After55:

I attended the JWTBoom LiveWire conference about marketing to boomers last week. What a terrific experience–and even better in retrospect. What I learned will appear here and in my column for months to come.

What is most on my mind today is how important it is to know your market. Whom do you think your product or service will most benefit? I was fascinated to hear attendee after attendee (and if the truth be told, almost everyone was male!) ask how to reach the boomer market! As if boomers are one market!

There are left-handed boomers, blue-eyed boomers, boomers who like Birkenstocks, boomers who like earrings. You get the idea. When we come up with our great idea for a business, we imagine hoardes of people lining up for it, but we stand a far better chance if we take the time to understand clearly our best potential customers and get to work with them in mind.

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 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!

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.

My new website is up! www.silvervixens.com. The columnists are terrific, the rewards will be great, the neat women will be so cool, and on and on and on. I can see wonderful things happening if we can connect neat women, shine our lights, share our knowledge and have fun.

The process had ups and downs, took longer than expected–OK, so I was out of the country 31 days in the fall–and turned out to be quite complicated. But it is incredible to actually see what I have had in my head.

Please take a look at it. I hope you find it and its potential as exciting as I do. I would more than appreciate if you would tell anyone you know who fits the Woman of a Certain Age description. I hope you will join and consider giving the membership as a gift to a family member or girlfriend. The more of us, the merrier we can make it.

Dreams do come true–not to those who wait, but to those who work hard and persevere.

Do you read the newspaper announcements of promotions and new positions? I always do, both out of curiosity regarding what companies’ positions are experiencing changes and to see if anyone I know is mentioned.

What I have noticed more and more lately is that fewer women are pictured than men. This is not a scientific sampling. However, if there are four pictures, generally at least three will be men. One reason could be that the women don’t have a professional photograph at the ready to submit with their good news.

Have you ever had a professional photo taken? It’s great fun to be made up to look your best and then play fashion model for a while, looking this way and that. The cost is generally quite reasonable.

The most important benefit is that when opportunity knocks, you are ready with a great photo to share your good news with the world. A picture is worth a thousand words… How about making sure your picture tells a great story?

Remember when your mom told you to write your thank you notes?

The quickest way to “stand out in a crowd” is the handwritten note. Do you remember the last time you received one? Neither does your client, potential client or colleague. I admit to being a notecard and fun pen junkie. I can hardly walk by a display of colorful papers and pens, but that is part of the fun.

A quick thank you note takes about two minutes to write and one minute to address and stamp. The best part is you can even develop a formula if you like:

Dear ____,

Thank you for ___________ (taking the time to see me, your order, your help). It was a ______ (pleasure, very helpful, very interesting) to __________ (meet, learn more about your company). I look forward to ____________ (meeting again, working together).

________________ (Warm regards, Yours, truly),

See? That was easy. You’ll feel good, and the recipient will be shocked and will definitely remember you. Huge rewards for a small amount of time. Mom was right — it is a good thing to do.

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.