Episode Summary

After more than two decades leading global technology teams at Oracle and serving as VP of Services at an AI-driven consulting firm, Kristen Harris was laid off at 55 — a moment that felt devastating even though she already knew the role wasn't right for her. In this episode, Harris explains why perfectionism isn't a flaw to "recover from" but a trait that high achievers can sharpen into a strategic advantage, and how surviving breast cancer while working full-time reshaped her relationship to risk, corporate health benefits, and what she was willing to sacrifice for stability. She shares the exact framework she now teaches leaders — from millennial managers to midlife career-changers — for identifying their "unfair advantage," building an informal personal board of directors, and taking the leap into entrepreneurship without having to build the perfect business before selling it.

Key Takeaways

• Perfectionism is not a pathology to fix — it's a leadership trait to refine. Research cited in the episode shows that roughly 85% of high achievers identify with some form of perfectionism, and Harris argues that trying to "recover" from it ignores a trait that, when understood, becomes a competitive edge.
• A layoff can feel devastating even when you already wanted to leave, because the loss of control — not the job itself — is often what's hardest to process.
• Health insurance fear keeps many capable women in jobs they've outgrown. Harris encourages women to research their real options (health exchanges, brokers, expert conversations) before assuming corporate benefits are their only path to coverage.
• Solopreneurs need a personal "board of directors." Instead of one formal mentor, Harris recommends building a network of trusted advisors — family, former colleagues, coaches, and even strangers met through networking — to replace the built-in support of a corporate team.
• You don't have to build the perfect product before selling it. Harris applies an agile, iterative approach to entrepreneurship: test an idea, sell it, and refine it based on real client needs rather than waiting for it to be flawless.

About Kristen Harris

Kristen Harris spent more than 20 years leading global technology and consulting teams, including roles as a director at Oracle — where her team delivered web platforms across nine languages for the entire company — and VP of Service Delivery at a software engineering and consulting firm, where she managed project delivery, resourcing, profitability, and quality at the leadership table. At 55, following a corporate layoff, she launched Kristen Harris Coaching, where she works with leaders and teams on leadership development, resilience, and what she calls "the perfectionist edge" — helping high-achieving, perfectionist-minded professionals turn that trait into a strength rather than something to apologize for. Harris is also a breast cancer survivor who continued working through treatment, an experience that reshaped her views on risk, stability, and building professional presence. She now serves as a cancer mentor through Imerman Angels, a Chicago-based nonprofit that connects cancer patients and caregivers with survivor mentors for one-on-one peer support.

Episode Highlights

• What it actually looks like to operate as a "critical cog" inside large tech and consulting organizations
• The pivot moment — six months before her layoff — when Harris realized her new role wasn't the right fit
• How a breast cancer diagnosis changed her calculus around corporate stability, health insurance, and risk
• Identifying your "unfair advantage" as a midlife entrepreneur
• Why niching too narrowly can limit your audience — and what "anyone hungry to lead" really means
• The reality of feeling out of place at founder meetups full of 30-somethings, and what to do about it
• Building a personal board of directors instead of a formal mentor or corporate team
• The difference between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, and the "Parisian perfectionist" archetype
• An agile, iterative approach to building and selling a coaching business
• Practical advice for the woman who is afraid to make the leap: check your dream, check your resilience, then go

Frequently Asked Questions

Is perfectionism a bad trait for leaders?

Not according to Kristen Harris. She argues perfectionism only becomes a problem when it's unexamined. Roughly 85% of high achievers identify with some form of perfectionism, and rather than treating it as something to "recover from," Harris teaches leaders to identify their specific perfectionist type and channel it into strengths like precision, resilience, and high standards.

Why do women stay in corporate jobs they've outgrown?

Health insurance and financial stability are among the biggest reasons women delay leaving corporate roles to start a business. Harris recommends treating this as a knowledge gap rather than a fixed barrier — talking to insurance brokers, researching healthcare exchanges, and understanding real options before assuming a corporate job is the only path to coverage.

How do solo entrepreneurs replace the support of a corporate team?

Harris recommends building an informal "personal board of directors" made up of trusted advisors, former colleagues, coaches, family members, and even new connections made through networking. The goal is to avoid isolation and get honest, varied perspectives rather than relying only on close friends who tend to agree with everything you say.

What is a "Parisian perfectionist"?

It's one of several perfectionist types described by psychologist Katherine Morgan Schafler in her book The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control. A Parisian perfectionist appears polished and put-together on the outside while struggling internally — for Harris, this showed up as difficulty delegating and giving others growth opportunities because everything felt like it had to be done a certain way.

How do you know if you're ready to leave a corporate career and start a business?

Harris suggests starting with the dream itself — can you clearly picture what you want and yourself doing it? From there, assess your financial and relational stability, and your resilience to handle early rejection. If your foundation is solid and you can bounce back from setbacks, that's a strong signal you're ready to take the leap.

Resource Stack

• Kristen Harris Coaching — Kristen Harris's coaching website
• The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control by Katherine Morgan Schafler — referenced framework for perfectionist types
• Imerman Angels — Chicago-based nonprofit connecting cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers with one-on-one mentors
• CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) — referenced assessment tool for identifying individual strengths, including "individualization"
• Lean Business Model Canvas — referenced framework for the "unfair advantage" concept discussed in the episode

Where to Find Kristen Harris

1. Website: kristenharriscoaching.com
2. LinkedIn: Kristen J. Harris(search "Kristen J Harris" on LinkedIn)
3. Instagram: Kristen Harris Coaching

Episode Summary

When the school and disability-services systems couldn't give her son Chris — now 42 and living with autism — the life he deserved, Anne Patton built the infrastructure herself. In 2013 she founded A Better Life, a state-approved Program Approved Service Agency (PASA) that lets her bill Medicaid directly for Chris's residential, community, and employment supports, cutting out the 30–50% overhead that traditional agencies charge. Years later, realizing she wasn't the only aging mother running one of these agencies solo, she co-founded Our Back Office Colorado, a shared-infrastructure organization giving families of adults with disabilities peer support, succession planning, and collective bargaining power. This episode is a practical roadmap for any caregiver who has quietly been running a "business" — budgets, staff, compliance, hiring and firing — without ever calling it entrepreneurship.

Key Takeaways

1. A Program Approved Service Agency (PASA) lets family caregivers become direct Medicaid providers — after background checks and state approval through Colorado's Department of Public Health and Environment, families can bill Medicaid directly for a disabled family member's care, avoiding the 30–50% cut that large agencies take.
2. Caregivers of adults with disabilities are, in practice, running small businesses — payroll, hiring and firing staff, compliance, billing, and navigating shifting regulations (including COVID-era changes) — even when no one, including themselves, ever labels it "entrepreneurship."
3. Shared infrastructure solves the aging-caregiver crisis — Our Back Office Colorado gives families of adults with disabilities pooled resources (succession planning, peer coaching, potential shared payroll/billing services) so aging parents aren't solely responsible for what happens to their adult children when they're no longer able to provide care.
4. Succession planning is the missing piece for most caregiving families — most families never document a plan for their child's care because they're too consumed by day-to-day caregiving; existing resources tell families what to plan but rarely coach them through making it actionable.
5. Lived experience is an "unfair advantage," not a liability — the most successful founders in this space, including Anne, solved a problem they personally experienced rather than one they observed from the outside, echoing broader research on what drives entrepreneurial success.

