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The International Journal of Organizational Innovation Special Issue September 2015 1

SENIOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AUSTRALIA: ACTIVE AGEINGAND EXTENDING WORKING LIVES

Alex MaritzSwinburne University of Technology

Roxanne ZolinQueensland University of Technology

Anton De Waal, Rosemary Fisher, Aron Perenyi, Bronwyn EagerSwinburne University of Technology

Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract

As populations live longer, healthier lives in countries like Australia the growing popula-tion of older people is increasing the strains on social security and pension systems. Yetmany seniors are healthy and want to remain active during the later years in life. Whilstthere is significant research on seniors, ageing and the employment of mature-aged peo-ple there is scant research on seniors creating jobs as opposed to seeking jobs as employ-ees. This is the first empirical research specifically on senior entrepreneurship in Austra-lia. Seniors often have the skills, financial resources and time available to contribute toeconomic activity, which leads to the growing prevalence of senior entrepreneurship.Senior entrepreneurship is the process whereby people aged 50+ participate in businessstart-ups; however, despite representing the fastest growing segment of entrepreneurshiplittle is known about this phenomenon. This research seeks to answer the following ques-tions:

What is the scope of senior entrepreneurship in Australia? What are the impacts of senior entrepreneurship in Australia? What perceptions do seniors hold about entrepreneurship as a career option? What policy implications and recommendations can be derived to enhance active

ageing, and extend working lives through senior entrepreneurship?


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A systematic literature review was initiated to guide the study, complimented with analy-sis from large national databases, namely the Comprehensive Australian Study of Entre-preneurial Emergence (CAUSEE) and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). Wedeveloped conceptual themes to frame the study. Qualitative interviews were conducted

among available network members and a quantitative survey was distributed amongstNational Seniors Australia (NSA) members.

Key Words: Senior Entrepreneurship, Australia, Business Start-ups

Introduction

Background

The global importance of ageing isbecoming increasingly recognised withinpolicy and scholarly debates; particularlyas populations live longer, healthier andremain active during the later years inlife (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015;Hajkowicz et al., 2012). There is a grow-ing population of healthy older peoplewith skills, financial resources and timeavailable to contribute to economic ac-tivity through extending their working

lives, including through entrepreneurship(OECD/EC, 2012). There is also the op-portunity to enhance entrepreneurial ac-tivity in older people who do not neces-sarily hold entrepreneurial skills and atti-tudes (Hatak et al., 2013). In essence, thegrowth of older age groups increases thestrains on social security and pensionssystems, not discounting the currentAustralian economic platform of re-trenchments, social welfare cuts and age-

ing population (Maritz, 2015). Ageingworkforces and the increasing depend-ency ratios found in developed econo-mies attract policy interest and researchtowards older workers, including thepromotion of business start-ups and self-employment (jointly referred to as entre-

preneurship in this research) as a late-career alternative (Kautonen, 2012). Thisis, however, not prevalent in the Austra-lian context, whereby only limited policy

and research is available regarding sen-ior entrepreneurship. This research project, initiated by researchers from Swin-burne University of Technology andQueensland University of Technology,and funded by the National Seniors Aus-tralia Productive Ageing Centre(NSAPAC), is to our knowledge the firstnational empirical study of the seniorentrepreneurship phenomenon in Austra-lia.

Literature Review

We define senior entrepreneurship as the process whereby people aged 50+participate in business start-ups (Kauto-nen et al., 2014). The senior entrepre-neur is often referred to as the: seniorpreneur; latepreneur; third age entrepreneur; grey entrepreneur; late-career,second career or mature-aged entrepre-

neur (Mayhew, 2014; Weber & Schaper,2004). Two lines of argumentation ex-plain the recent surge of interest in sen-ior entrepreneurship (Kautonen et al.,2014).


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The first is the argument that aspopulations age the number of olderbusiness founders will increase. Businessstart-ups by ageing populations are thus

a result of either being pulled or pushed into self-employment. The second is thatmature individuals choose self - em-ployment as a late-career option, oftenreferred to as ‘opportunity entrepreneur-ship’ (Maritz, 2004). This choice may bemotivated by factors such as an attrac-tive work–life balance, flexible workenvironment, or as a means to supple-ment a preferred lifestyle (Walker &Webster, 2007). The latter argument is,

however, resonant of the terminology ofnecessity entrepreneurship, whereby in-dividuals, to resume economic activity,have no other option but to engage inentrepreneurial activities (Maritz, 2004).In such cases, older employees may be pushed from traditional labour marketsby factors such as employment equity,age discrimination, promotion and train-ing, as well as a lack of attractive em-ployment options.

The second argument for the in-creasing interest in senior entrepreneur-ship is of particular interest to this re-search. This argument is based on pro-moting entrepreneurship in older agesegments as a prospective policy option(Kautonen et al., 2014). The objectivehere is to increase entrepreneurial inten-tions – one’s desire to own one’s ownbusiness or to start a business (Bae et al.,

2014). Here the objective is to prolongthe working lives of older people, reduceolder-age unemployment, and increasethe social inclusion of older individuals(Kautonen et al., 2008). Botham andGraves (2009) expand the objective toenhance the innovative capacity of the

economy by employing the human andsocial capital of mature individuals(Terjesen, 2005) through new innovativestart-ups. In Australia the first argument

bears well (push and pull arguments), yetthe latter argument of policy implica-tions is distinctively lacking. One of themost important determinants of businessstart-up activity by older people not cap-tured by this push–pull model is health(Halabisky et al., 2012); as people agethe risk of their health deteriorating in-creases, which impacts their lifestyle anddesire to put energy into starting a busi-ness (Curran & Blackburn, 2011). Health

insurance also plays a significant roleand being covered by a spouse’s insur-ance scheme increases the likelihood ofmoving into self-employment (Karoly &Zissimopoulos, 2004).

Senior entrepreneurship is a signifi-cant phenomenon across the globe, withactivity rates of 8–16%, depending onthe indices used (GEM, 2012; OECD/EC, 2012). Many studies have empiri-

cally examined the effect of age and en-trepreneurial activity (Kautonen &Down, 2012; Levesque & Minniti, 2006;Small, 2011; Halabisky et al., 2012).Cognisance is taken that it is difficult toisolate age as an indicator, as broadersocio-economic factors play a substantialrole. There is always the notion of futurepayments and income over time, risk as-sociations, opportunity cost of time andfunction of age when comparing various

life stages and activities. Such activitiesinclude retirement, entrepreneurial en-deavours and waged labour (Levesque &Minniti, 2006). A further implication ofentrepreneurial activity declining withage is that senior entrepreneurs tend toproportionally employ less staff than


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other age groupings (Kautonen & Down,2012). Weber and Shaper (2004) identi-fied the age and socio-economic conun-drum, whereby socio-cultural factors

(such as advanced age) are culturallyperceived as assets or burdens. Such fac-tors are likely to affect older individuals’interest in entrepreneurship. A Canadianstudy (Uppal, 2011) identified thathigher-income seniors are more likely tobe self-employed; a clear reflection onfunding requirements for senior start-ups. An interesting finding was that sen-iors’ self-employment is often a familyaffair, which is in itself unique to this

sector of entrepreneurship activity.

Promoting entrepreneurship amongolder age segments is a prospective pol-icy option to prolong the working livesof older people, reduce older-age unem-ployment and enhance the social inclu-sion of older individuals (Kautonen etal., 2008). Older people are now livinglonger than previous generations andhave different decisions to make about

their career and lifestyle. Many olderpeople may wish to remain economicallyactive in order to maintain a lifestyle(Walker & Webster, 2007) or chooseself-employment as a flexible alternativeto organisational employment (Curren &Blackburn, 2001). The potential for con-tinued or increased earnings is particu-larly important for the ageing populationwith lower levels of investments andsavings (Halabisky et al., 2012). Re-

maining active and contributing to soci-ety has the additional benefit of improv-ing an older person’s quality of life andreducing their risk of experiencing pov-erty (Jayo et al., 2010). Senior entrepre-neurship may also play an important rolein the wellbeing of senior Australians

from a networking and local communityperspective (Menyen & Adair, 2013).From an economic perspective, main-taining labour market attachment or

promoting start-ups of the ageing popu-lation may be able to, in the short-run,offset expected labour and skill short-ages in certain regions in Australia andfacilitate a transfer of human capital be-tween generations. Other benefits in-clude increased tax revenues to poten-tially offset rising social and health carecosts (Halabisky et al., 2012).

