NEW YORK - Calling the shots isn't always all it's cracked up to be. But for people above 50, it's become a more popular choice.
Tony Uzzi knows all about that. After 30 years in traditional jobs, at age 52, he accepted a buyout from a pharmaceutical company and went into business for himself. Now, instead of having a fairly predictable schedule as a pharmaceutical salesman, work can interrupt just about anything - even dinners out.
On one occasion, Mr. Uzzi was sitting in a restaurant with his wife and their bottle of wine was being uncorked. The next minute, he was dashing off to make sure an elderly client of his Nurse Next Door senior care franchise was OK.
"It's 24 hours a day, seven days a week," Mr. Uzzi says. "It's a challenge."
For most Americans, exiting the rat race to start their own business is a passing thought. And then, as people get older, building a pension or a 401(k) with an employer match is too comfortable. During the Great Recession and its aftermath, however, the number of people over 50 who started their own companies grew.
Mr. Uzzi's Nurse Next Door franchise is the second business he started after taking a buyout in 2010. Mr. Uzzi first launched an executive coaching business that drew on his experience as a manager. But he was bored and not making the money he wanted. He began looking for a franchise and settled on Nurse Next Door because of his background in health care. Running the franchise comes with a myriad of duties: Drumming up sales and hiring among them.
"The constant drive to get clients, the constant sales calls. It's finding good caregivers," says Mr. Uzzi, who runs the franchise in Orange County, Calif. He is continually looking for new contacts - local attorneys and churches, for example - who can refer clients to him. He has 15 clients, and is hoping for more.
Many people over 50 are making the same adjustments. Research by the Kauffman Foundation, which studies trends in entrepreneurship, shows that more people ages 55 to 64 turned to business ownership during and after the Great Recession. The foundation's index of entrepreneurial activity among people in that age group rose from 2007 to 2009 and logged a scant decline in 2010.
A lot of older entrepreneurs turn to franchises because they can start making money sooner than they would by building a company from the ground up. Another benefit: franchises come with a ready-made business and marketing plan - and often a well-known name like Subway - the popular sandwich shops - or Lawn Doctor lawn-care businesses. Mr. Uzzi spent $100,000 to buy and set up his franchise, a far cry from what it would take to establish a new business.
The Nurse Next Door company notes that it is attracting older franchisees. In the last six to nine months, the average age of new Nurse Next Door franchisees is 56, up from 45. CEO John DeHart says the company is getting more inquiries from older prospective franchisees than in the past.
When Mark Whitworth lost his job two years ago at the age of 50, he didn't plan to become a business owner. But the job market for accountants was dicey and looked like it would stay that way.
So Mr. Whitworth opened a carpet and upholstery cleaning franchise last September. He works six days a week and isn't turning a profit yet, but he's enjoying the autonomy that comes with running a company.
"It really does feel good to be the one to make the decisions and deciding the direction your business goes in," says Mr. Whitworth, who owns a Neighborhood Chem-Dry franchise in Dallas. He's optimistic the business will start making money as he gets more customers.
"You have to be patient and build up a reputation," he says.