Business matters | Fab after Fifty | Information and inspiration for women over 50

The growing trend of ‘silver start-ups’. Never too late to set up a business

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Article Mary-Jane Kingsland There is a growing trend for ‘Silver Start Ups’; namely people of older years, shunning the notion of compulsory retirement and starting a new business. Indeed, research reveals a 18.7 per cent increase in start up business amongst the over 65’s and a 10.8 per cent increase in the number of so called Silver Entrepreneurs, defined as aged between 55 and 64. Simply Business – a business insurance provider – recently analysed 350,551 requests for quotations and found that the over 55’s account for 7 per cent of all new business start ups. The 25 – 34 year age group still accounts for the highest number of start ups (35 per cent) but the greatest growth area is amongst those in the older age bracket. Moreover, new start...
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How can we manage our time more effectively?

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Article by Mary-Jane Kingsland How often do we comment on how times flies, not enough hours in the day and even does time go faster as we get older? Mary-Jane Kingsland gives us her tips for managing our time more effectively. One of the biggest barriers to productively and profit is poor time management. Here are some ideas to improve yours. The Problem Are you drowning under too much pressure because of the never ending barrage of demands upon your time; be it phone calls; emails, texts, social media and the plethora of daily activity which demand your attention? Do you know only too well what you want to achieve, but simply run out of time most days? The Answer is in your hands All cures begin with an accurate diagnosis, or as Albert Einstein observed:...
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If you are setting up a business over 50, PRIME provides free resources

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Article by Ceri Wheeldon The prospect of setting up a business in your 50s can be daunting. You have the idea, the passion and your market research tells you it’s viable. What happens if you don’t have all the skills yourself to ‘make it happen’? Where or who can you turn to for reliable information? There are a lot of professionals and ‘experts’ who market their services to support start-up businesses, but some can be costly. If you are in ‘start-up’ mode then every penny counts. A good first port of call for help if you are thinking of setting up a business in your 50s is PRIME (The Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise), the charity set up by the Prince of Wales. PRIME’s free services include workshops,...
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Are you a ‘Fabpreneur’ or an ‘Olderpreneur’?

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Article by Ceri Wheeldon I was chatting to Prime (the Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise) today, and we were talking about the energy and maturity women over 50 are able to bring to setting up a business. It wasn’t long before we turned the discussion to perceptions of age, and how 50 is far from old. Why then are people setting up businesses in their fifties (or sixties) referred to as ‘olderpreneurs’ and not just entrepreneurs with a bit of maturity thrown in! What does Olderpreneur mean to you? What does the label ‘olderpreneur’ conjure up for you? For me anything starting with ‘old’ seems a little negative, especially when you consider the energy and...
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Why I think it’s important to keep Twitter social

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Article by Ceri Wheeldon It’s been about 2 years since I started to ’tweet’( my twitter handle is @fab_after_fifty) . The whole twitter experience has broadened my horizons. I have reconnected with old friends and made new.A variety of business opportunities have emerged as well. It is truly amazing just how well you can get to know people in a series of tweets of 140 characters. I have had the opportunity to meet many of the people I have interacted with on twitter – all have been just as lovely as I had expected. I would like to think that through twitter I have had the opportunity to meet true friends. It’s important to be social on twitter I do feel it is important to stress that twitter is classed as...
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Does being over 50 mean you are too old to start a new life?

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Guest article by Edel O’Mahony The simple answer, ‘No!’ Let’s look at why so many people in our present societies seem to take half their lifetime to actually start to live a life they desire. We are all energy beings at our essence, living in an energetic Universe and having life experiences through these physical bodies. From birth into these bodies you are in total connection with your energy, everything is an experience of the moment; it is all about feeling through our senses. As you grow, generational and social conditioning sets in. You are told how you should think, feel or act, even down to what is a correct body size or what is the ‘in’ thing to wear. In taking in and believing these conditions, you alter your...
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Why do you need a website?

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Article by Lesley Morrissey If you’re in business an essential part of your forward planning revolves around marketing. That includes establishing who your ideal clients are, where they can be found, what they want and who you’re in competition with. To ensure your ideal clients get to know about you – you need a high profile. This includes both online and offline activities, but regardless of where people ‘bump into’ you, these days they go to your website to check you out. If you don’t have a website what message are you giving? Not up-to-date; not a ‘proper’ company, can’t afford to have a professional online presence? These are not the thoughts you want running through people’s heads. Where do you start? As a copywriter the first question I ask my clients is what they want their website to do...
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Ready to Act on Your Entrepreneurial Urges?

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Article by Karen Knott I’ve always found people who ‘march to the beat of their own drum’ have an energy, confidence and authenticity which make them very attractive to be around and, as a coach, I’m lucky enough to spend an increasing amount of my time in the company of a dynamic crowd of women who are hell bent on doing just that! For many of the women I work with, the decision to start a business at a time when others are counting down the years to retirement, is their way of marching to the beat of their drum. Trouble is, if we’re all really honest, marching to the beat of our own drum, as attractive and seductive as it sounds, is actually a lot easier to say than do –...
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Can we learn more from unhappy customers than happy ones?

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Article by Ceri Wheeldon Particularly in today’s economic climate, can we really afford to not listen to our customers-particularly the unhappy ones! I recently had cause to complain about what I believed to be appalling service from an estate agent we had retained to sell our home on a sole agency basis. I will not go into details in terms of the catalogue of disasters which led to our frustration and disappointment, but I will share with you some of the aspects as to how our complaint has been dealt with. Lessons for ANY business There are elements which are applicable to ANY business. I was an unhappy customer. Having not been listened to at a local level, I escalated my concerns to senior management at a senior level. My concern was noted...
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Who’s Ready To Be The Boss? Setting Up A Business Over 50

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Article by Karen Knott Imagine this if you can, ladies….. you wake up in the morning and a soft glow of anticipation sweeps over you at the thought of the day ahead – a day spent doing what you really want to do and doing it in on your own terms. A day spent at the helm of your own enterprise, making money by doing what you do best….. I suspect we’ve all had the ‘I wish I was my own boss/I’d love to have my own business’ fantasy, at some point during our working lives – indeed, many of us spend a great deal of time imagining it, whilst secretly doubting it will ever become a reality, especially once we hit our 50’s. Midlife women leading the charge But take heart...
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The growing trend of ‘silver start-ups’. Never too late to set up a business

How can we manage our time more effectively?

If you are setting up a business over 50, PRIME provides free resources

Are you a ‘Fabpreneur’ or an ‘Olderpreneur’?

Does being over 50 mean you are too old to start a new life?

Ready to Act on Your Entrepreneurial Urges?

Can we learn more from unhappy customers than happy ones?

Who’s Ready To Be The Boss? Setting Up A Business Over 50

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