Lynne Beverly Strang's Blog, page 3

8 Tips to Build Your Network When You’re Pressed for Time

[image error]

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

For entrepreneurs, networking should be a constant process. But how can you find time to cultivate new relationships — and retain existing ones — when you’re busy running a business, taking care of family matters and fulfilling other commitments? Here are some ideas to consider:

1) Meet first thing in the morning. Early morning get-togethers tend to end on time since people usually have to get to the office, or move on to other meetings. Bonus suggestion: Stick...

How a Longtime Auto Enthusiast Launched a Model Car Business

[image error]

Jim Cowen

By Lynne Beverly Strang, Late-Blooming Entrepreneurs

Jim Cowen, 64, has loved cars and collected auto-related memorabilia for as long as he can remember. When he reached his 50s, the Chicago-area consultant decided to turn his passion into a business that serves diecast model car collectors like himself. In this interview, Jim describes his entrepreneurial journey and shares some lessons learned about turning a lifelong hobby into a rewarding business.

Why did you want to start...

Why Volunteering is a Good Thing for Entrepreneurs

[image error]Each winter, I volunteer for my little town’s annual ping-pong tournament, a community event organized and run by local residents. Our planning committee handles a long list of tasks, from processing registrations to setting up matches. When the big day arrives, we enjoy seeing people of all ages and playing levels come together for some fun and exercise.

As we get ready for the 2020 tournament, I’m reminded of this lesson: Volunteering offers rewards that carry over to many areas of your...

Some Interesting Holiday Business Ideas

[image error]From ugly sweaters to festive lighting, business opportunities abound for those who enjoy helping others get ready for Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, among other holidays. Meet some entrepreneurs who began holiday-themed businesses at a later age.

DebsTackySweaters – Deb Rottum, a Florida-based single mother of three, began creating ugly, 3-D holiday sweaters as a hobby. As described in this article, she now has a full-fledged business selling her tacky sweaters, along with dresses, skirts,...

Launching a Second Act as a Filmmaker

By Lynne Beverly Strang

[image error]

Melissa Davey films an opening sequence for her documentary, Beyond Sixty Project

In October, I went to see Beyond Sixty Project in this year’s Washington West Film Festival held in Reston Town Center, Virginia. The 77-minute documentary features a series of interviews with 10 women over the age of 60 who have stories of resilience and continued relevance today.

All 10 women are remarkable. Among those profiled are a veterinarian who is the oldest U.S. woman to swim the English Channel, a psychoanalyst...

How Older Entrepreneurs Deal with Setbacks

[image error]

Photo by Michael Rosner-Hyman on Unsplash

A potential investor hasn’t responded to your emails or phone calls. A shipment is late, meaning you can’t deliver a product that a customer expects tomorrow. A social media campaign launched earlier in the year isn’t generating the results you wanted.

If some – or all – of these scenarios sound familiar, you aren’t alone. Just about every entrepreneur has moments like this.

Here are words of wisdom from a few 40-and-older entrepreneurs interviewed fo...

Lessons Learned from an 83-Year-Old Bodybuilder

[image error]

Photo by Cyril Saulnier on Unsplash

If you want to meet someone who truly exemplifies the “age is just a number” philosophy, look no further than Ernestine Shepherd.

At age 83, Ernestine is a personal trainer, a model and a bodybuilder. In 2010, the Baltimore, Maryland resident became the world’s oldest competitive female bodybuilder, a title bestowed upon her by Guinness World Records.

She hasn’t always been so fit, however. According to her website, she used to be “a sedentary, well-padded...

5 Podcasts for 40-and-Older Entrepreneurs

[image error]

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash

Looking for a different perspective, a dose of inspiration or new ideas you can apply to your business?  Give a listen to one or all of these five podcasts:

Business Schooled — Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Initialized Capital and Reddit, travels to eight U.S. cities to interview boomer and Gen-X entrepreneurs and learn how they got their businesses off the ground.

How I Built This – Hosted NPR’s Guy Raz, How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about inn...

How a 60-Year-Old Entrepreneur Crushed His First Gravel Bike Race

By Lynne Beverly Strang

[image error]

A bit of weirdness during the DK 200. Jim posed for this pic around the 170-mile mark. Chaise and photo courtesy of Salsa Cycles.

Since this blog began in 2010, I have profiled all kinds of entrepreneurs — but I’ve seldom featured a family member. Happily, I get to write about one for this post.

Earlier this month, I traveled to Emporia, Kansas to watch the Dirty Kanza, an annual gravel road cycling event with several distance options. Among this year’s 2,700 registran...

A Second Act That’s a Real Hoot

By Lynne Beverly Strang

[image error]

“Humor is so important,” says Donna Cavanagh of HumorOutcasts.com. “If we don’t have humor, we don’t have a life.”

What if you could create an online community that brings together some of the funniest people on the planet?  That lets writers, stand-up comics, cartoonists and other humorists publish their work, push the envelope and spread their creative wings?

For Donna Cavanagh, that “what if” became a reality eight years ago, when she started HumorOutcasts.com in he...