Glenda Shawley - Founded After Forty: How to start a business when you havent got time to waste

First published in Great Britain by Practical Inspiration Publishing, 2017

Glenda Shawley, 2017

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

ISBN (print): 978-1-910056-46-2

ISBN (ebook): 978-1-910056-47-9

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the author.

For my family, David, Pippa and Andrew my forever why

Writing a book has been a long-held dream but without a push from my tribe, most notably Carole Ann Rice and the members of Fabulous Women and Marvellous Men, it would probably have remained just that, a dream. Thanks for giving me the push I needed.

Thank you to all the contributors in the book who gave of their time and experience so generously to take the book beyond the theory and into the real world. Thank you also to my test readers whose feedback has helped shape the book for the better. I owe a debt of gratitude to all my clients over the last 24 years, without you I would not have a business or the motivation to keep on learning. Thank you.

Special thanks to my publisher and coach, Alison Jones, without whom this book would probably still be a work in progress. Thanks Alison for the insights, encouragement and gentle cajoling which have got me to the finish line. And thank you for the professional team that you have pulled together to turn my words into the finished book.

Finally thanks to my family. To Carol for the comprehensive and honest feedback that only sisters can give. To my niece Jenny and brother-in-law John for all their support. To husband David for the love, encouragement and compromises that have allowed me to run my business for the last 24 years and to write my book. To daughter Pippa who sets the writing bar very high. To son Andrew whose need to get on to his film set at 6.30 every morning got me out of bed at the crack of dawn to write this book. And last but by no means least to my wonderful parents for their ongoing love and belief in me, and Dad thanks for teaching me never to split an infinitive! Thank you.

If you are the reader I have in my minds eye you are not a natural entrepreneur. If you were you would have several businesses, and probably a few failed attempts, under your belt by now. But whilst you are not a natural entrepreneur you do have a deep-seated desire to run your own business, to take control of your own income generation and to set your own retirement date.

Youve probably raised a family to a stage of relative independence or maybe youve had enough of the corporate career. Maybe you can see the writing on the wall as your organisation is left behind by the technological revolution or perhaps someone younger starts shaking up the status quo and you recognise that its time to move on. You may have realised that your retirement pension is not going to allow you the lifestyle you crave or perhaps the thought of a life without work scares you silly. Or maybe youve always wanted to see if you could run a business and its now or never.

However, theres still a little voice inside your head asking, Can I do this? What do I need to do to make it work? So this book is for you.

Ive been there. In 1991 I was made redundant from my management career in Marks & Spencer. Id always wanted to run my own business; redundancy was the push I needed. Ive made many mistakes and learned a lot along the way. Im still learning. Business isnt a constant. The marketplace is always changing, customer demands vary, new entrants change the competitive landscape, new technologies change the way we work. These are the challenges and opportunities that entrepreneurs thrive on. Are you up for the challenge?

For years people in my network have been telling me I should write a book, but what book to write? Earlier this year I did some research and people said they wanted a how-to guide with examples from real people. People like them. Not multimillionaires, not gurus, but people they could relate to, people who were running small, locally based businesses on their own terms. They told me they didnt want another how to make six figures online whilst you sleep type book. They wanted something that would lead them step by step through the process of starting and establishing a business locally. By locally I mean not online and not global. It might be hyper local drawing customers from a radius of a couple of miles, or it might be a rather more flexible interpretation of what local means.

Whilst many of the steps in the book can apply to any business of any type, run by a person of any age, I have assumed that my reader is 40+, is based in the UK and wanting to run a business which is not primarily online. That doesnt mean that the business doesnt have an online presence, or that it doesnt sell via the internet at all, but it does mean that the internet is not where the main revenue comes from. As a more mature entrepreneur you have life experiences on which to draw but you dont want to waste time or energy making mistakes if you can help it.

I have tried to lead you gradually through the process of developing your business idea, planning for success, starting up and then the first few months of your business. In doing so Ive used my own experience and some basic business principles illustrated with some real life examples from a varied selection of business owners. Most of the contributors acknowledge the mistakes theyve made along the way and weve tried to share those in the optimistic hope they will help you to avoid making the same ones.

The book challenges you to think. But if you are like me you dont like to deface your book with notes so, whilst there are some examples of documentation you might use, the book is accompanied by a downloadable workbook, which is designed to become your business plan. That is a business plan for your own use. If you need a business plan to raise finance or to attract partners then it will give you the information for a more formal plan. Download your workbook, and find out how to obtain a printed version, at www.foundedafter40.co.uk.

I also realise the value of collaboration so we have a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Foundedafter40/ to accompany the book where you can pose your questions and support each other on your individual journeys. Ill be there too to encourage you on your way. If you need further help then it is available in online webinars some free, some paid and in workshops, a membership group, courses and away days. I know that for some of you the book will be all you need to fly but others would like more support, my aim is to offer you what you need. Please visit the website www.foundedafter40.co.uk to find out more.

Several themes were repeated in my interviews with the business owners featured in this book:

Few had a robust plan when they started their business and those who did have adapted their plans as the business has developed

Most didnt have a clear idea of their target market when they started and have refined their understanding of their ideal client by trial and error