After55:

I don’t usually use this precious space to rant, but owning a company named Silver Vixen Enterprises, I am understandably interested in articles about silver hair. I cannot believe that Time Magazine devoted four full pages in their September 10 issue to the topic! To give them a modicum of credit, men were mentioned, but the main import and most pictures were devoted to assessing how women would look with or without gray hair.

Surveys were done and it was determined that those with grey hair are perceived as less intelligent, less attractive, and less believable. They are also deemed at a disadvantage in their personal social life and in the workplace. Ugh! Not only do we have to worry about our age and weight, we also have to add our hair color! To compete, we need to look 20 years younger. So much for wisdom, experience, and street smarts.

After being at the forefront of the women’s movement, proving ourselves for over 30 years, leaping tall buildings, exceeding all standards for advancement — now “they” want to pick the color of our hair!!! Pardon me while I get off my soapbox.

Many of us have the old notions about starting a business — location, location, location, long hours chained to a desk, or to have your own business means lack of flexibility.  Though I know better myself, having co-owned a business with locations in 23 states that was entirely mobile, I still fall into that old thinking easily. Wrong!

Yesterday, I bought the cables that will allow me to work on airplanes.  I know my MacBook will definitely not last 4 hours on battery, but I had forgotten that several seats in coach and all seats in business or first class on most airlines have electrical ports.  I just picked up several hours of good thinking and writing time!  You can even tell which aisles by looking at the technology information on your favorite airline’s website.

Are you using New Think or you trapped in Old Think in planning your business?  Get up to speed — it’s a lot more fun in the fast lane!

A woman from Oregon has posed a question about resources for women over 60 who would like to start a business, particularly in a rural area. The questioner particularly mentioned grants and small business programs.

I asked Leslie North, a CPA in the Chicagoland area about areas to explore for women over 60 looking for startup funding. Leslie smiled and reminded me of the old adage that if you are a starting a business and need money the banks aren’t interested, but if you have a successful business and don’t need money, banks are VERY interested! The old Catch-22.

That doesn’t mean the answer is no, it means it is time to get to work and be creative. The first stop should be your local Small Business Administration (SBA). Even if you are in a rural area, there is an SBA office (even explore their website) in the closest sizable town. Your local Chamber of Commerce could be an excellent resource. Your librarian. Isn’t it remarkable that we still think of our librarians as limited to checking out books? Librarians are highly skilled researchers — give them a try. Have you approached women’s organizations such as American Business Women’s Association (ABWA), Business and Professional Women (BPW), National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO)? Have your talked to your own CPA, attorney, or banker?

Yes, Virginia, there are people who want to help you get your business off the ground, but you must work hard and be creative to find them!

With all the articles written, including my own, there are precious few that address the part that good, old fashioned hard work plays in success.  We would all like a shortcut to that million dollar sale or multimillion dollar buyout offer.  Both of those outcomes are possible, but not without a lot of very long hours spent in plying our trade, learning the skills it will take to market out products, building a network for ideas, support and product distribution, and at best, several sleepless nights.

A popular comment is that “work” is a four letter word.  Work and attention to detail are what give us pride, self-respect, and self confidence — pretty important qualities from four letters!

Have a very happy Labor Day — and be grateful for what it celebrates!

I had a delightful lunch last week with Holly Kahan, the owner of Holly Barry House. You and I have heard of a lot of gift basket companies , so I was a bit skeptical when I learned of her business. By the time our lunch was over I was ready to start pounding the pavement to bring in more accounts! Holly positions her company differently. Rather than be a gift basket company, Holly Berry House is a company that helps others celebrate the difference that people have made. Hers is a celebration company that offers gifts and gift baskets that are tailored to the recipient.

This really got me to thinking. First , here is a woman who has been in business for 10 years and still is excited about what she brings to the marketplace. Second, she has positioned her business uniquely and third., I love the premise of her business…acknowledging the people who are too often ignored. How do we recognize others for their help in myriad ways? Many times we simply don’t go to the trouble of publicly thanking someone for a job well done.

