I am an accidental Crusader for women better than 50 and I happily blame social media.
I had one unexpected conversation that changed my life and business direction. It happened during a week-long, women’s business conference. I was discussing my anti-aging skincare line, BeFab Skincare, then in development, with a branding expert. He informed me that the moniker “Fab” or “Fabulous” was not appropriate for women in my age demographic (50+). He did get away with his life, but barely.
I had to run to catch my flight back to the west coast. Our conversation stuck in my head. All the way to the airport and while boarding, I contemplated his words. It begged the question for me, “Are Women Over 50 Irrelevant or Fabulous?” I certainly felt fabulous; at the top of my corporate career, but also feeling an internal gnawing that it was time for personal reinvention.
Once aboard the plane, I busted open my laptop, with wine in hand, I wrote an emotional blog titled the same as my contemplation, “Are Women Over 50 Irrelevant or Fabulous?” The response on social media was powerful. That’s when I started connecting with women in my age demo to find out if we all felt the same things; a need for reinvention, owning our power, coming to terms with our choices and the lives that we’ve lived and mostly the questions, “Who are we now?” and “What do we want?”
I spent more than a year researching my own, most fascinating demographic. The biggest need I saw was the need for connection, community, and Sisterhood. We all felt the same things, strived for the same new things, struggled with many of the same things, but we were all doing it in isolation. I knew then, we needed to come together in a (peaceful) revolution for and of women better than 50. The only thing I could think of to do was to reach out and call forth my sisters.
In the summer of 2017, I launched a closed Facebook group and tossed out a few dollars in advertising its existence. In 7-ish months it has grown to 13,000 and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. It’s the community that we all need.
I learn so much from my global Sisters. We lift each other up in our darkest times and deliver us from loneliness and feelings of isolation. We laugh together, we debate and bicker a bit but we share a commitment to support, inspire each other to live with vibrancy into what indeed may be our best chapter of life yet. We are all dedicated to inspiring women to unabashedly celebrate life beyond 50. By coming together and empowering each other, we are creating a revolution of Fabulousness. I had no idea this would happen when I began reaching out on social media to my Sisters.
I wouldn’t walk away from this for anything. We’re up to important things and it’s our time!