Over 50s Get Back to Work with Prince's Self Employment Initiative

Prince Charles had received so many letters from desperate people over 50 who were facing unemployment due to age discrimination that he decided to set up the Prince's Initiative for Mature Enterprises (PRIME)to help unemployed older people set up their own businesses.

A large percentage of unemployed people aged between 50 and pension age have to depend on benefits. One third of this age group are out of work so the options of self employment or partnership are a good solution.

PRIME is the only organisation of its kind in the country run specifically to help older people. Most of the older people who wish to take a new direction will benefit from the advice and mentoring services made available by PRIME, which offers free information, workshops and business networking events. The organisation can access accredited advisors for clients and mentoring too is available in some parts of the country.

The initiative has produced a number of success stories. One of these is Elizabeth Newman, who, at 55, following a successful career as a manager and buyer in the retail jewellery business found herself out of work. When searching for part time work in her field she found she was either "too experienced" or "too old". Some thinking time was gained after she underwent serious operation and she hit on the idea of selling luxury shampoos for dogs that combined her devotion to dogs and her deep interest in aromatherapy. She found PRIME on the internet and applied for an information pack and then took an eight week course in aromatherapy, discovering she had a natural gift for blending oils.

Elizabeth, with the help of a fully qualified aromatherapist, started to create the blends she needed to start up her business. The blends were sent off to the Veterinary Medical Directorate and thus Pampered Pooch came into being with the creation of four shampoos. She is good at finding outlets and opportunities such as dog shows and charity events and gave away some shampoos away as raffle prizes at an RSPCA and Suffolk Dog Day event, and even obtained a slot on her local radio Suffolk.

Elizabeth succeeded in keeping marketing costs low and is sticking to a strict budget for the website she wants created for her business. She now hopes to expand her business to the rest of the UK.

The "olderpreneur" as older people who set up businesses are often called, said: "I was told that I couldn’t’ do it in my late 50s, but I know from the responses that I’m getting that it’s the right move."

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