FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2012
CONTACT: Dave Nathan
202-434-2560
media@aarp.org
AARP, SBA Mark Small Business Week by Announcing New Collaboration Aimed at Assisting Entrepreneurs Over 50
Initiative Aims to Put 100,000 Older Americans in Touch with Small Business Development Resources
Washington, DC – AARP and the U.S. Small Business Administration, marking national Small
Business Week, announced today a multi-pronged collaboration to promote entrepreneurship as a career option for older Americans.
The aim of the joint effort is to link 100,000 Americans over age 50 with small business development resources, including live workshops, conferences and mentoring programs.
One focus of the initiative will be the AARP Life@50+ national event and expo, scheduled September 20-22 in New Orleans. SBA small business development experts will participate in AARP entrepreneurship workshops and conferences to discuss business planning, mentoring, SBA financing and government contracting.
AARP national Boomer surveys - the most recent in 2011 - have consistently shown that about one-sixth of those surveyed expected to go into business for themselves at some point. Federal statistics show that, last year, there were 7.4 million self-employed workers in the US who were 50 or over.
Announcement of the new initiative was made today by AARP CEO A. Barry Rand and SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills.
“Millions of Americans keep dreaming of owning their own business as a second or third career, using their creative talents to do productive work that also helps them gain economic stability as they move toward retirement,” said Rand.
“This collaboration will combine SBA’s formidable resources for entrepreneurs with AARP’s vast membership and extensive promotional channels,” Rand added.
In addition to the cooperative work at the AARP Life@50+, SBA experts will participate in local AARP events around the country.
And AARP’s award-winning media will regularly feature entrepreneurs’ success stories, engaging information and resources to help entrepreneurs.
For more information about entrepreneurship as an encore career, please visit www.aarp.org/work
or call 1-888-OUR-AARP.
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AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with over 35.1 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP's millions of members and Americans 50+; AARP VIVA, our bilingual multimedia platform for Hispanic members; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
