Successfully Engaging
Senior Entrepreneurs:
50+Start Your Own
Business Course
Sheelagh Daly
CEO
Wicklow County Enterprise Board
(CEB)
CEB’s Overall
Objectives
• Fostering an
Enterprise Culture
• Supporting
Dynamic New
Enterprises
• Strengthening
Existing
Businesses
• Supporting
Growth
CEB’s Supports for
Start-ups
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Information
One-to-one Advice
Start Your Own Business
(SYOB) courses
Business Skills Training
Business IT Skills
Seminars
Networks
Mentoring
Finance
50+ SYOB
Pilot Programme
• Kildare, Meath, Wicklow
• Pilot: 3 courses run simultaneously
• SYOB Content & format adapted
• Residential element introduced
• Promotion
• Funding
Participation
New Business
Profiles
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Healthcare
Beauty
Tourism
Software
Craft
Web based
B2B services
B2C services
• Average projected
number of
employees:2
• Average projected
annual turnover:
€120,000
50+ SYOB course
– A Success?
• High overall satisfaction
rating by particpants
• Clear merit of having an age specific
50+SYOB course
• Strong commitment by particpants
• Good dynamic and collaboration
• Too early to judge the number of
sustainable new businesses that will
emerge
Recommendations
• A focus on an age specific
50+ Start Your Own Business
has merit and should be continued
• Include testimony from past particpants
in marketing and promoting future
courses
• Extend the length of the course to 12
weeks
• Focus on the production of business plans
as targeted outcome
Recommendations
Style of delivery
• Draw on the expertise and
experience of particpants
• Less as a teacher more as a facilitator
• Focus on applied learning
• Provide course material in advance of
each session
• Presentation and course materials to be
easily read and heard
Recommendations
• Profile particpants at early
stage (expertise, experience
and planned new businesses)
• Recognise unevenness among group
in IT knowledge and computer skills
• Issues surrounding succession and
exit strategy very pertinent
• Facilitate social/networking element
Recommendations
• Residential workshop should be
be made more developmental
• Introduce role models to describe
their experience to group
• Following the course, develop self
sustaining groups
• Six month follow-up
• Develop online resource material
• Role of Senior Enterprise
Successfully Engaging Senior
Entrepreneurs: 50+Start Your
Own Business Course
Sheelagh Daly
CEO
Wicklow County Enterprise Board
sheelagh@wicklowceb.ie