Free advice for older entrepreneurs

The accountancy body ICAEW has recently launched a new Business Advice Service to promote the use of ICAEW Chartered Accountants to businesses. Under the scheme the network of 3,200 offices of ICAEW firms throughout the country who currently participate in the Business Advice service offer SMEs and start-ups an initial, free, no-obligation meeting to discuss their business needs.

As business startups are now increasingly a key post-retirement or redundancy option for older people who want to continue working, this is interesting news. Evidence shows that those who take (and act on) advice prior to setting up a business and work with trusted advisors throughout are more likely to succeed.

Later this month, from June 25 to 29, the organisation is hosting a Business Advice Week, providing a range of free events, seminars and conferences. Topics will include access to finance, initial start-up advice and planning growth. There will also be extensive opportunities to network with business owners and meet local advisers, banks and other local business organisations.  

Further details about events in each region can be found at the ICAEW website: http://www.icaew.com/en/about-icaew/what-we-do/act-in-the-public-interest/policy/enterprise/icaew-business-advice-service/bas-week-events

 

Proof that innovation isn’t the prerogative of the young

An inspiring story in today’s Metro concerns two women who four years ago, in their fifties, established Incredible Edible – a food growing and sharing scheme which has now been adopted internationally.

To date, more than 30 other areas in Britain have taken on the name and similar schemes are running all over the world.

Incredible Edible was founded by Pamela Warhurst and Mary Clear – now 61 and 56 respectively who wanted to cut through all the red tape that often comes with community projects and just get out there and grow.

Incredible Edible relies on volunteers and donations and a refreshing “can-do” attitude. ‘We never envisaged that it would become a world movement,” said Mary Clear. “We have no staff, no office, no filing cabinet or telephone number other than our own, and yet a world movement has happened. …We had the balls to stick with it and carry it through, without referring to the usual models – consultants and bureaucracy.”

This is a wonderful example of older people’s entrepreneurial activity, energy and passion which we know is there in bucket loads and about which we should hear more. Any more examples anyone?

PS: The only downside of the Metro article is that the accompanying illustration is of a random young woman. Why no picture of the two ladies themselves, or at least a photo of an older gardener?

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/newsfocus/901280-incredible-edible-launches-scheme-to-grow-and-pick-food-anywhere#ixzz1x61510mf
 

 

Is social entrepreneurship only for the young?

In an interesting article in the Guardian Madeleine Gabriel from the social entrepreneurship organisation UnLtd explores the reasons why older people are less likely to start this type of endeavour. The article is linked to the recent publication of UnLtd’s research report Golden Opportunities, Social Entrepreneurs in an ageing society.

She reveals that although over-50s comprise 44% of the UK adult population, they account for only 18% of UnLtd’s Award Winners, a finding which appears to be borne out by data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2009) which suggests that the over-55s are less likely to be involved in social entrepreneurship than most other age groups.

UnLtd believe that social entrepreneurship can give people a way to maintain economic and social activity into later life. The activity of being a social entrepreneur in itself has potential to help tackle some of the issues of an ageing society – over and above the social impact created by the work of these ventures.

Reasons for this low representation seem to be that, although voluntary activity is high amongst people aged over 50, there might be significant numbers of people in this age group who UnLtd would call social entrepreneurs but who wouldn’t recognise themselves as such.

Apparently, for many of the older individuals UnLtd interviewed, the language of social entrepreneurship “didn’t feel right”; they tended to associate the word ‘entrepreneur’ simply with making money. They felt “social entrepreneur” didn’t reflect their missions or their ventures, many of which were run on a voluntary basis.

Other barriers highlighted in the report were older people’s lack of understanding about social entrepreneurship, wariness about the credibility of UnLtd’s funding offer, and older people’s lack of confidence in their ability to take up the offer.

So – lack of understanding, lack of identification, lack of confidence or lack of knowledge? Probably all of these and more. Building on the language issue already identified, our own experience of social innovation organisations (plus limited informal feedback from others) reveals that many have a preoccupation with jargon and process at the expense of plain english and action.

