Ep 48. How to Start a Business in the 2nd Half of Life

I am Kym Showers, and this is Reinvented After 40, episode number 48: How to Start a Business in the Second Half of Life.

Hey, friends. Welcome to Reinvented After 40, a podcast for all you women in the second half of life who are ready to take responsibility for your own wellbeing and create a life you love living.

I’m your host, Kym Showers, and after spending the first 40 years of my life people-pleasing and following all the rules, I was exhausted and ready for a change. I reinvented myself. I stopped outsourcing my happiness. And I’ve been brave enough to live a different kind of life.

I’ll be here each week to help you do the same thing. It’s gonna be fun. Let’s go.

Hey everyone, welcome back to the show. How are you today? So how to start a business in the second half of life. I am so excited about this episode. I think I could have named it, why you should start a business in the second half of life. I’m telling you my friends that starting a business when I was 57 years old out of thin air, I started it out of thin air all by myself, was the best decision I could have ever made for myself in the second half of life. It has given me everything I was hoping for and everything I didn’t even know I needed. And it has been so much fun.

So, here’s a little story for you. I took a break from earning money. I’ve always earned money. I’ve always had a job even when I didn’t ‘have’ to have a job. And I’ve loved it because it’s all I’ve really known and when the kids left to go away I was done raising kids. Did you know that there’s a moment in time when you’re done, your job is done? You are no longer responsible for raising your kids.

You set your kids free to start practicing everything you’ve taught them, and you are no longer required to teach them. You’re no longer in charge of them. And so, it really is such an interesting moment in time for us moms who were so dedicated to raising our children and felt the heavy responsibility for the choices that they made. And then there really is a moment in time when we’re no longer responsible for the choices that they make. Did you know that? This is a good thing. This is a really good thing.

This is the time when we actually have to turn back to ourselves and decide who we want to be moving forward. So, this is kind of fun to know. They get to be who they want to be moving forward. They get to create a life that they want and then we get to create a life that we want. So, there was a moment in time for me, the kids moved away. I was a very dedicated mom. I thoroughly enjoyed it and then I took a few years from 50 to about 56 to decide what I wanted to do. I knew there was a thing, but I didn’t know what it was.

And I just was tired, and I was tired from all the work that I’d put in to my life, and to my family, and to my church the first 50 years of my life. And then I took a break. I just removed myself from all my prior obligations and I spent a lot of time deciding who I was, who I wanted to be, how I wanted to spend my time and my energy moving forward and I did. And I decided I wanted to start a business. I decided I wanted to be a life coach moving forward.

And when I turned 57 years old I hadn’t even heard of life coaching. I didn’t know that there was a thing called life coaching and there was. But it’s really changed so much in the last five years. It’s really grown and evolved into much more of a popular business and thing that actually people invest in. So, five years ago I found out about life coaching, five short years ago. Five years goes super-fast, you guys, that’s why I’m doing this episode for you.

So, when I turned 57 I learned about life coaching. And up until that point I thought maybe I wanted to go back to school and get my master’s in family and marriage counseling. Because I knew I wanted to be in this field, but I didn’t know about anything other than counseling. And then I found out about life coaching which I’m so glad I did because this is my thing. This is what I have been primed my entire life to do. But I didn’t know it could be a business until I found out you can actually create a business by becoming a life coach.

It’s not a regulated industry, so you could become an entrepreneurial life coach and grow a very substantial business in the second half of life without even being certified as a life coach because it’s an unregulated business. So, you can just hang up a sign on your door or on your website and just say, “I’m a life coach. I help people.” But I knew that I needed some more tools and some more skills, so I started doing the research.

And I found The Life Coach School and I got on the waitlist because back then five years ago they were not doing online certifications, it was in person certifications. And in my research in the life coach industry where they were offering certifications, The Life Coach School in Dallas, Texas after I did my research, they were offering the tools that aligned most with what I thought and what I valued. So, I got on the waitlist to get certified in person in Dallas, Texas. It was, then I think it was $18.000, it was an investment, and it was a commitment that I couldn’t wait to dive into.

So, I think I was on the waitlist for six months before I actually got started but in the meantime I hired a life coach, I actually got into The Life Coach School’s monthly coaching program and just devoured all of their content. And I was so obsessed and committed. By the time I even started the certification program I was 100% on my journey to being a life coach and I was so excited about it. Did I have any idea how to start a business? No, I absolutely had no idea how to start a business.

