[Press Association] A rise in “silver entrepreneurs” will emerge by 2020 as enterprising pensioners find new money-making schemes to help them cope with the looming pensions crisis, a think-tank has predicted.

The expected generation of “Wearies” – Working, Entrepreneurial and Active Retirees – was highlighted in the report, compiled by the Future Foundation for pension provider Friends Life.

The “working retired” could become consultants, online traders or set up odd job businesses from their retirement flats to make ends meet, the study suggested.

The Pensions: Crisis and Reforms report looked at how retirees would cope in the decades to come if automatic enrolment into pension schemes, which begins this October, fails to tackle the lack of savings built up by those on squeezed incomes.

It found that most baby boomers (67%) expected to be more active in their retirement than previous generations.

Three-quarters of those who were currently working would be prepared to perform part-time work after retirement, while a third said they would be prepared to run a small one-person business from home.

The report also predicted a possible return to several generations living under one roof, with 14% of current workers saying they would consider moving in with other family members as they grew older.

Around six in 10 of those surveyed would consider selling little-used possessions online to help make ends meet.

A third said they would rent out a room to a lodger, while only one in nine (11%) of current workers would not consider any of the options suggested to them.

Martin Palmer, head of corporate benefits marketing at Friends Life, said: “If Britain fails to get a grip on the looming pensions crisis, the home could double up as the workplace for many senior citizens. We will see the birth of the biz-res.

“If this happens, it won’t be uncommon for front rooms to be dominated by desks with computers and phones or for business meetings to take place in people’s dining rooms and conservatories.”

The pressure on household budgets has seen older people hit by high fuel bills, at a time when their savings have failed to make real returns as the Bank of England maintains the base rate at a historic low.

Among those to whom auto-enrolment would apply who were interviewed, just 4% said that they would definitely opt out, but only 15% said that that they would definitely remain in the scheme, researchers found.

Meanwhile, some six out of 10 respondents in employment feared that auto-enrolment might encourage employers to water down their existing pension.

The report found a persistent low awareness about auto-enrolment and said the Government still had much work to do to communicate information about it.

It argued that while many people were expected to remain opted into their pension scheme, the minimum saving rate of 8% “must not be presented as a solve-all level that will ensure a secure retirement”.

Some 1,000 adults were interviewed for the study.

>> Or take a look here for Mark’s other exclusive columns for FMWF’s Enterprise Zone.

I would like to do some networking to create more business but am quite a shy person, can you give me some useful tips on how to approach people?

Mark Lovell replies:

Networking is simply telling other people what you do and it doesn’t have to be in front of large crowds of people. You’re the expert; you know more about your business than anyone else so how could you be wrong?

However, that doesn’t stop many of us feeling nervous or ill at ease at the thought of approaching people. So here are a few useful hints and tips to consider when planning on networking.

Firstly, who is in your network already? We all have existing networks of friends, family, ex-colleagues etc, but have you had a close look at who is already in your network? How many of the people you already know could be your potential customers, suppliers, business advisers, consultants, market researchers?

Some further points to note. Choose your networking event wisely. Make sure the events you are attending will actually give you the opportunity to access target customers or relevant links to your industry. It’s very easy to end up going to many events, without making a significant connection.

Ensure you listen carefully and focus on that listening, rather than talking. If you listen carefully you will be able to establish a connection or interest that will help you tailor make your offer according to who you are talking to.

Another important point is that ‘people buy people’; it is often about establishing a relationship and not immediately focusing on what you want to sell. On that point, some people are afraid of the word ‘selling without’ realising that every day, in every interaction, we are selling ourselves. We present a different side of our personalities depending of who are we talking to.

It is a good idea to acquire business cards from the people you are interested in dealing with. This means you are taking control of any future engagement, and the power rests in your hands to establish further contact instead of waiting for the person to contact you. A tip is to jot down a ‘note to self’ on the business card – to remind you in the future why it was that you wanted to remain in contact.

Ask yourself a few questions to help you frame what you want to say and how. If you only had 60 seconds, how would you introduce yourself, your business/product/service? What would you say? How would you say it? Create a story. Not too much detail.

Practice, practice, practice

>> For more expert advice on Networking click here

[Press Association]  UK consumers are set to spend the most of anyone in Europe on buying goods on mobile devices this year, a report predicted today.

Shopping comparison firm Kelkoo estimated that spending will top £4.5 billion in this country, compared with £2.7 billion in Germany and £1.9 billion in France.

The figure compares with spending of just £0.7 billion in 2010 and follows a big increase in the number of people owning smartphones.

