The Second-Act Show

Built by and for women 40 and beyond, Second Act Women (https://secondactwomen.com/) is an IRL and virtual club for women 40 & 50+ that provides access to professional and self-development courses and workshops led by industry experts, resources, and on-demand content. It's a network of women entering middlescence with vigor. Founded to counter the ageist bias waged against females 40 & 50+ in corporate, business ownership, and in society, SecondActWomen gives women the opportunity and the community to ReThink, ReTool and ReBoot in order to design their future on their terms.

We talked with Second Act Women co-founders Barbara Brooks and Guadalupe Hirt, two marketing and PR professionals with decades of experience between them. They'll share how Second Act Women came together, the programs they're running, and their plans for the future. We'll also talk about what they're learning about their own second acts.

A 29-year marketing and public relations specialist, Barbara launched her award-winning career in the shopping center industry where she oversaw regional and super-regional malls and downtown districts like Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, Sundance Square in Fort Worth, and Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas. In 2001, she began an eight-year career in broadcasting where she worked as a senior sales and business development representative at iHeart Radio, CBS Radio, and Gannett before returning to shopping centers where she marketed Denver’s own Park Meadows Retail Resort.

A 26-year public relations professional turned four-time entrepreneur and social justice advocate, Guadalupe now champions women’s issues and is helping break down female ageist bias that lingers in corporate America and society. Most recently, she worked as an associate producer on a short-subject documentary that explored the intersection of culture, identity, and belonging from the lens of first-generation American-born Latinos. During this time, she also co-authored a cultural workbook that helps middle school and high school teachers bring this important conversation into the classroom.

Chris Farrell is Senior Economics Contributor for Minnesota Public Radio and for American Public Media's Marketplace, both nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs.

He is co-host of the podcast, small change: Money Stories from the Neighborhood. and a columnist for PBS Next Avenue, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and Marketwatch. He has written for Bloomberg Businessweek, New York Times, Kiplinger’s, and other publications.

His most recent book is Purpose and a Paycheck: Finding Meaning, Money and Happiness in the Second Half of Life. He and I first met in connection with his previous book, a fan favorite, Unretirement: How Baby Boomers are Changing the Way We Think About Work, Community, and the Good Life, in which he coined the term "unretirement."

Hannah Morgan is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and job search strategist. She is the founder of Career Navigator LLC and the awesomely useful website Career Sherpa (https://careersherpa.net) where she provides guides and resources, and also blogs about the topics, techniques, and best practices that all job seekers should learn to help them maximize their careers. Additionally, she is a regular contributor to top outlets including USA Today, Money Magazine, Huffington Post, LifeHacker, The Muse, and Business Insider.

She believes that online visibility and personal branding are the secrets to landing a job in the digital age. In this week's conversation, we learn more about how job seekers, particularly those looking to create a Second-Act Career, can tap in:

-How to deal with the dreaded APS (applicant tracking system)

-Job prospects in the wake of the "great resignation" and the precarious jobs marketplace

-The important of personal/professional branding

-Staying open to non-traditional but more intentional career options

-Applying the "ikigai" concept to your second-act career

Our guest this week on The Second Act Show is our good friend, the powerhouse workplace guru and encore career advocate, Marci Alboher.

Marci has served as encore.org's VP of Narrative Change & Thought Leadership, a position she has held for more than a decade.

She is one of the leading authorities on career issues and workplace trends. Marci’s current focus is on the power of connecting, collaborating and innovating across the generations.

A former blogger and columnist for The New York Times, she is the author of “The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life.” Marci is a frequent commentator on second-act and encore career issues, including NBC’s Today and Nightly News, NPR, AARP, and USA Today. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade practicing law. 

In this episode, we have a lively conversation with Bradley Schurman, a demographic futurist and the author of "The Super Age: Decoding Our Demographic Destiny." Bradley explains how increasing longevity and decreasing birthrates are rapidly creating seismic shifts that are impacting pretty much every aspect of how the world lives and works. Bradley addresses the challenges we're all facing in this unexplored world and provides some actionable tips we can all use to be more proactive.

Check out Bradley's book: "The Super Age" on Amazon

Carl Kurlander is a screenwriter ("St. Elmo's Fire," "Saved By the Bell") turned social entrepreneur and documentarian. In a series of unexpected and cascading events, Carl found himself over the course of a few short years saying goodbye to his Hollywood career, establishing a non-profit in his hometown (Pittsburgh, PA), churning out a handful of notable documentaries, and landing on the Oprah show to put it all in perspective. In our conversation, Carl shares the lessons from his experience, and some tips for the rest of us who are questioning how we, too, can transition into our second-act careers.

Join us for an in-depth conversation with Catherine Collinson, CEO and President of the Transamerica Institute and Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

Catherine is a champion for Americans who are at risk of not achieving a financially secure retirement.

Transamerica's Annual Retirement Survey is one of the top benchmarks tracking Americans' ability to successfully navigate this crucial life stage.

With her deep background in this field, we look forward to a spirited and informative exchange!

Elizabeth White is the author of the groundbreaking "55, Underemployed and Faking Normal." She is an age solutions advocate for older adults facing uncertain work and financial insecurity. Elizabeth is going to talk to us about her new venture, collaborating with an early-stage venture incubator to develop a scalable solution to the growing economic uncertainty in our global aging population. She is fierce, wise, and knows her sh*t. Join us for what is bound to be a great conversation!

Buy her book on Amazon

Learn more about Ideas42, the sponsor of Elizabeth's new venture.

Mark Miller is a journalist, author, and podcaster with a national reputation as a top expert on retirement and aging - and at age 68, he is asking many of the same questions facing millions of other older Americans. Mark has more than 15 years of experience covering the field. Mark contributes regularly to The New York Times “Retiring” column, which appears in the Sunday edition, where they are among the best-read personal finance stories in the paper. He also writes monthly national columns on retirement for Reuters, Morningstar, and Wealth Management magazine. Mark’s website, RetirementRevised.com, publishes a newsletter and podcast that features interviews with authoritative experts in the field of retirement.

We are thrilled to kick off our interviews here on The Second Act Show with our longtime friend, colleague, mentor, and second-act sage Rich Eisenberg. Rich has just stepped into his "unretirement," a term first popularized by our colleague Chris Farrell in his eponymous book.

Listen to how Rich is redefining what he's doing as a freelancer, coping with being master of his own schedule, and focusing on the stories and themes that matter most to him.

One key for all of us to remember at this stage of our careers is the crucial importance of finding a professional niche. We should use all of the knowledge and experience we have accumulated over the years, but synthesize it into a specific solution or set of solutions that are useful and in demand.