The number of senior entrepreneurs, people aged 60 or older who decide to start and lead their own businesses, already breaks records in Brazil. According to Sebrae’s latest survey in 2024, 60+ entrepreneurs reached 4.3 million. Growth of greater than 40% in the last decade. Senior business owners are present in various sectors, especially: services (36.4%), commerce (21.9%) and agriculture (16.6%).
The trend reflects not only the increase in longevity and the elderly population in the country, but also the search for a more active life after retirement. For many, entrepreneurship means complementing income, staying productive and even turning hobbies into a source of livelihood. The result is an increasingly diverse market, where the entrepreneurship of the elderly has been consolidating itself as a relevant force in the Brazilian economy.
Alexandre Balle is about to turn 60 and do not even think about staying still. About three years ago, even after retirement, he saw in handicrafts a way of having extra income and sharing his art. Today, he has in the city of Jaú, interior of São Paulo, a studio where he does handmade pieces in Macramê and Japamalas (Prayer Necklace) “I still want to do creative woodworking with disposal wood. I always wanted to have something of mine, but not a trade, I wanted something that I could offer something mine, made by my gaze,” he says.
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The craftsman recalls that, while young, he never thought of setting up anything. For him, the long career as a banker and the accumulated experience only help in this new journey “I put all the administrative, financial and especially the interpersonal knowledge into practice,” says Balle.
The story is not so different from Sonia Ramos – or Grandma Sonia, who, at 64, retired and taking care of her parents’ health, began a cake business to complement the income, which became, one of the largest homemade cake franchises and symbol of: Casa de Cakes today has more than 600 units in 250 Brazilian cities, in addition to the first international store in Lisbon.
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The network earned R $ 580 million in 2024 and is expected to reach R $ 650 million by 2025, serving more than 1 million customers per month, and producing 55,000 cakes every day – many of them, cornmeal, the revenue that was the first to be sold and remains in the menu to this day.
The deal began in 2010, in Ribeirão Preto, interior of São Paulo. Dona Sônia already made cakes for weddings and birthdays, such as extra income. A year earlier, one of his children had lost his job, and during a family coffee, the idea came up: why not sell the cakes she already made so much affection? Which was born as an alternative to help with expenses quickly became a successful business, with recipes that refer to the warmth of the grandmother’s house. “There was never a cake to gather the whole family around the table. It was always my pleasure and great joy. I found in the homemade cake a purpose that changed my life and all my family,” recalls Grandma Sonia.
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Exponential growth was driven by franchises. “The franchise model allowed to expand the brand and bring home cakes as a union tool between people, bringing families closer, generating conversations and good stories,” says Grandma Sônia.
But the first international store in Lisbon, Portugal, is its own. For the expansion, it was necessary to rethink the menu, with minor adaptations, such as the Brazil nuts that was replaced by almonds, the marmalade guava, as well as adjustments to the nomenclatures.
Courage and maturity
Dona Sônia was never alien to entrepreneurship. Before the cake house, there was a butcher shop, a stamping and even a sportswear. Not all businesses worked, but everyone brought learning. “Entrepreneurship after 60 brought maturity, courage and the certainty that it is never too late to start over,” he says.
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If for many age can be seen as a barrier, it was differential for her. Life experience, attentive gaze, and affection applied to each recipe have become the big engine of the business. “The most experienced people bring with them knowledge and wisdom, which generates more tranquility to achieve results and understand errors in the entrepreneurial path,” he says.
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In the network, about 20% of employees are over 60 years old, reinforcing Dona Sônia’s belief that generations integration is a beneficial competitive advantage for both the company and the life of employees.
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“It’s never too late to turn a dream into reality. Looking back and seeing where we arrived with pride. The house of cakes was born out of need, but has become a collective dream that takes cake -shaped affection for thousands of families every day,” says Vóo Sônia, who now 79 years old follows the creation of new recipes and printing campaigns throughout the country.
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