About This Episode

Anne Patton didn't set out to start a business — she set out to build a good life for her son. In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, Anne shares how advocating for Chris through Denver Public Schools, working in disability advocacy at Family Voices Colorado, and a frightening safety incident with a hired caregiver led her to found A Better Life, a Medicaid-funded service agency giving her — and Chris — direct control over his care team. She and host Janine Vanderburg trace the evolution from that first agency to Our Back Office Colorado, the shared-support organization Anne co-founded with other aging caregivers who were facing the same operational and succession-planning burnout. The conversation is a candid look at what it really takes to build a "business" out of necessity, love, and years of navigating bureaucracy — and why that makes Anne, and every caregiver like her, an entrepreneur in every sense of the word.

About Anne Patton

Anne Patton is the founder of A Better Life, a Colorado Program Approved Service Agency (PASA) providing residential, community, and employment services for her son Chris, who is 42 and lives with autism. A former banker turned disability advocate, Anne previously worked in finance and care coordination for Family Voices Colorado and the Chanda Plan Foundation, and has been active with the Arc of Denver and Advocacy Denver. Drawing on more than 40 years of lived experience navigating special education, Medicaid waivers, and home- and community-based services, Anne co-founded Our Back Office Colorado to give aging family caregivers of adults with disabilities shared infrastructure, peer support, succession planning, and a collective voice for policy change.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Program Approved Service Agency (PASA) in Colorado?

A PASA is a Medicaid-approved provider designation that allows an individual or organization — including a family member — to bill Medicaid directly for a disabled person's residential, community, or employment support services, after passing background checks and compliance approval from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

How can a family caregiver get Medicaid funding to support an adult child with a disability?

Families can access Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers once their family member turns 18, based on qualifying disability and support needs. Becoming an approved provider, such as through a PASA, allows the family to control hiring, scheduling, and care decisions directly rather than working through a third-party agency.

What is Our Back Office Colorado?

Our Back Office Colorado is an organization co-founded by Anne Patton and other family caregivers that provides shared infrastructure, peer support, and resources — including monthly coffee talks and future plans for shared payroll and billing support — for aging families supporting adult children with disabilities.

How do I start a service agency to support a family member with a disability?

Start by learning your state's Medicaid rules and provider requirements, connect with existing advocacy and parent networks (such as Family Voices or JFK Partners in Colorado), and be prepared for background checks, compliance training, and ongoing regulatory changes. Anne Patton recommends staying curious, talking to as many people as possible, and recognizing your lived experience as an advantage most professionals don't have.

Why do aging caregivers need succession planning for their adult children with disabilities?

Many aging caregivers have no formal plan in place for what happens to their child's care and housing when they're no longer able to provide it themselves, largely because day-to-day caregiving leaves little time for planning. Organizations like Our Back Office Colorado aim to coach families through building an actionable succession plan, not just outlining what one should contain.

Resource Stack

• Our Back Office Colorado — shared infrastructure and peer support for aging family caregivers
• Family Voices Colorado — health navigation and advocacy for kids with special health care needs
• Chanda Center for Health — integrative therapies for people with physical and other disabilities
• JFK Partners (University of Colorado) — early intervention and developmental disability training/services
• Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment — state agency overseeing Medicaid provider approval and compliance
• Colorado Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waivers — federal/s...

Episode Summary

When a tenant secretly manufactured methamphetamine inside Kathi McCarty's Colorado log cabin, she discovered that meth contamination in rental and residential properties is far more common than most homeowners, real estate agents, or insurance companies acknowledge — and that almost no legal or financial protections exist for victims. In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, McCarty, a 30-year veteran of residential real estate lending and retail banking, explains how that crisis became the foundation for her second-act business, the Meth Toxins Awareness Alliance. She walks through what she found on her own property, why standard remediation and insurance failed her, how she helped pass Colorado legislation (SB23-148) creating a public meth-contamination property database, and how she is now building a preventative product — a meth toxin smart alarm — plus a digital education course for real estate professionals, landlords, and homeowners. Her story is a candid, practical roadmap for any woman over 50 building an advocacy-driven business around a problem most people don't yet know they have.

Key Takeaways

• Meth contamination is far more common than the real estate industry acknowledges. After 30+ years in residential lending and retail banking, Kathi McCarty had never once heard meth contamination discussed as a real estate risk — until it happened to her own rental property.
• Standard remediation doesn't work for every property type. Because McCarty's home was a log cabin without interior drywall, the usual "gut it to the studs" remediation process wasn't possible, and the only approved alternative (chemical encapsulation) lacked long-term safety data.
• Property and tenant insurance policies typically exclude meth contamination and criminal-action damage, leaving homeowners financially exposed with no way to purchase additional coverage — a critical gap most owners don't discover until it's too late.
• Grassroots advocacy can change state law. McCarty testified before the Colorado General Assembly and partnered with then-State Senator Lisa Cutter to pass SB23-148, which created a public state database of meth-affected properties (in effect since August 2023).
• Building a market for prevention requires patience and reframing. Because meth toxin exposure is an invisible, unfamiliar risk, McCarty has had to position her work as a broader health, safety, and financial-legacy issue — not just a niche real estate concern — to get buyers, landlords, and professionals to pay attention.
• Bootstrapped, mission-driven entrepreneurs still need firm contracts. McCarty's biggest operational lesson: get commitments and payment terms in writing early, and don't be afraid to hold clients and collaborators to deadlines, even in "do-good" business relationships built on trust.

Episode Overview

Kathi McCarty spent more than three decades in residential real estate lending and retail banking across Southern California and Colorado. After a serious health event in 2016 led her to rent out her restored 1956 log cabin home, a tenant she had carefully vetted turned the property into a methamphetamine manufacturing site — contaminating it to nearly 240 times Colorado's legal limit.

What followed was a crash course in an issue McCarty says the real estate industry almost never talks about: the legal, financial, and health fallout of meth contamination. She interviewed a dozen meth-testing and remediation companies, learned that her cabin's construction made standard remediation impossible, and ultimately had to sell the contaminated property rather than risk an unproven encapsulation process.

That experience launched two parallel paths. First, advocacy: McCarty began offering continuing-education sessions for real estate professionals, eventually testifying before the Colorado legislature and helping pass SB23-148, a law requiring the state to maintain a public database of meth-affected properties. Second, entrepreneurship: she founded the Meth Toxins Awareness Alliance, now representing a tamper-resistant meth toxin smart alarm and developing a digital course to bring prevention education directly to landlords, investors, and homeowners — not just licensed real estate professionals.

