Month: November 2024

“I knew it was a limited series…” he says.

Ageism in the workplace can be a real hurdle for women, affecting their opportunities, inclusion, and career growth. Yet, there are numerous ways to proactively counteract these biases and emphasize the unique skills, resilience, and adaptability that come with experience. Here are some actionable steps to help you combat ageism and advance in your career even after 60:

1. Build Your Personal Brand

Present your skills, accomplishments, and ongoing contributions with confidence. A polished LinkedIn profile with recent projects, certifications, and endorsements can make a strong statement. Highlighting recent accomplishments shows you’re dedicated to growth, no matter your age.

2. Stay Current with Technology

One persistent stereotype is that older workers resist new technologies. Dispel this myth by investing time in learning current tools relevant to your industry. Participating in webinars, online courses, and digital skills workshops can showcase your adaptability and interest in evolving industry practices. One particular network I have found helpful is Coursera for online classes!

3. Leverage Your Network

As your network grows, its value increases. Attend industry events, join professional groups, and reconnect with former colleagues who may be aware of new opportunities. Networking, particularly within your field, often uncovers positions not publicly advertised, allowing you to leverage reputation and relationships. Need some help changing your perspective on Networking? Start here! It’s all about providing value to others and then it’s a lot more fun! Did I say there is fun in networking?

4. Advocate for Inclusive Policies

Encourage your workplace to adopt policies that support age diversity. These initiatives not only promote inclusion but also highlight the importance of varied perspectives and experience. Here are some you can suggest:

• Flexible work arrangements
• Health and wellness programs for all ages
• Ongoing training and development
• Intergenerational mentorship programs.

5. Engage in Continuous Learning and Professional Development

Being proactive in developing your professional skills can keep you relevant and boost your confidence. Here are some ways to do this:

Enroll in Online Courses and Certifications

Platforms like Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, and Udemy offer industry-specific courses and certifications. Obtaining a recognized credential, such as project management or tech certifications, adds credibility to your profile and shows commitment to growth.

Join Industry Groups and Associations

Many professional organizations offer resources, workshops, and mentorship programs. Being active in these groups can keep you updated on emerging trends and provide networking opportunities.

Seek Out Cross-Training Opportunities

If possible, pursue cross-training within your organization. Learning different roles or functions enhances your versatility and broadens your understanding of your company, which can open doors to lateral or leadership roles.

Find a Mentor or Become One

A mentor can provide guidance, while mentoring younger colleagues demonstrates your expertise and leadership. Both approaches keep you engaged and up-to-date with current perspectives and trends.

Create a Professional Development Plan

Set clear goals to guide your growth. Assess your current skills, set objectives for improvement, and outline steps to achieve these goals. Review your plan periodically to track your progress and make adjustments.

Attend Industry Conferences and Webinars

Conferences are invaluable for staying up-to-date on trends and skills, while webinars offer accessible learning opportunities. They’re also excellent for networking and showing you’re proactive about your professional growth.

Start a Side Project or Freelance

Freelancing or starting a side project can build expertise, expand your portfolio, and potentially provide additional income. This hands-on approach allows you to refine skills and explore new facets of your industry.

By actively engaging in these strategies, you can counter ageism, enhance professional presence, and turn age from a perceived limitation into a respected asset. If you are feeling overwhelmed with the prospect of keeping up in the workplace and providing value then let’s connect. This process can be fun while learning more about yourself, your strengths and opportunities!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Where have you had success in your career combating ageism? I would love to hear what you did for yourself or ways you contributed to the success of your organization!

When I sold my business several years ago, keeping it confidential kept me up most nights. I was equally concerned about keeping clients in the dark and our team from feeling betrayed when they found out. However, I knew I’d need to let all key stakeholders know about the sale at some point. The balancing act was not easy.

Using my experience and lessons learned from working with other small business owners, I’ve created a two-part series on the topic of confidentiality during a business sale. In part 1, I’ll review the risks, benefits, and challenges of confidentiality during a business sale. In part 2, I’ll go over what you can do to maintain confidentiality.