Senior entrepreneurship dialogue

has also recently gained momentum inthe academic literature, with interna-tional studies abounding. Isele andRogoff (2014) identify senior entrepre-neurship as the new normal, highlightingthe proliferation of the concept, whereasKibler et al. (2014) examine social ex-clusion against older entrepreneurs.Moulton and Scott (2014) identify themerits and disadvantages of self-employment among senior entrepreneurs

and Pilkova et al. (2014) explore theconcept in the perspective of the Euro-pean entrepreneurial environment. Tervo(2015) provides inference about startinga business later in life and Weller andWenger (2014) postulate entrepreneur-ship policy lessons and recommenda-tions among older Americans. To date,however, only one published paper hascontextualised senior entrepreneurship inAustralia (Maritz, 2015).

Australia has a significant lack ofentrepreneurship policy and initiativesaimed at the 50+ market, which providesopportunity to enhance this activity evenfurther. Higher rates in the UK, for ex-ample, may well be as a result of sus-


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tained entrepreneurship initiatives aimedat this market. Examples include: (1)Best Agers, (2) the Female Scheme, and(3) PRIME (Halabisky et al., 2012). Of

significance is PRIME, an initiativeaimed at unemployed people over theage of 50 who want to find a way backto work through self-employment(www.prime.org.uk). A social entrepre-neurship endeavour designed to engage,empower, connect and celebrate seniorswho choose to become entrepreneurswas developed by Senior Entrepreneur-ship Works at the Lawrence N. Field forEntrepreneurship, NY.

In particular, this social entrepre-neurship platform developed entrepre-neurship education and training specifi-cally targeted at the 50+ age group(Isele, 2014). The New Enterprise Incen-tive Scheme (NEIS) in Australia featuresa dedicated course targeted at sociallydisadvantaged older people, but has notresulted in enhanced entrepreneurial ac-tivity compared to initiatives and pro-

grams abroad (Kautonen et al., 2011).

In this project we apply Lundstromand Stevenson’s (2005) framework ofthree factors that influence entrepreneu-rial activity, relevant from a policy per-spective: motivation, skills and opportu-nity. Motivation refers to the social valueplaced on entrepreneurship and its desir-ability and feasibility as a career andemployment option, skills refer to the

technical, business and entrepreneurialskills and know how, while opportunity refers to the favourability of the businessenvironment for entrepreneurship(Kautonen, 2012). Entrepreneurship pol-icy needs to recognise that there aresome factors in the decision to start a

business that cannot be changed, such asthe age of a person, their health or anindividual’s preference for leisure overwork. Therefore, policy should focus on

contextual factors that influence an olderperson’s decision to enter into self-employment (Halabisky et al., 2012).We also provide an adaptation of evalu-ating entrepreneurs’ perception of suc-cess in their ventures (Fisher et al, 2014), together with life adaptations andresilience (Connor & Davidson, 2003).

Dimensions of the entrepreneurshipecosystem – comprising (1) Policy (lead-

ership and government), (2) Finance (fi-nancial capital), (3) Culture (success sto-ries, societal norms), (4) Support Struc-tures (non-government, support profes-sionals, infrastructure), (5) Human Capi-tal (education and training, labour) and(6) Markets (networks, stakeholders,customers) – are also important compo-nents to enhance senior entrepreneur-ship. Despite being outside the ambit ofthis project, senior entrepreneurship eco-

system development (Isenberg, 2011) isrecommended for further research anddevelopment in an Australian context.Overall, senior entrepreneurship is un-der-researched, under-resourced and un-der-supported by the Australian Gov-ernment and national institutions. Thisproject thus comes at an opportune timein the development of senior entrepre-neurship, being the first to empiricallyexamine the growing concept in Austra-

lia.

Study Outline

In Australia there is scope for de-tailed exploration of the relationship ofsenior Australians and entrepreneurship,


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and the role of senior entrepreneurship inactive ageing. The specific researchquestions this report seeks to answer are:

What is the scope of senior en-trepreneurship in Australia?

What are the impacts of seniorentrepreneurship in Australia?

What perceptions do seniorshold about entrepreneurship asa career option?

What policy implications andrecommendations can be de-rived to enhance active ageing,and extend working lives

through senior entrepreneur-ship?

The primary aim of the project is tocreate knowledge about senior entrepre-neurship in Australia, inclusive of facili-tators and barriers, prevalence rates, in-dividual and social impacts, and motiva-tion, skills and opportunities for seniorentrepreneurs. The secondary aim is todisseminate information about senior

entrepreneurship in Australia, includinginformation for current and prospectivesenior entrepreneurs, policy implica-tions, recommendations and applicationsto enhance active ageing, and extendworking lives and senior entrepreneur-ship. A goal is to increase the percentageof seniors in Australia that successfullyengage in entrepreneurship, start-ups andself-employment. The study exploresseniors’ job creation and involvement in

start-up activities, as opposed to jobseeking as employees.

Methods

A literature review was conductedto explore current understanding and

theories of senior entrepreneurship.Analysis of national data was conducted,specifically using the ComprehensiveAustralian Study of Entrepreneurial

Emergence (CAUSEE) and the GlobalEntrepreneurship Monitor (GEM).CAUSEE is Australia’s largest researchproject in business start-ups and the de-velopment of young firms (Davidsson etal., 2008). The CAUSEE data consist ofa random sample of approximately 600emerging business start-ups and anotherapproximately 600 newly establishedyoung firms. In addition, a sample ofapproximately 100 ‘high-potential’ high-

growth firms complement the longitudi-nal data collection between 2007 and2013. GEM is the largest internationalstudy of total entrepreneurial activity(TEA), benchmarking entrepreneurshipactivity, attitudes and aspirations of over70 countries annually. In Australia theGEM database comprises 2000 nascentand experienced entrepreneurs.

Primary information for this project

consisted of national qualitative andquantitative data. Qualitative data werecollected in the form of semi-structuredinterviews and focus groups (100 par-ticipants) from senior entrepreneurshipnetworks across state capitals, compli-mented by a quantitative online surveyoffered to NSA members (108 respon-dents). Total responses of this compo-nent of the project included approxi-mately 208 aspiring and/or operating

senior entrepreneurs.

Evaluation of the primary and sec-ondary data consisted of qualitativeanalysis exploring and drawing out thedominant themes of observations, andmaking inferences based on the descrip-


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tive statistics of the quantitative data col-lected. All data collected was subject toSwinburne's Human Research EthicsCommittee (SUHREC), reference:

2014/265 and 2015/22.

Data and Senior EntrepreneurshipThemes

A nationally representative sampleresulting in excess of 460 senior respon-dents from various databases was used toprovide inferences regarding nascent andactive senior entrepreneurs. Databasesincluded CAUSEE (176 respondents),

GEM (166 respondents) and NSA (208respondents). Exploratory analysis wasconducted to assess differences betweenvarious basic demographic variables(such as age, sex and geographic loca-tion) and the set of senior entrepreneur-ship variables (such as skills, motiva-tions and opportunities). Further cross-tabulation was conducted among aspir-ing, nascent and experienced senior en-trepreneurs.

Prevalence Rates

The total Australian entrepreneur-ship activity rate of 8% for the age group55–64 is approximately 3% above theaverage of innovation-driven economies,representing 590,000 SME businessowners over the age of fifty (GEM,2012), and represents the fastest growingsegment of entrepreneurship (Mayhew,

2014). From the CAUSEE study wefound that 34% of young firms are leadby senior entrepreneurs. The average ageof entrepreneurs in Australia is 45, butthe average age of senior entrepreneurs

is 57. Younger entrepreneurs work 23hours per week compared to 18.5 forseniors. Younger entrepreneurs contrib-uted on average $272,000 in assets to

start their business compared to$1,487,000 contributed by seniors.Younger entrepreneurs had 7.5 years in-dustry experience compared to 13.25years for seniors. Younger entrepre-neurs earned $115,000 in their youngbusiness compared to $264,000 earnedby seniors.

Basic Characteristics ofSenior Australians

Within the context of our NSAquantitative data (n=108), 52% of re-spondents were female seniors and 48%were males; with all respondents being50 years of age or older. Age distributionrepresented 53% of respondents betweenthe ages of 50–60, 35% between 61–70,and 11% aged of 71 and older. Figure 1represents the age distribution of respon-dents. Sixty-six per cent of respondents

were married, with 67% being born inAustralia and 82% having resided inAustralia for over 10 years. Thirty sixper cent of respondents resided in Victo-ria, 30% in Queensland, 21% in NSW,with marginal splits between the otherstates and territories. Forty-one per centof respondents were self-employed, 19%were full-time employees, 11% were re-tired, with the balance either being part-time employed, casual, between jobs or

unemployed. Of those in self-employment 48% were self-employedmore than 10 years, with 29% with 3–5years of experience.