Throughout the conversation, McCarty and host Janine Vanderburg dig into the practical realities of building a mission-driven business: creating demand for a preventative product people don't know they need, navigating insurance and legal gaps, and learning to enforce contracts and payment terms without losing the trust-based relationships that make advocacy work possible.

About Kathi McCarty

Kathi McCarty is the founder of the Meth Toxins Awareness Alliance, an educator, speaker, and citizen advocate working to close the awareness gap around methamphetamine contamination in residential and commercial properties. Before launching her advocacy work, McCarty built a 30-plus-year career in residential real estate lending and retail banking across Southern California and Colorado, including executive-level management of a joint venture between a RE/MAX franchise and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. After her own rental property was contaminated by a tenant manufacturing methamphetamine, McCarty became a leading voice on meth toxin prevention — testifying before the Colorado General Assembly, helping pass SB23-148 (which created the state's public meth-affected property database), and developing continuing-education courses for Colorado's Division of Real Estate. She has delivered her CE course more than 50 times to real estate professionals and now represents a tamper-resistant meth toxin smart alarm while building a digital course to bring prevention education to landlords, investors, and homeowners nationwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is meth contamination and why is it a real estate concern?

Meth contamination occurs when a property's surfaces absorb residue from methamphetamine use or manufacturing. It poses serious health risks to future occupants, is typically excluded from property and tenant insurance policies, and — in states like Colorado — carries legal disclosure requirements for sellers.

Is meth contamination only caused by manufacturing (a "meth lab")?

No. According to Kathi McCarty, roughly 99% of contaminated properties are affected by meth smoking rather than manufacturing, though most people associate contamination only with labs. McCarty is advocating for Colorado's legal definition to be updated to reflect this reality.

Does homeowner's or renter's insurance cover meth contamination damage?

Generally, no. Standard property and tenant insurance policies exclude contaminant damage, and many also exclude damage caused by criminal action — meaning even a tenant's own insurance policy may be voided if contamination resulted from illegal drug activity.

What does Colorado's meth property disclosure law require?

Colorado's SB23-148, which took effect in August 2023, requires the state health department to maintain a public database of properties that have tested positive for meth contamination. Properties remain listed for five years after remediation, even if they've been cleaned to the state safety standard.

Can a meth-contaminated property be fully remediated and safely resold?

It depends on construction type. Properties with standard drywall can often be gutted and rebuilt to meet state remediatio...

Episode Summary

Most advertising agencies chase the youngest consumers in the room. Susan Colby built a thriving creative agency by doing the exact opposite. This episode of Build Your Own Boat explores how Susan — a veteran of iconic agencies including Chiat\Day and BBDO — left the traditional ad world, raised her children, and returned in her late 40s with a radical idea: that women over 50 are the most powerful, most overlooked, and most underserved consumer demographic in America.

Susan founded Grace Creative LA, a boutique agency specializing in marketing to women 50+, at a time when the industry was still chasing millennials. She shares how she turned deep personal experience, hard data, and a strong creative network into a growing business — winning major clients like Golden Door Spa and Seabourn Cruise Line — and why she believes marketing to the longevity economy isn't just the right thing to do. It's the smartest business move a brand can make.

Key Takeaways

• Women over 50 control enormous spending power — they make more than 85% of household buying decisions, hold an estimated $19 trillion in assets, and account for roughly 70% of consumer spending, yet receive less than 10% of advertising budgets. The gap is a massive business opportunity.
• Lived experience is a competitive advantage, not a liability. Susan's team members are often part of the very demographic they market to — which means they understand the audience from the inside out, not from a research deck. That authenticity is what Grace Creative calls its "unfair advantage."
• "Middle essence" reframes midlife as a launch point, not a wind-down. Inspired by the research of Barbara Waxman, Grace Creative uses the concept of middle essence — the idea that women in their 50s are going through a powerful identity shift and emerging with more clarity, confidence, and resources than ever before — to create campaigns that actually resonate.
• Getting your first clients is messy, and that's okay. Susan's breakthrough client, Golden Door Spa, came through a connection made by her husband — a reminder that real-world entrepreneurship is built on networks, relationships, and saying yes to the room you're already in.
• Building a multi-generational team matters. Grace Creative intentionally hires across generations. Diverse age perspectives make the work stronger, reduce blind spots, and model the very inclusion the agency champions for its clients.

About Susan Colby

Susan Colby is the founder of Grace Creative LA, a boutique advertising and marketing agency based in Los Angeles that specializes in reaching women over 50. Susan spent the early years of her career at some of the most respected agencies in the country, including Chiat\Day, BBDO, and RPA, working on major brands including Apple Computer. After stepping away to raise her children and doing marketing work for independent schools, she returned to the industry in her late 40s — and rather than quietly fit back in, she saw a gap that no one else was addressing.

She launched Grace Creative around a single, data-backed insight: that women over 50 are the most economically powerful consumer demographic in America, and they were almost entirely invisible in mainstream advertising. Since then, Grace Creative has worked with clients including Golden Door Spa — producing a campaign with legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz — and Seabourn, the ultra-luxury cruise line, winning a competitive pitch against ten other agencies. Susan is also an age activist, a champion of multi-generational workplaces, and the co-creator of Girls Gone 50, a social media community on Instagram and Facebook built to authentically connect with and celebrate women in the 50+ demographic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are women over 50 such a valuable consumer demographic?

Women over 50 make more than 85% of household purchasing decisions and collectively hold an estimated $19 trillion in assets. According to AARP economists, the economic output of Americans aged 50 and older would rank as the third-largest economy in the world, behind only the U.S. overall and China. Despite this, advertising budgets directed at this group remain disproportionately small — often under 10% of total spend — making it one of the most underleveraged opportunities in marketing today.

What is middlescence and why does it matter in marketing?

Middlecence is a concept — associated with researcher and author Barbara Waxman — that reframes the years around and after 50 as a period of identity renewal rather than decline. Women at this stage are often becoming empty nesters, navigating career transitions, and stepping into a new sense of freedom and purpose. Grace Creative uses this insight to develop campaigns that feel authentic to where women actually are in their lives, rather than defaulting to anti-aging narratives or generic "active senior" tropes.

How did Susan Colby start Grace Creative?

Susan built Grace Creative gradually — tapping her existing network of creative, account, and business professionals from her advertising career, building a focused website, and honing a clear mission. Her first major client, Golden Door Spa, came through a warm connection. From there, she competed — and won — on the strength of her positioning and creative insight, including a competitive pitch against ten agencies for the Seabourn account, which she has held for nearly five years.

Is ageism in advertising getting better?

According to Susan, yes — slowly. Beauty and fashion brands, including Estée Lauder and L'Oréal, have been early adopters in speaking to the 50+ audience. More brands are now reviewing their consumer data and recognizing that their highest-spending, most loyal customers are in this demographic. However, Susan notes that true progress means moving beyond tokenism — one gray-haired model in a campaign — toward authentic representation that reflects the full range of experiences women have at this life stage.

