When you think of entrepreneurs, you most likely envision a young person willing to take chances before life commitments have a chance to tie you down.



Retirement can lesson the fear of failure that come with launching a venture, most retirees have a desire for their own business all their life. The money and benefits were so good it wasn't worth taking a risk." Once retired, they might find that risk to be worth it.



Of course, retirees starting businesses certainly should be careful. The key question that retiree-entrepreneurs need to consider, is how much risk are they willing to take after they've put some retirement money away. Here are some ways to mitigate risk and secure that retirement security.



1. Keep overhead down. Avoid ventures that would require a lot of fixed costs, such as building up a large inventory or leasing a building, such as service based businesses.



2. Time is your most precious asset. While retirees may not be able to put a lot of their savings into a business, they have one asset that many others don't: time.



3. Use your experience to its fullest. The transition to starting your own business can be difficult. When you can draw on your past networking contacts from your old professional life, that will lessen the pain a little bit.



4. Keep Social Security in mind. If you are under your full retirement age, it might pay not to work as hard at your business if you're receiving a Social Security check. In 2008, for any person under full retirement age, $1 in benefits is deducted for every $2 that person earns above $13,560 in income.



5. Have fun with it.