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Figure 1. Age Distribution of the NSA Sample

Industries of significant self-employment included professional, sci-

entific and technical services (21%),education and training (14%) and health-care and social assistance (12%).

Seventy-nine per cent of respondents donot employ employees, while 14% em-

ploy 1–5 employees. Figure 2 highlightsthat in this study, apart from themselves,seniors in start-ups rarely employ any-body else.

Figure 2. Engaging Employees of the NSA Sample

Approximately sixty per cent of re-spondents reported only starting onebusiness in the last 10 years, 36% re-ported having started between 2–5 busi-nesses and 5% reported having startedsix or more business. A total of 41% of

respondents fall into the serial and/orportfolio entrepreneur category, eitherbeing involved in multiple start-ups or anumber of start-ups. Senior entrepre-neurship participation was identified bythose respondents identifying a level of


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interest or activity in start-up activity.Figure 3 represents the number of busi-

nesses started by seniors in the last 10years.

Figure 3. Number of Businesses Started by the NSA Sample

Close to half of respondents werecurrently self-employed or a partner inbusiness, with 17% identifying being anemployee but having started a businesson the sideline. A further 21% were notin self-employment but were attracted to

being self-employed, while 14% of re-spondents expressed no intention to beself-employed in the foreseeable future.Figure 4 depicts respondents’ currentsituation regarding self-employment.

Figure 4. Self-Employment Status of the NSA Sample


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Senior Entrepreneurship Themes

In the following sections we intro-duce the themes identified in the re-

search. Figure 5 identifies the subse-quent themes identified from the qualita-

tive study. All themes from the quantita-tive survey were developed and analysedusing a 7-point Likert scale and subjectto empirical analysis. The qualitative

component was subject to thematicanalysis using NVivo software.

Figure 5. Themes Identified in the Research

Motivations

Motivation refers to the social valueplaced on senior entrepreneurship and itsdesirability and feasibility as a careerand employment option (Lundstrom &Stevenson, 2005). Figure 6 represents

overall responses to the motivation

theme. A total of 67% of respondentsagreed that prior experience in paid em-ployment influences their willingness toengage in start-up activities. Such will-ingness may well be the result of previ-ous discrimination during paid

SENIORENTREPRENEURSHIP

IN AUSTRALIA

MOTIVATIONS

OPPORTUNITIES

BARRIERS

EDUCATION &TRAINING

ATTITUDES &INTENTIONALITY

PARTICIPATION &NETWORKS

BENEFITS

OTHER EMERGENTTHEMES

GOVERNMENTSUPPORT

LIFE ADAPTATIONS SKILLS

SUCCESS &SATISFACTION


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Figure 6. Overall Response to the Motivation Theme

Key:

1 = Prior experience in paid employment influences my willingness to engage in start-up activities

2 = I am equipped and confident to engage in start-up activities

3 = Other seniors support my willingness to engage in start-up activities

4 = Family members support my initiatives to engage in start-up activities

5 = I intend to or currently engage in start-up activities to increase my wealth6 = I intend to or currently engage in start-up activities to achieve personal or family goals

7 = I intend to or currently engage in start-up activities to enhance a work–life balance (lifestyle options)

8 = Start-up activity is less risky than paid employment

9 = The reason why I am starting my own business is due to redundancy or inability to secure paid employment

10 = I intend to or currently engage in start-up activities due to discrimination in the workforce (paid employment)

11 = I intend to or currently engage in start-up activities as I have a desire to help others (increasing the wellbeingthroughout society)

12 = I intend to or currently engage in start-up activities as I have no other choice to supplement my income

13 = Other seniors involved in start-up activities inspired me to also participate in start-up activities

14 = Engagement in start-up activity and self-employment helps me maintain an active lifestyle

employment. Seventy-four per cent oftotal respondents identified confidenceof engagement in start-up activities, al-though this was not prevalent in respon-dents who had no interest in senior

entrepreneurship as a career option. Thisgroup believed they lacked the confidence to engage in start-up activities.Overall, over half of respondents werepositive regarding the support offered byother seniors to help with their start-up


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activities. This too was the case regard-ing family member support, althoughthis was less prevalent in those not ac-tively involved in start-up activities. One

may assume that those not involved instart-up activities have limited knowl-edge of the activities actually involved.All respondents that showed some orsignificant participation in start-upsidentified wealth creation as a motive tosenior entrepreneurship. Respondentsoverwhelmingly identified engagementin start-up activities as a means toachieve family or personal goals. Work–life balance was identified as a signifi-

cant motivator by 75% of respondents:

Due to the inherent risks associatedwith entrepreneurship activities, 70% ofrespondents identified start-up activitiesas more risk-centred than paid employ-ment. Those respondents not interestedin senior entrepreneurship also rankedhigh in the start-up risk stakes, probablythe reason for not wishing to participatein such activities:

“To be able to work for yourself it'sa less vulnerable position than be-ing at the whim of some companythat might turn around and decideto knock you out sometime.” SE504

Redundancy of paid employmentwas not identified by the majority of re-spondents as a start-up motivator, al-though those not intending to be in-

volved in a start-up activity rated redun-dancy high:

“It's really more by circumstancesthan by choice. I've been made re-dundant about six weeks ago [sic]so it's fairly new to me and it is ex-traordinarily difficult to obtain an-other position given the age groupthat I'm in.” SE512

“I'm only doing [entrepreneurship]because I don't have anotherchoice. I thought I could easily landa job… Only to discover that you'reconsidered you're over the hill, fee-ble and stupid and I had no idea. Sohence I had to then find another op-tion... I don't have that option ofemployment, that's what I'm say-ing.” SE506

This directly relates to the argumentof opportunity and necessity entrepre-neurs. Respondents did not identify agediscrimination in the workforce as a mo-tive to engage in a start-up activity,which is not only contrary to interna-tional research but also goes against theobserved prevalence of age discrimina-tion in Australia. According to The Hon.Susan Ryan, Age and Disability Dis-crimination Commissioner, Australia

loses over $10 billion a year by havingpeople unemployed who could be em-ployed were it not for age discrimination(Wilson, 2013). Senior entrepreneursportrayed a huge desire to increase thewellbeing of society and a willingness to


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help others. When asked about the im-portance of other senior entrepreneurs’inspiration, respondents identified thelack of such inspiration. In line with in-

ternational research this identifies a lackof significant role models in senior en-trepreneurship. Seventy-five per cent ofrespondents identified senior entrepre-neurship as a means to maintain an ac-tive lifestyle; this was even more preva-lent in serial and portfolio entrepreneurs:

“A friend of mine said ‘you're too young to retire’ and I thought ‘yes Iam too young to retire.’ I needsomething to do. I need to be chal-lenged. I need to be active. I thendecided that that's when I'd really push forward [with my business].”SE509

Figure 6 provides a summary of theresponses to the motivation theme. Thekey below the figure provides the corre-sponding survey questions for the theme.Subsequent figures also provide a key,

identifying survey questions for the par-ticular theme.

Attitudes and Intentionality

This section relates to the perceivedimpact of and intention to engage in sen-ior entrepreneurship activities and con-sists of 11 items. Item 1 indicates that81% of respondents placed significantvalue on non-financial benefits of self-

employment, such as lifestyle and healthpreferences. Seventy-four per cent ofrespondents perceived their technicaland managerial skills to be superior tothat of their younger counterparts, mostprobably due to length of or age experi-

ence. When it comes to family andfriends supporting respondents to engagein start-up activities there is no differ-ence between family and friends’ sup-

port, despite the majority of respondentsreporting favourably:

“You tend to feed off the other en-trepreneurs in your groups and it'sself-sustaining. Entrepreneurs areall ambitious, willing to takechances, willing to spend money,willing to go without so when youhang around with those sorts of people it's self-supporting.” SE102

When responding to support fromcolleagues the response was significantlypositive, with the exception of the non-entrepreneurs. This group indicated alack of support from colleagues, mostlikely due to incongruence in the work-place. Ease of starting a business wasgenerally reported as somewhat difficult,highlighting the challenges associatedwith start-up activities. Serial entrepre-

neurs responded favourably to ease ofstarting a business, due to greater ex-perience in start-up activities. In linewith international research, in excess of80% of respondents identified beingtheir own boss as being positive. Thiswas similar in the case of non-entre-preneurs, despite their unwillingness toparticipate in start-up activities. A totalof 89% of respondents noted that theywould like to make use of their creativity

in a start-up activity. This correlates withbeing one’s own boss, which may wellpostulate that creativity is contained inpaid employment. Avoiding excessivecommitment to start-ups was variedacross respondents, most likely due topersonal circumstances such as health,


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motivation and life-style. Ninety-fourper cent of respondents portrayed a pro-active and achievement-orientation,whereby they wish to be paid upon

achievement. Despite the risks associ-ated with start-ups most respondentswere of the opinion that self-employ-ment minimises risks, opting for stabil-ity:

“I think it doesn't matter what age you are, it's one of the reasons why I decided to start my own businessbecause when you're 40+ peoplethink you've got one foot in the cof-

fin. For some reason people havegot this preconceived idea that if you're under 40 you're viable tothem, if you're over 40 you're halfdead and they don't want to employ you … this is another reason why Istarted my own business, because people don't discriminate as muchwhen you're 40+ when you have your own business.” SE503

Figure 7 provides an overview ofthe attitudes and intentionality theme.

