Encore Tampa Bay Connecting Boomers to their Encore Careers

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ENCORE ENTREPRENEURS – A BOOMING BUSINESS!

Encore Entrepreneurs
Marilyn Arnold, 66, the founder of Marilyn Arnold Designs, creates keepsakes by converting wedding dresses into decorative pillow covers. Credit Steve Hebert for The New York Times

Move over millennials, the boomers are taking over when it comes to entrepreneurship. In 2013, Kaufman reported 20% of all new business ventures in the US were started by entrepreneurs aged 50-59. An additional 15% of startups were started by those 60 years and over, which means 35% of all startups were launched by those over 50 years of age. If you want to start a business, you want to ask a boomer to help you. They are ready!

Gallup just released the results of a survey that identified the reasons why older adults were joining the ranks of entrepreneurs:

  • Opportunity to be independent – 32%
  • Pursuing my passion – 27%
  • Opportunity to increase my income – 24%
  • Have an idea for product/service that meets unfilled need – 10%
  • No jobs available in the area – 4%

Not only are the sheer numbers of older adults entering the entrepreneur arena impressive, but the track record of startups with boomers at the helm is even more impressive.   The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor documents that 50% of new businesses launched by 50+ are still in business after 5 years.

Another recent article outlined the reasons why older adults are poised for success:

  • Lifetime of business and problem solving skills
  • Greater emotional intelligence (getting everyone focused on the vision)
  • Savvy talent management (Knowing how to get the right people on the team)
  • Networking (its all about managing those external relationships)

The reality is, that having the right skills or experience is not the only critical ingredient for success.   Gallup’s recent poll also looked at other critical success factors.   The biggest challenges in starting a business for the over 50 entrepreneurs were:

  • Access to credit
  • Availability of training and other resources
  • Coping with regulation.

Gallup identified three critical ways that cities and regions can bolster entrepreneur growth:

  • Develop programs that assist entrepreneurial boomers to assess their readiness for their new role as a startup.  
  • Connect prospective entrepreneurs with existing local resources that can provide training, networking and other valuable information to those considering a startup.
  • Provide coaching, mentoring and business advisory services to help navigate the legal regulations as well as to assist individuals along the development path.

Speaking from personal experience as a new social entrepreneur, I can attest that leaving the comfort of a job and skill set of 35 years can be quite intimidating. Connecting with experienced entrepreneurs and organizations helps during those “pivot times” when the negative self-talk takes over. It does make a difference for emerging entrepreneurs to have a positive and approachable ecosystem.

Tampa Bay is creating the environment that will foster entrepreneurial growth and success. We already have a healthy and growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, but resources are fragmented and confusing for those new to the field.   Encore Tampa Bay is committed to taking this next step to create the right environment for encore entrepreneurs. We are working with fellow entrepreneur groups and individuals and mapping the assets that exist for the encore entrepreneur to be successful and to find the resources and the support they need.

For those who are contemplating this path or even percolating an idea for the next great startup, Tampa Bay has great programs and events to help you get started. Here are just a few:

UPCOMING EVENTS/PROGRAMS FOR PROSPECTIVE ENTREPRENEURS:

 

There are so many exciting opportunities for you to at least put your toe in the water – the water is fine… WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

 

For more information about Encore Entrepreneurs or if you want to get involved with Encore Tampa Bay – please contact me

Encore Resolutions For 2015

reflectingIt is, once again, the time when we pause and reflect on the past year. Hopefully you are taking time away from work or life’s rat race to ask:

  • What did I accomplish?
  • What would I like to do over or improve?
  • What did I learn?
  • What things did I not get to?

Now is a great time to look ahead, to be purposeful about what you want to do and to set your priorities and goals for 2015.

Let’s first acknowledge the recent facts and articles about the social change movement occurring in America with adults 50+ beginning to “THINK” about redefining their work and life as they approach their second half. Notice that I am emphasizing “THINKING” vs “DOING”.

Taking action to begin the discovery process toward your encore could be the best New Year’s resolution you’ve ever made!

I have been working and speaking with experienced adults for the last two years and I continually find that people get stuck in their own head. People are either afraid or unsure of how to begin on this discovery process to find their purpose. One of the best books I have read this year was Your Life Calling by Jane Pauley. Jane says, “You have to be willing to take the off-ramp”. The first step is moving away from who you have been or what you have done most of your life. The second step involves letting go and discovering the possibilities.

