Passion! Why did you start your business? Ideally it’s linked to a personal problem or a problem from somebody close to you. If it’s personal you are really eager to try and solve this and you really believe in it. During obstacles you can always fall back on why you started it in the 1st place. Nevertheless, you still need to find your sweet spot by finding the problem-solution fit. You need customers that want to pay for the solution. Trust yourself and your passion, but don’t be blind for the feedback from your target group.

At my age, I still get hugely inspired by talking with ambitious entrepreneurs, successful founders, mentors, and VCs. Several times a month, I meet young, ambitious student entrepreneurs. It's really inspiring to hear their passion to change the world and to coach them to avoid the mistakes I made. Also, this year I had several in-depth interviews with successful entrepreneurs. They shared their journey—how they started, the challenges they faced, and how they overcame those obstacles. I learned a lot from these conversations. Experimenting with new AI tools also sparks my creativity. I believe in learning through experience—actively exploring new ideas rather than just observing.

Maintaining motivation as an end-of-career entrepreneur involves setting new goals and finding fresh sources of inspiration. Reflect on your journey and celebrate past successes to remind yourself of your capabilities. Seek mentorship opportunities or consider mentoring others, as sharing knowledge can reignite passion. Stay connected with industry trends to remain relevant and engaged. Embrace continuous learning and explore new interests that can invigorate your entrepreneurial spirit. Lastly, maintain a healthy work-life balance to ensure sustained energy and enthusiasm in your endeavors.

Maintaining motivation as a late-career entrepreneur involves focusing on your passion and leveraging your experience. Set clear, achievable goals and celebrate small victories to maintain momentum. Surround yourself with a supportive network of peers, mentors, and advisors who can provide guidance and encouragement. Stay adaptable and open to learning new skills or technologies. Reflect on your journey to appreciate how far you've come, and use your accumulated wisdom to navigate challenges. Prioritize self-care to maintain physical and mental well-being, ensuring you have the energy to tackle obstacles head-on.

Embarking on an entrepreneurial journey later in your career can be both exciting and challenging. Here's how to stay motivated and overcome hurdles: Leverage Your Experience Draw on your years of professional wisdom to guide your decisions Use your extensive network to find mentors, partners, and early customers Set Realistic Goals Break your big vision into smaller, achievable milestones Celebrate each success, no matter how small, to maintain momentum Embrace Continuous Learning Stay curious and open to new technologies and business practices Remember, it's never too late to pursue your entrepreneurial dreams. Your wealth of experience and perspective can be your greatest advantages in this new chapter of your career.

As an entrepreneur in my forties, I approach goal setting similarly to how I did in my thirties, but with a shift in focus. Back then, my goals were largely about financial gains. Now, I prioritize creating social impact—for example: how many people I can inspire to start their own companies? And how many startups can I help to create social impact?These aspects hold far greater value to me than simply hitting a revenue target.

I'm a strong believer in experiential learning; experimenting with new tools teaches and inspires me a lot. To discover these tools, I browse through LinkedIn, X, and YouTube. For example, I recently watched videos demonstrating how people use AI tools to create interactive quizzes on various subjects. I decided to replicate what I saw in the YouTube video. However, what was really cool is that while doing this, I got new ideas, such as turning it into an interactive video game! I’m still working on it :) Anyways, I wouldn’t have come up with these new ideas if I just watched videos passively.. So, I would highly recommend experimenting with new tools. It's a great way to learn and also to stay inspired!

When you start your entrepreneurial journey late in life, you may feel out of touch with a lot of technologies or skills. This is nothing to be ashamed of. Rather, find ways to learn these skills because they are necessary for you to grow your business. Take help from young people; seek out courses that are authentic and can help you stay in tune with the trends; all of this helps you become a great version of yourself while running a successful business.

As an entrepreneur in my forties, I've learned a great deal from both successes and, more importantly, from failures! For example: - Managing expectations among founding team members when starting a company. In one of my first startups, we were young and naive, unaware that conflicts could arise (which did happen and caused many headaches and distractions). - It's important to express from the start what each person aims to achieve, how committed they are, and how to handle conflicts. Continuous monitoring of these expectations is vital because people’s motivations and goals can change over time.

An entrepreneur’s biggest risk is the world economy. You can pay attention to commentators, the stock market, the CPI, and unemployment rates (but be aware that these rates are often revised without much publicity). What are the BRIC countries up to? What do you know about the US bond market, interest rates, commodity markets, and national debt levels in Europe and Asia? They are important because everything is intertwined. If a bank collapses in Europe, it may cause your bank to teeter and decide to do a bail-in. They take all or most of their depositors’ money to save themselves. How will you pay salaries and expenses with no cash in your account? Don’t be a complacent entrepreneur. Now is the time to learn more and make plans.

Whatever self-help book, motivational quote or poster, or inspiring message you're looking for -> you won't find it anywhere else than within your own mindset. Get back up, keep going. Embrace adversity, develop the strength to bounce back and tackle future challenges with greater determination. Increase that pain threshold. Run head (strategically) first. Bad day? Good! Tech not working? Good! Cash flow stress? Good! 10 fires at the same time? Good! Take it on. Resilience is about seeing every obstacle as a chance to refine your skills, enhance your strategies, and fortify your resolve. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. At the end of the day, we're all just sending emails. Breathe.