Skills

Skills refer to the technical, busi-ness and entrepreneurial skills andknow-how relevant to senior entrepre-neurs (Lundstrom & Stevenson, 2005).There is much debate as to the notioncan entrepreneurship be taught ? It has

convincingly been concluded that it canbe taught (Maritz & Donovan, 2015),and this section analyses skills appropri-ate to senior entrepreneurship activities.

Eighty-three per cent of experi-enced respondents perceived they have

the required start-up skills. When ex-perience declines the skills perceivedalso decrease. Only 40% of those notactive in senior entrepreneurship be-

lieved they have the required skills; thiscorrelates to the confidence levels high-lighted in the motivation theme. One canonly assume senior entrepreneurs needongoing skill enhancement. However,when it comes to selling skills respon-dents varied in their responses, identify-ing the need for sales training and devel-opment across the board:

“The greatest skill for me for an en-

trepreneur is the ability to sell. Most senior people I know are un-able to sell a $2 raffle ticket. Theselling skills of Australians are pa-thetic.” SE520

Over 60% of respondents believedskills acquired during paid employmentare significantly different to those re-quired in start-ups. The higher the ex-perience, the stronger the perception of

the difference in skills from paid em-ployment compared to self-employment:

“In terms of the skills that youmight bring from a corporate life …they're all really good but in the[sic] corporate you don't tend to bethe person who makes the final de-cision. You might sign off the mar-keting campaign or you might briefthe agency but in an entrepreneu-

rial world you have to do that all yourself, you have to come up withthe tagline and the brand and themarketing distribution strategy andall of a sudden what was taken forgranted proves to be damn hard.


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Figure 7. Overall Response to the Attitudes and Intentionality Theme

Key:

1 = Seniors place significant value on non-financial benefits of self-employment, such as lifestyle andhealth preferences

2 = Seniors have higher technical and managerial skills than their younger counterparts

3 = I believe that my closest family members think that I should start my own business

4 = I believe that my closest friends think that I should start my own business

5 = I believe that my colleagues and people important to me think that I should start my own business

6 = For me starting my own business would be very easy

7 = I would like to be my own boss

8 = I would like to make use of my creativity

9 = I want to avoid excessive commitment to my start-up activity

10 = I would like to be paid based on my achievements

11 = The stability of employment is very important to me

Then forcing yourself to do thingsthat you know 20% or 30% aboutand all of a sudden you know 70%or 80% about and that's probablythe best you're ever going to get toanyway.” SE103

Senior entrepreneurs believed theirlevels of digital literacy are at leastequivalent than their younger counter-parts. Although start-up skills have beenidentified as an opportunity of improve-ment, respondents generally perceivedtheir technical and business skills to be


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adequate. This depicts high levels ofself-efficacy, particularly in the moreexperienced entrepreneurs. The non-entrepreneurs, however, perceived much

lower levels of business and technicalskills (related to start-ups):

“I suppose one of the key skills is justhaving done it as an entrepreneur time

and time before. Every entrepreneurialbusiness you start up you'll learn more…I think the key skills you acquire by do-ing it and doing it the first time you'll

probably know twice as much the secondand you'll know four times as muchwhen you start the third.” SE103Figure 8provides an overview of the skills theme.

Figure 8. Overall Response to the Skills Theme

Key:

1 = I have the required skills to engage in start-up activities

2 = I require sales and selling skills training and development

3 = Skills acquired during paid employment are significantly different to the skills required in start-up activities

4 = I lack social marketing skills

5 = I have lower levels of digital literacy than my younger counterparts

6 = I have the required technical skills to engage in start-up activities

7 = I have the required business skills to engage in start-up activities

Opportunities

Opportunity refers to the favoura-bility of the business environment for

entrepreneurs (Kautonen, 2012). A totalof 81% of respondents believed en-gagement in start-ups and self-employment is a late-career alternative


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to being employed. A neutral responsewas significant in the non-entrepreneurs,evidence of their unwillingness to par-ticipate in a start-up activity:

“I can't speak for everybody herebut I'd see 50 or 60 different oppor-tunities a week for senior people togo and do things.” SE513

“[A lecturer] used to walk into alecture theatre and he had a bunchof newspapers and he'd throw themround and said ‘you, opportunity, page 9. You, opportunity, 16’.What he was trying to say was ‘it'sin the eyes of the beholder.’ Youcould look at page 9 all you wantbut if your mind-set isn't geared tolooking for something that youknow is going to benefit you or youcan build on, you won't see it.”SE515

Eighty-one per cent of respondentsperceived start-up opportunities may be

motivated by an attractive work–life bal-ance, whereas the perception of start-upactivities to supplement income was notas convincing – only 69% of respondentsidentified start-up activities as a neces-sity to supplement income. A total of82% of respondents believed a lack ofattractive employment options influencestart-ups and self-employment. This issimilar for non-entrepreneurs, albeit thatthey don’t appear to wish to participate

in start-up activities. One assumes this isassociated to risk and information onstart-ups. Lack of government supportfor senior start-ups was recognised, with71% of respondents identifying the lackof government promotion.

The prior section looked at respon-dents’ willingness to engage in start-ups,this section looks at prior experience.Sixty per cent of respondents believed

prior paid work experience positivelyinfluenced senior start-up activities; thiswas marginally higher for experiencedentrepreneurs. Sixty per cent of all re-spondents believe previous start-up ex-perience influenced their decision toagain be involved in start-up activities.Serial entrepreneurs – many of who areportfolio entrepreneurs (those engagingin multiple start-ups at a point in time) –ranked even higher when responding to

questions regarding previous start-upexperience. They significantly believedprior start-up experience directly andpositively influences subsequent start-upactivities.

Figure 9 provides an overview ofthe opportunity theme.

Success and Satisfaction

This section measures the willing-ness of respondents to engage in start-upactivities relative to their experiencesregarding involvement in start-up activi-ties. It also examines perceived satisfac-tion and perceived success of decisions.Previous analysis (sections 3.2 Motiva-tions, 3.3 Attitudes and Intentionality,3.4 Skills and 3.5 Opportunities) identi-fied the importance of work–life balancewhen participating in start-up activities.