Finding your purpose:

 

Finding your purpose means going within, taking time for reflection:

  • Explore the past. What were some of the interests or skills you left behind before getting on the “gerbil wheel”?
  • Examine your current values. Research shows adults in their 50’s have a significant shift in values.
  • Dream or imagine something you have always wanted to do. Let your creative juices flow.

In a recent article, John Tarnoff interviews two of the 2014 Encore Purpose Prize winners to find out how they discovered their encore careers. Two key themes emerged in their stories.

  1. Finding your encore means bypassing the logical, conventional and linear path of rational thought and listening to your heart.
  2. Finding your encore stems from a core personal inspiration, from either a sudden ‘Aha’ moment or a particular philosophy or sense of purpose that emerges over time.

next stepI have learned over the last two years that the hardest step of all is the first step; letting go and moving into the discovery process.

People ask me:

“Where do I begin?”

“What are the exact steps that I need to take?”

The answer is not clear or exact. It starts and looks very different to each of us. This is why I will offer a wide range of suggestions and tips for getting started on this discovery journey.

Suggestions for starting the discovery process:

 

Explore articles and books that focus not only on the “how to’s” but also the facts, emerging trends and inspirational stories of people in their encores. Here are a few great books which include important discovery activities and assessments.

There are many more. These are merely a start.

Meet up with other people at this stage of wondering. I have found the power of human connection can help with the fear or feeling that you are the only one that feels this way. Visit our Encore Resources and Programs.

  • Test drive your path. Start by volunteering in an organization to explore and experiment.
  • Explore other opportunities for continued income that peaks your interest including part time employment, project work or starting your own business or franchise. Visit encore resources and programs.
  • Go online to discover your purpose at Life Reimagined or at The Purpose Economy.

What are you waiting for?

 

chart new pathThis is an exciting time for our generation to chart new paths not only for us but for generations to follow. What is holding us back?

I am committed to building an encore community here in Tampa Bay where we can learn, connect and retool for our encore. Let’s do this together!

I leave you with two more items; a great article on New Years Resolutions for your Second Act and a quote by my hero, Eleanor Roosevelt:

“You must do the thing you cannot do, it’s the only way to overcome the fears we all face in doing something new, take a leap into the unknown.”

 

Happy New Year!

Bevan Rogel

From Marketer to Healer, an Encore Career Story

Laurie StemmThere are many different ways that people find and connect to their encore career. What we often see is a coinciding of another person’s passion or an “opportunity that shows up” in our lives. In this video blog, Laurie DeFrain -Stemm shares her journey to her encore.

Her story is not unlike many stories we hear – about a person with a solid successful background and experience in a specific field. Laurie’s was marketing and it was during one of her jobs that she met Vicki Westra who had an idea…that ignited Laurie’s passion for several reasons.

Please listen to this inspiring story of Laurie’s encore career journey.

BUILDING AN ENCORE NATION

Mark FreedmanTwo weeks ago, more than 400 Encore leaders gathered together in Tempe AZ, to explore ways to make the shift from an aging society to a powerful source of talent that chooses to use the accumulated skills, experience and wisdom to tackle many of society’s most urgent challenges.  John Tarnoff wrote about how the conference also focused on how we can preserve and extend boomer careers and turn around the corporate mindsets that see this generation is too old or out of touch. What we know for sure is that the persistence of purpose is the driving motivation in the second half of life.

BUILDING THE MOVEMENT

The inspiration started the first night of the conference with the much heralded Purpose Prize winners. These winners represent some of the most amazing social innovators over the age of 60, who are working to advance social good. (check out the videos of each of the 5 winners) The icing on the cake was hearing my two heroes, Marc Freedman (founder of Encore), and Jane Pauley articulate the vision we all have to create a social change movement that creates richer lives for individuals while strengthening our country!

Joann Jenkins, AARP’s new CEO, rocked the house as she talked about “Disruptive Aging”. She said, “lets change the conversation about getting older, its not about aging , its about living! Embracing our age is about building on our strengths and experience, not looking at our demise.

The biggest focus for the conference was looking to the future – How can we accelerate this shift and deepen the social and economic impact.   There were sessions that addressed different impact areas such as integrating encore programs in higher education, helping non profits and businesses recognize the opportunity for leveraging encore talent in their organizations, building sustainable encore communities, focusing on opportunities to help our youth and using media as a way to raise awareness in our communities. Richard Eisenberg’s recent article, “Encore Movement Confronts 3 Big Questions”, does a great job of capturing our most important challenges in the movement.

