Beverly Mahone
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Beverly Mahone is an accomplished speaker and author of the book Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age. All at once witty, motivational, and heart-warming, the book gives us insight into how to “cope with the new challenges that await us during the middle age years…and beyond.” Her website, www.talk2bev.com, is a treasure trove of boomer humor, informative articles, and inspirational musings by the great lady herself.
Here’s what she says about her journey.
Q&A With Beverly Mahone
Q: How did you get started on the entrepreneurial path after spending so much of your career in broadcasting?
A: First of all, I have to say I’m not sure this is the path I intended to be traveling on, however, now that I’m on this journey I have to say it is interesting, exciting and challenging.
Q: Your website, Talk2Bev, is loaded with information, articles, and humor about the baby boomer experience. What made you decide to start your own website?
A: Initially, my website was a tool to obtain speaking engagements and offer myself as a media/voice coach for anyone who felt they needed that particular service. It has gone through several different looks and changes over the past couple of years and now that my book is published, I target an exclusive market–which are baby boomers.
I have to give 100 percent credit to my husband who designed the website and who put up with a lot of heartache in the process. Sometimes I forgot the fact that he was my husband and he wasn’t getting paid for it :).
Q: About your book, Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age, did you use a traditional publisher or did you self-publish, and what was that experience like?
A: I decided to self-publish. I shopped it around a little bit but then decided I could probably do just as well marketing and promoting my own book with my background. I had a lot of wonderful help from colleagues in putting it all together. I’m sure I didn’t pay nearly as much as I might have had I not known people who were experts in the fields I needed experts in.
Q: As a professional speaker, what topics do you speak on and which are your favorites?
A: I cover a wide variety of topics. I’ve held media workshops on how to prepare for a successful interview as well as the benefits and risks of working with the media. Trust me, there are definite RISKS because reporters have been known to take your words out of context and change the entire meaning. It’s not something I’m proud of but I know it happens so I train clients on how to say what they mean without getting it twisted.
I also conduct business seminars on the art of effective communication in the workplace and the delicate relationships between younger and older employees. That seminar is actually a title from one of the chapters in my book: “Yes, you’re my Boss, but I’m old enough to be your Mother!”
Last year I was featured as a Baby Boomer Expert on MSNBC-TV’s Boomer Nation series.
This year I am preparing to host a series of seminars based around the theme: Live to be Drama Free in 2007!” That’s also the name of my newly created newsletter. I felt led to do this because at midlife we tend to look back on the “would’ve, should’ve, could’ve” of our lives and realize the dreams that were never fulfilled. In addition, we carry around baggage that should’ve been unloaded long ago. Some of us have packed so much baggage over the years that we could take a never-ending trip around the world! The seminars and newsletter are designed to help us unpack that “stuff” and re-pack for a trip filled with peace of mind, a soothing spirit and prosperity.
Q: What advice do you most often offer to boomer women who are maybe going through multiple life transitions (in addition to “the change”) as you have?
A: Once I realized I wasn’t losing my mind and my symptoms had a name (perimenopause), I started focusing on a new outlook for my life. I choose to look at this journey as a celebration. In six months, I’ll be 50 years old. Now, ten years ago I would’ve been dreading the day–but these days I look forward to reaching another milestone. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. I have a new, wonderful husband who makes me hotter than a hot flash and I praise God daily from whom all blessings flow! God has blessed me with the wonderful gift of communication and I promise to honor Him by spreading positive messages about growing older.
Sadly, many of our mothers didn’t talk to us about the “changes” we would face as we aged but I don’t believe it’s their fault. I think menopause had a stigma attached to it years ago and women were made to feel like they were having a mental breakdown. That’s not the case today. There’s so much information available and wonderful natural herbal treatments to make the transition relatively smooth.
Q: Anything else–thoughts, suggestions, advice–you’d like to share?
A: Back in the ’70s there was a Virginia Slims cigarette commercial that said “You’re not getting older… you’re getting better.” These days the new national anthem for baby boomer women is: “We’re still Hot… it just comes in Flashes now!”
