July 2007: <<< back to Downloads
In this issue:
Boundless enthusiasm – start-up success when you’re a woman over 50
Last week saw the publication of in my prime’s first book, Primetastic! – 50 tips for life when you’re over 50. Launching a book is a bit like a new baby, it’s very time consuming, you feel very protective towards it, and you spend a lot of time wondering quite how it’s going to develop and how successful it’s going to turn out to be. For us, it’s currently a case of so far, so good. We won’t be retiring to the Bahamas on the proceeds from sales quite yet, but we’ve got some great media coverage coming up and it’s been heartening to discover how much interest people have shown in the topic generally, and in what we’re doing through in my prime.
One of the messages that this has reinforced for us is that it’s always worthwhile doing something rather than not doing it. Often, as in this instance, it would have been easier, less stressful and less risky not to do something when you’re not sure what the outcome will be. But then you miss out on all the exhilarating challenge and stimulation that it entails, and the joy of all sorts of other associated experiences that are unexpected and new.
So, if you’re at a crossroads in life, wondering whether to do something or not, focus on thinking about why you should rather than trying to dissuade yourself. Of course, it may not be a success, but it might just be the best thing you ever did.
The cover story of July’s Management Today magazine was ‘ Bright Young Things’, its annual review of 35 women under 35. Several have started up hugely successful businesses and well done to them, but we long for the day when we see a parallel story ‘Bright not so young things’ featuring over 50s female entrepreneurs. Quite coincidentally, our article on this topic was published in this month’s Start your Business magazine:
There are two schools of thought when it comes to women and business start-ups. One maintains that women are an under-represented and disadvantaged minority who need special help and privileges if they’re to have any chance of success, while the other (which is our view) says that women have the brains, skill, resource and ability to do it for themselves, thank you very much. Okay, we may currently not have as much of a presence in the entrepreneurial arena as men, but there aren’t actually too many barriers stopping us from driving ahead if that’s what we want to do.
Now consider the above in respect of women over 50 starting businesses. Gender and age ought to make it doubly difficult to enter the arena and be successful – right? Actually no. I believe – and research shows - that for many reasons it actually gets easier for women to start and succeed in business the older they get. It truly is a ‘golden age’ for women entrepreneurs but one which has yet to be fully acknowledged, even by women themselves. More >>>
If you’re one of those who’s having to work past retirement age you’re in good company. Recent research from Aon Consulting has shown that currently 78% of employees anticipate working beyond 65. At present only an estimated one million fall into this group, but this is expected to treble in the next ten years.
However, as we know, not everyone is working because they have to. Around a quarter of respondents in the survey said they’d be working simply because they wanted to. It seems the only fly in the ointment is the attitude of employers who are proving slow to offer opportunities for meaningful later life working. If this seems as if it may be an issue for you, it may be useful to quote further statistics from the report which shows lower absence rates for over 60s when compared with the 25 to 34 year age group, and that older employees demonstrate a more responsible attitude towards work.
Part of the challenge in later life working is finding work which is interesting and flexible enough to fit in with all the other things we want to do in our lives. We welcome your feedback on slightly unusual jobs which you know about (or do), that we can share with others. For example, we were interested to hear about EntrustUK which provides house-sitters for deliveries, tradespeople and service engineers when the customer can’t or doesn’t want to be at home. To read about how it works for one of their satisfied employees, click here.
Not a lot of people know this (as Michael Caine is fond of saying) but according to a recent story in the Daily Telegraph, behind the scenes, the ladies from the Women's Institute have been at the very heart of the regeneration of Marks & Spencer and its previously disastrous fashion lines.
Over the past three years their input has proved invaluable in helping the store reconnect with its core customers who were left out in the cold in favour of ever younger consumers. "When we relaunched a few years ago, we realised we'd gone a bit too far towards fashion and let our classics range get too old," says M&S buyer Jo Hales. "We had to once again target women who were 55 and over, who were much more modern in their dress and attitudes."
