Olderpreneurs

Olderpreneurs were invented around 2004. The word hasn’t made into the on-line OED yet, but (appropriately enough it seems to me) were the subject of a research exercise by the Prince’s Trust whose subsidiary PRIME published a report called Olderpreneur Outcomes in 2006. It’s all about over-50s starting up businesses when they found themselves asset rich (housing boom) but out of a job (age discrimination).

Why am I telling you this now? Because in the latest RSA magazine Luke Johnson has a piece called Old is the New Young in which re refers to Lord (Roy) Thomson of Fleet, the title of whose autobiography After I was Sixty reminds us that it was only at that age that he left Canada for Scotland, bought The Scotsman and founded Scottish television, which he famously described as ‘a licence to print money’.. The rest as they say is history.

We obviously thought of trying to claim kin, but the Fleet Thomsons are the awkward lot over in the west, whereas our esteemed line comes from the east – but we still like to think of them as honorary cousins (you never know …). And as 60 approaches I feel I need some role models too.

From a church point of view there are several important themes here though:

1. Many congregations moan about not attracting young members, but have a steady stream of 60+s through the door. How about looking at which side our bread is buttered on?
2. Many of these 60+s have a huge amount to offer in time, talent andf even a tenner or two. They seem to be keen on keeping their enterpreneurial antennae keen too. Churches are often short on that sort of thinking. Let’s give them a go.
3. They are a golden generation: soon we’ll all be working until we’re 90 and retiring with enough pension to put our affairs in order before we pass on. (That’s what the King of Prussia invented retirement pensions for, by the way; and the age was set at 65 because he was told the average age of death of his civil servants was 67 and he wanted to give them a couple of years’ grace.) How about inviting them to take a special interest in those young people who do become interested in the faith, and grow a new generation of leaders.
4. And for those over-60s for whom the future is not golden: let’s not forget the simple but valuable work of keeping in touch, calling round, creating community. They could easily become the forgotten ones.

Filed under: Thoughts for the Day , Age, older people