After55:

Today you are You, that is truer than true.
There is no one alive who is Youer than You.
Dr. Seuss

This quote appeared in my inbox this morning (thanks to AsAManThinketh.net/Daily Insights). Being a huge fan of Dr. Seuss and his wild creativity, both visual and verbal, I chuckled and then started to think.

Questions as you go about your work today:

1. Are you putting all of you into your enterprise?
2. Do your customers feel connected to you?
3. Does your passion for your business come through?
4. Is there something holding you back or is it you?
5. If you could do anything, what would you do?

One of the best parts of being an entrepreneur is doing something you think is worthwhile and trying different ways you think it should be done. This is one of the things that sets you apart.

So today what can just you do?
No one can make your business youer than you –

My apologies, Dr. Seuss, but I couldn’t resist.

Do your customers think about you? Sure, they buy from you, but do they think about you as you would like them to? The quickest–though not the easiest–way to keep in touch with your customers is an informative, reliable, regular e-mail or newsletter.

Make it informative by letting them know about one of your services they might not be using, an issue they may not be aware of or a new product that can help them. Ensure that it’s reliable by doing your homework so you know the information you are sharing is true and helpful. Keep it regular so they will come to expect hearing from you. That is one of your goals : to become a trusted resource.

The content needn’t be long or in depth, particularly if writing does not come easily to you. What’s most important is that you bring something of value to your recipients. Your sincerity will shine through. And use Spellcheck to make sure you are putting your best foot forward.

You probably already know about Constant Contact, a widely used program for just this purpose. Constant Contact will help you design professional looking missives easily. The company’s support is excellent. Sending a crisp simple e-mail will also work, but it’s not as eye-catching.

Like we tell our kids–keep in touch. The rewards are great.

I’ve been thinking a lot about balance this week. It’s a usual entrepreneurial week with website changes, interviews, financial considerations, taxes to be done and on and on and on. Adding to the mix this week are family interests–my daughter and oldest grandson are visiting for five days, and my husband is leaving for an overseas business trip, the first since his major surgery. Late every evening I try to assess what I got done or didn’t. It is at this time that my wise coach’s words come back to me, “Bonnie, balance is not a noun, it’s a verb. You will constantly be adjusting priorities and tasks. Sometimes you will be spending much more time in one area, notice you are neglecting another and adjust. That’s just the way it is.”

We After 55s, who have expected we can do it all, lose sight of this wisdom. We cannot only focus on one area at a time, but we can forgive ourselves when we get out of kilter. Take a few minutes, step back, assess your situation and make adjustments.

Earlier this week I attended the funeral of a man whom I knew over the years, but it would be presumptuous to say we were close friends. It was a great funeral and I continue to think about the lessons I learned as I listened to the various eulogies.

1. He was always the same person–whether his role was as a leader, counselor, friend, brother, husband or father. Lesson: Let the real you be present in all that you do. You will derive great benefit from being authentic.
2. When later thanked for a piece of wisdom or good counsel, his response was generally, “I said that?” eliciting a chuckle. Lesson: Be humble. It draws far more people to you than tooting your own horn.
3. Every time he spoke to a group, he wrote it out and practiced it at least twice. His listeners always thought he was a fabulous, extemporaneous speaker. Lesson: Prepare. You’ll always look better, and you can concentrate on what others are doing and saying.
4. He held his position for 34 years and loved it. Of course, it was not without challenges, but he knew what he wanted to do and the scope within which he wanted to work. Lesson: Find the joy in what you do.
5. Each person spoke movingly, and also with great hilarity, of the bond he or she had with this man. Lesson: Communicating your genuine regard, respect and pride is a gift to the recipient and has lasting worth.
6. He smiled at everyone he liked; and those he didn’t like as much–he smiled at them, too! Lesson: A smile is the cheapest gift you can give, and you will never know how much it means to another.

Not particularly complex lessons, but the impact on our business of life can be profound.