The Risks of Not Maintaining Confidentiality

If you’ve thought about selling your business, I’m sure you’ve thought about the downsides of people knowing about the sale too soon. However, as a reminder, here are some of the risks of premature disclosure:

Employee Instability and Loss
If employees learn about the sale too early, it can create anxiety and uncertainty. Key employees may begin exploring other opportunities out of fear for their job security. It’s a truism in business: the best employees leave first because they have the best opportunities. Keep in mind losing essential staff disrupts your operations and lowers the business’ appeal to potential buyers.

Loss of Customers/Clients
Customers/clients will feel unsettled by the prospect of a sale, leading some to reconsider their relationship with your business. This can result in lost customers/clients, which impacts revenue and stability – two factors that buyers care deeply about.

Competitive Vulnerabilities
Competitors may use news of your sale to their advantage, reaching out to your customers/clients or employees with offers or assurances of stability. This can damage your market position, especially if customers/clients or team members feel a competitor is more stable.

Reduced Business Value
Buyers view businesses that seem unstable or disrupted as riskier investments. This perception can lead to lower offers and less bargaining power, reducing the overall value you receive for your business.

Legal and Contractual Risks
Premature disclosure could breach confidentiality agreements with customers/clients or partners, leading to potential legal issues. These complications can stall the sale or harm future business relationships.

Disruption of Negotiations
An unintentional leak of information can complicate negotiations. If buyers feel the business is unstable, they may change terms, delay the process, or walk away. Keeping the sale confidential as long as you can minimizes the risk of these costly disruptions.

The Benefits of Maintaining Confidentiality

In case you need a reminder, the upsides to a confidential process for as long as possible are also many. For example:

Preserves Employee Stability and Morale
Confidentiality helps you avoid unnecessary worries among employees, preserving productivity and commitment. A stable workforce is attractive to buyers who want to see a smoothly operating business.

Retains Customer/Clients and Vendor Confidence
Customers/clients and vendors are less likely to panic or change their relationships if they remain unaware of a pending sale. This stability reassures buyers that important relationships will endure post-sale, making your business more appealing.

Protects Competitive Positioning
By keeping the sale confidential, you limit competitors’ opportunities to target your customers/clients or employees. This safeguards your business’s position in the market, which is vital for maintaining value and trust with customers/clients and employees.

Maximizes Business Value and Negotiation Leverage
Buyers are more likely to pay full value for a business that appears stable and well-managed. Confidentiality lets you negotiate from a position of strength, protecting your business’s true value and maintaining control over the sale process.

Supports Seamless Transition and Positive Buyer Perception
Buyers want to see a stable, well-managed operation. Maintaining confidentiality allows you to present the business in its best light, increasing buyer confidence and making for a smoother transition.

Reduces Legal and Contractual Risks
Protecting confidentiality minimizes the risk of violating agreements with clients, partners, or employees. This attention to detail avoids legal complications and protects relationships, ensuring a smoother sale process.

The Challenges of Maintaining Confidentiality

So what are the challenges in maintaining a confidential process during the first stages of a business sale?

Risk of Accidental Information Leaks
Even minor lapses in communication can unintentionally reveal details of the sale. A casual conversation or offhand comment might expose information, making it essential to stay vigilant.

Managing Employee Curiosity
Employees often sense changes and may start speculating. Balancing their need for information with the need for confidentiality can be challenging, especially with long-standing team members who may feel entitled to some transparency.

Handling External Inquiries
As vendors, customers/clients, or partners catch hints about the sale, they may ask questions. Deciding how much to share without jeopardizing confidentiality requires tact and consistency, especially with key relationships.

Balancing Transparency with Confidentiality
Certain stakeholders, such as key employees, may expect transparency. Navigating these expectations without compromising confidentiality can feel like a constant balancing act, especially as the sale progresses.

Navigating Changing Organizational Dynamics
As the sale advances, roles and responsibilities may shift, which can create uncertainty or misunderstandings among employees. Managing these dynamics while keeping the sale confidential requires patience and careful communication.

Conclusion

Confidentiality during a business sale is crucial for maintaining stability, preserving value, and minimizing disruption. It’s a balancing act involving risks, significant benefits, and inevitable challenges. By understanding the impact of confidentiality, you’re better prepared to approach the sale with insight and control, laying the foundation for a successful transaction. In Part 2 of this series on confidentiality during a business sale, we’ll unlock several action items you can pursue to find the right balance and timing.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

In what situations have you had to keep business confidentiality? What was the most difficult part of it for you? What suggestions do you have to others who need to keep business sale information confidential?