In fact, they gave you ideas on the how but what I did you guys was get certified and then I started before I was ready. And that’s what I want to talk to you about today, starting before you’re ready. I had this thing in me, this wanting, this knowing that there was something for me in the second half of life to do, that would offer value to the world and that would create a life for me in the second half of life that I loved. I really wasn’t sure what it was or how it was all going to evolve and happen, but I knew there was something.

And then once I decided it was becoming a certified life coach that was my step number one. I just got clarity and that’s always our step number one, this is what I’m going to do. I am going to become a life coach and not only a life coach, a certified life coach through The Life Coach School. So that’s what I want to tell you, your step number one in becoming an entrepreneur, creating a business in the second half of life out of thin air is to get some clarity and make a decision about what it is you want and that’s what I did. I’m going to become a certified life coach, step number one.

And then I’m going to tell you, step number two was starting before I was ready which is exactly what I did. You know what I decided to do? As I didn’t have a website for my business, I started an Instagram page for my business. And I was scrolling through it this morning and I went all the way back to my first post which was December 4th, 2018.

And my post says, “My one goal for 2018 was to become a certified life coach and I did it. I focused, and I studied every single day. A lot of other amazing and stunning things happened this year as well, but this was my one goal no matter what. My goal for 2019 is to build a successful coaching business and I know I’ll do it. A year goes fast, what do you want for 2019? What’s your one thing goal no matter what?” That was my first post for my life coaching business, you guys. And I remember when I put it out there I was so excited but at the same time I was so anxious about it.

So, I want you to know that when you start before you’re ready, those are going to be your two primary feelings. And when you feel anxious and excited, just know you’re right on track, no matter what it is you want to start. You have that one thing in your soul, I’m going to call it in our soul, that you know you want to do but you’re terrified to do it. You’re going to feel anxious, what are people going to think? What are people going to say? Will I even be able to make it happen?

I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m just giving you all the collection of normal thoughts. I don’t know what I’m doing, will I finish it? Will it be a success? All of these normal thoughts that create anxiety in us partner up with the excitement of just taking the first step. I’m going to do it, this is my one thing no matter what. And let me tell you, I had all of those same thoughts when I decided I was going to get certified. So hey, that was no joke getting certified through The Life Coach School, it was scary, I was in a room full of people I didn’t know. It’s a pretty intense program and commitment.

It was a lot of money for me at that time. And I hadn’t made any money on my own in years since I stopped being – I was a decorator. And I learned a lot being an entrepreneurial decorator. I learned a lot of things of not to do that I was able to bring in to my coaching business. So, it’s always going to be scary, but we have to do it before we’re ready. And you know what I did? I just started doing it. I just decided, okay, I’m just going to start posting on my Instagram page and making offers. I guess I could look at it, but I know it was often, three, or four, or five days a week. So that’s just what I did.

Now, what I’m going to tell you that was super helpful for me then, one of my coaches and who happens to be my mastermind coach, my business mastermind coach this year, her name’s Jody Moore. And she gave me the idea that way back then there’s a picture of my business being a machine. And so, I’ve carried this with me, this thought that my business is a machine and all I have to do is feed these little buckets every day, or often, that actually feed the machine of my business.

So, if you just can kind of picture this big machine that is the machine of your business. You don’t have to worry about that as much as you feeding the little buckets that actually feed the machine. So, this is what I decided what my buckets have evolved into. So, my first bucket that just really started feeding the machine of my business to even get my business off the ground. Another analogy that Jody uses, and I don’t know where she got it, but I think I got it from her but maybe from other people as well.

But it’s just like when you put gas in your car just to get your car moving, you’ve got to have gas to even get your car moving, or even a train on a train track. Back in the day when they were just shoveling the coal into the engine of the train to even get the wheels cranking to get the locomotive moving. So, the bucket, the first bucket of your business, you don’t have to worry about the whole thing, all you have to do is think about how can I fill that first bucket to get the machine of my business just off the ground, to just get it moving along to create some momentum.

So, this is what I’m going to tell you that my first bucket became and is now today just feeding my Instagram. So, this is all my first bucket to feed the machine of my business is all marketing and sales. So, I have to let the world know who I am, and what I do, and how I can help them. So, what my first bucket has kind of grown into is not only my Instagram page but six months after I started my Instagram I invested in a website.

