Gumption Gazette Debut Edition!

Letter from The Publisher

Hi, friend.

Welcome to The Gumption Gazette.

A little confession. I have first-day-of-school jitters. I’ve been dreaming about The Gumption Gazette for a long time. It’s hard to know where to start and what to include in this first edition.

But, then I remembered what a friend and business mentor said to me, “What would it look like if it were easy?”

Easy would be creating a resource that would have been helpful to me when I started my online business. 

It was 2017. I was 49 (days away from 50) and recently laid-off from a decades-long corporate gig.  I decided to start my own online business. 

I thought, “How hard could it be? Everybody’s doing it.” (Yep, we’re still chuckling over that one.)

• Reality hit me like a ton of bricks

• I realized instantly I was in way over my head. 

• I had no idea where to start. 

• The amount of learning I had to do felt insurmountable.

• The jargon baffled me.

• I suddenly felt like a dinosaur.

• The tech seemed like Greek.

• The online business education that was available at that time was NOT  geared to me - a 50-something woman. 

• And, failure was NOT an option.

Fast forward 7 years. I’ve figured it out (at least a good chunk of it).  

The Gumption Gazette is the straight-talking, reality-based, no BS resource I wish I’d had access to when I started.

On a personal note, I thank you in advance for your grace and patience. I don’t have The Gumption Gazette all figured out. I’ll do that as I go - with your help, of course. 

I often say to women in my community, “You can’t learn how to drive a car by reading a book and you can’t learn how to start an online business either. You have to get in the car, put the key in the ignition and give it a try.” 

So, here we go. I’m putting the keys in The Gumption Gazette ignition and am going to start her up.

Cheers,

Colleen Kochannek, Publisher

*This publication may include affiliate links and links to products I create and sell. If you click and buy, I may earn revenue and/or commission. 

Our Gumption Promise

This publication is exclusively for women over 50 who are starting online businesses. It’s for you. With this in mind, we promise:

Transparency - Marketers love the phrase “sell them what they want, give them what they need”  meaning if it’s not sexy, people won’t buy it. As in - mask reality and the truth (ick, btw).  

Uh, no thank you. 

We know you’ve been around the block and you can spot BS from miles away. We won’t waste your time.

Simplicity - You don’t need to know how to use UTM tracking codes to track the ROI of the CTR in order to maximize conversion before you know what the word ‘funnel’ means in the online business space (and not the kitchen tool).  

We’ll meet you where you are.  

Relevance - Starting an online venture at our age is different. We have different goals and needs and wants. 

Based on my experience, most of us over-50’s don’t want empires and massive teams and venture capital investors and 7-figure launches and 80-hour work weeks. (But, success is however you define it.)

We want to make good money doing something we love - that makes our whole life better (not just our bank accounts).

Fun - All work and no play is, well, no fun. We refuse to put time and effort into something that doesn’t bring us joy. Yes, we’ll talk shop, but we’ll throw in books, TV and movies we recommend, hobbies and home life, and adventures we can get into every now and then, too. 

What Are We Going To Share You Each Week?

1. Business Basics | 2. Business and Life After 50

3. Get-Smart-Quick Tips | 4. Ask-Me-Anything

5. WTHWW

1. Business Basics - Fundamentals that make sense for beginners: product ideas, tech and tools, business models, strategies and numbers, marketing and selling, social media, and mindset.

2. Business and Life After 50 - Your business should light up your life. It should fill holes and fulfill desires and make you proud and excited. It should be the basis for your amazing next chapter, not a sanity-sucking exercise. 

3. Get-Smart-Quick Tips - Quick resources, tips, hacks and tricks you can grab in under a minute.

4. Ask-Me-Anything - We’ll answer any question, including those you might classify as dumb (they’re not, btw) 

5. WTHWW - Whatever The Heck We Want - I want The Gumption Gazette to become a community of women over 50 who are full of gumption and ambition and adventure and who are intentionally writing their 3rd act- and want to make money. I’m reserving this WTHWW section for just that.

Get-Smart-Quick Tips

GTS it!

It’s great to have teachers and mentors, but our best (and first) line of defense is to help ourselves. I often find Googling information is not always our first inclination. 

On vacation recently a friend asked me if I knew how to do something with her iPhone. I’m an Android lady so I hadn’t a clue.

I said, “GTS it.”   As in, Google That Shizz. 

Her reply, Oh, yea. I always forget about Google.

We’re digital immigrants. Technology came to us during our lives so our first thought is not necessarily to reach to tech for answers, but I encourage you to start training your brain to think, “Can I Google that?”

The Ask Me Anything Section 

Starting next week. Please complete the survey (below) or email us directly at:

EMAIL: [email protected] 

I’ll be watching for you!

WTHWW - Whatever The Heck We Want

READING - While published in 2011, I recently read Jane Fonda’s Prime Time and found it to be incredibly thought-provoking. In essence, what if we see our 3rd act differently… as a whole new chapter in which we keep building our lives, not wind down. The possibilities are endless.

Quick Survey Please 

Favor, please: Can you complete this quick survey and let me know which topics you’re most interested in learning about in upcoming Gumption Gazette editions? https://forms.gle/TehJoYHf768VvZxC8

The Suggestion Box

Please direct any questions (for admin or the he Ask-Me-Anything section), suggestions, feedback, ideas and general thoughts to:

EMAIL: [email protected]

Coming Next Week

1. Need To Know Tough Love Lessons For Beginners

2. Why An Online Business Isn’t Exactly What You Think It Is And Why That’s A Great Thing

3. How To Have Fun In Your Business, Even In The Beginning When You Want To Fix Your Laptop With A Hammer

Signing off for now. Until next Sunday!

Cheers, Colleen Kochannek

Your Gumption Gazette Publisher and Biggest Cheerleader