Ready to reinvent your career in midlife? Join Hope on her inspiring journey from broadcasting to creating financial joy! Discover practical advice for a fulfilling career change.
IE 417: Changing Careers in Midlife by Starting a Business with Hope Ware
Hope Ware owns Under the Median and hopes busy people learn practical frugality skills so they can consistently spend less and save more to live the life they want, knowing that their finances are under control.
She told her kids that when she was 50, she was going to reinvent herself. When she was 55, she realized she had lived a long time on a low income, saved money, and reached financial goals.
She paid cash for her house and did it debt free while raising four boys. She realized that other people needed to know how they could do this without feeling deprived, have joy, abundance, and a great time while raising their kids on a low income.
The name of her business comes from the fact that she and her husband raised their four kids under the national US median income.
What inspired you to change careers in midlife?
Hope had a career in broadcasting. She knew that if she could get in front of people, if they could see and hear her, her message would resonate with them.
She didn’t want a typical or part-time 9:00-5:00 job. She wanted something with flexibility. She was getting older and her husband was getting ready to retire.
The goal was to build the business so that when he retired, they would have flexibility that having your own business gives you. When she didn’t see that kind of opportunity in any other type of business, she started her own.
What were the key factors that led you to start your own business rather than staying in your previous career or looking for a new job?
Hope got to a point in life where her kids were growing up and leaving the nest and she wanted to do something that had an impact on and change other people’s lives. She wanted to share the message and thought she might be able to make money doing it.
How did you prepare for the transition to entrepreneurship? Did you take any courses or seek mentorship?
It took Hope some time to figure out what she didn’t know. That was the first step because everything had changed since she started her career.
Everything was online and she had little computer knowledge except for writing an email. One of her sons works in IT and helped her set up her website. She wanted a place where people could find her.
Then, she started watching YouTube videos, listening to podcasts, and reading blogs to learn more about what she wanted to do. She researched what others were talking about frugality.
She also made a prioritized list of the things she needed to work on. That helped keep her from being overwhelmed and encouraged her to learn new things. It was a challenge because she was ready to use her skills differently.
She started with low-priced courses, $47 or $97, so she could figure out what the next step was. She applied everything that she learned.
What were some of the early challenges you faced when starting the business?
One of the things she had to figure out was being okay with being in between, the space where she wasn’t where she wanted to be, but learning to rest there. She was writing blog posts but people weren’t finding her so she had to figure out how to have people find her.
She had to look at the skills she had learned and realize she was moving forward.
She figured out that YouTube would be a good fit for her because she had been in broadcasting and her husband in television. That was what opened the door for people to find her and figure out who she was. She knew her audience was there and was looking for that type of content.
Some people go to platforms and add content when their audience isn’t looking for that type of material. Hope was smart to step into a zone of genius that she and her husband had and it was where her audience was.
Hope still had to figure out the skills needed to use the YouTube platform and what she knew and didn’t know how to do. Once she figured that out, she prioritized every skill she needed to learn.
How did you go about prioritizing the skills you needed? What made you decide that one was more important than another?
Part of figuring it out was the people that Hope listened to. She was in business for about two years before she hired a YouTube coach.
She started by taking the coach’s basic course and it resonated with her so she hired her for coaching. She had a lot of patience while trying to figure out which coach she wanted to work with.
It is like hiring a doctor. You want someone who speaks your language and gives you specifics rather than generalizations. If you are looking for someone to help you take steps in your business, don’t buy into their upper-level courses immediately.
Make a list of what you are looking for. Look critically at the person you are looking to hire.
Is this really what you are looking for? What can they teach you?
Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask questions about how they are going to teach, what you will learn, and the sequence you will learn it in. It is your money that you are spending.
Hope is a frugality coach and would never have bought something thinking she would never use it. You minimize mistakes when you think about it and look at it critically. Understanding your personality and how you learn is key to seeing the success in your business.
Business owners should never take for granted the privilege they have to speak into the lives of those people who they touch. People resonate with those who are honest, will tell them the truth, lead them, guide them, and care about them.
You are serving people and it is an honor. When you love on your people, they are going to follow you and it is more of a meaningful relationship on both sides. You are providing them with a solution that they can put their hands around and move their life forward with that solution.
Whatever it might be they are coming to you for answers, you can help them solve a problem. If you do business as a blogger trying to chase ads, AI will replace you.
If you provide your audience with a product or service that solves their problem, it changes everything moving forward.
You need to put your personal experience into your business because that is what makes you special. If your audience knows that you have done this, they will be encouraged that they can also do it. If you never put yourself out there, which can be hard, they will never know. It is a vulnerable position.
You need to have a personal brand strategy with which you are comfortable. You don’t need to walk them through your divorce if you are a food blogger. Share a story that is relevant to them that shows you have solved the problem they have.
You are getting personal with them so they can get to know you and connect with you. That will get them to take action to pay for your product because they know you understand them. They will want the solution you offer.
Think through your life experiences and use them when you are writing about something. For example, once Hope had $25 to feed four children for nine days. She walked through the grocery store thinking she didn’t have money for any of it. She had to figure out what she could buy to stretch the furthest. What could she buy to feed her kids in several different ways?
By sharing how she did that, she could encourage others that they were able to do it too. Your audience sees themselves in your story.
What has been the most rewarding part of changing careers and becoming an entrepreneur in midlife?
Hope is a “learner.” She is proud that she was able to figure things out at 55 years old. The challenge of figuring out the next step was good.
She has made a difference in the lives of others. Her life experience has taught her how to help others.
She watched her kids going through the things that she had gone through. She asked them questions to learn what they were thinking as they were facing challenges. She was able to speak to the pain points of a broader audience.
What advice would you give to others considering a midlife career change, especially those thinking of starting their own business?
Figure out what is meaningful, what your passion is, and who you want to reach. Combine those three things. You have a wealth of wisdom and experience that you can share with others.
10 Ways to Radically Reduce Your Expenses
This is a guide for people who are trying to figure out where they can cut expenses out of their budget. There are 10 different places to cut your budget along with checklists and steps to cut those areas.
Action Steps:
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