Go Quietly Into the Night? No Way!

How to Be an S.O.B.: A Spunky Old Broad Who Kicks Butt is the name of a new book by Gayle Carson that aptly describes today's serial entrepreneurs. When I met Carson, I was bowled over by her energy, and I started thinking about entrepreneurs over 55. Were they starting additional businesses? If so, what types of businesses? What I learned, and the entrepreneurialwomen I've met, can only be described as incredible.

Carson, 69, of Miami Beach, Florida, bought her first company within nine months of graduating college and grew it to seven divisions and more than 350 employees. She did this all while getting married, raising a family, being active in her community, leading her industry trade association and earning a doctorate degree. She sold the business after 21 years for more than 20 times its original value. Carson then launched a speaking career, which had her traveling all over the world for 21 years.

But in 2001, an illness struck both Carson and her husband, causing her to greatly curtail her travel for a few years. Then she got back to work. She started a consulting firm with clients around the world focusing on business trends and opportunities. She started the International Association of Information Marketers for those who sell digitized information online, wrote the above-mentioned book, started hosting a radio show and is actively expanding the S.O.B. brand--all after the age of 55.

Irene Nielsen's path is no less fascinating. Her background as a nurse and midwife prompted her to open two birthing centers, among the first in the country, which she later merged. She also patented and invented two medical products, earned her securities license to counsel families on estate planning, sold beauty products and image consulting, and taught midwifery at the university level. When she turned 55, she moved to Lindsborg, Kansas, to be closer to family.

As a financial counselor, Nielsen noticed conversations went more smoothly and quickly if she served tea rather than coffee. But she couldn't find any quality tea in Lindsborg, so she decided to work with a tea import business and started Irene's Teas. About this time, Nielsen was diagnosed with a serious illness and had trouble sleeping. To pass the nighttime hours, she painted porcelain pieces. Soon she had so many, she started selling them through a local gift shop. Shortly thereafter, she decided to combine her two new ventures and opened a tearoom and gift shop.

Nielsen didn't stop there. In the years since she turned 55, she's developed the following: a tea school teaching others how to run profitable tea businesses; a porcelain painting school with classes attracting painters from all over the country; a tea room, which became a full-service restaurant, Stockholm Restaurant and Tearoom; and a catering business that also mounts murder mystery dinners, for which she writes the scripts. She's also hoping to renovate a building to expand her catering and dining facilities. And she holds the highest certifications for etiquette and consults all over the state of Kansas.

Another entrepreneur, Gloria Herndon, started an insurance agency in Washington, DC, 25 years ago, became involved in real estate, and owns a spa and two B&Bs. What's happened now that she's older? "Since I turned 55, I started two art galleries, one in Washington, DC, and another in St. Louis," she says. "I'm hoping to develop the hospital where I was born into condominiums, and I'm going to India to meet with people [about] my tea importing business."

Each woman sees a common thread through all of her endeavors: Carson has always looked at her businesses as helping people be their very best; Nielsen's businesses create an environment where people can build stronger relationships; Herndon says her common thread is, "I own them!" When I asked for words of wisdom for after 55s who are thinking of opening a new business, it should come as no surprise that I got a resounding "Go for it!" from all three.