What advice does Susan have for women over 50 considering entrepreneurship?

Susan puts it directly: ageism in the workplace often forces the issue — if you want to keep working and contributing, building your own boat may be the most viable path forward. But the upside is that you also get to build the kind of business you actually want. For Grace Creative, that meant building a culture grounded in resilience, grace, and genuine respect — qualities that Susan felt were undervalued in the agencies she had worked for earlier in her career.

Resource Stack

• Grace Creative LA — Full-service boutique agency specializing in the 50+ demographic: gracecreativela.com
• Girls Gone 50 — Instagram and Facebook community celebrating and connecting women 50+: https://www.girlsgone50.com/
• Barbara Waxman — Researcher, author, and speaker on the concept of middle essence and the power of life's second half: barbarawaxman.com
• Stanford Center on Longevity — Research institution focused on the science of longer lives and the longevity economy: longevity.stanford.edu
• AARP Longevity Economy Research — Data and research on the economic power of Americans 50+:

Episode Summary

What does it look like to launch a strategic communications firm in the middle of a global pandemic — and build it entirely around a commitment to equity and social justice? Angelle Fouther did exactly that when she co-founded Kindred Communications in 2020 with her daughter, Darren. In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, Angelle shares the real story behind the leap: the years of frustration working inside nonprofit hierarchies, the pandemic that stranded her daughter in Africa, the first client call that changed everything, and the day she handed back a significant retainer because her dignity was worth more than the paycheck. Six years in, Kindred is thriving — working exclusively with organizations committed to equity and social justice — even as the political climate makes that work harder than ever. This is an honest, grounded conversation about what it actually means to build a business that reflects who you are, not just what you can sell.

Key Takeaways

• Values alignment is a business strategy, not just a tagline. Kindred Communications works exclusively with organizations committed to equity and social justice — and Angelle has returned client money when that alignment broke down. Choosing your clients carefully protects your business, your reputation, and your wellbeing.
• Your professional network is one of your most powerful startup assets. Decades of relationship-building in Denver's nonprofit sector — especially through her years at the Denver Foundation — directly generated Kindred's earliest and most enduring client partnerships.
• Intergenerational teams produce better work. Angelle and Daryn's mother-daughter partnership is a living case study: Angelle brings decades of strategic context and community relationships; Daryn brings fresh design sensibility and fluency with what resonates now. Each makes the other's work stronger.
• The freedom to pursue your beliefs without red tape is a legitimate and powerful reason to start a business. Financial freedom matters, but for Angelle, the deeper motivation was the ability to follow her convictions without navigating organizational hierarchy or having her ideas extracted and reassigned.
• Taking the leap changes how you feel, not just what you do. Angelle sat on the desire to run her own business for decades. Her advice: "Jump, and the parachute appears." Living on purpose — even through the uncertain and difficult stretches — is worth more than the comfort of a predictable paycheck.

About Angelle Fouther

Angelle Fouther is the co-founder and principal of Kindred Communications, a Denver-based strategic communications firm that works exclusively with organizations committed to equity and social justice. With more than two decades of experience in marketing, storytelling, and strategic communications — including leadership roles at Denver Botanic Gardens and the Denver Foundation — Angelle brings deep community roots and a sharp eye for authentic narrative to every client engagement. In 2020, she launched Kindred alongside her daughter Daryn, a designer and communications strategist, building a fully remote, intergenerational partnership that has operated seamlessly across continents. Kindred's current work includes communications and impact storytelling for the Colorado Health Foundation's annual symposium and impact investment portfolio, and ongoing partnership with Justice for Black Coloradans. Angelle is also a recent member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce's Women's Chamber.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Angelle Fouther start Kindred Communications?

Angelle filed Kindred Communications with the Colorado Secretary of State in December 2019, then nearly abandoned the idea when a nonprofit job opened up. The COVID-19 pandemic — and her daughter Daryn being stranded in Africa with no way home for 16 months — pushed her to commit. When Janine Vanderburg called looking for communications support, Angelle brought Daryn in, and they operated as a cross-continental team from the start. Angelle ran Kindred alongside full-time employment until September 2022, when she made the full leap into entrepreneurship.

What does Kindred Communications do?

Kindred Communications is a strategic communications firm specializing in storytelling, brand development, messaging strategy, and communications planning for nonprofits, foundations, and mission-driven organizations committed to equity, inclusion, and social justice. Services range from full brand identity and website development to long-term embedded communications partnerships.

How do Angelle and her daughter Daryn work together as business partners?

Angelle handles strategy, business development, and messaging; Daryn leads design, technology, and visual communications. They share equal pay and operate as true collaborators — not boss and employee. Disagreements are resolved through what they call "collaborative honesty": neither gives empty praise, and both are willing to defer when the other's idea is stronger. Angelle describes it as a practice in real equity, even at a two-person scale.

How is Kindred navigating the current rollback of DEI and equity language?

Angelle is clear-eyed about the political moment: funders are pulling back, clients are being pressured to sanitize language, and the environment is genuinely difficult. Kindred has worked with some clients on strategic language shifts when survival — and continued service to vulnerable populations — requires it. But Angelle draws a firm line: she will not work with organizations whose core commitment to equity has actually changed, only those that are navigating external pressure while holding to their values internally.

What advice does Angelle Fouther give to women thinking about starting a business in midlife?

"Take the leap." Angelle spent decades wanting to run her own business and kept returning to the safety of a paycheck. Her experience is that clarity of purpose, aligned clients, and unexpected opportunities tend to appear after you commit — not before. She describes entrepreneurship not as guaranteed financial success, but as the freedom to live and work in alignment with your own convictions: "Every day that we do this, I feel like I'm living in courage."

Why does Angelle say experience is an edge for midlife entrepreneurs?

The professional relationships Angelle built over two decades — particularly through the Denver Foundation, which sits at the hub of Colorado's nonprofit ecosystem — became direct sources of client work when Kindred launched. She also points to the strategic value of institutional memory: knowing what has been tried before, what the landscape looked like a decade ago, and which relationships have been built on real trust, not just proximity.

Resource Stack

• Kindred Communications — kindredcommunications.net
• Colorado Health Foundation — coloradohealth.org
• Colorado Health Symposium — coloradohealthsymposium.org
• Justice for Black Coloradans / Colorado Black Equity Study — justiceforblackcoloradans.com
• Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains —

Episode Summary

After two decades as a talent acquisition executive at Fortune 500 companies, Chelle Johnson found herself successful on paper — and spiritually depleted in practice. In 2019, she made the leap: she launched Best You Talent Advisors, a fractional talent advisory firm, and never looked back. This episode is a masterclass in what it actually takes to build a sustainable business in midlife — the real financial timeline, the client development grind, the pivots, and the mental fitness work that makes it all possible.

