When Experience Becomes Your Advantage: The New Era of Women 50+

In a world that glamorizes beauty, caters to the younger generation, and writes off anyone over 50, and denies that ageism is forcing women over 50 to evaluate, reflect, and reinvent themselves, is crazy.

I have had a successful 16-year career in marketing, providing services to small to medium-sized service-based businesses. Additionally, I have worked in a corporate setting, at Intel, for nine years, where I managed multi-million-dollar budgets and go-to-market strategies and campaigns to build preference and awareness for tech products.

Both couldn’t have been more opposite. In one, you have to be scrappy, wear all the hats, be proactive, innovative, and creative; in the other you have to look to impress, be polished, poised in front of executives and play the game to get ahead all while staying in your own lane to ensure you didn’t threaten anyone insecure of their own footing within the company.

With recent layoffs due to AI, the economy, and the political landscape, more and more women I know over 50 are being let go. And yes, I know this is not just a woman's issue, but as a woman, I can directly speak to my own experience and the experiences of my peers and friends. The crazy thing is, right now, research shows more women are taking things into their own hands and no longer putting up with the discrimination, the unequal pay, and the lack of flexibility and purpose in their careers than ever.

• According to a report from Gusto, in 2024, women started about 49% of all new businesses in the U.S. — a dramatic increase from ~29% in 2019. 

• According to the article from Forbes (Jan 2025), women over 50 are one of the fastest-growing demographics in entrepreneurship. Forbes

• One source cites that women over age 50 now account for about 26% of all new U.S. entrepreneurs, up significantly from ~10 years earlier. LinkedIn 

• Another stat: Among all U.S. small business owners, 33% are ages 50–59, 17% are 60–69, and 4% are over 70. Boldin
  

Thanks to technology, which can provide enormous help and acceleration for business growth. In the world of AI, there has never been a better time to build a business as a solo entrepreneur. It can be your sounding board, your note-taker, your marketing strategist, your graphic designer, your admin, help you with bookkeeping, and you can even build AI agents to automate tasks.

The key for corporate women in mid-to-late careers who are going out on their own in a coaching or consulting capacity is to relinquish their fancy titles, staff, and IT support, and, out of necessity, to become self-reliant. While those hurdles can all be overcome, the real challenge is, however, stepping into this new world without devaluing what they know and charging what they are worth, also including the value they deliver to individuals and companies using their services today and in the future.  

Feelings of self-doubt and self-worth are something that never seem to go away, while when you are at the top of a mountain, the voices in our heads that attempt to bring us down can be quieter. When we go out on our own, the voices seem to permeate throughout the day, week, and months as you are in builder mode. This is why it is incredibly important to surround yourself with a support network, to have a coach share your dreams and fears, and to know that you are not alone. This can be an incredibly invigorating time and phase of your life, where you feel more youthful and vibrant than when you were burned out and people-pleasing in corporate settings, quietly quitting, and trying to ride it out until retirement. 

My advice is to embrace the feeling of fear and renewed passion within you and believe that you can and will succeed. You don’t have to do it alone. Others are cheering you on, I know I am! Go be BOLDER!