It is estimated that 70% of all baby boomers expect to work in some capacity after they retire, indicating the nation has a significant pool of aging human capital that will be exploring an entrepreneurial third age. While media attention on entrepreneurial activity in the United States has been focused on millennial generation, twenty-something techies, the reality is that more than 40% of all start ups in America are by adults over 45 years of age.
On December 6 and 7, 2013, Eckerd College will host “Don’t Retire from Your Life: Explore Encore Entrepreneurship and Renew, Re-imagine and Unleash You,” the first-ever workshop in the region on entrepreneurship after 50. Conducted by a team of nationally recognized thought leaders on senior entrepreneurship, this eProv Studio workshop will combine college-level instruction with fun, mind-flexing improvisational work.
The cost to attend the workshop is $349. There is no minimum required education level to participate. Eckerd College’s Lewis House Executive Education Center is located at 4200 54th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33711. Click here to register for the event or call 727-864-8827.
This eProv Studio workshop is co-sponsored by Eckerd College, AARP and the Encore Academy of Tampa Bay.
About the Workshop
Led by Cheryl Kiser, executive director of Babson College’s Social Innovation Lab, and Elizabeth Isele, the co-founder and CEO of SeniorEntrepreneurshipWorks.com, the two-day eProvStudio workshop will introduce participants to Entrepreneurial Thought & Action (ET&A®), a dynamic methodology created by and taught daily at Babson College, the top-ranked school in the world in entrepreneurship education.
Additionally, participants will take and receive their own personal Entrepreneurial Dimensions Profile TM (EDP), Eckerd College’s new, cutting-edge assessment tool based on extensive research into the traits, motivations and skills of entrepreneurs. Developed by Eckerd’s Leadership Development Institute and used by undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship programs throughout the world, the EDP is a tool to benchmark an individual’s latent, entrepreneurial skill-set and empower him or her to build real-world success on top of those strengths.
Entrepreneuring is not an individual sport—doing it in “community” amplifies the results. In this highly interactive workshop, participants will learn how to:
- mine their hidden talents to develop a business that takes advantage of their skills and expertise;
- make reality a friend and asset;
- test what might be possible by acting, learning, and building on possibilities in a community of others also eager to explore their options; and,
- create an actions blueprint so they can continue to practice and build upon what they have learned to achieve their goals.
About Entreprenuership After 50
A frequent contributor and resource for Forbes magazine, PBS, members and staff of Congress and the White House, workshop co-leader Elizabeth Isele travels the world evangelizing the message that people over 50 have the capacity and experience to change communities’ and nations’ economies. “Seniors’ new businesses stimulate job creation, growth, and prosperity for all age groups,” said Isele. “More than 60% of senior startups are green businesses; one out of two has community-oriented business missions.”
As the recent New York Times article, “Retiree Start-ups with Age and Youth as Partners,” indicates, seniors are working hand-in-hand with the younger generation to create new businesses. “Rather than taking jobs away from the younger generation, they are creating jobs for them and simultaneously boosting their local and our national economy,” remarks Isele.
The 2013 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data shows that 50% of new businesses launched by individuals aged 50+ are still in business after five years. And, according to research from the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO), if one in three micro-businesses in the United States hired an additional employee, the U.S. would be at full employment.
About the Leadership Development Institute
Since 1980, the Leadership Development Institute (LDI) at Eckerd College has delivered high-quality, assessment-based leadership programs to thousands of leaders. As a Network Associate of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®)in Greensboro, North Carolina, LDI serves the needs of the national and international business community. Because of its exceptional programs, CCLranked No. 8 overall in the 2013 Financial Times worldwide survey of executive education. CCL has placed in the Top 10 for the twelfth straight year and remains the only institution among 70 in the survey that specializes in leadership education and research.
