With the UK economy facing a decade of ”painful readjustment” according to the latest quarterly report from Ernst & Young’s economic forecasting group, now is definitely the time for those of us in our Third Age to think about our future.

Despite Government claims that the UK is out of recession, those of us who live in the real world know better. Anyone who thinks this recession is over and that things will soon start getting back to normal is living in Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Refusing to face the obvious is fine when you’re in your twenties and thirties but those of us in our Third Age simply don’t have the time for fairy stories. We need to act, and act now!

So if you’re in your Third Age and have either set up your own business or are thinking about doing so, tell us about it. If you’ve recently become self-employed or are considering self-employment, tell us about that too. We may be able to help.

As anyone who has read any of our previous features on the subject will know, we at Third Age are firmly of the opinion that we need to help ourselves and help each other if we are not to become the ‘Forgotten Age’.

There is a solution to many of the world’s problems, but since no political party in the Western world has the courage to implement it, we have to accept that populations will continue to grow, and as they do, we of the Third Age, despite currently being the largest demographic, will continue to be marginalized. Over time, the old will increasingly suffer at the expense of the young.

And yet despite the fact that we are currently the world’s largest demographic, we seem unable or unwilling to help ourselves. We continue to live by our ‘old world’ values despite the fact that we live in a modern world that simply doesn’t care any more.

Like it or not, many of you will have no choice but to consider some form of self-employment in the future. Many of you, unable to find meaningful employment, will be forced to set up your own small business, and we are here to help.

But we can only help you if you help yourselves. Don’t hide your light under a bushel. We are keen to promote Third Age businesses, particularly if they provide goods or services for other Third Agers. If we work together, we can help one another. The alternative – well, the alternative simply doesn’t bear thinking about!

Editor, Third Age.