Silver start-ups: Age is no barrier to starting a business in Yorkshire

One such person is Natalie Press who opened Woof, a Leeds-based shop that supplies treats, toys and other dog-related products, just over three-years ago.

And while Natalie, aged 52, falls under the 55-year-old category she says the years of experience from working her way through the ranks in HR up to director level has stood her in good stead.

She said: “If I’d have not had the experiences that I had working in HR – talking to directors, sitting on boards, making big decisions, doing a lot of strategy – I would have been much more daunted setting up something like this.

“A lot of it is resilience. As you get older you learn to be more resilient, especially working in retail. It is a very different landscape and it takes a while to understand customers and the peaks and troughs of business.

“Something I learned through my corporate jobs is that I do a lot of market research so I’m constantly building a picture of our customers.”

Natalie originally went to arts college but ended up taking a role in a HR department, or ‘personnel as it was then called’, in her native Grimsby.

Moving to work in Hull she married her husband Rob, who is a graphic designer, and when both were made redundant they moved to Leeds where she re-trained as a make-up artist – a job that she has been doing for the past 14 years.

The inspiration for opening Woof came from a variety of sources said Natalie, but primarily for providing a future for her son Toby.

“During end of lockdown we got a diagnosis of autism for Toby,” said Natalie.

“That escalated our thoughts about opening a shop. Toby always had an affinity for dogs and we knew that he’d struggle to work for an employer because of his various different needs.

“I’d been thinking about it for ages and I came home one day and said to my husband ‘we’re opening a dog shop!’

“I’d seen some premises and worked out what we needed to do but it was very much about giving Toby a future so he would have somewhere where he’d be supported by a community that knew him and accepted him for how he is.

“Once the local community understands him they have been extremely welcoming and accepting of him and he’s here during weekends and holidays. It gave us some assurance that when we’re at the point of wanting to retire at least he has the support of a bigger community and a way of living independently.”

Toby, now aged 12, is a well-known presence around the shop for its loyal customer base which includes BBC weatherman Paul Hudson and his dog Dave, and BBC Look North presenter Amanda Harper and her dog Penny.

Woof on Roundhay Road in Leeds is typical of the type of silver start-up business with creative arts, selling handmade goods, the pet industry and food and drink the most appealing industries to the over 55’s in the UK.

Natalie puts it down to people wanting to use their experience to focus on their own needs.

She said: “In some respects people who have had long careers in certain areas have probably done that because they needed to support their family and they reach this point in their lives and think ‘I want to do something for me now’.

“I think there’s the social aspect to it as well because you have to get out there and see people and talk to people.

“We were also sick of walking into pet shops and things being piled from floor to ceiling. We couldn’t take Toby into places like that as it was too over-whelming.

“The design of our shop has been very specific. We have two rooms and you can stand in each room and see everything that is laid out.

“We don’t put huge amounts on the shelves, it has been done that was so if anyone has a neuro-diversity or any sort of condition they can come in and get access to things very easily.”

While older generations have traditionally been overlooked when it comes to starting new business ventures, 38% of those surveyed thought that with age comes greater experience which is a huge benefit to starting a new career or business.

More than a third of those aged 55+ (36%) believe being older when starting a business means they have a better understanding of their skills and what they enjoy, while a third mentioned that they have built a good network to support them.

Andy Fishburn, Managing Director from Virgin StartUp, said: “You really are never too old to try something new and start your own business. As the working population continues to get older, it’s natural that this generation is starting to look at how it can make the most of the next chapter of their career.

“There’s often the misconception that young age brings with it a fearlessness to try something new, but with the right idea, passion, and determination, it doesn’t matter how old you are.”

Natalie said nothing was going to stop her from making a success of Woof: “Because Rob is self employed as well it wasn’t something we had the financial resources to do. Our accountants said speak to Virgin about funding.

“It was pretty scary thinking we were borrowing money to go into an industry we knew nothing about.

“But I’m the kind of person who believed in what we were doing so whole-heartedly I said to Rob this will work by hook or by crook.”