Think of how terrific you felt the last time you received acknowledgement of the effort you made. Do you communicate that same acknowledgement to those you come in contact with? The celebration concept has been getting a bit of a bad rap in the press lately because of younger workers seeming need for constant acknowledgment, but that is not what I am talking about. Acknowledgement can be looking a service worker in the eye, saying a heartfelt “Thank you” rather than a rote response, a simple true compliment on something that someone is wearing.

Kindness, courtesy, connection — call it what you will makes everything flow more smoothly and you feel great. I think Holly’s on to something — let’s celebrate the difference we make in each other’s lives.

I’m thinking about technology a lot lately. I’m knee deep in having a new website built — more about that soon. I have also had several conversations with both colleagues and friends about everything from search engine optomization to digital cameras and iPods. Each woman professed to not being up to speed on how to make the most of what technology could do for them. Hmmm. This is a disturbing pattern, but also an opportunity.

If we want our businesses and ourselves to be taken seriously, remembering that many times the deck is stacked against us immediately because we are women — and women over 55! –we need to keep our skill set and knowledge base in top condition. We cannot stick our heads in the sand and say we leave it to our consultants, tech people, or children. While we do not need to know how to construct the technology side of our business, we do need to understand enough to make intelligent decisions that will affect the life of our business.

We are already time crunched. What are quick ways to learn “Greek”?

1. Read the Technology articles and blog on this website. Lena is clear and practical in her thoughts about how technology can enhance our business lives.
2. See if your computer or software company has online classes for the products you are using.
3. Make a list of questions that would help your business run more smoothly and pay for a hour of a tech consultant’s time and learn what you need to know immediately. Of course, make sure the person you hire is familiar with both the hardware and software you are using. Be specific so you can get the improvements you want quickly.

The time you spend getting up to speed will pay huge dividends in your efficiency, functionality and your self esteem.

Yesterday I went to a breakfast seminar co-hosted by Entrepreneur Magazine and State Farm Insurance.  It has been about three months since I went to any type of informational/networking event.  I am on two not for profit boards and a member of an executive women’s forum, so I am not a hermit, but this was different.

While I was driving to the event, I had three new and different ideas for my business.  While there, I connected with three women who, I am sure, in some way inform future articles for my After55 column.  I am really looking forward to spending time with them.  I met a very interesting business coach with a terrific high tech background and, while paying my parking fee at one of those infernal machines, got to talking to a man who gave me a totally different solution to a problem that has been nagging at me.  If that wasn’t enough, I put the top down, turned up the CD and had another insight for one of my websites!  All this before lunch! As I pulled into the garage I muttered, “I’ve got to get out more often!”

For those of us who are home based, that is a major truth.  When we put on our lipstick and go to events where no one knows us or our businesses, it opens doors to new insights, contacts, potential partners and ideas.  By the way, the speaker, Cliff Ennico,  was well worth the time too — I even learned something!

Here we are in early August, the month that most Europeans take as their holiday. Americans may grab a few days away, but in our bags are our cellphone, PDA, laptop, iPods to listen to our saved podcasts and all the cords we need to recharge our links to our businesses. What do business owners in Belgium know that we don’t?

I just returned from a 5 day road trip with Sweet Jack that was simply wonderful. Of course, I did have my laptop (which I had trouble logging on in Toledo because I didn’t read the instructions carefully), my PDA, and for part of the trip I had my cute pink Razor (which I left in Toledo and, therefore, didn’t have for three days!). This is a quiet time for my business, so why did I feel the need to be so tethered ?

As a lifelong entrepreneur, it is hard to believe my business will continue to thrive without my constant attention. Will the call or email I am hoping to receive be null and void if I don’t answer it within 20 minutes? I am afraid to find out the answer. On the bright side of the question, I had some time to sit and think which led me to solutions to problems that have been at the back of my mind for weeks. Sitting in the sunshine, unable to call anyone, gave me the perfect opportunity to let my mind roam. Creativity flourished, excitement returned, ideas surfaced. All this in five days! I wonder what would happen in a month!

