\n\t\t Entrepreneur \t<\/p>\n
How old is too old to start a business? You\u2019ve read the title of this article, so you already know that\u2019s a trick question.<\/p>\n
Colonel Sanders was 62 when he opened the first KFC franchise. Laura Ingalls Wilder had her first Little House<\/i> novel published at 65. The more meaningful your life\u2019s work is, the less likely it is to conform to a predictable timeline. Predictions are based on patterns, and the greatest achievements break patterns to offer the world something new.<\/p>\n
This becomes easier if you\u2019ve lived a rich and full life. Spending time in the world helps you recognize what problems still need solutions and how to take advantage of those opportunities. But you won\u2019t always find them by looking directly.<\/p>\n
Your best ideas can take decades to develop and come from unexpected twists of fate. Below, I\u2019m going to share a few that ultimately helped me turn Roof Maxx into an eight-figure roof restoration company in my 50s.<\/p>\n
A few lucky people might strike gold the first time they ever put a shovel in the ground, but most of us dig around for a while first. According to reporting from OCI Insights, 97% of founders have full-time work experience before they start their companies. Just 3% start without it.<\/p>\n
I launched Roof Maxx at age 51, but it wasn\u2019t my first company, and I wasn\u2019t new to roofing. I\u2019d been in the industry since my early 20s. So while it might be fair to call me a late bloomer in terms of starting a national brand, that\u2019s actually not the whole picture.<\/p>\n
Those early years as a roofer were difficult, but they helped me understand the industry from the inside. Getting up on rooftops to inspect them made me familiar with materials. Talking with individual homeowners helped me understand their needs \u2014 and the ways in which those needs weren\u2019t being met by the rest of the industry.<\/p>\n
Little House on the Prairie<\/i> became more than a series of successful novels. It blossomed into a media franchise that eventually included several television adaptations and even a Broadway musical. Today, it\u2019s widely regarded as a cornerstone of Americana.<\/p>\n
But Laura Ingalls Wilder faced years of rejection before the first novel in the series secured a publishing deal. Prior to that, she spent years writing for farming publications.<\/p>\n
That probably seemed inauspicious at the time \u2014 but in retrospect, that experience clearly taught her how to write in the voice of the Midwest. Every experience can be a lesson on how to succeed if you\u2019re open-minded enough and willing to apply what you\u2019ve learned in different situations.<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s certainly less dramatic than the above, here\u2019s an example from my career: Working with real homeowners had shown me they were being routinely underserved by the roofing industry. Most contractors weren\u2019t offering a full range of services. They only wanted to do replacements, even for rooftops that didn\u2019t need them.<\/p>\n
So in my 30s, I started Roofer Success International (RSI): a peer-to-peer coaching program that educated contractors on how to run a business while also servicing the customer\u2019s real needs, from inspections to repairs and maintenance.<\/p>\n
RSI held live events and offered hands-on training. We showed roofers everything from how to answer phones and schedule appointments to what options they should offer customers and how to price them.<\/p>\n
At this point, I didn\u2019t even know that I was going to start Roof Maxx. But as it turned out, my experiences as a roofer and with RSI would both contribute to that company\u2019s eventual success.<\/p>\n
Roof Maxx\u2019s flagship product can help homeowners put off expensive replacements for years. It does this by restoring the flexibility and durability of their existing asphalt shingles, making them last longer.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve probably already guessed my first point, which is that I never would have recognized the need for this kind of product if I hadn\u2019t spent all those years in the business. But running RSI is actually a better example of how transferable business experience is.<\/p>\n
I had started RSI to highlight a gap in the roofing industry, but it turned out I actually loved being an educator. Teaching let me magnify the influence I wanted to have on the industry. What I didn\u2019t expect was that it would also show me the key to growing Roof Maxx consistently.<\/p>\n
We eventually chose to expand Roof Maxx through a dealership model where we distributed our product exclusively to roofers who joined our network. This meant their success was our success. It also meant they needed in-depth knowledge about our product and how to sell it effectively.<\/p>\n
The idea to build a dealer management platform would never have occurred to me if I hadn\u2019t created RSI over a decade before. But because I had, it was the obvious solution.<\/p>\n
Not only did developing our own online portal directly benefit the business by allowing us to share training resources and stay in contact with dealers, but it also created a dedicated virtual community where those dealers could share knowledge and best practices. The love of teaching I had discovered years ago turned out to be more than just a way to advocate for what I wanted to see in the industry. It became the growth lever that helped my brand thrive in all 50 states.<\/p>\n
So don\u2019t worry about starting your company late. For all you know, you\u2019re already gaining the experience that could one day make your career.<\/p>\n
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