Pivoting in business during midlife can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. It is never too late to shift your business, as many flourishing entrepreneurs choose to pivot within their due season. During certain mid-life milestones, entrepreneurs need to pivot their business and personal lives to accommodate new opportunities. By transferring and remodeling their life’s work, they can pour that knowledge into a new business model that works best for them and their customers.
A pivot may be necessary for various reasons, such as a market change or damage from the pandemic. Whatever the case may be, it’s never too late.
A decade ago, I decided that it was time to transition from my primary branded focus as a magazine publisher helping women in business to include a new passion: self-care for midlife African American women. However, a pivot does not mean that you completely give up on what you used to do.
Although I still stayed in the communications business and was already well-branded after so many years of operation, my name and the business were known for creating public relations and marketing strategies, conducting business conferences, producing leadership awards, and producing media content.
Those same women who evolved with my magazine were getting older along with me. Their needs were changing, and their demands and desires were shifting with time.
Like so many older women, I found the possibility of charting unfamiliar territory to be scary. The question, “Am I too old to be starting something new?” arose often. My best response was simply to jump right in and worry about it later.
I slowly created a plan and then executed my strategy to build a following for my YSW: Your Stylish Ways blog. A blog that infuses style and self-care for evolving middle-aged women. My new role included creating content, finding a team to manage specific tasks, and delegating responsibilities.
As with starting anything new, when it comes to pivoting your business, you must ask if there is a need.
I recognized the need for more African-American women to engage in self-care. Thus, I acted and transitioned my business model to focus on that market.
If you’re considering your own pivot, be mindful that change takes time and is a process. If you set goals with timelines along the way, it will be easier to see progress and celebrate your successes! And remember, just because you start out working within one entrepreneurial endeavor doesn’t mean that this is where your journey ends.
Many women have pivoted their businesses and led fulfilling lives by following their passions—and so can you! Don’t be afraid to take another leap forward into something even more fulfilling.