Chelle doesn't sugarcoat the first three years — including the year she earned a third of her corporate salary, deferred her mortgage, and still kept going. She walks us through how she built a referral-driven consulting practice, grew Colorado Career Connectors to serve over 6,000 job seekers, and evolved her offerings to focus on what she calls holistic talent operations and executive coaching — grounded in a framework of head, heart, soul, strategy, and wisdom.

If you're a woman over 50 wondering whether your experience is enough to build something of your own, Chelle Johnson's answer — backed by a fleet she built herself — is an unequivocal yes.

Key Takeaways

• The first three years are the real test. Chelle made a third of her corporate salary in year one and didn't hit her stride until year three — when confidence, testimonials, and a clearer niche all came together at once. Expecting overnight success is the fastest way to quit too soon.
• Fractional consulting is a powerful entry point for midlife entrepreneurs. "Fractional" means providing Fortune 500-level expertise to companies on a part-time, contract basis — typically 10–15 hours per week per client. It lets you generate real revenue while maintaining flexibility, and Chelle's clients have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees as a direct result.
• Business development is the skill most people skip — and the one that matters most. Chelle credits 100% of her early clients to networking, trust, and consistent follow-up. She notes that it now takes approximately 13 touch points to convert a prospect, and she built her pipeline through speaking engagements, LinkedIn, a social media strategy, a newsletter, and warm introductions.
• Narrowing your focus is not giving up — it's how you grow. Chelle started with a wide range of offerings and deliberately pulled back to two core services: fractional talent operations and executive coaching. Simplifying her message made her easier to refer, easier to hire, and more profitable.
• Mental fitness is not a soft add-on — it's a business strategy. Chelle integrates Positive Intelligence and neuroscience-based tools into her coaching practice because she's seen firsthand how internalized ageism, self-doubt, and negative inner critics derail talented people. Getting clients mentally fit is part of getting them placed — or launched.

About Chelle Johnson

Chelle Johnson is the founder and CEO of Best You Talent Advisors, a fractional talent advisory and executive coaching firm based in Denver, Colorado. A first-generation college student who double-majored in Spanish and organizational development, Chelle went on to earn an MBA from one of the country's top international business schools, live and work in Japan and Latin America, and build a 20-year corporate career in talent acquisition at major companies including Sonora Quest Laboratories.

In 2019, after reaching the top of her field and feeling her soul being crushed, she left corporate life to build her own. Best You Talent Advisors brings Fortune 50-level HR expertise to growing companies on a fractional basis, and her coaching practice — grounded in a framework she calls Career DNA (head, heart, soul, strategy, and wisdom) — helps executives and professionals at career crossroads find clarity, build mental fitness, and move forward with intention.

Chelle also founded Colorado Career Connectors (now Best You Career Connectors), a community that has helped more than 6,000 people navigate career transitions. She has served as a trusted advisor for Vistage, the nation's leading CEO peer advisory organization, and was named an exclusive Forbes recruiter for Colorado. She speaks Spanish and Japanese and once led a group of women on a transformational walk of El Camino de Santiago through Spain and Portugal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is fractional talent acquisition and how does it work?

Fractional talent acquisition means hiring an experienced HR or recruiting professional to work with your company on a part-time, contracted basis — typically 10 to 15 hours per week — rather than bringing on a full-time employee. Companies get Fortune 500-level expertise at a fraction of the cost. Chelle Johnson's fractional clients have saved over $400,000 in recruitment fees with a single project management firm and more than $50,000 in three months with a women's healthcare company.

How long does it realistically take to replace your corporate income when you start your own business?

Chelle Johnson's experience is consistent with what many first-time entrepreneurs report: year one brought in about a third of her previous corporate salary; year two she paid off a deferred mortgage and took a tax loan; year three was when she hit her stride. The turning point came from a combination of growing confidence, client testimonials, a clearer niche, and the post-COVID surge in demand for fractional recruiting. She advises that having a financial cushion, a supportive partner, and a business coach can make the difference between making it through the lean years and giving up.

How do you find clients as a new consultant or coach?

Chelle's entire early client base came from her existing professional network — people who already knew, liked, and trusted her. She supplemented that with a deliberate social media strategy (including hiring a social media manager), consistent speaking at chambers of commerce and women's organizations, a weekly newsletter, and rigorous follow-up. She notes that it now takes approximately 13 touch points to convert a prospect and emphasizes that the willingness to follow up repeatedly — without apology — is one of the most underleveraged skills among women entrepreneurs.

Is ageism in the job market real, and what can people over 50 do about it?

Yes, ageism is real and well-documented. Chelle, who works primarily with clients aged 45 and older, notes that 25% of workers over 60 may never return to a traditional corporate environment. Her approach focuses on what she calls a "brand MRI" — helping clients audit how they're signaling to the market, identify their "name gravity" (who thinks of them first for a specific problem), and fast-track interviews through warm introductions to hiring leaders in her network. Of five recent clients who just landed new roles, four were over 50 — all with increases in pay.

What is Positive Intelligence and how does it help job seekers and entrepreneurs?

Positive Intelligence (PQ) is a neuroscience-based mental fitness program developed by Shirzad Chamine. It helps people identify and weaken their internal "saboteurs" — the self-critical, self-limiting mental patterns (like the inner critic or imposter) that undermine performance and wellbeing. Chelle uses it with both job-seeking clients and entrepreneurs to build the mental resilience needed to push through rejection, self-d...

Episode Summary

For women who have spent decades being indispensable — and invisible — this episode is the roadmap you didn't know you needed. Bonnie Schutz spent nearly 30 years as an elite executive assistant, mastering the art of making everyone else's vision run flawlessly. Then, after one too many layoffs and a workplace incident that became her tipping point, she gave her boss a month's notice and walked out the door — not into retirement, but into entrepreneurship.

Today, Bonnie is the founder and CEO of Tandem Resource Solutions, a Colorado-based remote support pro and administrative recruiting firm that has grown into a multiple six-figure business. She's also the host of the podcast Delegate to Elevate and is building a third venture — a curated directory of pre-vetted professional service providers. In this conversation, Bonnie breaks down exactly how she turned 30 years of "non-revenue-generating" administrative expertise into a thriving business, why LinkedIn became her most powerful growth tool, and what she wishes every woman sitting on the sidelines knew about her own potential.

Key Takeaways

• Transferable skills are your most undervalued asset. The organizational, gatekeeping, and relationship-management skills that define elite administrative work translate directly into entrepreneurial success — the same skills that were overlooked in corporate become the foundation of a business.
• A side hustle is the lowest-risk on-ramp to entrepreneurship. Bonnie launched her recruiting side hustle while still employed, building a client base and cash flow before making the leap full-time. Having even a few clients in place dramatically reduces the financial fear of leaving a steady paycheck.
• LinkedIn is a legitimate business-building engine — if you use it consistently. Bonnie built her business almost entirely on referrals generated through a well-maintained LinkedIn presence and an intentional strategy of reconnecting with former colleagues and executives.
• Investing in yourself and your community is non-negotiable. Joining organizations like Second Act Women and the Dames — even when money was tight — gave Bonnie the peer network, accountability, and power partnerships that accelerated her growth.
• Age and experience are competitive advantages in entrepreneurship. While ageism was a constant in corporate life, Bonnie found that being older as an entrepreneur signals depth of experience — clients hire her because of what her years represent, not in spite of it.

