TGIF! That’s
an acronym heard much too often by those 8 to 5’ers who find themselves in a
job they not only hate but one they are overqualified for and totally
unfulfilled. There’s got to more, and there is, but for 50Something-year-old
women that MORE is getting harder and harder to come by. According to a new Government Accountability Office study the number of long-term unemployed people age 55 and older has more than
doubled since the recession began. More than a third of unemployed older
workers have been out of work for more than a year, and 55 percent (1.1
million) have been unemployed for more than six months, up from 23 percent in
2007.
Yeah I know. Doom and Gloom. That’s one
way you can look at these pesky statistics. Or, you can look at them as a SIGN.
A sign that it is time for a change. And not necessarily for a job change. A
life change.
Are you ready?
Here are some stories of
50Something-year-old women who embraced life change and have found success in
their 50s and beyond:
Deborah Ramsey, opened Natural Wellness
and Spa in Philadelphia in her mid-50s. She was inspired to start her own
business after she had suffered through mutiple corporate layoffs. Deborah says
her journey was not without the ups and downs of any new venture. In a recent
article, Ramsey says if she had known how great the rewards of owning her business were, she would
have started her business a long time ago. She acknowledges that fear and
apprehension held her back until she decided to be in charge of her own destiny!
“I
banished fear, apprehension and every other negative thought and emotion to a
remote island. When they try to revisit I don’t open that door because
I’ve learned to put courage and confident where those negative things were. I
believe more firmly now that we were created to eat and live from the work
of our own hands,” she says.
Bridgette
Raes, founder of Bridgette Raes Style Group, turned business failure in her 50s
to a success (with all the emotion included). Raes started her consulting
business during the early 2000s when the economy was booming and money in
abundance. She had stepped out on faith from a career in fashion design to
start her own firm. Her business had a steady
growth until the phenomenon that brought many businesses to their knees (including
mine) happened.
The
Crash!
Raes
says the year that followed became the darkest most
dignity-crushing, depressing year of her life. But, in failure she learned some
lessons that are now key to her renewed success. She said failure took her back
to the beginning – clean slate where she had nowhere to go but up. Failure
brought her back to her passion of why she wanted to be an entrepreneur in the
first place. Lastly, failure made her take a hard look at the things she did
RIGHT.
Kate White’s, author of “I Shouldn’t be Telling
You This” advice to women starting over in their 50s is “Every woman,
regardless of how many decades she has been working, how much longer she plans
to earn income and the job she happens to have at the moment, must be at the
controls of her career. That means learning and growing from every job along
the way and in the future.”
Her experience as an Avon Representative taught
her lessons that she uses today to promote her blogs, books and other ventures.
She says she meets far too many women who are stagnated in their careers and
have no zest for what they do. They think just because they are in their
50Somethings they are stuck. But, White says we must always be managing our
careers or life goals and create networks of people who can help us achieve the
success we are seeking.
These three ladies have taken different paths to
success after 50Something and if you are not feeling fulfilled in what you are
doing, have been laid-off, downsized, resized, and all that other ugly stuff,
it is time for a change. Connect with other women who are searching. Find a
mentor and don’t accept what’s been thrown your way.
For more information on Success After 50Something, subscribe
to this blog in the form to the right and receive a free copy of “10 Secrets to
a Successful Life After 50Something!
* Over 50 and Out of Work, Next Avenue Where
Grownups Keep Growing, Better After 50
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