What I thought when asked, 'What do you think about middle-aged women starting businesses?'

Some time ago, I was having tea during a break in a meeting with a female client (around my age) who was preparing to start her own business.

Suddenly, she said this to me.

“Sensei, have you ever heard the term 'middle-aged woman entrepreneur'? What do you think about that?”

In the flow of our casual conversation, she was smiling a little.

I was a bit taken aback by this question.

It was partly because it was the first time I had heard the term, but I couldn't answer well on the spot.

Perhaps it was because I felt that the term 'middle-aged woman' (and 'middle-aged man' as well) had a ring to it that somehow made light of the challenge of starting a business.

However, since she didn't say she was worried about it, I felt that saying 'I don't think you should worry about it' didn't quite feel right either.

I suspect she didn't mean anything deep by it and was just making small talk, but it was a memorable conversation for me.

Why did this question arise?

Thinking about it now, I think she might have had a little anxiety about whether it would be okay to start a business at this age.

She was feeling excited about starting her business and enjoying every day.

But she suddenly became concerned about how people around her would view her starting a business at her age.

Moreover, the label 'middle-aged woman entrepreneur' carries a subtle, slightly dismissive nuance.

It might have been a question that came up casually amidst the excitement and anxiety of starting a business.

What this question made me think about

“Middle-aged man”
“Middle-aged woman”

Now that I am 55, I feel that I have moved from the side that 'called others' middle-aged to the side that 'is called' that, but I believe age has nothing to do with taking on challenges.

I think that client didn't mean anything deep by it and was just making small talk, but for me, it resulted in many realizations, so I am grateful to her.

Aside

Because of my line of work, I am always curious about how often a term I hear for the first time is searched for.

At that time, I looked up the search volume for the term "middle-aged women starting businesses" and was surprised to find that, while not huge, it had a decent number of searches. (Incidentally, the term "middle-aged men starting businesses" was hardly searched for at all.)

So, I wrote an article titled "The Secret to Success and Tips for Avoiding Failure for Senior 'Middle-Aged Women Starting Businesses'," and it now ranks first in search results for that keyword, with many people who search for it reading the article.

I would be happy if it serves as a reference for even a few of those who search for "middle-aged women starting businesses."

People in their 50s, 60s, and 70s still have so much ahead of them, so let's all do our best and have fun together!