Get ready for your "Second Act"
Highlights of the Second Acts Breakfast and Panel
It’s never too late to pursue your dreams.
On October 8, 2008 at the Yale Club, nearly 100 tomatoes who are thinking about second acts, whether that’s starting a business, pursuing their passions, or thinking about what you do after you’ve left a successful career, joined The Three Tomatoes for breakfast and a terrific panel discussion.
Led by our moderator, media personality Valerie Smaldone, our esteemed panel shared some great advice. As Valerie summarized at the end of the event, “These are women who are persistent and insistent—and won’t take no for an answer. They have learned to ask for what they want, and have inspired all of us to do the same.”
Here are some of their pearls of wisdom.
Q. How do you start thinking about doing something new?
Laurie Smaldone, MD, who left a high level corporate job after 24 years without another job lined up:
“It may be very scary to leave the cocoon of something you’ve been doing for a long time, but it can also be very liberating. For months after I left, I did nothing except network. I talked to lots of people in lots of different areas. I learned that you need a variety of different skill sets to move from here to there.”
Laurie’s pearls:
- You’ll feel it in your gut when you’re ready for a move. Plus, your family will tell you too!
- Take the time to figure out what it is you want to do next and talk to lots of people.
- Her creativity stimulator? She listens to the “blues” on her commute to the office and doesn’t take calls. By the time she gets to the office her head is clear and she’s figured three things out.
Gail Rentsch, author of “Smart Women Don’t Retire”, and founding member of The Transition Network, was head of a successful PR firm.
There are triggers in your life that make you start to ask questions. Like, when are you going to think about retiring, what is it like to age in the workplace? Retirement had been a life of leisure with our mothers but it’s not the retirement that many women today want. Gail said she was “clueless” about retirement. She became involved in The Transition Network and joined a peer group. Talking to other women helps you realize that you are not alone. It also gave her the courage to think about what she wanted to do. Ultimately she followed the passions she had. She was able to combine book publishing and women’s issues with writing the book and becoming involved in the TTN.
Gail’s pearls:
- It’s important to give yourself time to figure it out.
- Being clueless is a good thing. It allows you to be open to new opportunities.
- Find the thing that will really be yours.
- Join an association in an area of your interest. There is always an association. Get on the board, meet others in the field. This allows you to call people up and ask questions.
Jeanne Sullivan, Venture Capitalist, General Partner and Founder of a women owned venture capital firm
You need three things:
1. Courage
2. Solicit and illicit input from your friends. They’ll become your personal board of directors.
3. The paradox of choice. It used to be that women could only become teachers, nurses, secretaries. Today we have choices, and the paradox of choice is often the heart of the problem. You have to assess your choices and put yourself out there. Take action. Your friends in your network will help you, but you have to ask.
Jeanne’s pearls:
- You have to ask.
- Use your network.
- Would you be willing to introduce me to xyz?
- Would you be willing to have breakfast with me and fill me in about this business?
- Keep a journal. Good way to track who you are meeting with and follow ups.
Q. How do you get over the fear of trying something new?
Ronna Lichtenberg, Career Counselor and Coach and author of “How to Pitch Like a Girl”
I’m afraid and terrified all the time. You never get over being afraid, but you have to have courage. Courage is that you don’t care you’re afriad. Pitching (asking for what you want) is how you make the things you want to happen, happen. The more you hate doing it, the better you can be. Remember, nobody wants to give you what you want. You have to develop the gift of seeing what they need. Then you go back and pitch to them on how what you want from them is good for them too.
Ronna’s pearls:
- Get over the nice girls don’t pitch thing.
- Ask for what you want.
- Take a nap during the day (you’ll be more creative).
- Eat a piece of chocolate.
Pat Addis, Broadway Producer, and formerly owner and founder of a promotions company for 30 years
I’m not intellectual, but I am intelligent. My mind is intuitive. I’ve never put together the big plan. I’ve done things wrong, but it has always worked out right. I’ve never been afraid of failure. So you fail. As long as you don’t bankrupt yourself it’s okay.
