The 59 Year Itch

...and the wisdom of Substack required...

I’ve definitely got itchy feet (not literally – although there is a cream for that) so I’m having something of a slow down over the next few weeks while I figure out my next moves. 15 years is a long time to do the same thing (my blog/website) and I definitely need something to ring the changes. It was National Lipstick Day yesterday and I just couldn’t be bothered to play along so if ever there is a sign, that is it! Previously, I’d have delighted in planning some content around it – The World’s Greatest Lipsticks or Seen On Stage or even, more simply, My Favourite Lipstick. But, meh.

Substack [HERE] has given me a new insight into content sharing – it’s different (wonderful) and fresher – with longer form writing and thought sharing rather than product information and testing. And you know what’s exciting? The audience building. Every time I get a new subscriber I feel happy, paying or not, never mind that it’s a tiny fraction of my BBB audience at the moment. It just feels like the start of something new. So, I’m going to do a bit of a blog refresh in the meantime and gather my thoughts.

But, it’s made me wonder what would be a good side-hustle for me. What do other nearly-60 women do when they realise that working smarter isn’t necessarily working harder or working in the same way as always. I don’t think anything good comes out of a bored mind so while it’s easier and simpler to just keep on keeping on, I definitely need a proverbial kick on the butt.

If I’ve learned anything from running BBB all this time, it’s that the wisdom of readers is something to be absolutely treasured – the knowledge and advice I’ve received over the years is worth its weight in gold. Speaking of gold, I have a mine of information and product knowledge, writing comes easily to me and I understand the industry but there is a little bit of me that wants to buy a cottage and renovate it, do a dog training course or become a drop-shipping millionaire. Is it wasteful to stop using my key skills and do something that I might be absolutely rubbish at? I don’t know and I’m hoping you’ll help me out here! Beauty is in my heart but perhaps shouldn't be having all of it any more.

My Substack is still so new that I can pivot the content to be whatever I want it to be – part beauty, part renovation disaster perhaps… I’ve realized there are enough mid-lifers sharing brilliantly how it is to be a certain age but I feel like I’m more about just ‘being’ rather than focusing on age. However, it is my age that makes me eye-roll at the social media manager pitches and the Hey Babe approaches I get on Instagram – the requests for UGC (user generated content) that is supposed to be ‘natural’ and comes with so many regulations and rules (basically around copying the content they decide on, rather than generating anything approaching natural) that I can’t work within them. It’s impossible, and that's a matter of ethics which are non-negotiable. I take so little sponsored content and the work that I do take is with people I like and trust and products that I think are audience appropriate and interesting - and that is a diminishing area as other people do their own pivots.

So, I’m cutting down posts to maximum one a day (on Substack, one a week is more common!) for a few weeks to have a breather. Any ideas? Have you done a mid-life switcheroo? I’d love to hear from you if that’s the case 😊