PRIME Initiative

The Guardian has published a long piece called “Starting a business - what the over-50s need to know“. Businesses started by people in their 50s are more likely to succeed than those begun by 20- or 30-somethings, it says, and author Patrick Collinson goes on to interview some examples of olderpreneurs.

PRIME’s free roadshow events receive a plug, as does the PRIME-Zopa loan.

Other contributors make some telling points.

Dr Barrie Hopson, author of The Rainbow Years: The Pluses of Being 50+ is quoted as saying: “Only one-third of the over-55s are in employment. Many have taken early retirement or redundancy payoffs, or are in ill-health. Yet the studies show that if you want to stay healthy, stay in paid work. It’s very difficult for those made redundant to come back into the workforce, with lots of evidence of age discrimination. Not surprisingly, when no one will give you a job, you have to create your own.”

Ron Botham, author of Nesta’s report The Grey Economy: Third Age Entrepreneurs Critical to Growth, says: “Traditionally, it has been assumed that entrepreneurship is a young person’s game, but research shows that the share of older entrepreneurs has increased and is increasing.

“If an entrepreneur starts up their business later in life they will have much more experience of work,” he continues. “Many older people are attracted to setting up their own business as they can actually work after the official retirement age without any pressure to retire.”