I saw a video from Gary Vaynerchuk while I was in the early stages of developing Forty Young I will never forget it. “A Note to my 50-Year-Old Self” lit a major fire under my ass. It was like he was talking to me. It’s for the over-40 crowd that has this relentless nagging voice or thought in their head about taking the first steps to start a business but they’ve convinced themselves they’re too old, inexperienced or don’t understand how to use social media. This video from the Gary Vaynerchuk YouTube channel was exactly what I needed to hear during a time in my life when just about everyone was questioning why I wanted to start a business online and telling me not to move forward with it. I needed that video to show up in my Facebook feed at that time to remind me I wasn’t losing my mind by pursuing my dreams.
“If you’re 40 or older its your time to stand up and take advantage of your life because there is so much left of it. This video is made for one reason. I want it to be the calling card, the seed of the explosion of the 40-80 year old entrepreneur in our society.” Gary V, You Have Time
I got pregnant in high school and became a mother at the age of 18. I got married at the age of 24 and then had two more children. I was emotionally, physically and mentally supportive of my husband’s very demanding career in the car business. Most of my adult life revolved around the care and wants and needs of others.
Somewhere along the way, I had forgotten who Kelly was. Sure, I had some girls’ getaways, nights out and little breaks. I thought I was taking those little breaks to escape the relentless demands of mothering for over twenty years, but it was something else. After some real introspection, I concluded that I wanted to be a working mom. I wanted to do something meaningful to help other women, to empower them and wanted to offer a type of online support group for mothers like me. Some might say I had a mid-life crisis; I like to call it my mid-life awakening.
I had a college degree but no “real” work experience. I didn’t feel old per se, but I did think, “What business do I have thinking I could successfully start a blog online?” I had zero experience and was basically starting over at 40. I did have ambition and the will to learn the steps to start a business. I knew that if I never tried, I’d never know. I knew I wasn’t okay living with regrets and what-ifs.
When I first saw this video by Gary Vanderchuk, I was still in the process of creating a blog, and it helped reshape my thinking. The blogging realm was (and is) filled with women younger than me who grew up with social media and have been in the game a lot longer. They knew more about getting followers. They knew more about social media marketing and how to use social media for business. Heck, they knew more about basic computer skills than I did. But I kept at it. I stayed up late, I parked my butt in front of my laptop for hours on end, got help when I really needed it and learned everything I could about how to start a business and blogging to even the playing field.
I have something those younger women don’t though: life experience. Because of my early start with domesticity, at 42, I already have a daughter that has graduated from college and is working a full-time job. I have completed round one, with two more to go, of raising a child.
I have learned some lessons the hard way and the easy way (a few times) about marriage, being a mother, friendships, family and self-growth. I have wisdom that you just don’t have in your late 20s or early 30s that I want to share through a blog for women, both over and under 40. I am more confident and surer of myself than I’ve ever been. Not only in those areas of my life that require taking care of others, but also making sure I focus on self-care.
I knew I had something different to offer. I knew that there was a market out there for women over the age of 40 in terms of blogs for women. They were just underrepresented in the blogging and social media world. Women that wanted more after the kids got older. Ones that weren’t content just coasting through the second part of their lives.
No matter how old you are, you have something to offer the world. You have a unique set of skills that only you can offer. My new career and lifestyle blog began right after my 40th birthday. I was able to start a business from home; it’s never too late to make a change or completely start over to pursue your dreams. Do not let your self-doubt or the opinions of others curtail you. If you’re having the same doubts I did, just know this is normal, and it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go for it. It means you should. Being uncomfortable promotes growth. It’s time to grow, girlfriend. It’s never too late.
“Nobody cares if you’re 40, 70, 90, alien, female, male, minority. The market, the market, not an individual person in your world. The market will accept your victories if you’re good enough to have a victory. There are many people that truly are good entrepreneurs or have entrepreneurial DNA but they just weren’t lucky enough to be born during an era where that seemed appropriate. It is super appropriate for you to “start that business” that you’ve always wanted right now.” — Gary Vanderchuk, You Have Time
I couldn’t agree more.
