‘I no longer worry about what people think’

SUZANNE NOBLE, 61, from London, is the co-founder of Advantages of Age and Start Up School for Seniors.

‘When I was younger, I believed that ageing meant freedom. I imagined I’d retire at 40 and book a one-way ticket to travel for as long as I pleased.

Life hasn’t quite turned out like that but ageing still has meant freedom. Just in a different way to what I’d thought. Now, I’m free from worrying about other people’s judgement or thoughts. I spent a lot of time in my 20s worrying about my relationships with men, but I realise nowadays it’s actually my relationships with other women that mean far more to me.

As we age, I really believe women blossom and become far more creative. The years in our 50s and 60s, often once we’re free from raising children and have our independence again, is our time and we need to make the most of it.

Now I’m in my early 60s, I’m confident in how I feel and what I want to do. I’ve even dyed my hair pink!

And my main purpose is to show other people all of the amazing things that ageing brings with it. That’s why I decided to set up my social enterprise, Advantages of Age.

I’ve been self-employed all of my life, but in my 50s, I realised just how many thousands of people my age were being made redundant from jobs they’d been in for years and were unsure about where to go next. It was awful to see so many friends, and friends of friends, suddenly feel lost and unsure of where to turn. So, eager to show them how their life, work skills and experience could be put to the best use, I set up the Start Up School for Seniors in 2020, to show them how to use their knowledge to follow their dreams.

Whether that be setting up their own business, writing the novel they’ve had spinning round in their head for years or creating solutions for problems that people our age face, we support and encourage them through it.

Over the pandemic, as thousands more people ended up out of work and needed our help, my co-founder and I recorded over 20 hours of video footage on setting up a business.

Hopefully, we’ve shown that, far from being just a number, age is something we should all respect and celebrate!’

✢ startupschoolforseniors.com