Start-up@AnyAge

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Mature-age individuals have unique strengths to start new ventures drawn from their life experiences, but the media profile of entrepreneurs - and the available programs to support them - can put off mature-age individuals who don't aspire to the same financial goals and high workloads of young entrepreneurs.

Project aim and achievements

The project has supported older individuals to be confident at using their passion, purpose and life-skills in meaningful activities, and on their own terms.  It has  focused on smaller scale business ideas and social enterprises that address social issues, unlike the traditional ‘high tech, high-risk’ enterprises favoured by younger entrepreneurs.

More than 130 individuals of all ages completed the community survey about mature age enterprise  identifying the challenges and benefits it represents. Thirty individuals attended initial focus groups and 17 moved forward to complete an intensive series of  three workshops with UniSA designed to shape their ideas and move them forward with a business plan for action.

Participants took up opportunities to engage with the City of Unley  Youth entrepreneurs program Fish tank and support the Innov8 youth program at Glenunga International High School.

Startup@AnyAge 2021

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The workshops series delivered through this project have been completed for 2021. However should you be interested in finding our more about opportunities to be involved in 2022, see the ongoing opportunities section below.

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The Official Celebration and Recognition event for the Startup@AnyAge Project was held  on Thursday May 20th at the Unley Town Hall from 6 - 8 pm. It included an introduction to the project by UniSA Business research team and a showcase of the participants’ journey into enterprise later in life.

Acknowledging the project team

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Dr Sanjeewa Perera,  Judith Lowe,  Associate Professor Shruti Sardeshmukh

Professor Carol Kulik, Belinda Rae Research Assistant

The City of Unley and UniSA are working together to ensure enterprise can bloom at any age, by providing support and skills training for individuals aged 50 years and above through the Start-up@AnyAge Project, supported by funding from SA Health and the Office for Ageing Well.
 
Watch the testimonials from program leaders and participants in the videos below - the first one is a quick overview around 3 minutes and the second is more detailed at around 10 minutes.
 

Business Learning and Resources

The Business and Learning Channel will include a number of resources covering different topics developed by Mindfuel Coaching under the auspices of a Community Impact Grant from the City of Unley (2019-2021).

Financial Management 

The first resource is a 6-part mini course in collaboration with the City of Unley and MindFuel Coaching, Business Strategist and Financial Expert Sarah Reimann will take you through the fundamentals of Financial Management for Business.

Courses currently available: Income, Profits, Sales and CashflowCloud Accounting, Financial Reports, Business Entity, Deductions and expenses in your business, Government tax regulation

Social Media

The second resource is a 5 part mini course made in collaboration with the City of Unley, Mindfuel Coaching and  Neha Awasthi, Organic Lead Generation and Marketing Strategist.  Designed for those who want to start using social media but don't know where to start .

There are 5 modules in this online learning course : Overview of Social Media Channel, Creating Goals for Social Media, Creating a Content Strategy, Building Engagement and Social Selling

View the full playlist here

Branding

In the Branding mini course, Marketing Manager and small business owner Milly Albers will take you through the basics of building your brand and optimising your business, so you can achieve the results you want. 

This course is broken up into 5 key modules that cover the following topics:

  • The key elements of a brand 
  • Discovering your brand positioning 
  • Creating your brand image 
  • Optimising your brand experience
  • Boosting your brand awareness 
 

Entrepreneurs Toolkit

Finally there is access to the  Entrepreneurs Toolkit for Success & Productivity! 

Designed by Sarah Randall-Smith and Josh Basford of Mindfuel Coaching this course is for entrepreneurs who want to take meaningful action towards their goals and ambitions. Over the course of three modules you will learn a lot about key factors that underpin success and productivity in business including goal setting, setting productive habits and dealing with perfectionism. 

Ongoing opportunities

Support for individuals seeking to start a business later in life will continue within our broader economic development strategy. For relevant activities, events and opportunities contact the Active Ageing Project Officer at pobox1@unley.sa.gov.au