Old Broads Can Learn New Tricks

How Baby Boomer Women are using Coaching to Achieve their Goals

Special Guest Post by:  Heidi Richards Mooney

Mary, a 57 year old adjunct professor in South Florida and professional speaker and trainer in communications and presentation skills has found herself caught up in the current economic climate. Working with Fortune 500 companies for the past several years as an independent contractor she now finds herself without many prospects as companies continue to downsize or go out of business.

Dr. Roslyn, a 60 year old professional who has also worked in the corporate arena training their clients on issues relating to diversity finds herself with very few assignments for the coming year. In fact, her two biggest clients have cancelled contracts with her indefinitely.

These two women are in a quandary.  No visible means of support in the near or distant future and bills to pay. Sound familiar?

Both of these women are highly qualified experts in their respective fields, talented and well-educated. And even though they are struggling to make ends meet, they both realized that they needed help from someone who could see their situation, make recommendations and help them turn their professional lives around by showing them how to create a “new income stream, or several.”

I met Mary at a networking event and on the verge of tears she shared her story. She also told me about a website she had purchased that sells information/educational products which she didn’t think it was performing to its full potential.

Dr. Roslyn and I are members of the same professional organization and knowing I am a business coach she asked me for help. She too has a website which she has yet to use as a marketing and sales tool.

As a social media and Internet marketing strategist I was delighted to coach them and help them enhance their websites and web presence to start attracting new clients.  They accepted! That was 2 months ago and each woman is now becoming a netpreneur.  BTW, Dr. Roslyn was very skeptical at first but knew that she too must change with the tides or become irrelevant. Although she was scared about what the future would hold for her, she realized her fear of failure far outweighed her fear of change.

And Mary and Roslyn are not alone in their plights.  Many boomer women are being downsized, let go or taking cutbacks at their jobs. Which is why coaches are fast becoming sought after by Baby Boomers as their counsel of choice for change. Working with the right coach can take boomer women from the depths of despair to a place of encouragement and growth in business and life. It’s the quickest way to shorten the learning curve and achieve your goals.

Baby boomers value the one-on-one individual attention a coach can give.  And knowing there is more than one way to work with a coach makes it even more desirable.  You can meet face-to-face, via teleconference, web conferencing and more.

So how do you know if working with a coach is right for you? The first step is to recognize that having someone to strategize with and bounce ideas off is important to achieving your goals. The next step is to know what your goals are. And then the third step is to find someone who has skills you lack or need help with and seek her (or his) advice and guidance.

In part II, I will discuss what a coach can do for you, what a coach should do for you and other things to consider when working with a coach. In the meantime, here are two great books I recommend: How to Create the Life You Want after 50 by Sara Brown Ph.D. and Joan Malling and Second Acts: Creating the Life You Really Want, Building the Career You Truly Desire by Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine.

©Heidi Richards Mooney – (a baby boomer) is a Professional Speaker, Business Coach and the Author of 8 books including: “Quirky Marketing ~ 365 Ways to Grow Your Business Using Zany and Non-traditional Holidays.”  She is also the Publisher of WE Magazine for Women. Stop by http://www.speakingwithspirit.com to get a FREE copy of Quirky Marketing, Chapter 1.

What are you Giving Away this Holiday?

The dark is coming to light within Boomer Diva Nation this holiday season. The women who make up this wonderful online community of baby boomer women have started the first annual D.A.R.K. campaign. D.A.R.K. stands for Doing Acts of Random Kindness. We thought it would be a great idea to extend kind gestures beyond our online community by reaching out to others in our own individual cities and towns.

So far, the DARK Campaign has included donations to daycare providers and a homeless ministry as well as providing free business services to customers. Member Heidi Richards spent an entire day calling all of her customers, clients and friends just to say hello and thank them for their business. Member Pam Archer purchased items for a complete stranger in a Dollar Store, calling it a “blessed experience!”

We are not doing the random acts of kindness for publicity sake.  We are, instead, giving back because we know the blessing is always in the giving.

So what are you giving away this holiday season?

“I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” Ettiene De Grellet

Meet Featured Diva Heidi Richards Mooney

Tell us about what it is you do.

In addition to running an online organanization for women in ecommerce, I am an author, business coach and consider myself  a serial entrepreneur having owned several businesses over the past 30 years including 3retail florists, a child care center, a bar, 3 restaurants an apartment complex and several rental properties. I currently run my floral and event planning company as well as have several clients whom I coach on eCommerce and Social Media Marketing.  At Eden Florist.com we specialize in corporate and nonprofit event planning and execution.  And my new business model is using independent contractors for all our design and delivery of same. As a social media entrpreneur, I host virtual events, publicizing them on various social networking sites and thorugh email marketing efforts.

