PRIME Initiative

The Prince of Wales is 60 on the 14th of November 2008. PRIME itself was born around ten years ago, as a direct result of the approach of the Prince’s 50th birthday. He realised that for most people getting a job gets increasingly difficult with age. His post bag was full of letters from people desperate to work but unable to find anyone to employ them - because they were “too old”. PRIME and its sister charity in Wales PRIME-Cymru were the result - two of the 18 charities the Prince has personally founded.

The two PRIMEs help people over the age of 50 get round the problem of finding someone to employ them by setting up in business for themselves - self-employment as a means of getting back into the fray and earning a livelihood.

In addition to his charities, Prince Charles has also founded six social enterprises whose trading activities help fund them. The best known is the highly successful organic brand Duchy Originals, the most recent The Highgrove Shop. These activities are substantial - the charities alone raise over £100 million a year from all sources.

It would tempting to apply an American term like “social entrepreneur” to the Prince. But this would fail to do justice to the real roots of his commitment. This side of the Prince’s life gets well-deserved attention in an hour-and-a-half long BBC documentary two day’s before his 60th birthday.

“Charles At 60: the Passionate Prince” transmits at 8.30pm on BBC One on the 12th of November. The BBC has had unprecedented access over the course of a year to observe the Prince at work in the UK and abroad, at home at Clarence House in London, at Highgrove in Gloucestershire and Birkhall in Aberdeenshire.

“This important documentary sheds new light on the Prince of Wales”, says Nick Vaughan-Barratt, its Executive Producer. “It shows the Prince using his substantial influence to further a wide variety of causes – some of them unfashionable, some controversial – and it provides a rare opportunity to hear him speaking directly, not just about what he does but why he is so passionate about the many causes he espouses.”

UPDATE: Missed the programme?
Watch on BBC iPlayer.

More about the programme at the BBC web site

Full list of Prince’s charities and social enterprises

The story of Madame Tussaud from women’s enterprise site moretolifethanshoes. And here’s the biography at the modern London wax works site. A pioneer of the cult of celebrity, Mrs T didn’t get her business going till her forties.

Philip Black has recently been made redundant at the age of 57. This programme in the Radio 4 Learning Curve strand follows him round London Olympia, talking to various exhibitors at the One Life Live show about what if anything they could do to help.

Back in the studio, presenter Libby Purves interviews Laurie South of PRIME, asking him whether self-employment can really offer a solution to Philip and people like him.

Listen to full programme

UPDATE: Extra
Interviews with Sir Alan Sugar, Professor Colin Gray and Laurie South of PRIME.

On Friday the 8th of February 2008 at 7pm BBC 2 is showing “Too Young to Retire” - a special edition of The Money Programme about people who are building successful businesses in their 60s and 70s.

One of the older entrepreneurs featured is chartered accountant Dick Pyle, who set up a truffle farm in France using an innovative adopt-a-truffle-tree business model. Customers pay £149 per tree - and then get all the produce from it. You can also visit your tree, or give trees as presents. He was just coming up to 60 and about to retire when he came up with this scheme.

Presenter Valerie Singleton also talks to sisters Penny Walker and Annabel Rhodes, who set up their own natural cosmetics business Rhodes to Heaven in their sixties. They are shown taking their products to the next stage, selling them into an upmarket High Street chain.

From the BBC press release:

Former Money Programme presenter Valerie Singleton sets out on a journey around Britain to meet some of the oldest entrepreneurs in Britain. She examines if age is a hindrance or help to a new business career and hears the experiences of those men and women who have decided it’s never too late to start.

Statistics show that those who are over fifty and find themselves out of work have only a one in ten chance of being re-employed. So the option of starting up on your own is very attractive and may even be essential.

Valerie Singleton meets a variety of entrepreneurs who are finding success in new fields. There are the sisters in their sixties who started a range of organic beauty products and are working to get high street distribution for them. Then there is the illustrator who has built up a highly successful online greeting card business. There is also the sky-diving septuagenarian who has set up a children’s charity. Finally she meets a retired PR executive who is now trading in truffles.

She also seeks the advice of the UK’s oldest employee and employer - who are both still going strong despite being over one hundred years old.

With expert input on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur from “The Apprentice” star Sir Alan Sugar, and Peter Jones from Dragons’ Den the programme examines just what are the advantages and disadvantages in being an older entrepreneur.