There’s an unfortunate tendency to patronise older people by viewing them as a sector who need things doing to them or for them by people who know what’s good for them. Add to this a lack of understanding of the significant age and capability differentials in what is a 50 year “over 50” age span and it’s all quite irritating and offputting.

We’re not implying for a moment that UnLtd exhibits any of these shortcomings, but we have found them elsewhere. That said, the strength of the “social entrepreneurship” sector in the US as evidenced by the winners of the Purpose Prize (http://www.encore.org/prize) and other inspiring stories, adds weight to UnLtd’s argument that this activity seems to have a natural appeal for older people.

Ultimately more publicity, more role models and more workplace education about post-mainstream work options might help attract greater over 50s involvement. Or will it take much more than that?

https://socialenterprise.guardian.co.uk/en/articles/social-enterprise-network/2012/feb/08/older-social-entrepreneurs?CMP=

How witty is WEARY?

Well, not very if you fall into the group to which it refers. This latest acronym is the brain-child of the Future Foundation who, in a recent research report for Friends Life, coined it to refer to “Working, Entrepreneurial and Active Retirees”.

This phrase in itself actually sounds quite inspiring (despite the oxymoron about working and being retired) – working, active and entrepreneurial, the essence of what we know today’s older people to be. But weary? Not a bit of it!

No doubt whoever came up with this didn’t actually think through the damage that such witticisms inflict on older people struggling to overturn ageist stereotypes in the workplace and society in general. It isn’t helpful at all to have this broadcast in the mass media associated with a story which, in many ways, is actually quite positive.

Yes, many older people are going to work longer. But as Max Davidson explains in the Telegraph this can be a benefit. As he says, “work, however humdrum, is what makes leisure palatable. It is the contrast between the two – the labouring in the vineyard followed by the glass of wine at the end of the day – that gives shape and meaning to our lives.”

So are older workers weary? The active and entrepreneurial, no. We’re not weary – just really, really irritated.

For the Telegraph article see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/9002593/Give-me-a-Weary-old-age-over-a-stultifying-sun-lounger-any-day.html

6.1 million over 50s set to work past retirement age

According to retirement specialist LV=’s newly released Working Late Index, 28% of working over-50’s are planning on average to work past state retirement age for an extra six years, which based on today’s retirement age would see them retiring at age 71 for men and 66 for women. One in five over-50s (19%) said they expect to work for at least a decade past the current state retirement age.

Two thirds of those ‘working later’ apparently will do so because they can’t afford to retire.

The report goes on to state that one in five over-50s – equivalent to 4.3 million people – who had retired have since gone back into work. Of those who have gone back into work: 

• 11% returned in a part-time capacity, 6% into voluntary (unpaid) work and 3% back full-time
• 37% went back to work because they felt they were too young to retire
• 32% missed being part of the working environment
• For 30% it was financially-related: 20% said it was a necessity as their personal and/or state pension wasn’t enough to support them in their retirement, and one in ten (10%) needed to go back to work to help continue financially supporting their family

However, going back into employment after retirement has given some over-50s an opportunity to fulfil other ambitions. A fifth (19%) made a complete career change and 12% set up their own business. Many have chosen to go back to work in a role that requires fewer hours than before (27%), and 18% are doing a job that is less stressful than their previous job.

In terms of these findings this is an interesting study. However LV’s use of the phrase “state retirement age” isn’t helpful in a society in which we have now abolished mandatory retirement. Obviously they mean state pension age as they say “as the state retirement age increases to age 65 years for women in 2018, and to 66 for men and women in 2020”.

This wouldn’t matter except that it seems clear that the sooner we decouple the concept of retirement from that of drawing a pension the more helpful this will be for people in terms of understanding the options open to them in later life.

This year’s Purpose Prize winners

The Purpose Prize – the United States’ only large-scale investment in people over 60 who are combining their passion and experience for social good – was created in 2005 by Civic Ventures. Its aim was to showcase the value of experience and disprove notions that innovation is the sole province of the young.

