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Seniors and Entrepreneurship

Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas 

We’ve discussed it before. People are not made to just one day retire and stop working and sit around enjoying the Golden Years. Some people retire and have the means to travel or otherwise enjoy leisure activities without concern about how they will pay the bills. Others are not as fortunate. In a report released in August of 2020, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) states that 51% of low and middle income (LMI) people age 50+ have less than a three-month supply cash required to pay their bills. Only 36% of LMI have a six-month supply of cash. For the last several years retired or not, many LMI seniors find themselves in need of extra income, whether they are working or retired. The post-pandemic situation has exacerbated the problem. Some seniors would like to go back to work or take on a second job. In the post pandemic world, finding that kind of employment is proving to be a challenge. Jobs are in short supply and some companies practice ageism (According the Merriam-Webster: Ageism definition is - prejudice or discrimination against a age-group and especially the elderly.) It’s not just companies that practice ageism. A fifty-something female, enrolled in our Fab Force program told me once that her employment counselor, while trying to get her to take a low-paying job with a long commute, told her “At your age, you’d better be happy to take what you can get.” When I asked if the counselor really said that this adult student said “Well, she tried to say it nicer than that, but that was the message.” 

Seniors are a Wasted Resource 

Even before I became a member of the 50+ category several years ago, I came to realize that seniors are a wasted resource. When I did my two years of hard time at the Amazon fulfillment center in Coffeyville from 2001 to 2003, I had many seniors on my Rambo (receiving) crew. While on one hand, seniors weren’t able to work quite as fast as the young whippersnappers, their reliability and accuracy more than made up for the speed deficit. Indeed, one of the most successful programs Amazon came up with to recruit seniors as seasonal workers was called the “Snowbird” program. This program involved targeting seniors who were headed south before and during the busy holiday season. They would set their RVs in our campgrounds and come to work to pick up some spending money before continuing South for the winter. I’ve often thought it would be interesting to start an employment agency specializing in placing members of the 50+ work force, however, that’s the subject of some future column. 

Meanwhile, Back in the Marketplace 

Meanwhile, there is much less ageism practiced in the open marketplace. People in all sizes of communities have problems needing solutions and they are looking for entrepreneurs that can solve those problems regardless of age, sex, ethnic background or any of the other protected classes. Entrepreneurship and the idea of seniors starting part or full-time businesses is growing and the need for more entrepreneurs will grow in the post pandemic world. 

In April of 2016, AARP launched a program targeted toward LMI seniors called “Work for Yourself at 50+.” The program revolves around forming a partnership with local and community schools and economic development organizations who agree to host a free, 2-hour seminar to help 50+ LMI explore how self-employment might provide them a means of a sense of fulfillment while earning needed income. As we’ve discovered with some of our other programming, when you give people a means of self-introspection while creating a peer network, big gains happen in the way of inspiration and self-confidence. 

Work for Yourself at 50+ 

Fab Lab ICC signed up to become a partner last November and were in the process of working to schedule our first “Work for Yourself at 50+” session when the pandemic hit. Now, as we turn the corner on the pandemic, it’s time to bring this effort back to the front burner. We’ll be setting up a schedule for our first session soon. We will likely offer the session twice; once in the afternoon and once in the evening. If you are 50+ and looking for an opportunity to be of service to your community as a self-employed, full or part-time, small business owner, please contact me directly or go to https://www.fablabicc.org/Class-Wish-List and we’ll let you know the details as soon as we have them. 

Jim Correll is the director of Fab Lab ICC at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the campus of Independence Community College. He can be reached at (620) 252-5349, by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu or Twitter @jimcorrellks. Archive columns and podcast at jimcorrell.com. 

 


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