More Seniors Becoming Entrepreneurs
Older adults are starting their own businesses for many reasons. Not only do they have the assets to do so, but also the knowledge and connections garnered over a lifetime. Two women who made the leap talk about the challenges and rewards. Click here to view article.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, seniors are the largest group of individuals starting new businesses. The reasons for this are many:
- Older adults tend to have accumulated assets and savings over their lifetimes, so have the money needed to start a business, establish a line of credit and withstand the initial period of little or no revenue.
- Their years of working experience give seniors the ability to make knowledgeable decisions about what works and what doesn’t, especially if they are starting a business in which they have previously worked.
- Years of establishing work and business relationships can benefit seniors with a ready-made customer and networking base.
- Older workers with experience have more confidence that they know what they are doing, and confidence is one of the key indicators of success.
- Baby boomers, now entering the age where most people retire, want to keep working.
- The recession has forced many companies to lay off older workers who have large salaries, as well as prevented experienced workers from being hired elsewhere. Many of those laid-off workers are starting their own businesses, whether small, home-based ventures or larger.
- On the local level, check out nearbySmall Business Development Centers, which offer technical assistance to small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs. Clients receive free, one-on-one long-term professional business advising, low-cost training and other specialized services.
- Many cities and counties offer their own form of business assistance, as do local business associations such as the Chamber of Commerce. Check out classes at local community colleges and other educational venues.
- On the national level, the Small Business Administration (SBA) offers free online training, local assistance and loans, as well as information aimed specifically at seniors: “50+”.
- SCORE is a “nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship. In business for more than fifty years, SCORE is supported by SBA and utilizes volunteer mentors who share their expertise across 62 industries; free business tools, templates and tips online; business counseling in person or via email; and inexpensive or free local business workshops as well as webinars (online).”
- Another nonprofit organization helping people start businesses is My Own Business, which offers free business courses, including how to write your business plan.
Following Your Values
One older adult who decided to embark on a new career is Karen DeLeeuw, MSW and a Certified Senior Advisor® (CSA). Before she started Seniors Helping Seniors®, which hires older adults to help seniors remain independent in their own homes, she had worked for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for 15 years. One of her projects dealt with the implications of chronic disease as our population ages.
“I came to understand the extent of some issues we faced as a country,” she says. . . . “Is society prepared to take care of such a large aging population?” DeLeeuw realized how few people go into gerontology or have backgrounds working with older adults. “The health care system is not prepared to deal with an older population,” nor is there “sufficient family or community structure to care for such a huge aging population,” especially one that is living much longer than previous generations. Clearly, help was needed.
About that time DeLeeuw, like thousands of other government employees across the nation, lost her job and decided to start her own business. She was drawn to Seniors Helping Seniors, whose focus is “keeping people at home so they can live independently and be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve,” she says.
The founder of the organization was born and raised in India and had worked with Mother Teresa for 14 years. When the Indian woman first visited the United States, she saw “seniors being pushed aside and not allowed to do anything meaningful nor have employment opportunities because of their age,” DeLeeuw said. “Other seniors had families living in various places throughout the country and thus were isolated and in need of help and social support. The Seniors Helping Seniors in-home care mission and model appealed to me, not only to help seniors remain in their own homes, which over 85 percent want to do, but to also help seniors who wanted to give back and help others.”
DeLeeuw, now 59, started the franchise business a year and half ago. Not only is the work “consistent with my values and employment history of wanting to make a difference “ she says, but she welcomed the autonomy, flexibility and chance to try her hand in the business world.
While having your own business affords many benefits, for DeLeeuw it’s been “more of a difficult adjustment than I anticipated.” For 40 years, she held high-level positions in work settings where she interacted with people all day long, frequently worked in project teams and had colleagues to help problem solve. “Making the transition to one where primarily I work alone and essentially made my own hours has taken some getting used to.”
To counteract feelings of isolation and contribute in other ways, DeLeeuw has become involved with a county “Aging Well” project, sits on the Jefferson County Council on Aging and is involved in local CSA activities and in other networks. “We all know changes can be difficult,” she warns. “When it comes to starting a new business, it’s important to persist; a common reason many new businesses fail is that they give up on things too early.”
On the other hand, the rewards have been great. DeLeeuw has enjoyed learning about a new field and developing new skills. She also gets calls from clients who are grateful that she’s been able to help them age in their own homes.
Her advice for others wanting to start their own businesses: It helps to have the entrepreneurial spirit, and it’s important to do research, to really understand what you’re getting into, both in terms of the business itself and the lifestyle changes it can bring. Over the past 18 months DeLeeuw took more than 30 classes and workshops, plus franchisee training. “Be prepared to make a commitment,” she said. . . . “Be prepared for the ups and downs, and have a plan for dealing with the downs, like a mentor or coach.” It really helps “to have a passion for the work you’re doing.”
Using All Your Experience
Erika Walker is another older adult and CSA who started her own business based on her previous work experience. She was in her early 50s when she started SAGE WAVE Consulting, which “provides strategic planning to help businesses and communities across the country prepare for the growing aging population.” For Walker, it was the latest “reinvention” of her career which she began as a math teacher and adapted as her husband’s career took the family from state to state. After one move, she earned an MBA, working as the director for a financial institute. When the couple moved to Montana, she reinvented herself again as the director of continuing education at a local university. Later in Seattle, she developed international business training programs, and in South Carolina, she ran a research institute that analyzed and replicated best practices for aging services and worked as the director of geriatrics at a hospital system. When that position closed, she decided to start her own business.
Like many others who start their own businesses, she is using many of her past professional experiences. “I have learned enough about the service sectors across the aging industry to help communities and organizations reduce gaps and replicate best practices from a business perspective. I have worked in the for-profit, non-profit and health care worlds, and have researched and replicated best practices in aging services across the continuum of care.”
In business for six years now, Walker’s main piece of advice for anyone who starts a business is that “success is based on the relationships you build.” She advises joining boards, speaking at national conferences and promoting opportunities for others. “Be persistent and don’t give up. Get out there and be part of the community. Networking and building relationships and trust with your communities and business associates will lead to increased business.”
In starting your own company, “You have to be flexible enough to financially take some risks and manage the inevitable ebbs and flows.” It helps to have a back-up income, like she had with her husband.
If your business is a “one-man show, you have to be willing to do everything—from budgets to the legal side, and market yourself,” Walker says. “It may take lots of effort and time before you start seeing a profit.” But the upside is that “you get a chance to learn about a world you may not have known about, in a new way.”
For those ready to make the jump into entrepreneurship, free help is available from several sources, both local and national (see sidebar).
Resources for 50+ Entrepreneurs
http://www.optimumseniorcare.com/services/alzheimerscare.php