When I was young it never occurred to me that I might still be working in my late sixties. I thought I would be elderly [1], like on those ‘bent bananas’ road signs, and kindly, like a granny, but well past my sell by date. You know what? This is a stereotype I don’t fit and neither do most people I know.
I CAN CHOOSE WHAT I WANT TO DO
I can apply my skills, qualifications, years of experience and hard-earned emotional intelligence to current business problems. I don’t earn anywhere near what I did when I was a full-time business owner/consultant, but as a pensioner I don’t need to.
I can work on projects or contracts that interest me, at times that suit me (there are still deadlines but they are manageable), while having time for family, friends, and hobbies. My successful track record has given me confidence, and clients are happy with my work. I have been able to carve out a place for myself in the business world, doing what I love, and doing it well.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
Graduating with a degree in French literature, I had no particular ambition except, of course, to get married and have children, which was pretty standard for my generation. Finding a husband proved to be more challenging than I anticipated 😊, so I went to a recruitment agency, which offered me a job there.
My career started in sales then moved into marketing. Since then I have been employed by large and small businesses, as well as in the further and higher education sector. I’ve been an employee, a manager, a general manager, a director, a non-executive director and self-employed. I’ve worked in Canada, here in the UK, in Paris, Ankara and I even had a short stay in Moscow.
I was never adept at office politics and decided that as soon as I could, I would work for myself. Between 2001 and 2011 I ran a business consultancy with a partner after which I worked on my own – initially as a limited company and then as a sole trader. During all the ups and downs of my life – moving to the UK, marriage, children, divorce, single parenthood, pressures of work and study, remarriage, widowhood and bereavement, I’ve never stopped loving and working at my craft.
So when I retired, I never actually stopped working – I just did fewer hours of less stressful work.
MY GREATEST CHALLENGE
Even when my late husband was in hospital, I continued to do some limited work. My blog post ‘In The Midst Of Chaos I’m Still Coaching’ was written in March 2020.
This post isn’t about the cancer, the hospital or the traumas we continue to experience. It is about how my Silver Startups project is helping me to cope with this shocking situation.
I am self-isolating to reduce my chances of picking up Covid-19 and passing it to my husband. This means no visits to/from friends or family and no fee-earning contracts requiring in-person meetings. I drive to the hospital, park my car, then climb 13 flights of stairs several times a day to avoid proximity to others in overcrowded lifts.
On the ward, my husband is very poorly. I spend most of my time there but much of it is waiting in a general area or the cafeteria. We’ve said so much to each other during the past few weeks that we now mostly just sit quietly together.
I feel a constant, aching sadness mixed with outrage [2]. The only way for me to get relief is to carve out some space to do what I love, despite the circumstances.
My husband passed away in July 2020, but I started picking up the pieces of my work about four months later.
DO WHAT YOU LOVE
I was at my friends’ house for dinner recently and their daughter joined us. Where she works she has little job satisfaction and no career progression. She wants to travel and explore. My advice to her was “While you’re exploring, try to find out what you love (to do)”.
My advice to Silver Startups blog readers is the same – build your business around what you enjoy. This is not easy, but it’s not beyond most people. You may have health issues or caring responsibilities, and of course there are other considerations (see my post: Risks of starting a business when you’re over 50) but you can work round them if you really want to. To me, there is always a solution provided you love what you do. Mostly, it takes commitment, determination, persistence and some financial savvy - which you can learn - and it helps to have a good coach 😉.
Best wishes
Viv
[1] Defined as a person aged 65 or more
[2] The medical negligence is what outraged me.