Member Article

Local Entrepreneur Celebrates Enterprise with HRH The Prince of Wales

A mature business woman from Northumberland attended a reception hosted by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales at St James’s Palace, London, on Tuesday 10 September, to celebrate the success of The Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise (PRIME) entrepreneurs.

Anne Williams was invited to attend the prestigious event by PRIME having set up her virtual assistant business, LinchpinPA, after attending a business training course run by the charity in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The reception was part of a series of ‘Celebrating Enterprise’ events marking what The Prince and his charities have achieved in the area of enterprise. In total, his charities have helped create more than 125,000 entrepreneurs across the world and provided business support to more than 395,000 people of all ages.

On the day, Anne was able to network with other guests, including other mature entrepreneurs from around the country, as well as key supporters of the charity.

Anne said: “It’s not every day you get invited to attend an event at St James’s Palace and it was a big honour for me to have the opportunity to meet The Prince of Wales.

“Before I heard of PRIME, I was looking for work as I was facing redundancy, then suffered from a back injury.

“Thanks to the charity’s help and support I was able to set up my own business, which has been a wonderful experience and has meant that I have been really well prepared to get my business off the ground, which is less than one year old”.

PRIME is a leading national charity helping people over the age of 50, who are unemployed or facing the threat of redundancy, with the support to achieve financial, social and personal fulfilment through sustainable self-employment.

The event also highlighted PRIME’s Be a Business Champion campaign, supported by funds from the Social Action Fund, which has seen the charity recruit volunteers to drive and support enterprise by the over 50s across the country.

PRIME’s Chairman, Richard Martin, said: “This was the first time we had brought together a real cross-section of people connected with PRIME and it was a great honour to welcome HRH The Prince of Wales to the event.

“People over the age of 50 have a wealth of skills and experience to benefit their local communities, as well as wider the economy, and people like Anne serve as a positive example that it’s never too late to set-up your own business.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anne Williams LinchpinPA .