Chris Simpson of Kelkoo said: “Over the last two years, shopping on mobile phones has increased exponentially as a result of simple and secure payment systems, better functionality and increased uptake of ‘always on’ mobile devices such as iPads and tablets.

“The fact that mobile retailing in the UK has grown by a staggering 584% since 2010 alone highlights how UK consumers are going beyond the PC to find the best online prices wherever they are. At Kelkoo we’ve seen phenomenal growth in mobile shopping comparisons.”

The weight of hundreds of thousands of businesses has been thrown behind Financial Mail’s campaign to scale back the Government’s ‘flawed’ increase in business rates in April.

Organisations representing landlords, small shops and more than 200,000 other small businesses joined together this weekend to urge Local Government Minister Eric Pickles and Chancellor George Osborne to review the situation.

The 5.6 per cent annual increase is pegged against September’s rise in the Retail Prices Index – the highest for the past decade and seen as a peak – but the Treasury has the power to scale it back.

Business spokesmen say a rise of two per cent, equal to this year’s inflation target, is more realistic.

Pickles is also being asked to grant concessions to small shops whose plight is forcing them to abandon the High Street.

‘This rise will be bad news for retailers, landlords and the economy and comes at a time when many High Streets are fighting for their survival,’ said Ian Fletcher, director of policy at the British Property Federation, which has 350 members including all of the country’s biggest retail landlords.

John Walker, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses which has 200,000 members, said the April increase would mean a ten per cent rise over two years.

‘Although we understand the pressures the Government faces, we would like to see it look again at how the increases are set to prevent these sorts of volatile rises,’ he said.

The Association of Convenience Stores, which has 33,500 members, said the increase was ‘artificial’.

The British Retail Consortium, which represents 80 per cent of shops by sales, said: ‘The whole business of setting rates is flawed.’ The British Independent Retailers Association, which also represents the Fashion Association of Britain, has also backed Financial Mail’s campaign.

The only concessions have been rate relief on businesses paying less than £18,000 a year and an option to allow firms partially to defer the rise, potentially leaving a time bomb as the recession lingers on.

A spokesman for the Forum of Private Business asked for rate relief to be given automatically as half of those of those eligible had not claimed it.

An enterprise calendar, detailing more than 600 events this year being held for entrepreneurs, was launched last week.

The move is part of the Start-Up Britain campaign, which was launched last March by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. It aims to ‘celebrate, inspire and accelerate enterprise in the UK’.

The calendar, available at startupbritain.org, is intended to become a valuable resource for business owners, who can access details of bootcamps, workshops, conferences and networking events, among others, taking place across the country, many of them free.

>> Take a look at the calendar here

By Helen Loveless

A CONSTANT struggle to access ongoing finance was a key factor in the decision by Lucy Price and her brother Simon to sell their recycling business last year – and use the proceeds to set up a fund, Mantua Capital, to provide short-term loans to manufacturing firms to help them grow and develop.

The pair had struggled to access funding from the banks or private equity firms for their business Recycled Carbon Fibre, which had developed new technology to recycle carbon fibre. Eventually they sold a small equity stake to an American firm, before selling the business to a German company.

Lucy, 41, says: ‘Our business was cash-intensive and we couldn’t find funding or investment in the UK. We had a large and very valuable furnace and we asked our bank if we could borrow against that. Initially they said yes, but after six months of going back and forward they changed their mind. It was an incredibly difficult and emotional time for us.’

The £1.5 million fund will look to make loans of ‘around £50,000 to £100,000 on average’, for a maximum period of 12 months, to manufacturing businesses with cashflow difficulties.

Lucy, who says they have already received enquiries from interested businesses, believes they are well positioned to help firms because they ‘understand how emotional trying to access finance can be’.

She adds: ‘We won’t credit score as such. Instead we will work with firms we can see are strong, with a strong balance sheet, who struggle to access short-term funding despite this.’

The business will charge an arrangement fee, expected to be around £2,000 or so, to cover the necessary legal processes. The interest rate is likely to be between two per cent and five per cent a month.

>> For more visit mantuacapital.com

>> For Digital Marketing Advice taiored specifically to SMEs, from a host of experts, click here.

[Press Association] Facebook has announced plans to help thousands of small firms by offering free advertising to boost their chances of growing their business.

The firm will give away £4.2 million-worth of adverts to tens of thousands of small businesses across Europe following the launch of a series of roadshows being run in conjunction with the British Chambers of Commerce on building Facebook business pages.

A new report by Deloitte showed that Facebook has supported 35,200 jobs across Europe and contributed £2.2 billion to the UK economy.

Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said: “Today’s report shows that Facebook is about a lot more than sharing pictures or keeping up with friends. Increasingly, social media means growth and jobs.