About Bonnie Schutz

Bonnie Schutz is the founder and CEO of Tandem Resource Solutions, a Colorado-based remote support pro agency and administrative recruiting firm. With nearly 30 years of experience as an executive assistant supporting C-suite leaders across industries including healthcare, software development, and nonprofit, Bonnie brings a rare combination of operational expertise and entrepreneurial drive to everything she builds.

She launched her business as a side hustle while still in corporate, grew it to multiple six figures through referrals and strategic networking, and now leads a team of contractors who provide remote administrative support to entrepreneurs and growing businesses. Bonnie is also the host of Delegate to Elevate, a podcast that helps entrepreneurs learn to hand off what they shouldn't be doing so they can focus on what only they can do. She has just launched a curated directory of pre-vetted professional service providers — her third venture and the next vessel in her fleet. Bonnie serves on the advisory council of Second Act Women and is based in Denver, Colorado.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Bonnie Schutz start her business with no entrepreneurial background?

Bonnie started by recruiting on the side while still employed, mentored by a colleague who taught her the basics of the field. When she discovered the virtual assistant model through a Craigslist job listing, she recognized that she had essentially been doing that work for decades — she just hadn't called it that. She reframed her existing skills, landed her first client, and then found that former EA colleagues were eager to work for her, giving her a ready-made team.

What is a remote support pro agency and how is it different from a traditional VA service?

Bonnie deliberately moved away from the term "virtual assistant" because she found it undersold the sophistication of the work. A remote support pro agency like Tandem Resource Solutions places experienced administrative professionals — people with real corporate backgrounds — with entrepreneurs and executives who need high-level operational support. The work goes well beyond basic task completion; it includes calendar management, executive-level coordination, recruiting, and business operations support.

How did Bonnie overcome imposter syndrome as a new entrepreneur?

Bonnie describes her turning point as being invited to speak on a panel by a respected CEO who viewed her as an expert. Getting on that stage — and discovering she loved it — gave her tangible proof that others saw her the way she was learning to see herself. She also credits community: surrounding herself with other women entrepreneurs who were further along in their journeys helped normalize what she was building.

What role did networking play in growing Tandem Resource Solutions to multiple six figures?

Networking was the single most important growth driver for Bonnie's business. She built her client base almost entirely through referrals, maintained an active LinkedIn presence, and strategically joined organizations like Second Act Women and the Dames, where she could connect with women entrepreneurs at every stage of growth. She also reconnected with former executive colleagues through LinkedIn, asking for advice and using those conversations to re-establish her credibility in a new context.

Is entrepreneurship a viable path for women in midlife who are worried about ageism?

Bonnie experienced significant ageism in corporate environments, where she was passed over because employers assumed she'd retire in a few years. In entrepreneurship, she found the opposite: clients and collaborators see her years of experience as a credential, not a liability. She is an example of a pattern that appears consistently across the Build Your Own Boat series — that midlife is not a barrier to entrepreneurship, it is a qualification.

What is the Delegate to Elevate podcast about?

Delegate to Elevate is hosted by Bonnie Schutz and is built around the principle that entrepreneurs don't have to do everything themselves — and that learning to hand off the right things is what creates the freedom and growth they started their businesses to achieve. Episodes feature conversations with entrepreneurs, consultants, coaches, and service providers, and are designed to give listeners both practical strategies and community connection.

Resource Stack

• Tandem Resource Solutions — Bonnie's remote support pro and administrative recruiting agency: tandemresourcesolutions.com
• Delegate to Elevate Podcast — Available on all major podcast platforms: delegatetoelevate.com
• Second Act Women

Episode Summary

This episode is for every woman who has spent decades building an impressive career and wonders whether that experience can fuel something entirely her own. Ramona Schindelheim — award-winning journalist, Emmy and Peabody winner, and former editor-in-chief of Working Nation — answers that question with a resounding yes. In this conversation, Ramona and host Janine Vanderburg trace the arc from Ramona's early radio days in Chicago to her work at CNBC, NBC News, and the Wall Street Journal, and ultimately to her decision to build KAMIRA Productions, her independent media consulting company, along with a thriving newsletter and a passion-project podcast. Ramona shares the practical realities of entrepreneurship at midlife — from hiring an accountant on day one, to paying yourself a real paycheck, to choosing clients based on values alignment rather than just revenue. She also opens up about the mentors who shaped her, the role of network and courage in finding new opportunities, and why telling stories about workers and the future of work has become the driving mission of her next chapter.

Key Takeaways

• Your career skills are your business assets. Ramona's storytelling, producing, and organizational skills — built over decades in major newsrooms — became the direct foundation of her consulting practice. Identifying your core, transferable skills is the essential first step before launching any entrepreneurial venture.
• Pay yourself a real paycheck from day one. Ramona and her husband-CFO partner learned early that taking a salary from their business isn't optional — it builds Social Security credits, creates financial discipline, and treats the business as a real enterprise, not a hobby.
• Values alignment is a non-negotiable client filter. After one early experience with a client whose worldview didn't match her own, Ramona made a firm rule: she only works with organizations and people she genuinely believes in. Authentic alignment produces better work and protects your reputation.
• Don't be afraid to ask — no just means no from one person. Whether it was cold-calling a radio station in Chicago, reaching out to big names for projects, or asking a contact to make an introduction, Ramona's career has been built on a willingness to ask. This is especially critical when launching a business in midlife.
• Freedom to pursue passion projects is one of the greatest rewards of midlife entrepreneurship. Ramona's Birds and Nerds podcast — which connects surprising topics like AI, DNA privacy, and expat living to the world of birds — is proof that building your own boat also means making room for the work that purely delights you.

About Ramona Schindelheim

Ramona Schindelheim is an Emmy, Peabody, and DuPont Award-winning journalist with a career spanning radio, television, and digital media. She began her career in Chicago at WBBM Radio before moving to Los Angeles, where she spent three years as a sitcom writer before returning to news as a television producer. She later served as a producer at WNBC, executive producer at CNBC (where she transformed Power Lunch into a flagship program), business editor at ABC News, and a digital storytelling leader at the Wall Street Journal. Most recently, she spent eight years as editor-in-chief of WorkingNation, a nonprofit media organization dedicated to telling stories about the changing workforce and the future of work. Today, Ramona is the co-founder of KAMIRA Productions, an independent media consulting company, where she helps organizations, nonprofits, and philanthropies tell their stories with clarity and purpose. She is a LinkedIn Top Voice on the future of work, publishes the newsletter The Future of Work(ers), and is the creator and host of Birds & Nerds, a podcast exploring unexpected connections between the world of birds and a wide range of timely topics. Ramona is based in Los Angeles.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Ramona Schindelheim start her own business after a corporate media career?

