“I had to accept the end of my employment which was devastating for me because I certainly wasn't ready to retire. It was a traumatic experience getting up every morning with no purpose or routine. I wished I could continue what I had committed all my years doing: helping businesses maintain their cash flow”.
After twenty loyal years of service, Iris found herself at a crossroad. At the time it felt more like a dead end as she had been forced into retirement solely determined by her age. The fact that her energy levels were as high as ever and her aptitude and experience unrivalled, this is just how professions end in the traditional corporate world. Her daughter being an entrepreneur, exposed Iris to a whole new world that was thriving, a place where age doesn't mean a thing, a world anyone could step into if they so desired. Iris began putting her money collection experience to work, offering it as a service to her daughters business and getting word to spread. Today Iris offers a new take on debt collection for the entrepreneur, where client relationships can thrive whilst still ensuring outstanding payments are recovered, maintaining a healthy cash flow for their business.
“The job that I had done for so long and done so well, became second nature. I thought to myself, I cannot understand the hype around promoting this because for me it's simple. I have had to understand that I need to now promote what I do, something I have never had to do before: sell myself!”
Iris, like many Founders, reached the understanding that opportunity is something we can create for ourselves. She explains that with taking the bold step into the unknown that is entrepreneurship, comes even more unknowns. She is learning about the importance of content creation to market her services, still in the deep end when it comes to blogs, podcasts and the like. Furthermore, Iris explains the technology gap she has experienced. When one is accustomed to an organisation's chosen suite of technology, it can leave one feeling quite outdated when coming out of that bubble and realising so much more exists. A reminder to always push ourselves to understand developments around us, we may never know when it is time to change our old habits for the better. A further challenge she experienced was the evolution in business language, where some phrases become less fitting and are replaced with new ways of articulating business conversation. She has learnt about the fine line between being too ‘familiar’ and still being professional in the current business world she finds herself in.
“In the not so long past when one needed a question answered you simply asked an expert in the field. Now you must ‘google it’ or ask ‘claude’. Whilst I like it, it's frightening how we aren't talking to people anymore and it's important we don't just stop thinking for ourselves.”
Iris is driven by her vision to have her days filled doing what she loves, feeling appreciated in helping to safeguard her clients from getting to a place where client debt ensues only to meet litigation. To achieve this she goes back to her roots, human to human communication, something in current times we are quick to undervalue. She reminds us of the magic when we bring human-ness back into how we conduct business. Her ability to keep those she works with in good cash flow status is the proof in the pudding. Looks like many of us need to take some learnings from the past - in the same way Iris has adopted the new ways of business today.
“Two years might not sound long but it is long when your professional world comes to an abrupt end. All of a sudden you have no interaction with people in your profession. My advice? Don't delay, get back on that horse as quickly as possible”.
Wise words from Iris to those who may find themselves in her same shoes not so long ago. She explains how she had to remind herself how capable and competent she was as self doubt easily sets in when the working world tells you that you have expired. We admire and acknowledge that the leap from employee to entrepreneur can feel that much more intimidating when doing it later in life.
Her daughter who initially lit Iris’s entrepreneurial flame continues to be a source of inspiration to her. With her “we’ll work it out” response to every kink in the road, Iris has learnt to ride the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Who knew she would be inspiring others by sharing her entrepreneurial story with us today. She has also started her very own movement for people who find themselves looking for a career launch or pivot later in life. Thank you Iris for challenging our thinking that when one gets to a certain age it all has to be over, you are testament to the fact that we never have to stop doing what we love!
“Solving niche challenges Founders face”.
Illustrator: Lisa Williams (Instagram: @artist_llw)