50 year old now and planning to start my own business

I’m 50 years old, and after three decades in IT - from hands-on tech roles to senior leadership - I’m done with the 9-to-5 grind. This isn’t some midlife pivot born out of burnout. I’ve spent years preparing - financially, mentally, and strategically - to build something of my own.

No debt. Emergency fund sorted. Retirement portfolio solid. Capital ready to deploy. I’m up at 5 a.m., plan my days down to the half hour, read daily, and spend time speaking with operators and investors to sharpen my edge. I’m not asking “how to start” - I’ve already started. What I need now is clarity on where to focus.

My goal: build something scalable that can generate ₹7–8 crore (~$1M) annual profit within the next 5–10 years. I know not all businesses are equal - some are simply harder to scale due to labor, compliance, or complexity. I want a business where I can build systems, scale people, and focus on sales, ops, and strategy - not be the technician or the crutch.

What I’m not looking for:

• Lifestyle businesses that stall under ₹2–3 crore/year.
• Models where I’m glued to a laptop 24/7.
• Craftsman-type businesses where scale depends on deeply niche talent.

What I am looking for:

• Sales-led, team-driven, operationally scalable businesses.
• Recurring or contract revenue models.
• Businesses with franchising potential or repeatable playbooks.
• Asset-heavy models with solid ops (e.g., self-storage, fleets, etc.).
• Sectors where customer experience, systems, and branding can create edge.

I’ve explored facility management and industrial cleaning in sectors like hospitality and healthcare - where quality drives retention. I’ve looked into business acquisition in Tier 2/3 cities - profitable but under-managed firms in logistics, manufacturing, or distribution, where modern systems could double returns. I’ve also explored niche home services (e.g. water tank cleaning, solar panel maintenance), and recruitment or outsourcing models for blue-collar roles - still largely unorganised, but high in demand.

So to those who’ve built scalable, systemized businesses - or are on the path: If you were me - 50, experienced, well-capitalized, disciplined - what would you build today to reach ₹7–8 crore in annual profit within 10 years?

Would love to hear from those who’ve walked the road. Give me the blunt truth - what’s working, what’s not, and what you’d do differently.