When asked about the importance of fi-nancial reward as the most importantmeasure of success of business start-ups,experienced and nascent entrepreneurshad different perceptions – cross tabula-tions reveal that 62% of experienced


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Figure 9. Overall Response to the Opportunity Theme

Key:

1 = Engagement in start-ups and self-employment is a late-career alternative to being employed

2 = Start-up opportunity may be motivated by an attractive work–life balance

3 = Start-up activity is due to the necessity to supplement income

4 = Lack of attractive employment options influence start-ups and self-employment

5 = The government promotes start-up and self-employment for seniors

6 = Previous paid work experience positively influences senior start-up activities

7 = Previous start-up activity influenced my decision to engage in further start-up activities

entrepreneurs regarded financial rewardas being paramount, compared to 51% ofnascent entrepreneurs:

“Success is in breaking even andthen seeing if you can then makesomething of it from there.” SE102

“Well just to be able to get a busi-ness up and running with next to nocapital I would say was pretty

amazing.” SE502

“I live a fairly low key lifestyle so I'm not really into high end spend-ing or anything like that but itwould be good to be able to have

the resources to enjoy it if you wantto.” SE510

“I think my definition of successwould be to have self-control and tobe able to work when I want to.”SE504

“My measure of success is seeinglongevity in business for my cli-ents.” SE101

“It would be to see my clients beingsuccessful in what they are settingout to do.” SE512

All respondents strongly respondedthat a desired lifestyle is the most impor-


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tant measure of success of business start-ups. This does not contradict the finan-cial motive, as senior entrepreneurs maywell have optimum life-style benefits,

and enjoy the rewards of wealth. Generalsatisfaction levels of start-up involve-ment were well represented across allsenior entrepreneurs, despite the risksassociated with start-up activities. Only8% of respondents recorded dissatisfac-tion with start-up activities, most proba-bly due to negative events such as bank-ruptcy or hardship:

“At 58 how long can you wait, I

jumped, and I'm still having the rideof the dream. I love it.” SE303

“I think you can take personal sat-isfaction out of continuing yourcontribution to humanity, mentor-ing younger people, contributing tothe economy, staying healthy andkeeping away dementia. The satis- fying part of running a business isthat it keeps you curious and ambi-

tious. In the best sense it keeps you proactive and it keeps you engagedwith the community.” SE302

“I'm enjoying myself and I don'thave to get dressed up, I don't haveto wear a collar and tie, like I'vegot slacks on and a collars shirt but I don't have to get dressed, I don'thave to wear a collar and tie andwhatever. I love it.” SE503

In line with international researchon entrepreneurial intentions, satisfac-tion and success senior entrepreneursrecorded various levels when asked torespond on their expected achievementsthrough start-ups. This is largely attrib-

utable to the high expectations andgrowth expectations of entrepreneurs.Self-belief, wellbeing and peace of mindwere all associated with senior entrepre-

neurs, and cross-tabulations were sig-nificantly higher in experienced seniorentrepreneurs (70%) compared to nas-cent entrepreneurs (40%). Personal satis-faction with life and business rankedrelatively high with most respondents,which correlates well with the work–lifebalance motive. It was interesting to seesimilar high satisfaction levels amongnon-entrepreneurs, indicative that entre-preneurship is not an activity for every-

one. The majority of respondents wish tocontinually grow their business, which isin line with growth studies in entrepre-neurship (Fisher et al., 2014). What issignificant, however, is that cross tabula-tions revealed that experienced entrepre-neurs have much higher (89%) growthexpectations than nascent entrepreneurs(46%). This correlates with higher self-efficacy in experienced entrepreneurs.When asked if senior entrepreneurs wish

to exit/harvest their business for profit,responses varied significantly. Similarresponses were recorded across all typesof senior entrepreneurs. This is distinc-tively different to the literature on over-all entrepreneurship process theories,where exit/harvesting are a significantcomponent of the entrepreneurial proc-ess. This significance may well be theresult of age, health, succession planningand the general lifestyle activities of sen-

ior entrepreneurship start-ups.

Figure 10 provides an overview ofthe success and satisfaction theme.


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Figure 10. Overall Responses to the Success and Satisfaction Theme

Key:

1 Financial reward is the most important measure of success of business start-ups

2 A desired lifestyle is the most important measure of success of business start-ups

3 I am satisfied with being involved in start-up activities

4 I expected more than I have achieved through start-up activities

5 Personal well-being and peace of mind are outcomes from me being involved in start-up activities

6 I am personally satisfied with my life and business

7 I wish to continually grow my business8 I wish to exit or sell my business for profit

Participation and Networks

Networks, collaboration and par-ticipation in entrepreneurship ecosys-tems are an essential component of en-trepreneurial activity and the entrepre-neurship system (Kibler et al., 2014).

This section analyses such participationof senior entrepreneurs. Experienced andnascent senior entrepreneurs respondedsimilarly with regard to contact withother senior entrepreneurs as a source ofpositive influence (79%). This correlatesto the previous notion of the importance

of mentors. Seventy-five per cent of sen-ior entrepreneurs agreed that supportivenetworks, such as start-up networks,provide them with confidence in start-upactivities. This was marginally higher innascent entrepreneurs, once again indi-cating evidence of the importance of

mentorship. When responding to the no-tion of networking with other like-minded senior entrepreneurs, experi-enced entrepreneurs preferred to networkwith entrepreneurs of all ages. Nascentsenior entrepreneurs, however, showed a


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preference to network with other like-minded senior entrepreneurs:

“That's why when I heard about the

senior version that's kind of inter-esting because there's differentthings going on there with people.That does interest me. It's also adifferent level of sophistication that I actually instead of seeing peopleas old not knowing much I actuallythink they have far superior knowl-edge in a lot of things. They've seena lot of stuff. You talk to peoplewhere they have travelled, they're

worked in different countries,they're actually quite knowledge-able. That would be quite interest-ing.” SE506

“I know that I am enjoying going tothese [senior]preneur meetings andit's good to catch up with these people that have been attending … I am enjoying going to these meet-ings and I find that I am getting

quite a lot of out it.” SE510

This is indicative of the requirementof mentors and role models for aspiringsenior entrepreneurs. Respondents ad-vised that their age group (seniors) arenot well represented at networkingevents, which could be the result of per-sonal and business reasons and commit-ments. It does, however, raise an oppor-tunity to promote special network events

for seniors. Overall, the literature ex-presses the importance of networks inentrepreneurial activities, yet senior en-trepreneurs lack inclusive participation:

“For anyone in any age group go-ing into business or starting a busi-

ness to be able to have a network ofcolleagues and people who willhave other skills etc. that you don'thave. So I think it's really, really

important to do that.” SE512

“[The] seniorpreneur group. Thatwas actually quite refreshing, quitemotivational. I probably wouldn'thave considered seriously about finding an idea and doing a start upmyself if I hadn't attended a coupleof the meetings. I probably wouldn'thave considered the idea seriouslyif I hadn't gone to those meet-up

groups.” SE512

Figure 11 provides an overview ofthe participation and network themes.

Barriers

Barriers refer to difficulties seniorentrepreneurs may experience whenwishing to participate in start-up activi-ties. Lack of capital is most usually cited

as the main resource limitation in entre-preneurship, and it is no different forsenior entrepreneurs. What is interestingthough is that cross-tabulation identifiesonly 46% of experienced entrepreneursidentified a lack of financial capital asprohibiting start-up activities, while 73%of nascent senior entrepreneurs identi-fied a lack of financial capital as prohib-iting start-up activities. This significanceplaces emphasis on the high costs and

risks associated with start-up activities:

“The barriers are usually financial. A lot of people don't start becausethey've got kids at school or they'vegot a mortgage or things like that


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Figure 11. Overall Response to the Participation and Network Theme

Key:

1 = Contact with other start-ups and/or entrepreneurs is a source of positive influence in starting or running my busi-ness

2 = Supportive environments, such as start-up networks, provide me with confidence in start-up activities

3 = I prefer networking with other like-minded Senior start-ups rather than networking with all age groups

4 = Seniors are well represented at networking events

… The barriers of the 25 year oldsdon't tend to have a wife and sixkids. A lot of the younger ones I'veworked with have the bonus thatthey don't have a lot of liabilities. If all else fails they'd go back andlive at home

… The younger ones have a longertime to resolve any stuff ups.”

SE102

Overall, senior entrepreneurs re-ported a lack of discrimination in start-up activities; indicative that discrimina-tion against seniors, which is perceived

as normal in the workforce, is not appar-ent in senior entrepreneurship. Half ofthe respondents agreed that health con-cerns are a barrier to senior start-up ac-tivities, which is in line with interna-tional research (Kautonen et al., 2011).Health technology and advances withpeople living longer and healthier pro-vides relief regarding this concern:

“Well some of [the barriers] are re-lated to age … That is energy andconcentration. I find that as I age Ihave less energy in the evening so Ineed to get my active and produc-


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tive period in those parts of the daythat I can.” SE302

“Some people who are in their 50s

and older have health issues per-haps. Of course the conceptionmight be ‘oh well, this person isover 50, they might be on the wayout’ so to speak, which is a bit off.”SE510

Self-belief as a barrier to senior en-trepreneurship provided mixed results.Experienced entrepreneurs generally be-lieved that self-belief is not a barrier,

most probably due to higher levels ofself-efficacy in this group. Nascent sen-ior entrepreneurs, however, regardedself-belief as a barrier (62%), most likelydue to lack of experience and lower lev-els of self-efficacy. Approximately 45%of respondents believed government‘red-tape’ provides a barrier to seniorentrepreneurship. This correlates withgovernments not promoting the merits ofsenior entrepreneurship:

“You have to write long reports and proposals. The compliance costshere are enormous compared to New Zealand … The amount of ef- fort that small business has to putinto rates and taxation and book-keeping and council permits is ex-traordinary.”

