Creating an online business after 50, 60, 70, and beyond is easier than you might think, even if you lack technical skills. And you have an advantage going into it that young techie geeks don’t. Your advantage is your life experience and knowledge.
Since the Internet is primarily an information source, specialized knowledge can be a valuable product used to produce income. The ways to monetize your knowledge are one of the goals of this article.
Knowledge Sources
Your knowledge of a particular subject or activity may have come from your job, a hobby, sport, travel, or special interest. After decades of learning and experience, this accumulated knowledge can classify you as an expert!
Young adults don’t have enough years of experience to call themselves a true expert on much of anything. Although their naivety often leads them to do so anyway, just as we probably did in our youth. This is especially evident on the Internet.
We 50+ers have found, however, that young adults have an advantage when it comes to computer and Internet skills. And they should. It’s now built into the education system, starting in preschool. This provides a technical support resource that we can use. However, I have found that we still need to weigh their advice with their life experience to weed out quality from quantity.
Product Sources
Another possibility for e-business is to sell things you’ve made yourself and gotten positive feedback on. These may be how-to guides, recipes, birdhouses, musical instruments, or artsy items.
There are many inexpensive ways to integrate the sale and distribution of these products into a website. You will be exposed to these options once you get started.
Life Experience
Life experience creates a strong work ethic, judgment, integrity, and tenacity. These four (4) qualities are extremely important and valuable when it comes to building an online business. Again, advanced age becomes an advantage.
Many young adults fail with e-business ventures because they haven’t yet acquired these qualities. Their work ethic is erratic, their judgment is unrefined, their integrity is still developing, and their tenacity is not yet fully tested.
This article is not an indictment against young people. I get along with young adults very well because I do not think of them as being kids, and I don’t think of myself as being old. I have met many impressive young people. I often think, “I don’t remember being that smart when I was their age.” I write it off as being an evolutionary thing. 🙂
I am pointing out the advantages of being over 50 when building an e-business to inspire you. But these advantages are real! I’ve been on this e-ride since 2000, so I’m no newbie.
Success Secrets
Do you remember that scene from the movie “City Slickers
Your passion will show in your work, and people will see it. When they do, they’ll get excited about what you offer on your website. Most importantly, passion produces the fuel to stick with it enthusiastically regardless of obstacles.
Curly probably wouldn’t have known the second secret to online business success. Here it is. Your expertise or niche must interest enough people to create a worthwhile income flow. There are tools you can use to determine this. I’ll talk more about that later.
Power Vehicles
The vehicle that powers an e-business is the website host. As with auto manufacturers and dealers, you must be careful with your choice to get one that serves your needs at the lowest price.
If a vehicle is used for construction or farming and it’s underpowered and lacks needed capabilities, the business can suffer. The same applies to an online business, except it is more complex.
With many hosts, it’s like buying a car and then being expected to know all the interworkings to use and maintain it. This is the main obstacle for those who want to create an income-generating website. They lack the technical skills and knowledge. There is a simple solution, though. All-in-one hosting!
All-in-One-Hosting
In 2009, I discovered a unique hosting company that is an ideal fit for people with zero or limited technical skills. It’s also a dream saver for those who have tried and failed.
I found it particularly appealing that the owner is over 50 (born circa 1953). His frequent participation in the support forums shows his interest and sincerity in helping members succeed. He also demonstrates this by continually improving the service at a considerable cost to remain cutting-edge.
The all-in-one hosting service he built includes everything required to succeed without needing technical skills or e-business experience. Here are some key features that I find particularly valuable.
- Learning Modules – Using a step-by-step approach, this educational process teaches you how to succeed in e-business. These comprehensive modules come in text, video, and mobile formats.
- Credibility – Used as an e-business course at over 30 colleges and universities.
- Technical Systems – No involvement required. Everything happens behind the scenes. All website design is point-and-click.
- Niche Finding Tool – This world-class precision tool helps determine if your idea(s) will succeed.
- SEO Tool – This search engine optimization tool helps you create search engine friendly pages so customers can find your site.
- Customer Support – Outstanding quick response customer support via email and support forums.
- Comradery – Thousands of supportive and enthusiastic subscribers helping each other succeed in the members-only forums. You’ll never feel alone.
The company I’ve been talking about is SS and its SBI product. You’ll find out how SBI has enhanced the lives of many 50+ers. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth at least two thousand. If this service sounds appealing, I recommend watching this short video tour.
One of the top advantages of SBI is that you do not need to know or do any coding. 🙂
WordPress
I found the best company if you’re feeling more adventurous and want to use WordPress. My decision to go with this company was one of the best choices since starting in e-business in 2000. I’ll give you details about this company soon, but first, let me share a few things about WordPress.
WordPress is a free, open-source content management system and blogging tool. A content management system makes creating, organizing, and publishing articles about your area of expertise easy. Articles are the content on a website that generates traffic. Free and open source means global WordPress community volunteers develop, maintain, and improve it. I particularly like this aspect. No profit motivations and contributions come from technical and creative geniuses worldwide.
There are two main components to WordPress: themes and plugins. Although WordPress is the foundation that powers the content management system, a theme provides the look and feel of a site, and plugins add cool capabilities as you need them. There are thousands of themes, some free and some premium (paid for). There are thousands of plugins, most of which are free, and some offer premium features and services for a fee.
The premium themes offer many important advantages. Here they are.
- Search Engine Optimized – Clean, optimized code and smart design help to get the best rankings possible so customers can find you.
- Mobile Responsive – Makes your site look good and easy to navigate on mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
- Airtight Security – Follows all WordPress security best practices to protect your site from being hacked.
- Continual Updates – Ensures your site meets current code standards and is updated when WordPress improves. This is huge, as many free themes lag in this area.
- Customer Support – Access premium support if you have trouble or “how to” questions. Support for free themes and plugs is usually not quick or 100% responsive.
- Community Support – Access to private forums. Getting support from people who understand your struggles and share your enthusiasm for a product helps a lot!
I knew nothing about WordPress or premium themes when I converted my sites to WordPress. But I did a ridiculous amount of research before I made any moves. I have since discovered that many leading figures in the e-business world use the same company and products I selected. 🙂
The company I chose is SP. This innovative company powers its themes with its rock-solid G framework. They have many premium themes to choose from.
Update – Since SP was purchased, some of their policies have changed.
I chose the hosting service for these reasons.
- Low cost.
- Outstanding customer support.
- Continually improving and adding new features.
- Regularly ranked at the top of best hosting reviews.
The hosting service I’m using is DH. I have nothing but good things to say about them.
The miracle of the Internet makes it possible for anyone at any age to start a business with very little money. The best part is the ability to build and run it from any place in the world!
I like the idea of being able to travel while still building or keeping track of an online business. The image of doing this on a beautiful beach or in a nice motorhome is particularly appealing.
If you go forward and start your own online business, I hope we cross paths someday so I can hear about your journey. 🙂