Becoming an Entrepreneur After 50 is Challenging

“Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough. Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away. Move on to something else that’s more productive.” – Donald Trump

Walking away from anything is never easy. It wasn't during my first marriage, although I knew it was the best thing for me. It wasn't when I walked away from television news, although I was totally burned out. The same holds true now as I prepare to walk away from my consulting business.

Seven years ago, I had a passion and a vision. Although the vision wasn't in clear focus at the time, I knew I had a media/communications expertise and I wanted to share it with others. I was convinced the "how" part would come over time.

I spent a lot of time networking and trying to get my name out there. I automatically assumed that once people talked to me and looked at my credentials, they would know I was the REAL DEAL and light years above any other competition around.

Initially, I made some great contacts which led to business. That business generated referrals and life was good. I just assumed word of mouth and my hustle would provide a steady income but that would not be the case. Here are some of the lessons I've learned:

Know Your Market: This means knowing more than the people you want to sell or provide a service to. You need to understand the community you live in and what the trends may be for what you offer. Being black and female is definitely not an advantage in the South. A few "tokens" get through but unless you're truly connected, you will find yourself operating in the red more often than the black. How ironic!

Network in the Right Circles: This may take some time because when you first get into the networking game, you'll find yourself going to many different events to find your perfect fit. I spent way too much time networking in the WRONG circles, only to discover that someone else who offered similar services was being heavily promoted by someone who was highly respecting Inside our 919 community.

Don't Sell Yourself Short: Often times business failures results from the sales of goods and services below cost price. Sometimes in business, cash crunch, fierce competition or economic factor make businesses sell their goods below cost price and this can ruin your business. It certainly did mine.

Be Adaptable to Change: Change is constant, so you either you align your business with the trend and ride to the top or you remain stagnant and eventually fold up. You also need to constantly upgrade your technological strengths as swiftly as possible.

Lack of True Entrepreneurial Skills: When an entrepreneur lacks the necessary skills such as leadership skill, cash flow management, sales, persistence and self belief and so on; such an entrepreneur is bound to fail. An entrepreneur is the head and pilot of the business. I had the leadership and persistence skills but lacked a steady cash flow and sales.

When you know the odds are stacked against you sometimes the best thing to do is walk away but DON'T EVER GIVE UP. I don't want to make the excuse that aging, race, or sex had anything to do with my failure to succeed as a boomerpreneur. After all, I'm Beverly Mahone--a boomer woman on the move and making a difference at midlife.

I have moved on.

Silence May Be Hazardous to the Health of Boomer Women

A new survey indicates too many baby boomer women may be giving their doctors the silent treatment when it comes to talking about their health.

Although boomer women find themselves with increased personal health needs as they enter midlife and beyond, only 16 percent indicated they are likely to discuss those symptoms with a doctor, according to the new Boomer Women's Health survey of women aged 45 and older in North America sponsored by SCA, the maker of bladder protection products and services under the globally-leading TENA® brand (www.tena.us) and conducted by Harris Interactive.

The survey also revealed that over two-thirds of baby boomer women (67 percent) are less likely to see a physician if they think the symptoms they are experiencing are a "normal part of aging" and therefore may not seek solutions which can improve their quality of life. Furthermore, over a quarter (26 percent) feels uncomfortable, embarrassed or judged when discussing even common personal health issues with their doctors.

Women, however, aren't the only ones being quiet. The survey also demonstrated that doctors are not initiating conversations with women about these "sensitive" health topics either. Although bladder weakness and low sex drive were ranked as the top two most embarrassing topics to discuss with your doctor, they also ranked as the two issues that had been brought up the least by their physicians.

We, as women, owe it to our doctors to tell them what's going on.

You can read more about the lie I told my doctor that almost cost me my life in my new book, Don't Ask and I Won't Have to Lie available on Amazon.

Baby Boomers and Health Care Reform

A lot has been said about health care reform but I think the biggest statement came this week when it was announced by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that more than $55 billion dollars was spent on baby boomer health care in 2007.

Another interesting finding in this report is the fact that nearly one-third (29.0 percent) of hospital stays for baby boomers were elective. Procedures that were more likely to be elective, such as knee replacement, back surgery, spinal fusion and hip replacement, had the highest rates among privately insured patients aged 55-64.

What wasn't addressed in this report, and what I believe is a key factor, are the number of needless elective surgeries baby boomers undergo like: liposuction, breast implants, facelifts, etc.

There is no doubt in my mind that we need health care reform and I am personally sick of the media giving credence to these "staged" town hall meetings where people are complaining about government interference. Sadly, some people are being "spoon fed" a bill of goods and are getting all riled up without really knowing or understanding all of the facts. If you trust the word of a Glenn Beck, then I know you're clueless because he's not even a bonafide journalist. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

If you want to get riled up about something, get mad at the government for not cracking down on the cheaters in the insurance industry. Get mad because the pharmaceutical companies are causing your medication to be triple the cost. Get angry about the number of needless and ridiculous referrals some doctors make on behalf their patients--and then turn around a bill medicare some outrageous fee. If I have a back problem, why send me to a neurologist?

Get mad at your government because you can no longer wait for them to clean up the waste and fraud.

Or is this really a black man being President???

A Baby Boomer's View of Memorial Day

Ever since I was a little girl, I remember Memorial Day as a time when we remembered the soldiers who fought and died for our country. My Uncle Bob was a WWII veteran. He was one of the lucky ones. He returned home from the war---even though he was shell-shocked. As a child, I didn’t understand the terminology but upon observing my uncle’s subsequent behavior over the years, I knew it had something to do with his inability to cope mentally back into society.

As a baby boomer, I have memories of Vietnam but I never knew anyone who died in the war. As a television reporter stationed at Camp Lejeune, I covered many stories of Marines preparing for Operation Desert Shield & Desert Storm. I covered Memorials and some of the happy homecomings.

On this Memorial Day I have decided I am not going to mourn over the dead. Yes---I will pray for their souls and hope they discovered who God is---but on this particular day I choose to pray for the living. I will pray for the men and women who are in harm’s way daily. I will pray for their safekeeping until they are able to return home to loved ones.

More importantly, I will pray for peace.

Daytime TV's Hottest African-American Couple is Hotter than Ever

I don't care what I'm doing at 1pm EST---I have to take a pause to watch my favorite daytime Soap, All My Children. Since the writers decided to bring the story of Angie and Jesse back, I have been glued to the set.

Twenty years ago, the Angie and Jesse characters (played by Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams) created magic as the first African-American couple with a real story line that didn't involve drugs or prostitution. Now they are back as baby boomers and setting the show on fire!

I sat with baited breath as I waited for the pair to finally connect with each other on Friday. But you know how the Soaps do it. They give you this cliffhanger to make you want to come back and watch the show again on Monday. All we got to see was Jesse step off the train while Angie, is standing a distance away in a teary-eyed daze.

Well, they don't have to worry about me. I can't wait to see their reunion as he steps off the train and into her arms.

But the plot is only going to get thicker because there's still quite a few unanswered questions. How are the writers going to explain his death 20 years ago? What kind of shady business is he connected to this time?

Can someone just give this brother a break and let us enjoy the romance?