Encore Careers: It's never too late to help others
We speak with noted author Marci Alboher about her latest book titled聽The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Different in the Second Half of Life,聽which looks at a new trend 鈥� the Encore Career, or a career that begins often after 50 in the years when most folks are thinking about retirement, travel, and relaxation.
Why work more? While some are driven by their financial聽circumstances, many are are choosing to develop later careers to make social impact,聽try something different, or build a career out of a passion or hobby.
Alboher shares with us her insights on the Encore Career below:
What is the greatest hurdle for encore entrepreneurs? The fear of defeat, the fear of trying something new, the age factor, or something else?
Encore entrepreneurs aren鈥檛 all that different from social entrepreneurs at any age.
If they have an idea for a fix to a nagging social problem, they do what any innovator does. They tap whatever resources they have 鈥� their network, their personal or professional skills, access to capital (both human and financial).
Where they differ from younger social entrepreneurs is that they tend to have a kind of seasoning and self-awareness that only comes with age. By the time you hit mid-life, you know your strengths and where you鈥檇 be better off bringing in outside help. Funny that you mention fear of defeat. Most encore entrepreneurs have already weathered plenty of failure.
More common is the fear of inaction. The idea that if you don鈥檛 chase an opportunity and try to make it succeed, you鈥檒l regret it.
Which encore聽entrepreneurs聽have really impressed you and why?
I鈥檓 impressed by so many of them. Consider Conchy Bretos, who used what she learned as Florida鈥檚 Secretary for Aging and Adult Services to start聽, a for-profit consulting firm designed to help low-income elders age in their homes. Bretos figured out a way to improve the lives of Florida鈥檚 aged population while at the same time building a financially viable business.
Or Nancy Burkhart, who took her years of experience in crafting businesses to create聽, which manufactures and sells nontoxic paints and varnishes. Both women started their ventures to solve a problem they witnessed firsthand. And both chose a for-profit model that would allow them to make a living while also solving a social problem they cared about.
Do you feel that there is enough support for these encore聽entrepreneurs who are starting careers later in their lives? What resources can they turn to (aside from the book)?
I鈥檓 not completely sure that encore entrepreneurs need different kinds of support than younger social entrepreneurs. They turn to the same kinds of places as younger entrepreneurs with a social bent 鈥� sustainable MBA or MBA-like programs and social-venture boot camps, social-venture incubators, and mentors.
There are some programs springing up, like the聽, specifically catering to the challenges of older entrepreneurs (though not necessarily those with a social mission.)
What someone needs depends a lot on what kind of background they come from. Someone who has a track record of running successful businesses will need very different kinds of support than someone who鈥檚 new both to the social venture field and to entrepreneurship.
In either case, encore entrepreneurs should seek out ways to connect with like-minded folks in location-based communities (like聽) and through online communities (like Dowser!).
Why do you think the 鈥渄o good鈥� aspect is so key for many of these聽entrepreneurs? What common themes do you see in them?
Something definitely kicks in when you cross the threshold of a big birthday, like 50 or 60. Regardless of what you鈥檝e done earlier in life, there is a sense that what you do with your remaining time should matter. And even if you don鈥檛 know exactly what you want to do, you probably have a good sense of what part of the world鈥檚 troubles speaks to you most personally.
I see a few common threads. Legacy and the fate of future generations are common motivators. Which is why we see so many encore entrepreneurs interested in programs around youth 鈥� mentoring, foster care, education, are all popular areas. Improving the way health care is delivered and making life easier for our aging population and those that care for them are also big areas of interest for encore entrepreneurs. Many baby boomers have lived through serious health issues themselves or have had experience caring for a partner or aged parent. So it鈥檚 not surprising that those experiences are natural influences.
What do you want to achieve with Encore.org (and your book) in the long run?
At Encore.org, we envision a time when planning for your encore career is as commonplace as planning for a leisure-based retirement once was. When that happens, we will see all kinds of new offerings that help people transition into new kinds of work and service. Some of this is happening already.
Programs like聽,, and聽聽are helping people in mid-life and beyond use their talents to help social- sector organizations. National Service programs like the聽聽are seeking out the talents of experienced people. Even Teach for America, which built its reputation as the pathway for recent college graduates, is attracting聽聽who want to offer their talents to fix our broken schools.聽Higher education is focusing on life-long learning.
Even financial services firms are changing the way they talk about retirement planning, acknowledging that their clients are working even in what is still聽anachronistically聽called the 鈥渞etirement years.鈥� In time, we鈥檒l see more sweeping changes.
Do you feel that we as a society do enough to support these folks? Or encourage聽entrepreneurship聽later in life?
Not yet, but I鈥檓 hopeful that the next generation of encore entrepreneurs will have many mentors to guide them. The best support often comes from people who have walked the walk themselves. So I expect that the current wave of encore entrepreneurs will step up and mentor those who are inspired to follow their lead. I also expect to see a lot of intergenerational mentorship, with older and younger social entrepreneurs working together on issues in ways that tap both the wisdom of age and the energy of youth.
鈥� at .
