Being older and plunging into your own business - on being a Silverpreneur

 

There’s a war out there. A war for jobs, space for new businesses and for confidence. For older women leaving the workforce, for whatever reason, their confidence in themselves as dynamic people with abilities and ideas has often been eroded.

We don’t realise it, of course. We drift into ageing without a backward glance. We’ve been so brainwashed into thinking that the third stage of life will be filled by lattes with friends, golf, and the occasional shopping trip. Time to rest and relax the brochures say. Time to be yourself and get off the work treadmill.

But what if you don’t want to step off the treadmill. What if you’ve had dreams of running your own business, being entrepreneurial, independent and meaningfully busy?

I’m a self-styled Silverpreneur. I have grey/silver hair, am the wrong side of the official ‘retirement’ age for women and I’ve been running my own business for the past ten years – and very successfully too, thank you very much!

Being older and likely wiser isn’t necessarily an asset in starting or maintaining a business. It’s really a matter of opportunity. But’s also not a deal breaker.

Some of us take a step into the business world at the end of our working careers because we haven’t been brave enough to do this while we held down a full time job. Becoming unemployed later in life, either through retrenchment or retirement gives us a chance to reassess what we want to do.

Do or do not - there is no try! - Yoda

Often, we have held a long-time desire to work for ourselves, we’ve had an embryonic business idea, or have been working on a small business on the side and now we have a chance to try and fly.

Others of us, which include me, have no idea that we have anything substantial to offer in the realm of running our own businesses and fall into enterprise by accident.

I have had many different jobs but they have all mainly revolved around managing offices, marketing, event management and PR. My last job lasted me 24 years and was my favourite. I had become a journalist by accident – most of my life changes seem to have happened by lucky accident; right place, right time kind of stuff.

More than two decades down the track I made a brave and perhaps rash decision to resign. Nothing on the horizon but I’d had been worn down to the point that I felt uneducated, unemployable and with no portable skills. After all who’d want an ageing journo in an industry which attracts the young.

But I was surprised. Within months of leaving work I had created my own media consultancy and had clients.

It was a huge surprise to me that I became successful with my first business following ‘retirement’ from my full-time career and this has brought about a thirst for learning which I always had in moderation, but which is now on steroids! 

Part of the reason for the crazy learning I do now is that much of the space I work in is part of the rapidly evolving and always growing online marketing industry. The immediacy of news distribution which occurs in the online environment makes us all citizen journalists, while businesses have found and still find new ways of reaching their target customers.

Being a Silverpreneur in such a time of change and evolution is exciting and stimulating and I don’t plan to ‘retire’ from my second life any time soon!

Why older is sometimes better

Many older women find they lack confidence by the time they finally exit the workforce, or consider going into business on their own after years of caring for their home and family.

But you don’t need to worry. If you have a passion for what you want to do, then you will find the opportunity. Find your niche and grow into it. Silverpreneurs don’t have as much to risk if their businesses are home-based and not much capital expenditure. Service business or online sales are best for this.

Take training opportunities wherever you can find them, network and find a mentor if you can. There is a wealth of information on the internet which can help you.

Let your passion show and talk about it wherever you go. Have business cards and don’t leave home without them – they’re your most valuable tool. Surround yourself with supportive and positive people and don’t listen to the negatives. Take small but positive steps. Build your brand and your confidence will build with it.

Follow your dreams and let your silver shine!

My tips:

Build confidence

Talk to people – network

Keep up to date with technology

Be afraid and do it anyway!

© Nan Berrett

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