The Prize awards up to $100,000 each annually to five people in encore careers creating new ways to solve tough social problems.

A similar scheme in the UK would do wonders for encouraging entrepreneurship and social innovation in the over 50s. These talents are already plentiful but tend to be sidelined in comparison to younger individuals.

See this year’s winners – announced last week – at http://www.encore.org/prize

Starting a business in later life – eyes wide open

(by Dr Dianne Bown-Wilson)

I was delighted to be on Radio 4′s Woman’s Hour today talking about starting a business in later life. My role was to point out some of the perils and pitfalls – not easy in the few short minutes you get to give a soundbite or two.

However, the woman from Ely who they were featuring as a case study (having set up a wool shop after a career in nursing) was a great example of how to do it. Planning, focus, understanding her market – she has got off to a great start and has realistic expectations for the future. In short, she’s a great role model for older people (particularly older women) whatever their business aspirations. What was especially good was how much she seemed to be really enjoying it…

While starting a business in later life is no different in essence to doing so at any age, it would be helpful to see positive role models like these more widely publicised and to have some sort of forum where olderpreneurs could share their experiences - good and bad.

The government has highlighted self-employment as an option for keeping older people in the workforce. However, it’s far from the simple panacea it seems. The problem is that starting a business is really very easy; sustaining it and turning a profit can be extremely difficult and that’s really where help and advice is needed.

At in my prime we have a few case studies on our website of people who’ve set up businesses   (http://www.inmyprime.info/examples.html).  But we’re always looking for more. If you’ve started a business in later life or are thinking of doing so - please contact us at enquiries@inmyprime.info . We’d really like to hear about it.

The Future of Retirement

In amongst all the hot air currently surrounding pension ages and retirement it’s good to come across a cool oasis of sanity and reason.  The Future of Retirement, a newly published and highly readable discussion paper from the International Longevity Centre, is just such a refuge and well worth a read as an overview of key issues.

The paper provides a useful summary of the history of pensions and their link to retirement. It also covers the reasons behind individual retirement decisions, the socio-economic trends behind changes in average retirement age, factors relating to the emergence of gradual and semi-retirement, and whether retirement is experienced differently by different groups.

The report also examines future trends in retirement and links to extended working lives.

Amongst the conclusions are recommendations that more resources need to be committed to preventative healthcare to enable longer working lives, and that job quality for older workers should become a priority for employment policy – both factors that we ourselves have long promoted. 

The report also calls for more research into the self-employment experiences of older people in light of evidence showing that self-employed older people only remain so for very short periods.  As we have often said, our experience in working with business start-ups and small businesses is that as self-employment is not a viable, money-generating option for the majority of people at any age, the challenges are unlikely to be any different for those in later life.  Most people love the idea of having their own business but certainly in the current economic climate the likelihood of success is extremely slim.

Click here to access the paper

Enduring entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs. They’re young, innovative, dynamic types aren’t they?

Apparently not. Interesting results from the publication Management Today show a surprisingly high number of older people popping up in their list of the year’s Top 100 Entrepreneurs.  “An extraordinary 58 are aged 60 or over. And no fewer than 11 have passed their 70th birthday”, they report. Well blow me down.

Obviously as with all research you need to dig a bit deeper to find out what this actually means. Are these just enduring entrepreneurs who started young (e.g. Richard Branson) and are now ageing, or those who have taken up the sport recently? Either way, it hardly matters if their current performance demonstrates that they are outstripping their younger rivals.

This is certainly something to be taken on board by employers or HR managers who may believe that older people aren’t capable of high performance outputs and are only fit for the knackers yard. There’s an interesting use too by MT of the term “Silvertops” to describe older entrepreneurs.  It has quite a jolly ring to it somehow.

Retirement Reform?