What advice do you have for someone who is interested in following a similar business path?   

DON’T DO IT! All kidding aside, I have always had the need to work on multiple projects at one time probably the result of my adult onset ADD – I like to now refer to it as Amazing Divine Destiny and of course my creative, hyperactive nature and passion for new experiences.  If you get bored easily, doing one thing at a time, then you’ll probably be really good at multi-tasking jobs. Of course, I didn’t have all these jobs at once, it wasn’t until about seven years ago when I discovered the power of the web (along with the millions of other users at the time) that I yearned to run my flower shops AND learn how the World Wide Web works.  My suggestion is that if this sounds like your story, then surround yourself with people who know more than you, that you can learn from and then when you become experienced enough share your wisdom with others who seek it.  I have been so fortunate to have mentors and be involved in masterminds and surrounded by amazing, giving men and women who were and still are willing to lend a hand when I need it (and vice-versa).

What, in your opinion, does it take to be successful at what you do?

To be successful, it takes passion, commitment and knowing “where you want to end up.”  Goals are so important. I see small business owners flounder because they may have day to day or even week to week and month to month goals, but the real key to success is long-range planning and implementation. That and finding a team of people who have expertise you lack to help you reach those goals.

What, in your opinion, is the main reason people fail in their business endeavors?

The opposite of what I think it takes to be successful: Lack of commitment and no real goals as I mentioned above. And another key factor in not succeeding is not believing in yourself. 

What do you want the person reading this to know about you? 

That I love life, people and new experiences and am always willing to share my knowledge with others. I learned early on that my purpose was to seek, learn and pass it on. As I believe it is all of ours. That and to serve.  In my humble opinion, it is serving others that is really every human being’s divine purpose.

How can someone get in contact with you? The best way is via email heidi@wecai.org or phone 954-625-6606

http://www.wecai.org/

Here is Where Baby Boomer Women Rock, Roll & Rule!

Welcome to Boomer Diva Nation! Come on in and browse around. Check out the interesting articles and be sure to let us know you were here by leaving a comment.

Here is where you’ll find some of the most interesting, talented and diverse baby boomer women on the planet. We’re Divas and proud of it! So what is a DIVA? She’s a baby boomer woman who’s Divinely, Inspired, Vivacious and Anointed.

The Divas are all very talented women who come from very diverse backgrounds around the globe. We come from all walks of life and different races and are eager to share our knowledge and resources. We’ve had a few bumps in the road and some detours but we continue to persevere.

Boomer Diva Nation—a nonprofit organization—provides a variety of resources to assist fellow baby boomer women in their endeavors. It’s also a place where women can network. Please come join us!

Charter Members

Linda Alexander, Pam Archer, Angela Betts, Natalie Cole, Cynthia Frazier, Linda Hall, Donna Maria Harris, Kathy Holmes, Gayle Hurd, Karlyn, Betty Lynch, Heidi Richards; Beverly Mahone; Ginger Marks, Carine Nadel, Kathie M. Thomas Kathy Walsh, Debra Shivelely Welch, Gloria Mount, Ora Stearns-Smith and Vicki M. Taylor.

Celebrate Baby Boomer DivaHood on June 20

A celebration of women who are on the move and making a difference will be held on June 20 in honor of the Second Annual Baby Boomer Diva Day.

The virtual celebration will showcase the outstanding contributions of women 40 and beyond, according to author and talk show host, Beverly Mahone, who created the special day last year. She says, “This is a day to celebrate us and what we bring to the table as business women and entrepreneurs!”

The five-hour online event will feature guest speakers, including International Speaker, Author, Inventor and Founder of the WECAI Network, Heidi Richards. “Heidi is one of the best examples of what it means to be a woman on the move and making a difference,” says Mahone. “She has more than 30 years of offline and online business experience under her hat and continues to set the pace for women like me to follow.”

In addition to the speakers, there will also be vendors showcasing their businesses and products. Mahone says there are still a few slots available at $10 each so if any woman is interested in being a part of this wonderful event, they should contact her Assistant, Teresa Morrow at: keybusinesspartners@verizon.net

The Second Annual Baby Boomer Diva Day is in conjunction with the Baby Boomer Diva Web of Fame and Boomer Diva Nation, both created by Mahone. She says she wanted to recognize baby boomer women who were doing great things with their businesses but not getting noticed. “Hollywood and the media want us to believe a woman has to be young and beautiful to be successful but that’s simply not true, contends Mahone. “By the time we reach 40-years-old, we are in the prime of our lives. We’ve overcome obstacles. We’re more focused and determined to meet the challenges head-on in order to achieve success. Here’s to us!”