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In late 2024, I had an opportunity to review an extraordinary report prepared by Wendy Garcarz of Refirement UK. It was looking at attitudes and barriers to entrepreneurship amongst women over 55. There are a whole series of implications that, I think, extend more widely to women in general and people over 55.

Women Entrepreneurs 55+ say…

The report’s key findings that struck me most were the ratings in response to particular questions.

On a scale of one (low) to six (high), the motivation to start a business was rated at 5.7 out of 6, while the motivation to grow an existing business today was 5.1.

However, when asked how supported they felt, the rating was just 3.5. Issues such as working in isolation, lacking support from a partner or spouse, and a reluctance to ask for help were commonly cited. In contrast, the importance of a supportive network was rated at 5.9, while the level of support from official sources was even lower, at just 2.3.

Respondents generally rated their networking, communication, influencing, negotiation, and decision-making skills at approximately 5. However, their confidence in financial acumen and their ability to set and track goals was rated significantly lower.

Implications for your Entrepreneurial Journey?

Regardless of how motivated you might feel at the outset, isolation and a lack of support can significantly affect your motivation to grow your business. Furthermore, a deficiency in financial confidence and ineffective goal-setting and tracking will further reduce your ability to utilise time effectively and the rewards you attain.

This is reflected in an average rating of work-life balance of approximately 4.2. Those with lower scores indicated they did not prioritise their own needs. However, I also suspect many of them had fallen into the ‘busy fool’ syndrome: working too hard for too little money and focusing effort in the wrong places.

Building their business post-55?

I believe that the key factors for an enjoyable, balanced, successful, and rewarding entrepreneurial workstyle are support from friends and family, involvement in a community of practice, and the acknowledgment that support from official sources will likely be limited. Therefore, seeking appropriate support from individuals and professionals within your community is crucial.

Organisations like the CEO Growth Academy and Portfolio Executive Growth Academy offer proven support services to enable you to meet your ambitions.

If your motivation for starting a business is to gain control over your work-life balance, the lesson from this report is that you must be clear about prioritising your needs. Your business should serve you, not the other way around. If you have significant caregiving responsibilities, this may further challenge your ability to achieve the work-life balance you desire.

What are the broader implications of these findings?

One key implication is that if you believe the best way to bring your professional skills, knowledge, and experience into the marketplace is to continue using your existing skills part-time for multiple smaller organisations, securing assistance to transition into a portfolio executive work style is essential. Ensuring you have the proper preparation will help you succeed.

This survey was conducted with a sample of nearly 1,600 women aged 55 and above. Many also participated in semi-structured interviews, which provided more detailed insights and contextualised the findings.

Respondents were self-selecting, but the survey was widely promoted through social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. It was also shared at networking events for female entrepreneurs, both online and in face-to-face meetings. This suggests the research method was robust in capturing women’s perspectives in business over 55.

However, when contemplating the government’s role in implementing large-scale policies to reshape the landscape for female entrepreneurs, this progress report from Refirement UK indicates that the work has only just commenced.

Postscript: other report findings

• Valuable lessons from running a business
• Having unshakeable self-belief.
• Have basic systems in place for operations, finances, and sales.
• Find supportive networks that have a female presence.
• Get comfortable with / learn how to sell.
• Go in with your eyes open and understand how hard you must work.
• Ask questions of the people who have been there and done it.
• Be patient; things take longer than you think.
• Don’t give up; foster resilience in yourself.
• Be brave and be willing to take measured risks.
• Have a plan that factors in how you want to grow.
• Invest in your skills and knowledge to grow your business.
• Take your health and well-being seriously, and look after your physical and mental health.
• Become visible and cultivate a personal brand.
• Understand and work on your productivity, combatting perfectionism and procrastination.
• Celebrate your successes & learn from your mistakes.
• Understand your value proposition and package it according to your audience.
• Have a pricing strategy that builds in a consistent profit margin.
• Know your target market and the problems you solve for them.
• There will always be people who can’t afford to use you and are not your clients.
• Be flexible, adaptable, and open to new opportunities.
• It is not weak to ask for help when you need it.
• Don’t get distracted by vanity projects.
• You have to be prepared to work outside your comfort zone.
• Invest in a coach/mentor to have accountability and a sounding board.
• Have a personal development plan of what you need to know/learn to be more effective.

Specific resources that were helpful in the journey

• Supportive family and friends.
• A good mentor/business coach.
• Business books, how-to guides and available free training.
• Tech support will ensure you can function. (Website, emails, automation, e-commerce etc.)
• Quality social media profiles.
• Quality images and photos that are yours to use freely for marketing.
• The best computer, laptop, tablet and or phone you can afford are the tools of your trade.
• An email database that is yours.
• A network of contacts: network groups, Facebook communities, LinkedIn connections
• Membership of professional associations/ trade associations to keep up with sector changes.
• Business applications that help with productivity (Canva, Trello, Click-up, Asana, Calendly, Linktree, Chat GPT, Accounting software Xero or QuickBooks, etc.

Charles McLachlan is the founder of FuturePerfect and on a mission to transform the future of work and business. The Portfolio Executive programme is a new initiative to help executives build a sustainable and impactful second-half-career. Creating an alternative future takes imagination, design, organisation and many other thinking skills. Charles is happy to lend them to you.