Encore NationA LOOK TO THE FUTURE

A panel of key thought leaders outlined what was next in terms of deploying encore talent as a powerful new source of human capital. Innovation and changing the language/ culture is the key.

We had our own mini version of TED Talks with IGNITE – 7 BIG IDEAS FOR ACCELERATING ENCORE.   Some of the fantastic ideas were:

  • “Saying No to Ageism” (it starts with us)
  • “Boomerang Giving” (using your senior discounts to give directly to non profits)
  • “Personal Branding with a Purpose”
  • “The Purpose Prize is not the finish line” (where the 450 purpose prize winners tap into their social genius to address the current
  • “Second Acts and Social Innovation” (Tulane University takes on social innovation with its alumni and faculty)

Incredible thought leaders in the field shared their insights and vision for a better future! BUT-the greatest source of inspiration was talking and learning from other encore leaders about what is really happening on the ground level as we continue to build the Encore Nation together!!.   The future looks bright and the time is now!

Marc Freedman continues to be the true visionary and leader of this movement that changes attitudes and expectations about getting older while suggesting new practices and programs that encourage a longer work life.

Marc shared a great quote by JFK at the first ever White House Conference on Aging-

“We are not adding years to our lives. We are adding life to our Years”

I am excited about the possibilities for us to build our own Encore Community- the climate is right!

Encore Nation

ENCORE CAREER STORY – IT’S ABOUT CHANGING CAREERS

rethink

In the Encore Career Stories we are about to tell, we see that there is more of a “reintegration” of skills and talents in new careers.

  • Gary turned a life-long hobby and interest into a profitable and meaningful career!  
  • Kristen combined her passion for assisting non-profits by using the skills and talent she had built up over the last 30 years!

Both of these examples show that you do not have to do a major overhaul or start a major non-profit or save world peace to align your passion and purpose with the work that you choose to pursue!

Encore Career StoryGARY STEMPINSKI

Gary is currently the Associate Vice President with Raymond James Investments. Gary made a significant shift in his career about 17 years ago when he decided to leave his job with the St Petersburg Police Department.   After 25 years on the force and another 4 years in the US Coast Guard, he decided there was something more that he wanted to do in the second half of his life.

Throughout his long and challenging work on the police force, Gary was always very interested in following the stock market and looking at ways to better manage his own financial investments. In fact, he really liked doing that, not only for himself but for others, so he served on the pension board for the police. Other people also noticed his skills and talent in this area, so around the time when retirement packages became an option, a close friend and former Mayor offered him a job he could not refuse – working for an investment firm.   Gary had always loved investing but also loved learning new things so he jumped in with great eagerness to attain all of the licenses he needed to hang the shingle out.

The greatest impact for Gary as he made this significant job shift was the opportunity to help others to manage their money, help his clients solve problems and make good sound financial decisions. Helping others was a common theme and core value for Gary even when he was serving on the police force.

His approach to financial advising has also left a great impact on his clients as well. He has gone the extra mile for his clients by helping make life planning decisions as well as financial decisions.   He has become a trusted advisor and family friend in so many situations.

Although challenged with learning a whole new industry, it turned out to be a rich reward because he was so eager to learn everything that there was to learn about the financial industry. The rewards from the job are numerous, from mentoring the younger financial advisors, to serving on boards that benefit from talent and knowledge, to seeing the financial success of his clients. His greatest happiness is helping clients to achieve their financial goals and advising clients on problem solving and planning for life changing events and the unexpected events that we all face in life.

Gary’s advice for others who are considering making a big job shift in careers:

 

  • Preparation: Do you homework. Learn everything you can about the industry and the job.
  • Find out what it is going to take to make this kind of change in job role and job skills.
  • Know yourself: Are you willing to commit the time and energy to learn and change for this new career?

Once you know all of these factors – you are ready to leap into a job or career that really aligns with your interests, skills or passion!

Encore Career StoryKRISTEN JOHNSON

Kristen is currently the Director of Human Resources for Girl Scouts of West Central Florida. Kristen is now applying her 30 years of professional experience to an entirely new environment – the non profit world. She feels this is a great way to bring together her life long interest in volunteerism with her chosen profession.

Her move from the corporate world into this job was truly a fluke. She saw a job posting while reviewing the work of her recruiters. She could not stop thinking about this job and how that really piqued her interest. She had always thought that after she retired from her career she would devote her time volunteering for worthwhile cause so this job opportunity allowed her a way to have more meaning and purpose in her life while still using her skills and earning an income! There was also another external event that motivated her to think differently and go for this job. There was a serious illness in her family that gave her a whole new perspective, causing herself to ask, “Why wait for anything that is worth doing?”

