It's Not Your Age or the Tech: Here's What's Really Stopping You From Building a Profitable Side Hustle
If you've been telling yourself you're too old to start something new, or that you just don't have it in you to figure out the tech, you're not alone. Almost every woman Trish talks to lands on one of those two explanations. And almost every time, neither one is actually true.
In this episode of Just a Number, Trish digs into what the research actually says about age and starting something new later in life, why the fear of technology is rarely about the technology itself, and what's really underneath the stall so many women hit right before they launch. Spoiler: it's not a confidence problem. It's something much more specific, and much more fixable.
Age Isn't the Problem
A joint study out of MIT Sloan and Northwestern's Kellogg School looked at who was actually behind the fastest growing new ideas in the country. The average age wasn't twenty five. It was forty five. The decades you've spent raising a family, running a household, and keeping a career afloat aren't empty space on a resume. They're exactly the material that shows up in results like that.
Neither Is the Tech
Most women can figure out the actual mechanics of a checkout page or an email in under twenty minutes once they sit down and try. What slows things down isn't the software. It's the moment right before hitting publish, when the learning stops being private and starts being watched.
So What's Actually Going On?
Trish makes the case that the real block is the discomfort of being a visible beginner in public, at a stage of life where you're not supposed to be new at anything anymore. It's not a competence problem. It's an exposure problem, and once you can name it correctly, it gets a lot easier to move through.
"The competence you're worried about not having yet isn't a precondition for starting. It's what starting eventually produces." You can also read the full transcript here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
You'll understand why age is statistically an advantage when it comes to building something new, not a disadvantage.
You'll learn why the fear of technology is really a fear of being watched while you learn, not a fear of the tools themselves.
You'll discover the real reason so many women stall out right before publishing their first offer.
You'll hear why "just be more confident" is bad advice, and what actually helps you move through the discomfort of being new at something.
You'll walk away understanding that being a beginner again, in public, is not a sign you waited too long.
Ready to Stop Letting Fear Make the Decision for You?
If any of this sounds familiar, Trish would love to talk it through with you. No pressure, no pitch, just a conversation about where you are and what's possible.
Until next week. Remember, just a number.