“We ran customer forums to learn about their lifestyles, how they shopped, how they spent their leisure, where they took their holidays and when. Around that time we had a request to give a presentation to a Women's Institute group and we had such great feedback that we felt the WI offered the perfect forum; they are intelligent, articulate and speak their minds, which is what we want."
From a pool of 800 members, small groups are invited to London several times a year. On other occasions, buyers will go out to WI groups with samples of new lines and ask their opinion. Obviously the WI ladies have great taste; their input has proved hugely successful in creating lines that mature women now want to buy.
Great story and so far so good. Shame that in the penultimate paragraph the journo couldn’t resist referring to the group as (an) ‘army of doughty matrons from the shires’. Be very afraid lady, very afraid…
News earlier this month of the Business in the Community Awards for Excellence 2007, bestowed upon those businesses who work to improve their impact on society. One of this year’s winners was Supergran a joint campaign between Innocent (the smoothie and drinks producer) and Age Concern.
As some of you may have noticed, for the past four years people have knitted little woolly hats that sit on Innocent smoothie bottles. These are sold in the four weeks before Christmas with Innocent giving 50p to Age Concern for each hat-wearing bottle sold. Last year 230,000 hats were knitted, and £115,000 donated.
Another great story, and a great campaign. The only slight note of disquiet in reading about it was wondering about the people who knitted those 230,000 woolly hats. Bearing in mind that knitting tends to be an older person’s skill, and that elderly people have traditionally been involved in knitting rugs and garments for refugee and disaster support and other causes, the answer is probably fairly obvious. The Who (and now the Zimmers) ‘hoped they died before they got old’. Perhaps we now have to hope we die before we find ourselves knitting cute but totally useless Innocent smoothie hats.
It seems you can’t move these days without fear of leaving a great big ‘carbon footprint’. Suddenly the term has taken root in mainstream mediaspeak and guess what? - according to a recent report, it’s all our fault.
Research findings published earlier this year by the Stockholm Environmental Institute at the University of York showed that the over 50s have the highest carbon footprint in the UK, although we fear climate change and want to see action taken to combat it.
The fact that 50 – 64 year olds have a footprint which is 10-20% higher than any age group is understandable, but obviously a worry. Most of us do fear for the world our children and grandchildren will inhabit, but as the report also reveals we, like those interviewed, are frustrated by the failure of the Government and business to provide stronger leadership to combat global warming.
It’s obviously an issue which is only now in its early days, and one which will run and run. However, the answer surely must lie in each of us taking responsibility to do some things differently. It brings to mind this homily which is usually thought to apply to the workplace but is just as pertinent for saving the planet.
Once upon a time there were four people called Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it but Nobody did.
Somebody got angry about that because it was really Everybody’s job.
Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realised that Everybody wouldn’t do it.
Everybody blamed Somebody and Nobody accused Anybody,
Everybody got very upset when Somebody accused him of shirking.
Nobody wanted a fight, but Somebody started one.
Everybody got hurt.
Nobody apologised and it was Anybody’s guess what would have happened if Somebody hadn’t made them all see reason.
Thrifty ways for modern days - handy hints on living better for less from the community of moneysavingexpert.com
By Martin Lewis, published by Vermilion, 2006
This extraordinary book is based on the collective wisdom of the scores of contributions to the ‘Old Style’ section of one of our favourite websites, Martin Lewis’s www.moneysavingexpert.com.
The Old Style Forum started when many of the more mature visitors to the site decided to share their accumulated knowledge with other younger users. It swiftly developed into a discussion on living life cheaply, healthily, and ethically and this book, a distillation of some of the most useful and wide-ranging tips, is packed with information and advice on how to do things thriftily and wisely.
If you are, for whatever reason, having to cut back or live on a shoestring, this could be a huge help – and it’s definitely worth thinking of to give to our kids as they embark upon their adult lives. This aside, for most of us it will be of interest because of the signposts it provides to a less consumerist, cluttered, greener and less wasteful lifestyle (see above). Although you’ll undoubtedly love some bits and be appalled by others, one way or another it cannot fail to be of interest to anyone who wants to live better for less.