10/1/2017 1 Comment On being a SilverpreneurBeing older and likely wiser hasn’t necessarily been an asset in starting or maintaining a business. It’s really a matter of opportunity.
Some of us take a step into the business world at the end of our working careers because we haven’t been brave enough to do this while we held down a full time job. Becoming unemployed later in life, either through retrenchment or retirement gives us a chance to reassess what we want to do. Often we have held a long time desire to work for ourselves, we’ve had an embryonic business idea, or have been working on a small business on the side and now we have a chance to try and fly. Others of us, which include me, have had no idea that we have anything substantial to offer in the realm of running our own businesses and fall into enterprise by accident. I have been involved in a number of businesses over my working career, which I have either run on my own or in partnership with others. None of them were particularly successful and some failed spectacularly. Each one of these opportunities taught me something – mainly not to back myself, as I wasn’t a good prospect in the business stakes. I had lots of good ideas – well, they were to me – but I have a quirky idea of what should work and what I like, which isn’t everyone else’s cup of tea. I co-owned an art gallery in Unley in the 1970s, was a successful Tupperware lady in the 80s, a not too bad Avon lady in the 90s, co-owner of a gift shop in the 2000s, family partner in a health food store in the 2010’s, with a few side enterprises along the way – and all the while held down full time jobs and raised a family. It was a huge surprise to me that I became successful with my first business following ‘retirement’ from my full-time career and this has brought about a thirst for learning which I always had in moderation, but which is now on steroids! Part of the reason for the crazy learning I am doing right now is that much of the space I work in is part of the rapidly evolving and always growing online marketing industry. The immediacy of news distribution which occurs over mediums such as Facebook makes us all citizen journalists, while businesses have found and still find new ways of reaching their target customers. Being a Silverpreneur in such a time of change and evolution is exciting and stimulating and I don’t plan to ‘retire’ from my second life any time soon! xxxNan
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4/1/2017 2 Comments Adding to my clutterCurrently I have a cluttered office, with too much paperwork, magazines I intend to read but somehow don't get around to, paperwork to be filed or trashed, piles of neatly gathered scrap paper (because I like to recycle whenever I can), too many pens (that's another story), notepads and such. In an effort to master my environment I am adding one or two things, not taking away - sounds counter-intuitive, but it isn't. I want to make my workspace as pleasant to be in as possible. I want to be happy at my desk, even though I have a way to go in the declutter stakes - although I promise to work on it in the coming weeks and perhaps months as time permits. I’ll let you know how I get on. So, I have added a couple of little things to make me smile. I’m a bit of a fox fan. Not everyone is keen on these chicken killers who menace lambs and cause havoc in rural areas, but I have loved them from a child. I grew up in the English countryside in a small rural village and as a 10 or so year old I found a baby fox which had escaped being killed by local dogs who had chased off Foxie’s mum. I rescued him with the innocence of a young person in love with pretty much all living things, especially those which were furry and cute. Luckily my Dad was a fan and we raised him with our dog and Foxie became a much loved family pet. Have loved foxes - their clever sense of humour, sleek and stealthy ways - ever since. They remind me a lot of cats - if cats were dogs! So back to my little things. I have added a cute red, wobbly legged, fox money box, which I didn’t realise was a money box until I got home and found it had a slot in the back of its head. I also purchased, for a few cents more, a pretend baby pot of lavender. Now you might say, why don’t I put the real thing in a vase, but lavender is currently out of season and the best I could do would be a sprig or three of Rosemary, which doesn’t have the same appeal. The red wobbly legged fox matches my fox wall clock and my favourite fox picture of a fox in a top hat with the legend “Wear the Fox Hat” (think about it … it amuses me daily). The red wobbly legged fox and my faux lavender pot will find a place on or near my desk to brighten my work space. A small oasis of fun and brightness amidst the paperwork tsunami. They will encourage me to make space, clear space and find space. At least that’s the plan! Love, Nan |
AuthorSilverpreneur, Nan Berrett - former rural journo turned businesswoman and loving it! ArchivesCategories |