Whilst senior entrepreneurs felt

similar barriers exist to all entrepreneur-ship age groups they believed distinctbarriers exist in senior entrepreneurship(such as health). Seventy per cent of re-spondents identified being employed in a‘comfortable’ paid job is a barrier tostart-up activity:

“[Employees are] too comfortable,they're too comfortable. They're ina routine where they've got a steadyincome, the mortgage is almost

paid off … They can take theirregular holidays and the pressureof going out and dropping that andtaking on something that's risky is first and foremost too much forsomeone like that.” SE515

“I came from a big business andthe people there would never havedone what I did. They were sohappy and comfortable there but I

felt that wasn't, although that is true you could be comfortable and safethere, I didn't think that was theright path for me.” SE504

This highlights potential compla-cency, which is not an entrepreneurialtrait. Overall, senior entrepreneurs iden-tified the importance of education andtraining in start-ups. This is, however,more significant in nascent senior entre-

preneurs (54%), who believed a lack ofappropriate education and training is abarrier to senior start-ups:

“I found the senior entrepreneurs probably suffer a lot more than the young ones because of their lack of flexibility and lack of education.”SE101

Cross-tabulation identifies that

sixty-seven per cent of senior entrepre-neurs believed there is a lack on infor-mation on how to start a new business,highlighting the lack of awareness cre-ated by the government. Administrativeand ‘red-tape’ procedures were againhighlighted by senior entrepreneurs as


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barriers to start-up activities (68 and47% respectively). Ageism was signifi-cantly identified as a barrier to seniorentrepreneurship, despite technological

and health advances in this respect. So-cial benefits (such as the pension) wereidentified as barriers to start-up activi-ties, but were limited due to means test-ing. This was, however, highlighted as asignificant barrier when involved in ini-tial high-cost start-up activities:

“I haven't felt that way about age. Ithink it's more of a benefit to bequite honest because when you talk

to banks or to other business part-ners or to people I think you dohave a bit more of clout in the sensethat people will feel you've got experience, you're not green in asense. I think it's more of a barrierif you were looking for a job. But if you want to start your own businessit at least makes it, I think in thatsense, age doesn't count and hope- fully people think, also maybe

you've got some funding behind youby that age, I don't know. But I'venever found that to be a barrier.”SE202

Figure 12 provides an overview ofthe barriers theme.

Benefits

Benefits relate to the advantages

seniors experience when participating instart-up activities. A total of 72% of sen-ior entrepreneurs and 78% of nascentsenior entrepreneurs believe there areadvantages to pursuing start-up activitiesin later life. Examples include prior ex-perience and maturity:

“I think the older you get you've gota little bit more perseverance and you can deal better with failures

and disappointments.” SE202

“You've grown beyond the flip- pancy of youth.” SE501

“I think the more you leverage yourexperience the better it's going tobe. The more useful it is and themore likely you are to succeed be-cause it's the one thing that a lot of people don't have.” SE504

Respondents reported easier accessto financial capital (compared toyounger counterparts), predominantlydue to greater financial capital and per-sonal savings and equity. Sixty-four percent of respondents reported havingmore developed networks than theiryounger counterparts, most likely due toprevious business experience. The majority of senior entrepreneurs reported

having superior communication skillsthan their younger counterparts, albeitnoticeably not in social media. Cross-tabulation identified a total of 87% ofsenior entrepreneurs advised of havingsuperior workforce skills than theiryounger counterparts, which includedmanagerial competency. Seventy-eightper cent of respondents reported higherhuman, social and financial capital thantheir younger counterparts. Seniors be-

lieved they are generally more capableof starting up new businesses than theiryounger counterparts, despite most oftenmentioning barriers in this regard (suchas age and health).


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“A lot of people have had a job forone year 30 times over and theyreally haven't learnt anything but if you've been in a business where

you've acquired new skills overthose 30 years probably by 50 you've certainly got all of the skillsto run your own business. Thequestion is whether you have themotivation to run your own busi-ness.” SE102

Government Support

Support relates to initiatives andactivities from governments to enhance

senior entrepreneurship (Kautonen,2012). Senior entrepreneurs stronglydisagreed that the Commonwealth Gov-ernment and local governments provideoptimal support for seniors wishing toengage in start-up activities. They fur-ther advised that government support

Figure 12. Overall Responses for the Barriers Theme

Key:

1 = Lack of financial capital prohibits/limits my participation in start-up activities

2 = [There are no barriers to seniors wanting to engage start-up activities

3 = Health concerns are a barrier to seniors start-up activities

4 = Self-confidence is a barrier to my start-up willingness

5 = Family/dependents are a barrier to start-up activities

6 = Government 'red tape' prohibits start-up activities

7 = Barriers are no different to younger entrepreneurs and start-ups

8 = Being employed in a 'comfortable' job is a barrier to senior start up activities

9 = Discrimination and/or social exclusion is a barrier to senior start-up activities

10 = Lack of appropriate education and training is a barrier to senior start-up activities

11 = There is a lack of information on how to start a new business (lack of awareness)

12 = Complexity of administrative procedures deter start-up activities amongst seniors

13 = Ageism (and age discrimination) is a barrier to senior start-up activities

14 = Social benefits (such as the pension) are a barrier to start-up activities


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tailored at seniors is significantly lack-ing. Senior entrepreneurs also stronglyinformed that targeted support for seniorstart-ups is required. A total of 82% of

respondents informed that governmentshould supply free or subsidised start-uptraining for seniors and a similar per centagreed that special tax concessionsshould be provided to seniors engaged instart-up activities:

“Early on … I did an NIES scheme… [Centrelink] didn't hassle meabout finding a job because I didthe scheme and then I actually did

train the trainer in various thingsand I actually taught one aspects ofit. So a scheme like that for seniorswould be great. That could easethem off and give them the man-agement training that they lack.That would be fantastic.” SE201

“It would be fantastic if a govern-ment would allow seniors to startbusinesses by giving them tax con-

cessions based on their age.”SE202

“If you're over 50 there should besome kind of incentive, if you'reover 50 to start your own businessand say ‘look we'll give you a taxbenefit’ or ‘we’ll give you a [sic]$10,000 if you have a successfulbusiness within the next couple of years’ like if you make so much

profit or all this sort of stuff. I thinkthat should be an incentive.Whether or not there is any incen-

tive from federal or state govern-ments I don't know.” SE503

Figure 13 provides an overview of

the benefits and advantages theme.

Cross-tabulation revealed that in excessof 86% of senior entrepreneurs felt thegovernment should promote and provideawareness of senior self-employment,while 89% believed support from otherseniors, particularly mentors, is impor-tant to start-up activities:

“People who are not naturally en-trepreneurs need to find an entre-preneurial mentor.” SE520

“Not specifically for senior age.”SE101

“There's really nothing to help youand you're totally on your own.”SE102

“No, no support, not really to bequite honest.” SE202

“No, not at all. I don't know ofany… I've never seen any that fo-cuses on the unique needs of sen-iors.” SE302

“I'm not aware of any initiatives that ex-ist for seniors in running their own busi-nesses.” SE501

Figure 14 provides an overview ofthe government support theme, plus sur-vey questions associated to this theme.


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Figure 13. Overall Response to the Benefits and Advantages Theme

Key:

1 = There are advantages to pursuing start-up activities in later life compared to when younger

2 = Easier access to financial capital enhances start-up activities for seniors

3 = Seniors have more developed networks than their younger counterparts

4 = Seniors have superior communication skills than their younger counterparts

5 = Seniors have superior workforce skills than their younger counterparts

6 = Seniors have higher levels of human, social and financial capital than younger generations

7 = Social capital and experience gained over many years enhance start-up activities

8 = Seniors are more capable to start up new businesses than their younger counterparts

Education and Training

International entrepreneurship edu-cation and training is one of the fastestgrowing disciplines, and has resulted inmillions of entrepreneurs benefitingfrom formal and informal initiatives toenhance their ventures (Fayolle, 2010).A total of 92% of senior entrepreneurssupport education and training as en-ablers to successful start-up activities.