Working at the Girls Scouts has had a great impact in her life. She really enjoys the hands on direct work where she has the “floor to ceiling” involvement. She is feeling quite energized by something new.

She also has been making quite an impact on the people she works with. Coming from a very large successful corporation has given her the perspective and tool kit from that experience to be applied in a nonprofit organization.

Her greatest rewards from this new encore career are many. Seeing the mission in action – “Building girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place”   She loves seeing that driving force in everything the Girls Scouts does. The CEO is always asking as they make big decisions – “What is the impact to the girls?” Kristen said, “In a large corporation you have your shareholders, your customers and multiple customer bases, where here, the girl is at the center of everything, so there are so many direct ties.” The biggest challenge are all the changes in the nature of the job and culture but there are going to be changes in any new job – this is one that really hits home for Kristen.

Interested in learning more about the different ways you can connect to your own encore career? Join us on October 21 at the Encore Town Hall – NGAGE 2.0!

Encore Careers – Making a Difference

Encore Career Series

There are millions of adults in mid-life who are refusing to fade away in the second half of life. It turns out that at least 41 million of those adults are searching for a calling and crafting encore careers that combine not only continued income but the promise for more meaning and purpose.  These individuals have found and are living their encore all over America. The power of their stories can help provide us lessons, tips and inspirations as we begin to ponder what is next for us in the second half.

We are thrilled to be able to bring those stories to life at our Encore Town Hall event on October 21!. We have found so many great examples of people in our own community who have left their life long job or role to do something that has real meaning and purpose for them. During our Town Hall, we will have two of those individuals share their story with Marci Alboher (author of the Encore Career Handbook).

I would like to give you sneak preview of those two individuals who will be sharing their stories at the Encore Town Hall.

Earl Bedford Encore CareerMajor Earl Bedford

Major Earl Bedford enlisted in the service in 1982. He served four different combat tours in Iraq. During those years of service he received numerous awards for his courage, leadership and service to his country. Those years in Iraq were extremely challenging. He suffered physically, mentally and emotionally. The physical wounds eventually healed but the psychological wounds lingered on way past his time in Irag. Back in Tampa he looked for support and found that most of the military support attended to the physical wounds and transition issues. He decided to take matters into his own hands by reaching out to fellow service men who had suffered from PTSD and suicidal thoughts. He set up times to mentor and just hang out with those who were still suffering inside. His incredible compassion and courage has been an inspiration to so many other servicemen at McDill AFB. His success with these meetings, resulted in starting his own non profit- “Military Warriors Mentorship Program”.

Earl’s passion goes beyond helping the wounded who served our country. Since his return home to Tampa he has been actively involved with another great initiative that his father (who was in the service as well) started – “Operations Santa Claus”. This is a great program that helps provides gifts and time spent with the kids whose dads are still out in the field serving their country.

Wheels of SuccessSusan Jacobs

Susan Jacobs had a very different encore journey. In the early 1990’s she walked away from an abusive relationship leaving everything behind for a chance to start over. For three months , she was without a car and found that her lack of transit options took her over two hours each way to get to work. It was during those 3 months that she met a stranger that changed her life forever, by lending her a car until she got back on her feet with a better job running a staffing agency.

Susan realized that the lack of transportation has impacted so many individuals and families from getting or keeping a job. Seeing those family situations really hit home for her. She found there were not any programs or services that addressed this issue and started her own program to provide used cars for families that needed transportation help to get back on their feet.

Wheels of Success has presented over 732 cars and provided another 699 car related services to keep working families working. Susan was recognized for her tremendous effort and impact on our community in 2012 as the National Encore- Purpose Prize finalist. She has also been featured on the Queen Latifah Show sharing her story with the whole world!

NgageEncore Careers

Both stories illustrate that each individual was faced with extremely challenging situations. They made it through their challenges and dedicated their lives to help others who faced those same kind of challenges. They also used their skills and experience from previous jobs and roles to help set up their organization .

YOU will get to meet Major Bedford and Susan Jacobs at our Encore Town Hall event. Over the next four weeks leading up to the Encore Town Hall, we will be showcasing other individuals in our community who are living their encore. Stay tuned!

Learn more about the Encore Tampa Bay Town Hall event and join in the conversation, connect with like minded people who want to explore not only their own encore, and explore ideas of how we can integrate the Encore movement in our own community!