Starting my business at 60

[rhardman]

My background: I have been a wood finisher for 25+ years and have worked on too many projects to say here. A lot of what I do and have done is around architectural facades such as hotel/restaurant and retail store fixtures.I do every type of finishing that there is from latex paint to full fill high gloss polyester finishes on exotic wood. I also do faux finishing on just about anything including gold and silver gilding, also metal patina.
I have a day job but have been told I should start my own thing by many people and there are not a lot of us out there doing this. I am 60 years old I'm terrified of blowing it and wonder if the old adage " no guts,no glory" come into play here.
It doesn't take a lot of super expensive equipment to do it just a place to do it. I already have most of the tools and the knowledge.
I don't have a ton of money but not broke either so I guess my question is should I dive in and if I do what do any of you think a start up would cost me.
Again I have a good day job but think I could do way better on my own. The company I work for subs out all our overflow as it is when were busy.

Your thoughts?

P.S.
I did the metal patina on the columns at the entrance of the Belagio hotel in Las Vegas about 10 or so years ago.

[Fulcrum]

I can't give numbers, but it seems that you have a great start towards getting started. Equipment, woodworking and metal skills, a place to start out of.

Really, all I can say is that you remain in the high end markets. Don't let you customers dictate to you. They're going to call you because of the unique product and service you provide. Stay on top of jobs and customers. Do not let general contractors push you around or string out payment.

[Harold Mansfield]

Just ask yourself a couple of questions. You obviously have the skills, the tools, and the will.

What is your plan to get customers?
Getting started is actually the easy part. You get some cards, maybe a phone number, a website, set up your workshop. Then what?

Who is your first paying customer? Your 10th. Do you have any connections you can work?
Have you thought about who your target market will be, and how you will get them?

[KristineS]

I think Harold is asking the important questions. You obviously have the skills. I'm assuming you have contacts among people who would want to hire you because of those sills. So how are you going to leverage that? How do you get the word out that you're available?

Start up is easy, it doesn't take much to get set up as a business. The hard part is when you have the website and the business cards and the cool logo and you wait for customers to come and pound on your door and no one does. Before you start, you have to know how to bring those customers to you. And where those customers are.

[ChadR]

Where you're going to find customers is a very important question to be clear on before you invest anything. Here's my advice on the steps for starting any business...

1. Create a well researched business plan. Liveplan.com is a great service that makes it easy and gives you step by step guides for $19/mo. This will walk you through your market research, competitive analysis, sales plan, marketing plan and financial forecasts. The purpose of creating a business plan is to take the time fully researching your industry, competitors, audience and to-market strategy. Plus, see if the financial forecasts align with your expectations of how much you thought you'd make.

2. Identify who your first 10 customers are. List them out specifically. Who are the first 10 people you can get to buy your product. Where are they now? Then where are the next 100? I consult with many startups and entrepreneurs, and the thing I hear most often is "I'm going to capture 1% of the market". This is a red flag guess. The best thing you can do in any startup is be honest with your plans to get customers.

3. Don't invest any of your savings that you can't afford to lose. Never over leverage yourself in a startup, because there's no guarantee you'll be successful. It definitely sounds like you have the skills and experience, but startups require a lot more. Keep your good paying day job until the new business is generating consistent and dependable income. It may require some later nights or early mornings, but will be well worth the stability. Also look for other investments that don't take equity, such as small business bank loans. Those payments are much easier to manage long term.

Finally, be creative with your money savings techniques. You'll get good at bootstrapping. For example, if you need to buy equipment upfront instead of investing all the capital on new equipment look for space in a local work shop or from a business starting out. Search for ways to minimize your cash outflow until you've got the income to warrant the risk.

Good luck and hopefully that helps! Always exciting to hear about a new business.