Nantrepreneurs take the lead in business

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Belinda Merhab

Forget knitting and pie-baking – Aussie grandmas are going into business.

Australian women aged over 65 have been starting their own businesses at a rate higher than any other age group, with nantrepreneurs setting up 18,500 businesses in the past 10 years, according to the annual Bankwest Business Trends Report.

Over the past year, the number of over-65 female business owners jumped by 15.1 per cent, compared to one per cent growth by men in the same age bracket.

Bankwest business banking general manager Sinead Taylor said the figures showed older Australian women were looking for ways to boost their retirement incomes.

Over-65 women were primarily starting businesses in the `other services’ category, such as hairdressing, photography and gardening, she said.

“This trend can be attributed to a variety of factors like lifetime personal goals and people pursuing new interests,” Ms Taylor said.

“There’s also the impact of the global financial crisis on retirement nest eggs, forcing some retirees to supplement their superannuation by starting their own businesses.

“Age is certainly no barrier to entrepreneurialism.”

Overall, the number of Australians running their own business declined by four per cent in the year to May.

The only other age group to see an increase in business self-starters in the past year were the under-25s, with 2.5 per cent of workers in that age bracket owning their own business.

Ms Taylor said challenging economic conditions were driving entrepreneurs to seek the security of being an employee rather than an employer.

Source: SMH

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