Ramona began building what she calls her "dinghy" — a consulting practice — during gaps between full-time positions throughout her career. Her first consulting client came through a connection with Martha Stewart, whom she knew from her CNBC days. By the time WorkingNation closed, she had a decade of experience running KAMIRA Productions alongside her full-time role. The transition to full-time entrepreneurship was less a leap and more a deliberate expansion of something already in motion.

What is KAMIRA Productions and what kind of clients does Ramona work with?

KAMIRA Productions is an independent media consulting company co-founded by Ramona Schindelheim and her husband. Ramona focuses on helping companies, nonprofits, and philanthropies — particularly those working in workforce development, the future of work, and career pathways — tell their stories more effectively. She moderates panels, creates video content, and helps organizations identify and communicate their impact. Ramona is selective: she only takes on clients whose mission and values genuinely align with her own people-centered approach to workforce storytelling.

What is The Future of Work(ers) newsletter and who is it for?

The Future of Work(ers) is Ramona's monthly newsletter, available on LinkedIn, focused on the changing nature of work and the people navigating that change. It includes video interviews, analysis, and storytelling covering topics such as mid-career transitions, older workers, apprenticeships, retraining, rural workforce challenges, and the impact of AI on jobs. It is aimed at anyone who cares about workforce equity, career development, and the human side of economic change.

What is the Birds & Nerds podcast?

Birds & Nerds is Ramona's passion-project podcast, launched in September 2024. Each episode starts with a timely topic — AI, DNA privacy, expat living, mental health, sustainable business — and finds an unexpected connection to the world of birds. Ramona is not an ornithologist; she is a lifelong bird lover who uses the format to explore serious subjects with curiosity and delight. The podcast has been featured at South by Southwest, where Ramona interviewed the CEO of Audubon.

What practical advice does Ramona give to women considering entrepreneurship in midlife?

Ramona advises women to start by auditing their skills honestly — not just the work they've done, but the organizational, communication, and relational skills that support everything else. From there, look at your existing network and identify who might make a meaningful introduction. Hire an accountant early, especially one familiar with your industry. Pay yourself a real salary from the start. Choose clients based on values alignment, not just revenue. And above all — don't be afraid to hear no. As Ramona puts it, "No just means no from one person."

Resource Stack

• KAMIRA Productions — Ramona's media consulting company: ramonaschindelheim.com
• Birds and Nerds Podcast: birdsandnerdspodcast.com
• Working Nation — Workforce storytelling nonprofit (archive donated to Jobs for the Future): workingnation.com
• Jobs for the Future (JFF) — Nonprofit driving transformation in education and ...

Episode Summary

What happens when a 65-year-old corporate executive decides that her biggest career is still ahead of her — in a field she has never worked in? This episode answers exactly that question. Melissa Davey spent decades leading nonprofit disability advocacy and then building a national disability services program for a Fortune-level company. At 65, she walked away from a successful C-suite career to become a documentary filmmaker — with zero filmmaking experience.

Her debut film, Beyond 60, earned six awards, screened at eight film festivals across the US and Canada, and is now streaming on Apple TV and other major platforms. Her second film, Climbing into Life, tells the story of the oldest woman to climb El Capitan in Yosemite — and won 11 festival awards. A third film, commissioned by the Women's Center of Montgomery County on the issue of domestic violence, is now in post-production. Melissa's story is a masterclass in late-career reinvention, trusting your instincts, building the right team, and refusing to let age define what is possible.

Key Takeaways

• Reinvention at 65 is not starting over — it is redirecting. Melissa drew on 40 years of team-building, storytelling, and leadership to succeed in a brand-new field. The skills transferred; only the industry changed.
• Serendipity favors the prepared. A chance drive past a M. Night Shyamalan film set — and a charity auction that landed her a day on set with him — became the spark that launched her entire second act. But she was already making lists of what she wanted to do next. She was ready.
• Self-funding gives you creative control. Melissa funded both of her first two films herself, using savings she had deliberately set aside. It meant total creative control and the freedom to move fast — without waiting years for grants or investors.
• Your network knows more than you think. Every key connection in Melissa's filmmaking journey — her production company, her crew, her subjects — came through people she already knew or people one degree away. She didn't need a Hollywood contact list. She needed to ask.
• The antidote to ageism is visibility. Melissa's films exist specifically to counter the idea that women become invisible after 60. Both Beyond 60 and Climbing into Life are, at their core, anti-ageism films — proof that women in their 60s, 70s, and beyond are doing extraordinary things the world simply isn't paying attention to.

About Melissa Davey

Melissa Davey is an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker based in Chester County, Pennsylvania. She spent more than four decades in the nonprofit and corporate sectors, most recently as a C-suite executive building a national disability services program before retiring at 65 — and promptly launching an entirely new career. Her debut documentary, Beyond 60, profiles nine women between the ages of 60 and 90 who are living boldly and refusing to disappear. It earned six awards and screened at eight film festivals before landing on Apple TV and other streaming platforms. Her second film, Climbing into Life, follows Dierdre Wolownick — the oldest woman to summit El Capitan in Yosemite, and mother of legendary climber Alex Honnold — as she discovers athleticism for the first time in her 60s. That film earned 11 festival awards. Melissa is currently completing a third film, commissioned by the Women's Center of Montgomery County, on the organization's 50-year history of domestic violence prevention and community partnership. She is living proof that the most meaningful chapter of a career can begin at 65.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you really become a documentary filmmaker with no experience?

Yes — and Melissa Davey is the proof. She had never made a film before she decided at 65 that she wanted to. Her approach was practical: she identified what she didn't know, reached out through her existing network, and found a production company willing to partner with her. She brought the vision, the subject matter expertise, and the leadership. They brought the cameras and the technical crew. Within three years, her first film was screening at festivals across North America.

How do you fund an independent documentary film?

For her first two films, Melissa self-funded using savings she had built over her corporate career. She made a deliberate decision not to wait for grants or outside investors — both because she wanted creative control and because she had a sense of urgency about moving quickly. She notes that funding for women-led entrepreneurial ventures is historically limited, and funding for older women entrepreneurs even more so. For her third film, she was commissioned and the commissioning organization covered all crew costs.

What streaming platforms is Beyond 60 available on?

Beyond 60 is currently streaming on Apple TV and several other major streaming platforms. Distribution was handled through a distributor who placed the film on six to seven platforms for a 13-year licensing period.

How did Melissa Davey find the women in her films?

For Beyond 60, Melissa spoke with more than 80 women over the course of a year — cold calling, reaching out through friends, and asking her network who they knew with a remarkable story between the ages of 60 and 90. She narrowed the field to nine subjects, choosing women whose stories she personally connected with and who reflected the diversity and visibility she wanted to put on screen. Every single woman she asked said yes without hesitation.