It was interesting to attend the Institute of Directors’ Roadmap for Retirement Reform presentation last Monday (October 19th) which they used to announce the launch of their new Centre for Retirement Reform.  On the face of it the presentation looked as if it would be largely about pensions but fortunately – and refreshingly – all the speakers seemed to recognise that pensions reform per se is not going to be enough.  Of course it was useful to be reminded yet again that our current pensions system was introduced when the average male life expectancy was 63 – what clearer evidence is needed of why it is no longer fit for purpose? But beyond this, the clear message from all seemed to be that meaningful impact in terms of reforming “retirement” will only come when employers create the culture, opportunities and support to help those people who want to, or need to, stay in work for longer. 

We look forward to finding out more about the work of the Centre as it develops. At this stage, perhaps we have two caveats.  Apparently one of the Centre’s first areas of interest is to be what are commonly labelled “olderpreneurs” – older individuals who start their own businesses. In respect of this we take the view that the focus needs to shift from helping older people to start a business (generally comparatively easy) to helping them build and sustain their business (difficult). Otherwise all that is happening is encouraging a new generation of business lemmings, racing towards a cliff-edge of failure and disappointment.  Additionally, and on a different note, we yet again call for the development of a new terminology. “Retirement” will only truly be reformed when we have an adequate vocabulary to describe all the various states (non-working, part-time working, portfolio working, self-employment, volunteering, etc) that are currently covered by this outmoded term.

 

 

National Olderpreneur Roadshow kicks off next week

It is now well-documented that people over 50 setting up their own businesses have a greater chance of success than any other age group. But, if you are contemplating doing this, where do you start?

Well, here is one answer. Over 50s with this idea in mind can come along to PRIME’s Olderpreneur Roadshow which kicks off in Bristol on 23 September. PRIME (The Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise) is the only national organisation that offers practical support to Over 50s considering setting up their own business or becoming self-employed and their Olderpreneur Roadshow is part of a practical package of support the charity offers Over 50s including a Business Club, Olderpreneur Loans Scheme and  Mentoring.

At the FREE roadshow anyone over 50 who wants to find out whether self-employment or setting up their own business might be for them, can come along. They will hear from local ‘olderpreneurs’ about their experiences, and from inspirational business speaker Tom Edge, author of “Age Is No Barrier”. They will also be able to quiz local business support organisations and network with other Over 50s wanting to start up on their own.

The Roadshow will run from now until early 2010 and after Bristol, it will move to Leeds on 14 October, Birmingham on 4 November, London on 10 November and Manchester on 9 December.

“The potential for economic growth partly driven by the Over 50s could be a big factor in the success of the UK’s businesses and in our future.  However, they need better targeted support and guidance. Many have care responsibilities.  A significant number have a health condition or a disability. Nevertheless, flexible working and a good work-life balance can be key to the Over 50s remaining in work, which is why self-employment or setting up their own business is such a good option”, says Laurie South, Chief Executive of PRIME.

For more information and /or to register for a free place visit; http://www.primebusinessclub.co.uk/events/

How to run a business

New research carried out by PRIME (the Prince’s Initiative for Mature Entrepreneurship) shows that one in six new businesses in the UK is started by someone aged 50+, despite a systematic failure of business support providers to offer services to this age group.

Their ‘Generations Forgotten’ survey reveals that despite the needs of olderpreneurs being included in the government’s 2008 enterprise strategy, the main focus of business support services remains on younger enterprise.

At a time when older people are being encouraged to start their own businesses as a way of countering the prejudice and discrimination that still exists in terms of gaining new employment or retaining existing jobs, the over 50s need all the help they can get in order to create sustainable enterprises.

Much is talked about the suitability of older people for entrepreneurship (e.g. skills and knowledge, perseverance, stability, flexibility) and on paper, starting a business per se is generally pretty simple. But in arguably the worst recession most people have ever known, the focus has to be on helping older people to create low risk businesses that will actually make them money – and not just pin money but a living wage.

That said, probably the government aren’t the best people to advise on that…

Read more of the Generations Forgotten report at:  http://www.prime-cymru.co.uk/downloads/PRIME_report_Generations_Forgotten_2009.pdf