Filed by Dotsie Bregel
Mom died when I was in my early forties. In addition to that, all three of my kids would soon leave the nest.
Having been a stay at home mom, I felt without purpose so I hunkered down in prayer, researched and one year later launched what is now the number one site for "baby boomer women" on major search engines, www.boomerwomenspeak.com . A few years later I launched the National Association of Baby Boomer Women, www.nabbw.com to enlighten, educate and empower baby boomer women. Apparently, I was not the only one reinventing myself at midlife.
Seventy-eight million baby boomers are turning ages 43 to 61 in 2007. A nice percentage of boomers are becoming midlife entrepreneurs.
Boomers will not retire like generations before them. Instead, they are taking their life skills and beginning again. This generation is better educated and healthier than prior generations. They are also the generation that ushered in the exercise craze so they have energy and want to remain active.
Pioneers in their own right, they are changing the way America does retirement. According to AARP the number of self-employed workers 50 years and older jumped from 5.6 million in 2002 to 6.8 million in 2006.
Are you reinventing yourself at midlife? Do you have any friends who are taking their life skills and launching new careers?
Dotsie Bregel is the founder of the National Association of Baby Boomer Women, www.nabbw.com, and Boomer Women Speak, www.boomerwomenspeak.com, a key site on all search engines for "baby boomer women." She has been mentioned in Time magazine, the Los Angeles Times and AARP Bulletin among dozens of newspapers across the nation. She is on the editorial board of me* magazine and writes book reviews for boomer magazine. She frequently does radio interviews and has appeared on The Early Show (CBS) with Dave Price.
She can be contacted at dots@boomerwomenspeak.com or 1-877-bboomer.
