At the age of 44 I am finally ready to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning my own business. I am a very risk adverse person so this is very scary for me, esp with a wife and two kids.

What advise can this knowledgeable forum give me from their own personal experience?

Regards

What are you hoping to get out of it? Maybe describe your situation a bit better if you want more specific answers.

Assume you'll make no money the first 12 months so have that 12 months of liquidity nearby to cover expenses and whatnot.

What industry?

Make sure you know the below.

• How you are different from competition, and competition can be the status quo.
• If your difference is valued.
• How easily your difference can be copied.
• The size of your market.

What kind of business? That matters a bit.

I'm in the same boat, 41 and just getting my engineering consulting business off the ground. I'm currently in-between consulting with a government services company which helps pay the bills, and a couple of projects that should launch me. My goals are modest, I like being hands on with clients and staff so I don't want to grow large enough to force me back into an executive role, which feels empty to me. I like to turn the wrench, so to speak.

I think the biggest factor for me was understanding what I'm good at, being honest with myself about my weaknesses, finding ways to mitigate them, and planning for the long term (12 mth +).

It's best if you can have another source of income on the side or through consulting or spouse, to weather some of the dips and lack of work.