‘Working gives me a sense of purpose’
Only a quarter of this year’s retirees feel very confident that they’ve saved enough to fund their retirement, compared with nearly a third in 2021.
When Walsall gran Shashi Aggarwal, 71, found herself at a loose end, she came up with a bright idea and is now making money on her own terms.
‘For 38 years I ran a hardware business with my husband, Ashok, serving customers in the shop as well as sourcing products and managing staff. It was successful but hard work and we hardly ever had any time off. So, in 2008, we sold the business and I was looking forward to having more time to myself and travelling.
We visited Australia, Mexico and Thailand – all the places I’d dreamed of seeing. It was amazing but, after a few years, I realised I missed working and felt my life lacked purpose. I was never one to sit around and do nothing and I felt I was wasting time.
I talked about how I was feeling with my family on Christmas Day in 2013, telling them I needed a project to keep me busy, perhaps using my cooking and sewing skills.
My youngest son suggested doing something with Indian spice tins. I kept one in the kitchen, a pretty tin containing nine spices used in Indian cookery, including turmeric, chilli powder and coriander. To test the market, he put one on ebay to see if there was any interest. To my amazement, it sold on Boxing Day and the idea for Spice Kitchen was born. I sourced tins locally and bought in spices, working in my garage, which was perfect for storage. I used my love of sewing to make tin covers using beautiful Indian silk, and it was soon clear that there was a huge demand.
Within a year, I was invited to the
BBC Good Food Show at the NEC in Birmingham, and the business really took off. I’d package the tins, sew covers and develop recipes while Ashok would do the Post Office runs and paperwork. But I was soon back working 18-hour days, which wasn’t what I’d planned.
I wanted to see more of my children and grandchildren, so in 2016, I stepped
back from running the business. Instead, I’d be in charge of developing the recipes, creating new spice blends and cover designs.
It’s worked really well; there’s a reason for me to get up every morning. I’ve even started a new sewing business, Sewn by Shashi.
But at the same time, I can visit my grandchildren or go away whenever I want to. I’m working on my own terms. If my health allows, I plan to keep working. I’m still bursting with ideas and feel I have plenty left to give. Working flexibly is perfect for me.’