Three stories of older entrepeneurs are now on the BBC web site. All set up businesses in their fifties and sixties.

Myreen Young, an aromatherapist from Southampton, launched her own range of skin-care cosmetics at the age of 54. Two years later it appears to be going strong, with 30 salons across the UK also selling the MY Skincare branded products.

Ann Litster, 52, from Somerset set up her own cleaning business, also two years ago. At the time she had recently become unemployed and seriously needed the money. Her firm Hands on Cleaning now employs over 20 people.

The BBC’s third interviewee was Graham Siggs (more on his story here). He started his electrical testing business Huntspat in Cambridgeshire after being retired from the civil service at the age of 60.

“To find work at 60 is very difficult. I saw many high-flyers from the civil service end up stacking shelves,” Graham told the BBC.

Here are five case studies of entrepreneurs over 50 from the Yell.com web site. All are finalists or winners of the Yellow Pages-sponsored ‘Silver Fox’ category at the 2007 Startups Awards, except Brian who won in 2005.

Myreen Young

MY Skincare Ltd
Southampton, Hampshire

Ann Litster

Hands on Cleaning
Clevedon, North Somerset

Gary Sheffield

Alpine Training Centre
Rye, East Sussex

Ken Bird

Dwrpur Pure Water Ltd
St Clears, Carmarthenshire

Brian Plunkett

Trichocare Diagnostics Ltd
Ridgmont, Beds

There’s an interesting discussion on this American weblog that brings out clearly the differences between being an employee and having your own business.

The author Maria Langer actually has two businesses - something that is quite common when you are self-employed as two activities can often complement each other.

One of her occupations is unusually glamorous - helicopter pilot! But that’s not the key thing that makes the self-employed life the one she wants to live.

Several interesting case studies from the US in this article by Margaret Heffernan about “why midlife women make superior entrepreneurs“. It comes from More, an American magazine aimed at women in their forties and over.  

Among the myths challenged are:

• Entrepreneur Myth #1: You Have to Be Young
• Entrepreneur Myth #2: You Need Heaps of Cash
• Entrepreneur Myth #3: You Have to Be an Expert
• Entrepreneur Myth #4: Women’s Businesses Are Small

“The idea of running a brewery was a dream I had when I was sitting in local government meetings. I started the brewery in 2004, produced my first beer in 2005, went full-time in 2006 and now employ three people”, said the 55-year-old.

Bill Russell wins Olderpreneur award in Great Yarmouth - and also the overall local entrepreneur-of-the-year award.

More at Eastern Daily Press

Funded by advertising and run as a small business, Armchair Advice was set up by Greg Paine after he unexpectedly found himself without a job in mid career, aged 46. The site is particularly good for those newly-made redundant or worried about becoming so.

Article in the Daily Mail about wealthy women, concentrating on three who have made their money from business. While divorce settlements and death (of hubby) still account for most of Britains female millionaires, an increasing number are self-made business owners.

“When many women are looking forward to their retirement, a new breed of ‘olderpreneurs’ are starting up their own businesses instead.” Lucy Ward reports.

Read the full Ladies who launch article.

Includes several case studies and quotes from Everywoman and London Metropolitan University’s Forward at 50 programme for women.

“As prospects for a comfortable retirement fade across the employment spectrum, more over-50s than ever are taking the self-employment route to making money. Jane Simms met some ‘Olderpreneurs’ to find out more”

This is from the January 2007 issue of the UK’s Director magazine, which has a long article on Olderpreneurs, including five case studies (and quotes from Laurie South of PRIME - which runs this site).

The article continues “While many of these so-called ‘Olderpreneurs’ have self-employment thrust upon them - as a result of redundancy for example - others consciously choose to go it alone, often fulfilling a long-held dream.”  

A dozen small-business owners tell Business Week about their favourite mistake and what they learned from them Click on the arrows at top right to go through the slide show.

Very American but very entertaining, this New York Times article is packed with examples - and also has some answers to the question it poses. Bottom line: those who earn their own money are less likely to lose it than those who inherit, marry, win or steal it. People who’ve made money themselves the hard way tend to hang on to it. It’s the others who end up being the wastrels full of regrets.

Note: Links to New York Times stories tend to work for about a month, after which they still work but you have to register. Registration is free.