So, I hired a website designer to give me a place where my people could land. So, I could offer the people that are interested in coaching with me, I’m growing my Instagram page and getting a base of people form the world that are drawn to me and that need what I have to offer them. So, then I can give them a place to go and that became my website where they can pay me money and then they can sign up to be coached by me. So, my first bucket again grew from my Instagram page to my website, people can find me now even just straight to my website.

And then a year ago I added to that bucket, this podcast, Reinvented After 40. And then that bucket got stronger and stronger which grew the power of my business, the machine of my business, that’s bucket number one. So, you have to get some clarity, then you have to get some courage to introduce yourself to the world and tell people what your business is and make an offer to help them. So, this is all very useful information if you want to start a business in the second half of life. And then you just start growing it and you’re never in a rush.

I’ve never been in a rush. I want you to know that. So, I’m just offering you these ideas today because I know that if you are following me, if you are interested in what I am doing, I want you to know that it hasn’t been easy on one hand, and I never expected it to be easy. I expected it to be a challenge for me and I was up for the challenge. And I know when women come to me and tell me, “Oh my gosh, this is so hard.” And I go, “Oh, you expected it to be easy, that’s your only problem.” It’s supposed to be hard and hard isn’t a problem.

The challenge for us in the second half of life, you guys, is so good for us. We need to be challenged, we’re not going to get what we want. We’re not going to become who we know is possible for us if we’re coasting along. We need the challenge to grow us into the confident badass women we know we can be. And that’s what this business, growing a business in the second half of life will give us, the life, the results that we want. It is the engine, it is the vehicle to get us to become the women that we know we can become in the second half of life.

That’s why I’m telling you this today, I want you to start a business, it can be anything you’re interested in, anything you want to get good at, you just have to start and then start filling that first bucket of your machine. That’s the how of becoming an entrepreneur, just starting a business in the second half of life. That’s what I did and that’s what you can do. I’m just telling you the how. Not very many people can tell you the how. And also, I got coaching all along the way.

And I’m going to keep adding to this episode because I have so much to share with you on the how of growing a business in the second half of life. And if you want more individual coaching on this, if you know that you want to start a business, you’re just not sure where to begin or you know you need some coaching on your mindset around it because you know my friend, that your thoughts are the only thing in your way of starting a business in the second half of life.

This is what I want you to know for sure, that you totally 100% can do it. And you need a coach, and I can be your coach. I know how to do it. I know the thoughts that are in your way, and I know the useful thoughts that you can replace them with. So, I want you to come work with me for the next six months and let’s get your business, the machine of your business off the ground. Let’s get that vehicle filled up with gas. Let’s get that first bucket filled. Let’s get that locomotive coal, the engine of your locomotive full so it can create some momentum moving forward.

And I promise you my friend that I would not be where I am today in my business, I am on track to make over $100,000 this year in 2022 working two days a week from my laptop. It is possible, so don’t you think for a second it is not possible. I am 61 years old and I’m going to create over $100,000 this year working two days a week from my laptop at home looking at the ocean. Four years ago, I only dreamt of this. I knew that it was possible, but I just didn’t know how I was going to get here and now I know how I got here, and I want to share it with you.

And I want you to know that if you’re a beginner, you’re right on track, all you have to do is be coachable and I’m your coach. Alright, I hope this episode was helpful and useful, share it with a friend that you know is maybe suffering with self-doubt, tell her she’s right on track, and I would love to be your life coach for the next six months and get your business running and moving in the right direction. It will be so much fun for you.

And my next group starts in the middle of September, it will be on Wednesday afternoon or late morning, I’m not sure of the time yet, I will let you know. But you can go to my website, kymshowerslifecoach.com. You have two options to work with me one-on-one for the next six months, sign up. You’ll hear from me right away and you’ll get my workbook. Or sign up for my group that starts in September, and you will hear from me right away and you will receive my workbook in the mail in the next few days.

Alright, let’s go my friends, it’s so worth the investment of your time, your energy, your money, all of your resources to create a life you absolutely love living in the second half of life. Okay, have the best week and I will talk to you next Thursday.

Thanks for listening to Reinvented After 40. If you want more information or resources from the podcast, please visit KymShowersLifeCoach.com.