I was on Facebook the other day with a friend from High School and she was telling me some exciting news about an article that had been written about her for a local business journal. Turns out, she has turned into an ace inventor.

Here in Oklahoma, we have very interesting weather – tornadoes, ice storms, hail storms, you name it, we’ve probably got it. My friend was living in an apartment complex where they didn’t offer covered parking. One year we had a significant amount of hail storms and she was bound and determined to not let her car get all dinged up. She came up with a solution that worked and then the light bulb came on. She began creating prototypes from her jury rigged solution and is now creating a catalog, seeking investors and taking it to market. She’s also come up with ideas for companion products during the process.

Frustration to solution to business owner.

I remember seeing a story about a gal who was frustrated by trying to get the dust ruffle back onto her king sized bed after cleaning it. She struggled to lift the mattress and slide the ruffle back into place. She got the kids involved and the ensuing story reminded me of a Three Stooges routine. She thought to herself, “There’s got to be a better way” and proceeded to create the Zip-a-ruffle that’s now sold on QVC.

Someone had to think up and create the Snuggie® and as silly as it may seem to some of us, it’s a million dollar product and there are a lot of folks that are a whole lot warmer for it.

Back to the original question – Are you frustrated about something? Instead of just being frustrated and going on, stop and take another look and see if you’re missing a solution. Chances are, if you’re frustrated, millions of other people are, too.

I can SO relate. For years in my career, I waited to be picked. I thought, “Surely someone would realize just how awesome I am and will want to groom me for magnificent things!” Well, most of the time they realized how awesome I was about getting the work done and would load me up…with more (not so magnificent) work.

In essence, I wanted someone else to create my vocational fate. Many of us are raised to think that way – Just get a good job and work hard and eventually you’ll be recognized for your efforts. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way, in fact, MOST of the time it doesn’t work that way.

I’m not anti-“job” by any means; not everyone is built to be self employed. However, I am anti-illusion. The days of complete job security are long gone. Let’s stop waiting to be the lucky stiff that gets picked out of the crowd and choose to pick ourselves. Your vocational destiny is yours to create and once you start seeing that, I think you’ll be surprised at the creativity and vision that you find in yourself.

However, I want to point out that while they are indeed courageous and talented and admirable, I’m just a whole lot more impressed when people who are older take the leap toward their dreams.

How much more courage does it take to leap off the entrepreneurial cliff when you have a family to support? With things like braces. And college tuition. And the garage or bedroom that their young entrepreneur child is working out of.

And a mortgage to cover?

And when your family and friends are much more likely to say whatareyaNUTS???

I find myself in awe of many mid-life start up entrepreneurs and this article is going to show you that you CAN follow your dreams, even if you’re 30, 40, 50 or beyond. To quote part of the title of a book from one of my favorite authors, Barbara Sher, It’s Only Too Late If You Don’t Start Now.

I’ve come up with some examples to prove it’s true.

Some of the following people are very famous names that you will most certainly recognize, some may not be known worldwide, but they are still very worthy of admiration.

Ray Kroc, Founder, McDonald’s Corporation
Went from being a milkshake machine salesman to a partner with the McDonald brothers at the age of 52. Six years later, Kroc was 58 and when the brothers wanted to limit the franchise of the restaurants, he bought out the McDonald brother’s stake in the restaurant chain.

Colonel Sanders, Founder Kentucky Fried Chicken
At the age of 40, Harland Sanders was running a service station and serving chicken dishes out of his living quarters. Later he moved to a motel with a restaurant that seated 142 people and worked as the chef. At the age of 65 Sanders used $105 from his first Social Security check to start the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise.

Julia Child, Chef, Author and Television Personality
In 1951, at the age of 38, Child along with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle began to teach cooking to American women in Child’s Paris kitchen, calling their informal school L’Ecole des Trois Gourmandes (The School of the Three Food Lovers). The three worked on a cookbook together which was eventually published in 1961.

Ed Sullivan, Entertainment Writer and Television Host
At the age of 47, Ed Sullivan went from being a newspaper columnist to being the host of the weekly Sunday night TV variety show – Toast of the Town – which later became The Ed Sullivan Show.

Jo Fuchs Luscombe, Former Connecticut State Representative
After spending most of her life as a stay at home mom, Jo entered the world of politics. At age 48, she ran for and won a seat in the state of Connecticut’s House of Representatives. After eight years in the seat, she became the Republican Minority Whip.

Mary Orlando, Owner, Mary Stuart House
At the age of 62, Mary purchased the historic home she had lived in as a child and turned it into a successful bed and breakfast.

Jean Karotkin, Photographer and Author
Jean had never taken a professional photograph before but as a breast cancer survivor she, at the age of 46, had a vision and dream for photographs of other survivors, showing their strength and beauty. Five years later, she had not only pulled her dream into reality, but was exhibiting her work at the Houston Center for Photography and was featured in top magazines like Oprah and Rosie.

Rainelle Burton, Author
At fifty-two, after working twenty years at Michigan Blue Cross and dealing with dyslexia, homelessness and depression, Rainelle Burton published a critically-acclaimed first novel.

 Jim Minick, Owner, Home Care Georgia
At age 51, Jim was fearful of being laid off. So he started an elder-care business in 2003 that helps people with daily tasks at home, such as getting dressed.

Poppy Bridger, Owner Anaheim Test Labs
Poppy worked as a PhD chemist for 45 years and retired at the age of 69. On her 72nd birthday, she was offered an opportunity to buy the lab she had worked at. She took her savings and went back to work.

Sylvia Lieberman, Creator of Archibald Mouse Books
Sylvia wrote a children’s story as part of a course in Writing for the Juvenile Reader. The instructor recognized her talent and urged her to seek publishing. However, it wasn’t until she was a grandmother that Sylvia’s book was published and appearing on bookstore shelves.

Happy Entrepreneuring!

Katherine