A Laid-Off Baby Boomer Got Frustrated With the Job Hunt, So He Started His Own Business. He Explains Why Age Is an Asset for Entrepreneurs. "It's about leaning into my age and experience as an asset versus being 'too old' for the startup world," Loria, 61, said.

^{This article originally appeared on Business Insider.}

When Joseph Loria was laid off from his job in January 2023, he sought a job in which he wouldn't be at the whims of an employer.

Four months later, he started his own business. RetentionCX is a consulting firm that specializes in customer experience and management and taps Loria's nearly two-decade background in the industry.

"It's about leaning into my age and experience as an asset versus being 'too old' for the startup world," Loria, 61, said.

A survey by Gusto, a payroll-services company for small businesses, found that nearly one in four new businesses started in 2023 were in the professional services industry. It also found that among the businesses started by people 55 and older in 2023, about 35% were in the professional

"It could just be that older entrepreneurs spent their careers in professional services and are looking to do something that they know," Nich Tremper, a senior economist at Gusto, said about why older entrepreneurs were starting businesses in the professional-services industry.

Loria said RetentionCX was an extension of the customer-experience work he'd done his whole career. Now, he's his own boss and a solopreneur who can call all the shots. Loria declined to share specific revenue or sales figures with Business Insider.

Tapping career experience to build a business

Loria graduated from Tulane University with a degree in chemical engineering. He worked as a project manager for a medical-device company for 13 years before pivoting to executive roles in customer experience and technical management at software companies.

In recent years, however, Loria had become frustrated. After he was laid off, he got two job offers, but neither materialized, he said.

He never imagined himself as an entrepreneur, but he wanted to do something more creative that felt more purposeful than his previous jobs.

"I wanted to build something," Loria said. "I wanted to enjoy work in a way that I feel like is sustainable and isn't subject to the whims of other people."

One month after launching, he had three clients. Today, he balances three to five clients at a time and runs the business as a full-time job.

"It's something that I can own, and I can build my own value," he said.

Leaning into his age as business value

Loria knew that launching a business was risky, so he tapped his network of trusted colleagues to get advice and assurance before venturing out on his own. He said his age and years of experience were an asset rather than a hindrance.

"A lot of younger founders eventually hit a wall based on their lack of experience; they don't know what they don't know," Loria said. "I can tell you how it's going to go, and I want to help you avoid pitfalls A, B, and C."

Loria said most of his clients at RetentionCX were young founders in their 20s and 30s building tech companies. He said there was a "natural match" between younger and older founders: He appreciates the boldness and drive of younger founders and thinks he can provide the wisdom that he's developed over the years.

He also said being an entrepreneur could be daunting, and he felt fulfilled by helping young founders.

Loria said it had been a whirlwind getting the company up and running over the past year, but he'd been enjoying the adrenaline rush of building his own creative brand.

services industry. To collect its data, Gusto surveyed 1,345 new business owners of all ages between late January and early March using its payroll platform.