What advice does Melissa Davey have for women considering a midlife career change?

Start talking. Melissa's most direct advice is to reach out to your existing circle — friends, former colleagues, acquaintances — and have honest conversations about what you're considering. You will be surprised who is thinking the same thing, or who knows someone who has done it. Surround yourself with people who support your vision. When you hit a naysayer (and you will), move on. Don't let one discouraging voice end the conversation.

What is Climbing into Life about?

Climbing into Life is a feature documentary about Dierdre Wolownick, who became the oldest woman to climb El Capitan in Yosemite at age 66. She was not an athlete for most of her life — she was a college professor, author, musician, and artist. She is also the mother of Alex Honnold, star of the Oscar-winning film Free Solo. The documentary traces her transformation and serves as a companion story to Melissa's own reinvention — both women were learning entirely new skills at roughly the same time in their lives.

Resource Stack

• Melissa Davey's official website: melissaDavey.com
• Beyond 60 on Apple TV: Available on Apple TV and other major streaming platforms — search "Beyond 60 documentary"
• Women's Center of Montgomery County (Pennsylvania): Domestic violence prevention, court advocacy, hospital partnerships, and school programs — www.WomensCenterMC.org
• Free Solo (2018 Oscar-winning documentary): Features Alex Honnold, son of Climbing into Life subject Dierdre Wolownick — available on Disney+, Apple TV, and other platforms
• Charity Buzz: The platform where Melissa won her ...

Episode Summary

What happens when a woman who spent 30 years writing 32-volume FDA regulatory submissions finally sits down to write the books she's dreamed of since she was seven? She builds her own publishing company, launches a collective to help other women authors over 50 find their readers, and writes unapologetically vibrant older women into the center of every story.

In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, host Janine Vanderburg talks with Stella Fosse — biotech regulatory writer turned independent author and publisher — about reclaiming a lifelong creative dream in her 60s, founding Baubo Books, and co-founding Crone Authors Together. Stella unpacks what it really takes to self-publish successfully, how to silence (or at least negotiate with) your inner critic, and why the mainstream publishing industry is missing a massive market hiding in plain sight: women over 50 who read voraciously and whose stories deserve to be told.

Key Takeaways

• Your prior career is your edge, not your obstacle. Thirty years of technical writing gave Stella discipline and endurance — the key was unlearning the rigidity and rediscovering play. That transition from "writing you have to do" to "writing you want to do" requires deliberate, playful practice.
• Independent publishing gives authors 85% of revenue vs. approximately 15% in traditional royalties — and with tools like print-on-demand and modern distribution channels, it is more accessible and financially rewarding than ever before.
• The mainstream publishing industry has overlooked women 50+ as both readers and protagonists — even though older women are among the largest buyers of romance novels and hold significant purchasing power in the longevity economy.
• Collective action fills the gaps that algorithms and ageist markets leave behind. Crone Authors Together, hosted by the Grandmother Collective, is building a peer-driven playbook for reaching readers that traditional publishing has ignored.
• You are right on time. Whether you have always known what you wanted to create or are just beginning to explore, the post-midlife chapter is not too late — it may be exactly when you were always meant to begin.

About Stella Fosse

Stella Fosse spent three decades as a biotech regulatory writer, crafting FDA submissions for international health authorities — including one that ran to 32 volumes. She always knew she wanted to write books. She just had to wait until life made room.

In her 60s, Stella launched Baubo Books, her own independent publishing imprint, and has since published six books — including Aphrodite's Pen: The Power of Writing Erotica After Midlife (North Atlantic Books) and the essay collection Rock On: Power, Sex and Money After 60. She writes fiction and nonfiction that places older women at the center as powerful, funny, sexual, and fully alive human beings — a direct challenge to the publishing industry's long-standing erasure of women over 50.

Stella also co-founded Crone Authors Together, a collective hosted by the Grandmother Collective, where women authors over 50 pool knowledge, support each other's work, and build new strategies for reaching the readers the mainstream market has missed.

Her forthcoming books include Vivienne, The Swordswoman (the next installment in her benign vampires-of-a-certain-age series, out at Halloween) and Your First Book at Any Age (releasing end of year), a comprehensive guide to writing, publishing, and marketing your first book at any stage of life.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it too late to start writing and publishing books after 60?

Absolutely not — and Stella Fosse is living proof. She published her first book under her own imprint in her 60s, after a full career in biotech and decades of raising four children. She argues that older writers bring a richness of life experience, hard-won discipline, and creative freedom that younger writers are still working toward. As she says directly: "You're right on time."

Why should women over 50 consider independent (indie) publishing over traditional publishing?

Traditional publishing typically pays authors around 15% in royalties and provides marketing attention for only a limited window after launch. Independent publishing allows authors to keep approximately 85% of their revenues, maintain full editorial control, and market their work on their own timeline. With today's print-on-demand technology and modern distribution channels, self-publishing is more accessible and financially rewarding than at any previous point in history.

What is Crone Authors Together and how can I join?

Crone Authors Together is a collective of women authors over 50, co-founded by Stella Fosse and hosted by the Grandmother Collective. It brings together women writers to share marketing strategies, support each other's launches, cross-promote through guest blogs and podcast appearances, and build community around the shared challenge of reaching an underserved readership. You can find information and a sign-up link at www.StellaFosse.com or through the Grandmother Collective website.

How do you overcome the inner critic when starting a creative project later in life?

Stella recommends negotiating with your inner critic rather than trying to silence her entirely. Give her a specific, useful job — like proofreading — and ask her to hold off during the generative, playful stages of first-draft writing. She also points to Writing Open the Mind by Andy Couturier as a practical resource for exercises that reconnect writers with a sense of creative play, which she identifies as the essential skill to reclaim when transitioning from technical or corporate writing to personal creative work.

How do you find your creative rhythm as an older writer?

There is no single right answer, and Stella's experience underscores that. She is a binge writer who works best blocking out full days at a time to stay immersed in a manuscript — a rhythm she discovered only after leaving corporate life. Other writers thrive with daily morning pages or short sprints. The key, she says, is the freedom that comes with age: you finally get to define what rhythm actually works for you, not the one corporate life or caregiving imposed.

What kinds of books does Baubo Books publish?

Baubo Books is Stella Fosse's independent imprint, publishing fiction and nonfiction that centers older women as vibrant, complex, and fully realized protagonists. Titles include romance, vampire fiction with older heroines, erotica for women in midlife and beyond, and essay collections on topics including health, sexuality, legacy, and body image. The imprint is named after Baubo, a figure from Greek mythology — an older woman whose irreverent humor broke Demeter's grief and brought spring back to the world.

Resource Stack

• Stella Fosse's website: www.StellaFosse.com
• Crone Authors Together (via Grandmother Collective): www.StellaFosse.com (link on homepage)
• Baubo Books (Stella's independent publishing imprint): www.StellaFosse.com
• Aphrodite's Pen: ...