The Surprising Truth About Women Over 50

today

i’m going to reveal to you the

surprising truth

about women over 50 but first

i’d like to invite you to come with me

on a journey to a beautiful park called

lake meadows

it’s the long hot summer of 76

we can see a girl sitting under a tree

with her boyfriend

like love’s young dream and as we get

closer

we can hear her chatting away about

exciting plans

college then uni with a year out in the

middle for traveling

and studying abroad we’re looking at me

my 16 year old version and then

in what seems like a blink of an eye

that girl’s here today

talking to you the 60 year old version

of myself

you may be watching this in your teens

or twenties

you may be able to identify with that

girl sitting under the tree

you may be her at this moment in time

thinking about the limitless

exciting possibilities that lie ahead

perhaps you’re already much older and so

what i’m saying

really resonates even more poignantly

with you

it doesn’t matter how old you are now

everyone listening

has been younger than they are at this

very moment

aging is something isn’t it that we

don’t really think about when we’re

younger

yet the passage of time steals our youth

and creeps up on us silently during our

distracted decades depicted

by the myriad of opportunities that turn

into responsibilities

relationships marriage career family

elder care divorce

new relationships remarrying the ups and

downs the joys and pains mask the speed

at which we hurtle through life and

hurtle

i did juggling three kids with three

decades as a linguist turned

entrepreneur

running my own training and management

consultancy while stuck in an abusive

relationship

and suddenly as though i wasn’t really

expecting it

i arrived at 50.

looking back i clearly recall having a

feeling of

utter disbelief when i hit that birthday

my new husband and my three children

took me away to istanbul for a long

weekend

i sobbed i can’t honestly tell you

exactly what i was fearing

i think it was more a sense of regret

about the speed of the passage of time

how had i got there so quickly had i

given my best to everything

and everyone could i have achieved more

how could i one minute be that girl in

the park

and soon after the ambitious graduate

with everything going for her

and then incredulously arrive at that

monumental birthday

what would be the societal perception

and expectations of me

what would i expect of myself how would

i flout the stereotype that’s pervasive

you know the one i mean of a woman who’s

frumpy

a shadow of her former self not tech

savvy

unwilling to learn unable to get on with

younger colleagues at work

refusing to take instructions from

younger bosses or clients

the 50 plus woman who’s out of touch and

out of step

studies from the national bureau of

economic research point to older women

suffering age

and sex discrimination with age

detracting more from physical appearance

for women than for men so at that moment

of turning 50

what i couldn’t imagine then is where i

would be a decade later

standing here about to reveal to you the

surprising truth about women over 50

and that surprising truth is that we are

reinventing

and reinvigorating ourselves we are

flouting the stereotype

type we are debunking the myths you see

today women over 50 are not ready to be

put

out to pasture you won’t find us in the

rocking chair

we want the second bite of the cherry

and why do we want that second bite of

the cherry

well never before has the woman over 50

face

so many challenges and yet so many

opportunities

that are driving us to become later life

entrepreneurs

you see against the backdrop of age and

sex discrimination at work

there’s a need and want to overcome the

depletion of resources we may be

suffering

now there are many causes of the

challenges and changes that can happen

at this time in our lives

these may include loss of value in

investments

redundancy early retirement adult kids

living at home

divorce second or third marriages young

kids in later life

and of course elder care for some they

may even find themselves trying to run

and fund a four generational household

unprecedented in the western world

that’s where there’s us as the parents

our elderly parents

our kids who have left home and

boomerang back with their kids

yes really and all under one roof so you

can see why we women over 50

may be feeling the financial and

personal pinch

things certainly aren’t what they used

to be and of course conversely many

other women over 50

will be reaping the rewards of

successful careers

they will have kept hold of considerable

savings generous pension provision

divorce settlement

stable relationships inheritance or

redundancy payments

equity and property maybe and time on

their hands

as the kids fly the nest now these

pressures

and the opportunities play a huge part

in this baby boomer demographic

bulge of ours often referred to as the

pig in the python

and are creating an unprecedented wave

of entrepreneurialism

there’s a proliferation of reports and

studies worldwide from the iod

oecd mit to name but a few all

confirming a huge rise in

over 50 entrepreneurs particularly women

and that we’re making a huge economic

impact

but it’s not just about the money at

this time in our lives we are feeling

the need to do something for self

counterbalance perfectly by our desire

to do something altruistic give back

learn grow and debunk the myth of the

stereotype of the woman over 50.