Lately I am hearing a lot about an old idea: Mastermind Groups. In his landmark book Think and Grow Rich, originally published in 1937, Napoleon Hill devoted an entire chapter to Master Mind Alliances, a small group of carefully selected colleagues for the purpose of helping you reach your Definite Purpose. Barbara Sher had a similar concept in the late 1970s that she called Success Teams. They were not quite as particularly selected but more a general business success support group.

Today, this idea is as vibrant and important as ever. One of the great difficulties of being an entrepreneur is a sense of isolation as we wear many hats and many times live in our head under those hats. A qualified, supportive (no Negative Nellies or Normans allowed!), committed group of people dedicated to helping you achieve your dreams for your business could be just what the doctor ordered.

If you haven’t read Think and Grow Rich, do! The section on energy is definitely dated, but the rest has made a difference in countless millions of lives. See what it can do for you.

I had the fun of interviewing Nell Merlino today. I told you about her Make Mine a Million $ Business in January, but something she said today really struck a chord. When I asked her what one thing she really would want me to say in the Spotlight article, she thought a second and said, “Don’t Settle for Small!” What fabulous words to hear. How many times have we been told not to be too pushy, not to look too smart, not to bother with big dreams at our age? Plenty of times. Nell went on to say she wants women to know how much fun it is to have a million dollar business. To date, 14% of M3 winners are After 55s! Just a reminder, if you are anywhere near Phoenix, get yourself over to Make Mine a Million on Tuesday, March 4. Both Nell and I will be there. Come on down! Let’s make yours a million dollar business!

On Wednesday I went to a delightful business luncheon. One of my tablemates said she could almost join SilverVixens because she is 53, though not really happy about it. Fortunately, I stifled the old saw, Think of the alternative. We “After 55″ women entrepreneurs MUST get the word out that being older than 55 is great fun, is energizing, and we are not on the slide to a boring life! If we look at the women I have written about over the months, every single one of them has started a thriving business after the age of 55, and many of them have started several. We have a “bad rep”–let’s start a conversation about how to change our image to reflect the truth: We are vital, vibrant and accomplished. What are good ways to get this started?

Happy Valentine’s Day. One of the many wonderful aspects of being “After 55″ is being able to follow our passions. At this time of life we are also able to express our passions in terms of our work–starting and building a business that expresses our creativity and commitment to running a business the way we think it should be done.

As I talk to “women of a certain age” entrepreneurs around the country, I hear excitement in their voices. We are captivated by bringing our product to the attention of the marketplace. We delight in the connections we are making with others. We hum with the electricity of problem solving. Okay, sometimes we are also tired and frustrated, but that is part of the process that brings out the best in us. We enjoy the stories of our trials, tribulations and triumphs.

So, today let’s do a “passion check”–Do you love what you are doing? Is it worthy of your affection? If your answer to either of these questions is not a resounding “yes,” give thought to what needs to be done to get it there.

Here’s to passion!

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.

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing–that’s why we recommend it daily.”
–Zig Ziglar

That quote popped up in my inbox the other day and made me chuckle, but it also got me thinking. I think one of the toughest things about being an After 55 entrepreneur is staying the course. Many of us have naysayers around us who wonder what we are doing starting a business “at your age,” and there are many days we question our sanity without anyone else chiming in. That’s when we need the help that motivators can give us.

If we are lucky, we have a solid group of personal cheerleaders; but who helps us keep on when the going gets tough and we are tired? That’s when we turn to coaches, mentors and motivators we know only through networking events, audiotapes and books. When I was a road rep I always had a least one set of motivational tapes in the car. Sometimes, they would be background noise as I drove long hours, but more often than not I got a lot out of each set on sales, marketing, customer service and life. I could listen to the late Earl Nightingale forever–sonorous voice and wise insights.

Now that Silver Vixens is up and running, I need a new type of motivation–how to keep on track and focused on the myriad tasks to take it where I want it to go. To my amazement, I have gone back to motivational tapes. I thought I knew it all, but they still have a lot to teach me. Now when I hit the treadmill in the morning, it’s Brian Tracy in my ear, not Frankie Valli, the Supremes or the Rolling Stones.

Who helps you keep on keeping on?