“As the Deloitte study highlights, social media is proving particularly valuable for small and medium-sized businesses, which form the backbone of the European economy.

“The impact of social media is a bright spot in challenging times, but growth won’t happen on its own. We need to make sure that we invest in the right education, training, technology and networks so that social media can continue to drive innovation and economic growth.”

The Government welcomed the planned Love Your Local Market event from June 23 to July 8, which followed recommendations in the recent review by retail guru Mary Portas.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles called for widespread support for the initiative so that budding entrepreneurs had the chance to test and develop business ideas on a market stall.

Stalls will be available for £10 a day, while market mentors will be available to offer advice on how to run a successful business.

Mr Pickles said: “The best markets play a crucial role in community life and the local economy. Whether run by farmers or fashionistas they can draw shoppers to the area, and are a fantastic testing ground for budding entrepreneurs.

“The bustle of a busy market has been a great British tradition for over 1,000 years, and big names like Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Morrisons and JJB Sports all started out as a market stall.

“I’m delighted that national markets groups have responded swiftly to the call by Mary Portas, and over an entire fortnight will lend their expertise to people who want to try their hand at running a business.”

>> For more general advice about Starting a business, whatever your age or situation, take a look here.

[Press Association] Richard and Karen Kemp have turned their love of pastries into a full-time businesses with help from a charity initiative.

The couple, from the West Midlands, turned to the Prince’s Initiative For Mature Enterprise (Prime) when Richard was faced with unemployment and they wanted to start their own business.

Richard’s job as a project manager in the heritage attractions industry was threatened in 2010 when funding dried up in the sector.

And with limited options available to unemployed people over 50, the couple decided to open their own business.

Karen’s experience of selling pastries in farmers markets across the West Midlands proved to be invaluable and the couple decided to open wedding catering business Kemp and Kemp.

They were assisted with business planning, financial advice and future networking opportunities by Prime ahead of the launch.

After attending a Prime workshop, Richard said: “These workshops are a key way for over 50 entrepreneurs to learn about businesses and are an excellent form of networking.”

Since then the Staffordshire-based catering company has seen business boom with 26 weddings booked for this year.

Prime was founded by the Prince of Wales to help unemployed people over the age of fifty set up their own businesses.

>> For more information visit http://www.prime.org.uk.

[Press Association] David Cameron has announced that empty Government offices will be offered to budding entrepreneurs hoping to launch their own businesses.

The Prime Minister plans to open vacant and under-used workplaces to small firms and new enterprises in a bid to kick-start the economy.

Launching the initiative while addressing a groupof entrepreneurs in Yorkshire, Mr Cameron said: “The British Government has a huge stock of buildings at our disposal.

“The first priority for the ones we aren’t using is to sell them off, but in the meantime, many are going to be sitting idle. So let’s match the capacity we’ve got with the need that’s out there. Let’s provide office space where we can to those who can use it.”

The Government hopes to offer more than 300 premises at low rates for one year so new companies can establish themselves and small firms can benefit from  cheap deals.

With cuts to the public payroll, many Government buildings lie empty or have space available as they await buyers.

As well as helping entrepreneurs, the initiative will give a much-needed boost to Treasury finances.

Speaking in a partially empty Government building in the centre of Leeds, Mr Cameron said: “I said 2012 has got to be the year we go for it, the year we light new fires of ambition in our economy, the year we get behind Britain’s
grafters, doers, hard-workers and entrepreneurs.

“This isn’t something we’d quite like to do – it’s something we’ve got to do  because enterprise is critical to this country’s future. Enterprise is what we do in Britain. This is the year that, more than ever,  we’ve got to go for it.”

The Prime Minister also launched a campaign aimed at encouraging people to  believe “there is a business in everyone”.

The Business in You drive will see companies hold workshops and give advice on tackling some of the issues faced by would-be bosses, with the scheme highlighted in radio, newspaper and billboard adverts throughout the year.

He told an audience of entrepreneurs:  “Britain is a country with enterprise running through its veins.” And he joked
about how his daughter made mince pies on New Year’s Day and sold them to his protection officers for a pound a time.

“Eight years old, I think it’s a good spark of enterprise,” he said.

Forum of Private Business chief executive Phil Orford said: “Start up businesses need all the help they can muster in order to grow and flourish,  particularly in the current climate.

“So it’s excellent to see the Government rolling its sleeves up and getting stuck in to the issue. We all know that for the UK economy to move forward and lift the country out of the doldrums there needs to be serious growth in the private sector.

“This is essential for the economy to rebalance itself with an emphasis on small and medium sized enterprises leading the charge forward. Britain has a rich history of entrepreneurship and we need to encourage more of that for that charge to see positive results.”