so we’re not going to be over 50 and

overlooked

we’re going to be over 50 and become the

very best version

of ourselves that we’ve ever been we’re

not about survival

we’re about thriving making the most of

the so-called bonus round

what binds us together though is an

overwhelming desire to be in control of

our own destiny to feel relevant

respected and that we still count

no more than that that we’re a force to

be reckoned with

we want to be working towards our own

priorities making our mark

feeling vital connected and financially

independent

with a reputation for being trailblazers

in the 60s and 70s

we want to do our own thing and if we

can change

lives and improve the world in some way

as a result of our endeavors

even better this new opportunity to

reinvent and reinvigorate

starts with not just seeing age as a

barrier but

conversely as purely a measure of our

life experience and talents

it’s not about retiring but about

restarting or refiring

these are the words used frequently by

the women that i connect with a mentor

we’re rebelling against the stereotype

which dents our looks our image our

focus

and our energy and how do we

restart or re-fire by defining what we

stand for

let me share with you how several years

ago i

embarked on my own journey of

reinvention which happened

as many things do by chance and changed

my life

i was sitting in a taxi at the time i

was on my way to heathrow for a business

trip to jakarta

i just given a talk at senate house in

london to 400 young dentists

about cv writing and interview technique

in fact i’ve been reflecting during that

journey to the airport about how lucky

those young people were

new life ahead starting out endless

possibilities

i’d even describe my mood as wistful

after more than two decades of running

my own training and management

consultancy i was feeling a bit

bored wondering what if any new

opportunities would come my way

i was fed up with the travel i wanted a

new challenge i was mid 50s

but 30 years away from slippers in a

rocking chair

the ping of the email popping up on my

phone woke me from my reveries the cab

weaved through the traffic dear ali

you’ll probably be as surprised to

receive this email as i was when i found

myself at my laptop composing it

but before i explain further i want to

thank you for the last three months of

performance coaching that you’ve given

me

which has enabled me to transform my

success as a chief executive

the thing is though and this is so

awesome that i felt you had to be the

first person in the world to know

i’m going to resign i want to be like

you

i’m 50 i have a whole new life ahead of

me i want to be my

own ceo not someone else’s

i want to set and achieve my own

objectives i don’t want to continue

working nine to five in the rest chained

to a desk

embroiled in politics and worrying

constantly whether i’m going to be

perceived as

past it at any moment so i’m going to do

what you’ve done ellie

for most of your career i’m going to be

my own boss

i’m setting up my own business and i’m

super excited about taking this next big

step in my life

in fact it’s not just the next step it’s

an entrepreneurial

leap of faith and it’s going to change

and transform my forever after

thank you for everything you’ve done to

spur me on my journey

you’re my inspiration love susanna

it’s said isn’t it that we all have an

epiphany epiphany moment in our lives a

flash of sudden or great revelation

that usually changes us in some way

well that was one of mine it was such a

well moment in my life it was the

aha i’d been searching for see i knew

immediately i’d found my message that

this was my new opportunity going

forwards

we all want a new opportunity don’t we

at whatever age we are but especially

over 50.

i was determined in that instant to

reinvent and reinvigorate myself to help

women over 50

not waste another second to help them

become their own ceo

with their very own businesses and be in

control

of their lives going forwards at work

and play

in a flash of inspiration the concept of

becoming a boom boss came to me

a play on the words baby boomer and boss

i was going to empower women over 50 to

become boom bosses

to finally become their own ceo at work

and play running their very own

businesses

and living the lifestyle they finally

deserve it was an

awesome revelation for me i was a woman

on a mission

just like my coaching client susanna i

went on to build a community of

thousands of women over 50

sharing what i’d learned over the last

three decades of being my own boss

and furthermore this surprising truth

about women over 50

is that we have a superb competitive

differential advantage

it’s what i call our seek the skills

experience

expertise and knowledge that we’ve

gained and honed during our 50 years

plus

on the planet these amazing women have

learned how to translate what they have

to offer into products and services

that will help others that will create

meaningful change in their lives

and the wider world they’ve become

coaches

mentors trainers therapists consultants

advisors

and other specialists so whereas

relatively recently the phrase

invest in your future was largely the

domain of parental figures for the

younger generation

today it has become the rallying cry for

the incredible number of women over 50

who are creating a new wave of

entrepreneurs

they no longer have to regale against

the sex and age discrimination that

is out there because the only glass

ceiling they

need to break through is their own

having been on that entrepreneurial

journey myself from the 1st of october

1990 when

as a young new mom i handed back the car

to keys to my employers

and left my well-paid job i know that it

is a privilege

to have time income and location control

working when i want where i want and

being able to determine

how much i earn now for women over 50 as

first-time entrepreneurs it’s

life-changing to have these benefits the

opportunity to use

their life’s experience skills expertise

and knowledge

but with the flexibility to do more the

things they realize they’ve been missing

out on during their career

hobbies friendships family doing the

things they love

they don’t want to be locked to the nine

to five chained to a desk

working to pursue others objectives and

giving their all just to make someone

else rich anymore

they want instead to be in control of

their own schedule and priorities

to be financially independent choosing

to earn and spend their money

in the way they desire they want to be

their own person

and what they really want is to feel

relevant

make their mark stand for something and

have their own identity

doing something they were born to do to

feel vital and connected

using their life experience to help

others

and to be really successful doing it

just imagine for a moment what it feels

like to be able to reinvent yourself

to feel empowered to live your life on

your terms

have your very own business working when

and where you want

for clients you love who respect you for

your talents and experience

and who will pay you very handsomely for

these

the women i’ve worked with are more

likely to have their head in marketing

funnels

and live zoom calls than the wi

gardening or flower arranging this isn’t

a pipe dream this

is the new reality this is a new reality

for the thousands of women

in my community whom i’ve supported

daily

and for millions of other women over 50

worldwide

reinvention and reinvigoration is

invaluable

and always possible it’s given me a

whirlwind romance with being in my 50s

and a love affair with once again being

an entrepreneur

it enables us to enrich our lives and

those of others that we interact with

at work at home and play it leaves a

legacy

ultimately it contributes to a better

world

what could be better than that potential

doesn’t have to diminish with age

being 50 plus now sounds more exciting

doesn’t

it thank you