Moira Sugden is a lifecoach, mentor and speaker. She’s about to become her own boss, for the first time in her working life, thanks to the support of the Over50s Start Me Up programme.
“I’ve worked for 43 years in the public sector,” Moira explains. “I worked for the NHS first, then in education, most recently at the University of Southampton. Now I’m going to be working with busy professionals who struggle to find time for themselves and would like to have more time with their family, enjoy social and leisure activities and work towards promotion and recognition.”
It’s a big change for Moira, who first attended the Chamber’s one day Start Me Up course in September last year.
“The idea of having my own business was really scary and that’s how 50 Plus has really helped me. I was worried about things such as marketing, bookkeeping, tax issues and how to cope with the loneliness of being on your own when you’re used to working with hundreds of people. I was scared of going wrong really. The one-day course put a lot of those issues to rest and I came away feeling really encouraged. I knew that other people were doing it and I thought ‘why can’t I?’.”
Moira has also benefited from the wider Over 50’s network. She found her website designer and her bookkeeper through the programme, as well as receiving invaluable support from her mentors.
“Lynda and Fiona are experts and it’s been brilliant to have their on-going support. Fiona has really helped me, particularly with advice about how to ask people to pay me for my work, which I’ve never had to do before. I’ve felt a bit cheeky, and maybe exposed, but I’m learning to feel confident about it. I know I’m worth it but it’s still very new to me.
“Fiona and Lynda have lots of contacts with people who are over 50 and have started their own business, which helps me too. It feels like you’ve got a community backing you up and it’s great to be able to swap notes with other people on the programme on how things are going. I’m currently focusing on coaching sessions as 1to1s or in small groups. In the future I’d like to run retreats on the Island too and I may well be able to work with hotels and B & Bs who are also in the 50 Plus network.”
It’s been a busy time for Moira. She joined the 50 Plus programme a year ago; she turned 60 in April this year and will officially launch her new business next month.
“I’m going to be professional,” Moira laughs. “I’ve had a mix of anxiety and excitement so far. They’re two sides of the same coin and now that I’m nearly there I’m much more excited than I am nervous. The 50 Plus scheme has been a great calming influence. I’ve been thinking about running my own business since 2012 but back then it was just too scary. I’ve got to the point now where I want to give myself the time to be successful and to enjoy it.”