Similarly, 91% of all respondents re-ported on the merits of connecting withother entrepreneurs, correlating with thecollaboration and networking theme:

“I also think that it's really good tomix with people who are interestedin setting up their own business orwho have set up their own busi-nesses. It's more getting thatspread of information where if you're doing it through a college oruniversity or something like that you're limited to one particulararea.” SE509

“I've realised where I might knowthings from a normal operating point of view but I haven't realisedthings from a start-up point of view.So I've needed to go out and getthat knowledge.” SE509


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Figure 14. Overall Response to the Government Support Theme

Key:

1 Commonwealth government support is freely available for seniors wishing to engage in start-up activities2 Local government support is freely available for seniors wishing to engage in start-up activities

3 Government support for start-ups is tailored for seniors

4 Targeted support for seniors should be no different to support for other age groups

5 Government should supply start-up support by providing free or subsidised start-up training

6 Special tax concessions should be provided for seniors engaged in start-up activities

7 Support from other seniors (mentors) is important to start-up activities

8 Governments should promote the benefits of Senior self-employment

9 Governments should provide awareness programs for Senior start-ups

Online-only education and training

was not well supported in responsesfrom senior entrepreneurs, with a prefer-ence for face-to-face tuition. The overallpreference was, however, for a blendedapproach, consisting of a mixed ap-proach of online, face-to-face and men-torship, with 86% of respondents dis-playing a preference for such an ap-proach. Eighty per cent of respondentshighlighted the importance of differentkinds of mentorship education and train-

ing, correlating with mentorship itemsthroughout this research. This notionwas even more prevalent in nascent en-trepreneurs, acknowledging their needfor mentorship in early stages of start-upactivity. A total of 86% of respondentsidentified the importance of education

and training, not only in the start-up

process but also in managing the grow-ing business. When asked if they wouldengage in further education and training,senior entrepreneurs responded:

“Absolutely.” SE101

“I’ll willingly go.” SE201

“I’d jump at it.” SE502

“Definitely.” SE511

Special interventions and initiativeshave been widely acknowledged to en-hance senior entrepreneurship and self-employment education and training (PerCapital Australia Limited, 2014; Com-


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monwealth of Australia, 2015), and thistheme is acknowledged in this research.Entrepreneurship education has alsobeen identified as a significant contribu-

tor to the development of entrepreneur-ship ecosystems (Maritz, 2015).

Figure 15 represents an overview of

the education and training theme.

Figure 15. Overall Response to the Education and Training Theme

Key:

1 = Education and training is an enabler to successful start-up activities]

2 = Connecting with like-minded individuals facilitates start-up activities]

3 = Online education and training is preferable to other forms of education]

4 = Face-to-face (classroom type) education and training is preferable]

5 = Hands on (mentorship type) education and training is preferable]6 = A combination of online, face-to-face and mentorship is preferable]

7 = Training and education may give seniors the skills to start and remain self-employed]

Life Adaptations

Life adaptations refer to the resil-ience of senior entrepreneurs in theirdaily work–life integration. Eighty-nineper cent of senior entrepreneurs depicted

very low resistance to change, notingtheir ability to adapt when changes oc-cur. A total of 90% of respondents candeal with adversity, while cross-tabulation revealed that 78% of seniorentrepreneurs reported a sense of hu-mour in the workforce. In excess of 80%

of respondents reported the benefits ofstress and being able to cope with stress.Ninety-three per cent of respondents re-ported having confidence in the eye ofadversity, tending to bounce back afterillness, injury, or other hardships. In ad-

dition, 92% of respondents reported highlevels of proactivity and self-efficacy.Eighty-five per cent of senior entrepre-neurs reported being positively dedicatedto the task at hand, informing that whenunder pressure they remain focused.Similar levels of commitment were re-


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ported in light of not being discouragedby failure and proactively dealing withlife’s challenges and difficulties. Eighty-three per cent of respondents reported an

ability to handle and positively react topersonal adversity, such as sadness, fearand anger:

“I can't sit in an office and stare atthe same, 365, and do that all daylong.” SE516

“I also like living on the edge. I getvery bored if I'm not” SE201

“I guess the main benefit to me isgiving me something to do.” SE512

“A friend of mine said ‘you're too young to retire’ and I thought ‘yes Iam too young to retire.’ I needsomething to do. I need to be chal-

lenged. I need to be active. I thendecided that that's when I'd really push forward [with my business].”SE509

“One thing when you're starting anew business you very rapidly findout what you don't know and thenthere's a mad scramble to find outthe answers to the questions butthat applies to anything right

through life.” SE501

Figure 16 provides an overview ofthe life adaptations theme.

Figure 16. Overall Responses of the Life Adaptations Scale Theme

Key (validated scale, Connor and Davidson, 2003):

1 = able to adapt when changes occur

2 = can deal with whatever comes my way

3 = see the humorous side of things

4 = coping with stress strengthens

5 = tend to bounce back after illness or hardship

6 = you can achieve your goals

7 = under pressure focus and think clearly

8 = not easily discouraged by failure

9 = think of myself as a strong person

10 = can handle unpleasant feelings


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Other Emergent Themes

A recurring theme in the data wasseveral participants’ descriptions that

‘not everyone is an entrepreneur ’, andthe presence of descriptions relating tothe view that not everyone has had awork history that predisposes them to-wards behaving entrepreneurially – sev-eral participants noted that treating eve-ryone as a potential entrepreneur may beproblematic. For example:

“Isn't the issue though, you're ei-ther entrepreneurial or you're not

… It doesn't matter what your ageis.” SE513

“[we need to draw distinction] be-tween people that have been a bitentrepreneurial and done thingsversus the poor guy that's been inone or two companies all his life,gets over 50, my experience of that person is a lot of them have beenmade redundant a couple of times,

they've been disregarded, they'vebeen shoved in a corner, they'vebeen treated as old, they're hangingon, they're working on borrowedtime. I don't think I could say tothat person ‘you've got out, let's bean entrepreneur, go and find abusiness’ because their confidenceis pretty low, they don't know whereto go or what to do about it.”SE517

In addition, the above participantalso notes:

“A true entrepreneur probablycouldn't… work at a company for20 or 30 years and put up with it if

you were really an entrepreneur.”SE517

As the above participant’s com-

ments indicate, trying to get a personwho has worked in organisations for themajority of their life to engage in entre-preneurship might not fit naturally withtheir personality type. As such, expect-ing people who have experiencedlengthy employment within a non-entrepreneurial organisation to embraceentrepreneurship may be unrealistic:

“Out of the 100 who are now sen-

iors maybe 10 of them would wantto, they're the ones to work with.Forget the 90. Let's identify thosewho would love to go down this path.” SE520

The above participant suggestedthat tools are needed to identify peoplewho may be potential entrepreneurs:

“I think we just have to be realistic

that for every 100 people who walkin the door and say ‘I want to play for Collingwood’, one of themmight actually be able to kick a footy in a half decent direction andit's the same with entrepreneur-ship…100 people walk in the door,50 of them are just delusional andthe best thing we can do is showthat they're delusional and sendthem home.” SE201

A recurring theme within the datawas the unfavourable manner in which‘seniors’ are represented and perceivedby society. One participant expressed astrong dislike for the term ‘senior’, not-


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ing that it held derogatory connotations.Another commented that:

“For older people even in terms of

‘aged’ care, I mean it's so wrong, itshould be ‘active’ care and I'vespoken with a number of people inthe ‘aged’ care industry and one in particular is already embracingthat … But it's true, words, espe-cially in the English language, con-vey so much about an individual oran entity or just how we operateand it takes time for that thought process to permeate the broader

community.” SE507

Several participants expressed con-cern over the way their age group isstereotyped and suggested actions betaken akin to a rebranding exercise:

“I think we have to reposition older people in this society. I'm just ap- palled by some of the stereotypesthat I see. This should be made

really cool and funky to be oldernow and launching these things.”SE506

“There should be public recogni-tion and a media campaign to en-courage seniorpreneurships. So it'srecognised as a desirable careerchoice and has a high status andthat it's covered in the media.”SE302

Some participants also felt ‘retire-ment’ to be an out-dated concept, whichbrands older people as less useful thanthey really are:

“Retirement is an old concept both financially and looking at the waythings are today, taking a look atour stage of development of human

being … I have got a brain whichstill functions, a body that is rea-sonably in functional order and I just don't want to accept that soci-ety's verdict on what I should do formy life.” SE508

“I reckon seniors start to believewhat's in the collective around theirage and then feel the, especially inthe Western world their usefulness

is diminished.” SE511

Several participants expressed con-cerns regarding the scope of the ‘senior-preneur’ category, claiming that being50 is very different from being 60 or70+:

“In the 50s I think it's a little bit ofa different mindset than the 60s Ithink.” SE512

Conclusions and Recommendations

Based upon this study we make thefollowing conclusions with respect to theresearch questions and inferences:

The Scope of Senior Entrepreneurship in Australia

Senior entrepreneurship is highlyprevalent and growing quickly in Aus-tralia (approximately 34% of all newbusinesses) and the scope of senior en-trepreneurship is characterised by thefollowing:


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The total Australian senior en-trepreneurship activity rate is8% (approximately 3% abovethe average of innovation-

driven economies). Senior entrepreneurship is the

fastest growing sector of entre-preneurship, with over 590,000of Australian small businessowners being over 50.