How are you handling your summer vacation?

Sherry Kack took the time to send a heartfelt response to a previous blog and I think the basic question she asks is an important one. Let’s take a minute to review part of her message:

“My question is Passion. I have a passion for people. I have a passion for the Pacific Northwest, for welcoming visitors, a passion for sharing the Olympic Peninsula. I have a passion for the Sea, and my broken boat. Art and artisons are a passion to me as well. Would love to create a Cultural Exchange of Cities within the U.S. So far none of these industries have had a paying opening. Thoughts of who to bill if I were to do that? … Do you have a formula to find your passion?”

Sherry, I think your question is not how do you find your passion, for you have just listed nine of them. Your question is how do you choose a passion to follow and it seems, most importantly, how do you make a living at it? As you surmised, there are several classic books in the self help area that speak to just these questions, particularly for women and I will include a couple at the end of this post.

Several individual and seemingly separate passions are listed in the original message. One method that has been very effective for many women who have gone through my IT’S REINVENTION workshop is to spend time determining what were your favorite activities as a child, what you perceive as your strengths and weaknesses (limit to 5-7 of each), and what you would do if money and time were no object . Once you have completed these exercises, you will find that there are patterns that emerge. See if you can identify four. Pick one of the four and do SOMETHING! The first tentative step toward accomplishing a desire or passion will be the action that starts the ball rolling to a new horizon.

Excellent books are: Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow, Marsha Sinetar and I Could Do Anything if I Knew What It Was, Barbara Sher. I am sure both are at your local library. Good luck!

James Surowieckiof The New Yorker Magazine writes Philips Electronics reports that half of all returned products have nothing wrong with them, but that consumers simply can’t figure out how to use them. I know I don’t use all the features on my cellphone, digital camera, or MacBook. I enjoy each of them, but would like to be able to use all the cool features. I think it would be great to have a choice of learning styles for each product. Instead of only written instructions, many only available on the internet, I think having an instructional video also available would be an effective sales tool. Apple does a great job of having videos on their website. The current one explaining the use and features of the iPhone is excellent. After watching the video it makes it much easier to think about spending $500-600 for that awesome looking phone.

I just lost nearly two days because my Entourage program lost all my contact management information! I spent otherwise very productive time trying to recreate contact lists and find other sources for important information I had stored in my email folders. Mac guru Jeff at Lapin Systems found all my lost folders, but the lost time and the subsequent clean up were very time consuming.

Clear, easy to follow instructions will increase the loyalty of our customer. Everyone’s frustration level seems to be at a high, so clarity could be considered a new facet of customer service! What are your thoughts about dealing with confusing technology? Have you ever returned a product because you couldn’t figure out how to make it do what you expected? What does this confusion do to your productivity?

All budding entrepreneurs seem to be looking for that one great idea that will make them millions. Unless you have a product or service you are so passionate about that you can’t help bringing it to market, one of your burning questions must be — what is a great idea that will make my fortune? Where will I find that idea?

For the After 55ers, sit down with your favorite cup of coffee and the well known yellow pad and make a list of what would make your life easier or more fun. Try to fill up at least one page. You now have a list of at least 30 ideas that could change your life and the life of many others! Probably any one of these ideas will add to your bank account. Try it and let me know how you fare…

With all the excitement in the last week over the much anticipate launch of the iPhone, I suddenly see more ads for Jitterbug — the cell phone that is a cell phone. Their marketing message is no bells, no whistles, no camera, no games just a cell phone that makes and receives calls. Revolutionary!

This really got me to thinking about what my core business is and what I really want it to be. I challenge you to do the same.  What business are you in?  What business do you want to be in? Are you offering what your customers want or what you think your customers want? Great questions to think about over the long hot summer.