing you at a Mentor Month event and encourage you to visit with our mentors and counselors, as well as explore SBA’s online tools to help you to build your own small business.

About the Author

In her role as the Agency’s Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development, Tameka Montgomery is responsible for overseeing the agency’s counseling and training resources and programs for America’s entrepreneurs.