Over a third of senior entrepre-neurs fall into the se-rial/portfolio entrepreneur cate-gory (multiple start-ups).

Start-up opportunity is moti-

vated by an attractive work–lifebalance and improving qualityof life.

Senior entrepreneurs are morecapable of starting and manag-ing a business than theiryounger counterparts.

Senior entrepreneurs have moredeveloped networks, substantialindustry/business experience,superior technical and manage-

rial skills and, most often, astronger financial position thantheir younger counterparts.

Barriers to senior entrepreneur-ship include a lack of financialsupport, lack of information onhow to start a business andcomplexity of administrationprocedures; although this is ex-perienced less frequently thanother-age entrepreneurs.

Specific ageism barriers includedeclining health, financial dis-incentive, age discrimination,opportunity cost of time andlack of awareness.

The Impacts of Senior Entrepreneurshipin Australia

Senior entrepreneurship is having

positive impacts on:

participation in the workforceand economy

maintaining an active lifestyle,achieving personal and familygoals and work–life balance

providing satisfaction throughnetworking, start-up activities,growing the business and finan-cial rewards

providing an alternative to em-ployment and unemployment

avoiding discrimination in theworkplace.

Perceptions that Seniors Hold about En-trepreneurship as a Career Option

Senior entrepreneurs believe that:

entrepreneurship provides bene-

fits such as maintaining an ac-tive lifestyle, achieving per-sonal and family goals andwork–life balance

they have the human and socialcapital, technical and businessskills to start a business

barriers included: o complex administrative

procedures and govern-ment ‘red tape’

o attitudes and stereotypesothers hold of seniors –‘ageism’

o a lack of belief in one’sown capabilities


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o a lack of information onhow to start a new busi-ness

o a lack of awareness cre-

ated by governmento having a ‘comfortable’

job education and training may give

seniors the skills to start andremain self-employed

health, energy and concentra-tion can be barriers to starting abusiness

not everyone is an entrepreneur.

Policy Implications and Recommenda-tions to Enhance Active Ageing, and

Extend Working Lives ThroughSenior Entrepreneurship

Senior entrepreneurs strongly dis-agree that the Commonwealth Govern-ment and local governments provide op-timal support for seniors wishing to en-gage in start-up activities. They furtherstrongly advise that government support

tailored at seniors is significantly neces-sary but lacking. Participants expressedconcern over the way their age group isstereotyped and suggested actions betaken akin to a rebranding exercise.

The following policies were sug-gested by seniors in their responses tosurveys:

break down the barriers causedby stereotypes of older people

offer free or reduced-cost edu-cation and training in start-upsfor seniors

promote special networkingevents for seniors

offer special tax concessionsprovided to seniors engaged in

start-up activities (e.g. NEISScheme)

Provide specific schemes forseniors to access start-up capital

offer mentor schemes (e.g. TheSCORE program in the USA)

seniors have a preference forface-to-face instruction overonline training; however, an in-tegrated face-to-face and onlinetraining approach is preferred

tools are needed to identifypeople who may be potentialentrepreneurs.

Other Inferences and Recommendations

This research identifies the follow-ing policy and intervention support forsenior entrepreneurship:

increase awareness about thefeasibility of senior entrepre-neurship

enhance motivation, skills andopportunities for senior entre-

preneurship enhance entrepreneurial inten-

tions and self-efficacy in the50+ age group

develop a senior entrepreneur-ship ecosystem, with targetedinitiatives (e.g. capital, financialincentives and start-up informa-tion for seniors)

develop policy initiatives to en-hance senior entrepreneurship

(e.g. Senior Enterprise Acad-emy, Per Capita Australia Lim-ited, 2014)

target education and training fornascent and current senior en-trepreneurship


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mobilise mentorship activitiesfor senior entrepreneurship, en-couraging skilled and experi-enced older individuals to par-

take in mentorship and coach-ing activities directed at seniors

develop networking facilitiesfor aspiring and current seniorentrepreneurs

avoid excessive jargon in com-munication and information andthe way procedures and regula-tions are communicated andtargeted to this age group

ensure that start-up financing

schemes do not discriminateagainst older entrepreneurs

review the regulations relatingto tax systems and social bene-fit systems to ensure that theydo not set a disincentive to sen-ior entrepreneurship

provide legislative supportmechanisms for start-up seniorentrepreneurs, along the lines ofemployment incentives similar

to AHRC (2012) and APRA(2012)

undertake further research intosenior entrepreneurship in Aus-tralia.

Cognisance must be taken as towhat such policy initiatives can actuallyachieve. In this instance it is important todistinguish between economic and socialobjectives. An economic objective

should be to provide a positive and sup-portive environment where those olderpeople with entrepreneurial ambitionscan thrive. This includes moving peoplefrom social support to self-employment,or prolonging ageing employees’ work-ing careers through business start-ups,

generating added value to society. A so-cial objective may be to get economi-cally inactive people over the age of 50into work, to remain economically active

in ways that suit them best whilst ex-ploiting their potential for entrepreneur-ship. This may include engagement incommunity and social activities as animportant component of productive age-ing. Promoting senior entrepreneurshipmay be part of the portfolio of activitiesto tackle the problem of older unem-ployment and underemployment as abroader social and education issue.

Limitations of this study are linkedto the absence of a depth of knowledgeand lack of substantial empirical studiesin the senior entrepreneurship domain.To the best of our knowledge, this is thefirst empirical study in Australia regard-ing this phenomenon, giving rise to fu-ture research collaboration and avenues.We believe it is essential to conduct ad-ditional empirical validation of this phe-nomenon in Australia. Further investiga-

tion is required to enhance the entrepre-neurship ecosystem (Isenberg, 2011)within the senior entrepreneurship con-text in Australia.

In conclusion, this study identifiesthat many seniors are already startingand running successful businesses.More seniors are interested in startingnew businesses and are likely to havemany of the resources needed for suc-

cess. There is a need for new businessstart-up training resources and programsdesigned for the needs of senior entre-preneurs. There is also a need to breakdown the barriers of stereotypes and lowself-confidence. With suitable guidanceand support many more Australian sen-


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iors could be enjoying longer, more sat-isfying and more productive working

lives as senior entrepreneurs.

Acknowledgements

The research team from SwinburneUniversity of Technology and Queen-sland University of Technology grate-fully acknowledge the financial andother support provided by National Sen-iors Australia, the National Seniors Pro-ductive Ageing Centre and the Com-monwealth Department of Social Ser-vices.

We also acknowledge the Editorand editorial staff of the InternationalJournal of Organisational Innovation fortheir in-kind contribution toward publi-cation of this report.

The authors would like to expresstheir sincere gratitude to the hundreds ofseniors who participated in this researchproject. Their feedback, responses and

insights have helped deliver recommen-

dations that may influence policy andenhance senior entrepreneurship.

The research team would like to ac-knowledge the following peo-ple/organisations for their valued assis-tance to the project:

Ms Bambi Price, Founder of theSeniorPreneurs Foundation,Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney

Dr David Arelette, Founder ofIngenuity Pty Ltd

The Australian Centre for En-trepreneurship Research,Queensland University ofTechnology

The Centre for TransformativeInnovation, Swinburne Univer-sity of Technology

© SeniorPreneur: ShowcaseVentures Pty Ltd, see:www.seniorpreneurs.org

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AHRC (Australian Human RightsCommission) (2012). Working pastour 60s. AHRC.

APRA (Australian Prudential Regula-tion Authority) (2012). Annual Su-

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Commonwealth of Australia. (2015).2015 Intergerational Report Aus-tralia in 2055. Canberra, ACT: TheCommonwealth of Australia.

Connor, K.M. & Davidson, R.T.(2003). Development of a New Re-silience Scale: The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Depression and Anxiety,Vol. 18, No, 76–82.

Curran, J. & Blackburn, R. (2001).

Older People and the Enterprise So-ciety: Age and Self-EmploymentPropensities, Work, Employmentand Society, Vol. 15, No. 4, 889-902.


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