Sources say she’s “on the prowl.”

We may spend up to a third of our life in retirement. It’s been said that we are currently in a retirement tsunami (10,000 baby boomers retiring each day for the next 10-15 years). And realistically, we all eventually realize that there are the Go-Go years, the Slow-Go years, and then the No-Go years.

To me, those are pretty sobering facts that emphasize the importance of thinking ahead and being intentional about retirement, both before and during retirement. Helping and observing different people evolve through this season we call “retirement” over the past 20+ years, has been an interesting journey.

It’s been reported for years that the typical American starts seriously thinking about retirement around age 55. Having passed that milestone myself, I can agree that it certainly becomes more top of mind, but I do believe folks these days are much more aware and taking action sooner than age 55.

A Retirement To-Do Checklist

I recently completed my Life Stage Money Checklist bundle with the most difficult one for me to write, Retirement. I found it to be the most difficult because it is a phase of life that we have worked up to over many years and is much more complicated than other phases of life. It must consider not only the money side but also the values and relationship side of life.

The Before and After checklist has 10 To-Do steps with articles and checklists for preparing for retirement (BEFORE) and then 10 more for enjoying a secure, comprehensive, and intentional retirement (AFTER). Let me share a couple of the themes that are covered in the spirit of helping you ponder, plan, or perhaps reminisce about your own current place in the retirement phase.

What Will You Retire TO?

Author Stephen Covey was really onto something when he started to write about beginning with the end in mind. And retirement planning is a great example of the importance of that. If you don’t envision what you want that time in life to look like, you can’t plan accordingly. So starting by answering questions about what you want to do with your time, where you want to live, what relationships you look forward to, etc. helps you visualize living in retirement more clearly.

My Before and After Retirement to-do checklist, for example, offers questions along those lines, reminds you to include socializing and exercising in those decisions, and of course, provides tools to estimate the cost side of those goals. I always tell new retirees that this is a work in progress since you likely have not been retired before, and it often takes two years to confirm your estimated vs actual spending ballpark. Did you guesstimate correctly or are you way off? And what can be done if you are way off? Some calculators and formulas can help you estimate BEFORE and then adjust AFTER retirement begins.

I cannot stress enough the vital importance of a healthy diet, regular exercise, meaningful social connections, and a sense of purpose. That saying “motion is lotion” oversimplifies that point but accurately reminds us that blood flow is the superpower for maintaining brain and body health. Making healthy choices in all of those areas will financially cost you less in the long run. Not to mention enhance your happiness factor throughout.

What About Those “What Ifs”?

Ok, so what about the Worry List, the things that are normal to fear in retirement, i.e., premature death, disability or incapacity, needing long-term care, significant stock market decline, etc? Those are legitimate worries as we all know someone who experienced each of those situations. Now is the time, in advance, before you are in crisis mode and your brain does not think as clearly, to consider your options and make some decisions you can act on now.

My Before and After Retirement checklist, for example, walks through various potential insurance needs. Asking yourself “What would I do if this happened to me?” is your best starting point. Your situation is different than anyone else’s so your answers are likely also very different.

If you lost a spouse, where would you want to live? Would you downsize and rent, go live with a friend/sister, or stay where you are? If you need short or long-term care, are there friends/family you could rely on, or a rehab or assisted living place you would prefer, or are you familiar with a home care agency/caregivers?

Or what about market volatility and the running out of money worry? The checklist provides resources to think about what if the stock market went down 30%, would you choose to spend differently, adjust your allocation, reduce your expenses, do nothing? And how about investment allocations and spending down during retirement? A Rollover Considerations Checklist, research, and guidelines provide food for thought.

Awareness and thinking about these aspects of life is the starting point. But nothing is solved if you don’t take action. (And my checklists are 50% off this month if you are looking for a tool to help you.) I encourage you to destress your retirement by turning your Worry List into a To-Do List.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What are your feelings or experiences with retirement? Is there anything you are still changing/evolving? What worries you most? Let’s have a discussion!