After55:

This week I went back to reading Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat. He was struck that almost all the executives he interviewed used the same phrase, observing that “Just in the last couple of years” they had been able to do things they had never dreamed possible before or that they were being forced to do things they had never dreamed necessary before. Of course, this got me to thinking about our lives, too. We all remember the birthday decorations for “50″ as being over the hill or graveyard stuff. Maybe some of us even bought into it that the best part of our lives was over when we got that mailer from AARP. Now that we are “after 55,” we know the truth. Life has never been better nor offered us more opportunity.

Let’s talk about it. What have you done or been forced to do over the past couple of years for your business (Let’s not get into personal life stuff because we could probably all write volumes.) that would meet Tom Friedman’s criteria? What did you learn? I can’t wait to read your responses.

By now everyone knows I am a reading junkie. One business magazine I particularly like and read cover to cover is PINK magazine. In this month’s e-mail newsletter, the following item appeared: “It is really frustrating that after years of hard work and vigilance, we cannot let up. Though we think we have gotten legislation passed to help level the playing field, we then find out it has been ignored. Now we read that they are planning to make it harder for us to compete again. Please read on and click through to lodge your protest. Now the younger women will know what we have fought for so long.

“PINK Slip Update–and a Call to Action

“The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), former recipient of our notorious PINK Slip, has yet to comply with a 7-year-old law that would reserve 5 percent of government contracts for women-owned businesses. Although women-owned firms account for 41 percent of all privately held firms in the U.S., they currently receive only 3.3 percent of these contracts. ‘The difference in federal spending between 5 percent and 3.3 percent was $7.5 billion based on 2006 numbers,’ points out Linda Denny, president and CEO of Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, the nation’s largest third-party certifier of women-owned businesses.

“The SBA has now proposed a rule to Congress that would only allow federal agencies to implement the program for women-owned businesses in four out of more than 2,300 business categories. ‘This rule would make it virtually impossible for any woman business owner to take advantage of the 5 percent set-aside, completely invalidating the intent of Congress,’ says Barbara Kasoff, president and CEO of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP).”

“To get involved:

1. Click here to contact the SBA and ask it to rescind the proposed rule. Deadline: February 25. (WIPP asks that you forward a copy of your response to Anna at alubiner@wipp.org.)

2. Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher has written a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter asking members of the House to join her in asking the SBA to work with Congress to redraft the proposed rule. Let your representative know how you feel and cc WIPP.”

Within the last week I have learned about Make Mine a Million $ Business from two sources, and am I glad I did. M3 (to those of us in the know) is a program of countmein.org, founded by Nell Merlino. She is also the founder of Take Your Daughter to Work Day. This woman moves mountains.

M3 is for women whose businesses are established, but who are ready to commit to taking them to the million-dollar level. As you explore the website, look at all the ways you can learn and benefit. I was particularly pleased that several awardees are “of a certain age,” and that means you can benefit! The next event is in Phoenix on March 4, and it will be co-hosted by Valerie Morris, the financial columnist for SilverVixens.com.

I, too, thought this sounded nearly too good to be true, but the program is backed by such rock-solid companies as American Express, Dell, FedEx, Cisco and Marriott. I will be at the Phoenix event: Be sure to say hello.

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!