Forget Retirement: Senior Citizens Are Founding Small Businesses...

A report in MIT Technology Review investigated Senior Planet, a retirement community and coworking space in Manhattan, where seniors can gain knowledge of small business management, according to Business Insider . Such skills are of prime importance for seniors, especially as older entrepreneurs are assuming a larger role in the American economy. One participant, Michael Taylor, said he began attending Senior Planet to get help with website design for an already successful small enterprise. Babson College's 2016 State of Small Business in America report estimated that 51 percent of small businesses are run by people aged 50 or older, up from 46 percent in 2007. Moreover, such businesses are staying open longer than ones founded by younger entrepreneurs. For example, 70 percent of senior-run small businesses are still operating three years after opening versus 28 percent of businesses run by younger generations. Senior Planet seeks to eradicate stereotypes of tech-averse seniors. "When you're a senior, and you've got an idea and you want to make it happen, somebody has to help out a little bit," says Senior Planet founder Tom Kamber.