In an entertainment world predominantly focused on youth, one entrepreneur is shifting the spotlight to seniors. Nadia Willie-McKenzie has launched Good Company, a social enterprise aimed at helping individuals over 60 combat loneliness and engage in enjoyable activities outside their homes.
Good Company provides, just that, good company for individuals over 60 years old.
“It’s a social enterprise that supports seniors as a vulnerable group. We use social engagement to combat social isolation and loneliness,” owner Nadia Willie-Mckenzie told Loop News.
The idea for Good Company, which launched in 2021, stems from Willie-McKenzie’s personal experience with her grandmother. Reflecting on the time she spent with her grandparents, she shared, “I was very close to my grandparents. My grandfather used to ask me to comb my grandmother’s hair every week,” she said, adding that this simple task deepened her bond with her blind grandmother.
At the time she thought nothing much of her weekly chores and did them diligently because her beloved grandparents needed her help. But upon the passing of her grandfather, the time spent with her grandmother took on new significance.
“It was my way of honouring him. They were married for 54 years so it was a very hard time for my grandmother. I realised our time together helped her to cope with the loss of her best friend and the love of her life,”
“I began to think about those who may have lost somebody but do not have the support of a community to do things with them [and] those who are retired and lonely. COVID-19 magnified this concern,” she said
Willie-McKenzie also realised that with more seniors living longer, the dynamics of caring for them have changed, creating the need for companies like hers.
“Old doesn’t look the way it used to. It’s no longer a frail old person sitting at home with their grandchildren. These are independent people. It’s just that they are living in an age where there is a transition [of the dynamics] and there isn’t much to accommodate them,” she reasoned.
“We have 75-year-olds at the gym, chilling with their friends and trying to find something to do but they can’t because normally that age group would be just waiting to die. A lot of them don’t have anywhere to go, much to do or companies or initiatives focused on them,” she said.
In fact, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 15 per cent of Jamaica’s population is over the age of 60. This is expected to increase to 23 per cent by 2050.
“As a nation, we have to look at ways to serve this demographic because it is our fastest growing demographic right now,” the former project manager said.
Good Company aims to tap this market while filling a social need. The company currently offers weekly activities such as painting, dance classes, pool aerobics and arts and crafts, some of which are supported by trained partners.
“Our aim is to just get people out of the house and having fun. We have engaging activities and we try to be innovative about it. We don’t just do card games and bingo games. We have [other] events like karaoke, jeopardy and move night followed by a dance party with strobe lights,” she said.
The costs range from $1,000 to $1,500 with classes held in the garden of a member’s home, at the University of the West (Mona) pool, Constant Spring Golf Club, or the National Housing Trust’s sports club,
“We are getting them out in a space and time where a lot of the things are focused on targeting the younger audience,” she said.
The company is also focused on expanding and refining its business model as it grows. Right now, membership is free. However, come September, Good Company will offer a tiered membership.
For a fee, members will get access to discounts on promotions and “a lot more exclusive benefits.”
“This will be a second tier for people who want to upgrade their membership. With the paid membership, you get free classes for the month, VIP and skip-the-line treatment for the events.”
There are also plans to add locations in St Ann and St James, “partly because they are hot spots,” by September to coincide with Senior Citizen’s Month.
“I recognise that people travel from as far as Westmoreland and St. Ann to come to the events. I have persons asking about St Mary and St Catherine as well, but I have to pace myself,” she said.
Good Company will also stage workshops to raise awareness of seniors’ needs. “We will be providing support for them and their caregivers on managing a person with Alzheimer’s, among others. We also have support groups that people can be a part of,” she said adding the six-month series will be dubbed the Good Company Help Series.
Willie-Mckenzie also plans to add day centres by next year. “I want to have day centres in every parish so that persons who are at home and just want to get out of the house can go to the location and participate in Good Company activities.”
This will also mean expanding her current staff of eight volunteers and contractors that she uses as the need arises.
With funding for the company now earned from the weekly activities and “friends of Good Company,” Willie-McKenzie is also seeking to partner with companies “that are aligned with the vision” of her company.
She admits that it has been a bit challenging financing the company having left her job as director of business development officer at a Canadian IT firm but said: “I am very happy I did this because it has been the most fulfilling thing I’ve done so far.
“I was making good money but it just wasn’t as fulfilling. I knew I wanted to do something that directly impacted people.”