Pat’s pearls:
- Never put your eggs in one basket. Diversify.
- Write down everything that you like and figure out a new way of marketing or arranging it.
- Don’t cut off your creative part.
- Keep a pad in your pocketbook. Write stuff down that piques your interest.
Liz Hamburg, successful serial entrepreneur
You have to overcome fear and risk. Go to places and do things that other people think are crazy- things that no one else wants. What is the worst that will happen? The worst is that it will not succeed. Only 1 of 10 new ventures can expect to make money. There is no harm in failure. You may lose money and sleep, but at the end of the day most successful entrepreneurs have failed at least once. The higher the risk, the higher the reward.
Liz’s pearls:
- Great businesses often come out of everyday needs—for example, there’s a successful women’s shoe company for women with size 11+ shoes; and a business that makes toilet roll covers that kids can’t unravel.
- Money needs to come from small business.
- Good businesses are community minded and give back, which is particularly important in these times.
Q. What are the key things investors look for in funding a business?
Jeanne Sullivan, Venture Capitalist, General Partner and Founder of a women owned venture capital firm
1. Great product.
2. Great management team.
3. Great execution.
Jeanne’s Pearls:
- Prove that you can make it happen.
- Explain the tactics and strategy on how to build and scale the business.
Q. What do you say when you’re in between careers and/or deciding what you want to do next?
Jeanne Sullivan: Packaging is important. Think of your one-liner and go and get yourself a business card. You are part of something. Come up with a funny line and at the next party, say I’m consulting. Get your packaging together.
Pat Addis: You can print business cards from your computer, so give yourself a different title everyday. Experiment with what you want to be.
Q. Are tomatoes too old to start something new?
Jeanne Sullivan: I hate it when people say “but I’m too old for that”. Blow through anything about age. You have the wisdom, street savvy. You bring so much to the table with that wisdom, grace and learning.
Ronna Lichtenberg: I have no sense that old is a disadvantage. In fact, there’s less fear of looking like an idiot the older you are. Look at the long term, if you believe that you are cooler, faster hipper, whomever you are pitching will believe it too.
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Valerie Smaldone, our panel moderator and media personality, knows exactly what it's like to take the big leap. After an unprecedented 24 years of holding the #1 position in the New York radio market as the midday host of New York's 106.7 FM she chose to end her on air run with the station at the end of 2007, with lots of opportunities and possibilities, but no specific job offer at the other end. She is involved in a number of creative projects including bringing a play she co-wrote to off-Broadway and writing a book about her "leap".
Jeanne M. Sullivan has been investing in and growing tech companies since 1990. She is a co-founder and General Partner of StarVest Partners, L.P. a New York City based, women owned venture capital firm with over $300 million under management. Jeanne is passionate about helping women entrepreneurs succeed. She is a sought-after industry speaker on the subject of investing in and building technology companies and serves as an adjunct professor of marketing at the graduate level.
Liz Hamburg is a serial entrepreneur and has extensive experience launching new products and companies in areas of communications, technology and media. She is the founder and President of Upstart Ventures, consulting to and incubating early stage companies. Through Upstart, she has been involved in the startup of 15 new businesse. Liz is the co-host, along with her mother Joan Hamburg, on WOR radio of "New York Uncovered" and "Launchpad", a weekly radio segment focusing on entrepreneurs and small business. She is a frequent lecturer on topics concerning entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses.
Ronna Lichtenberg has spent her career inspiring executives (with an emphasis on women) to take control of their careers. She is founder and President of Clear Peak Communications, a consulting firm that has partnered with Fortune 500 leaders for more than ten years. She's also founder of Your Winning Pitch, her second act. She has published three books in ten languages (to rave reviews). Her interactive, motivational, and humorous style has made her a very popular keynote speaker at events sponsored by Fortune 500 companies.
Gail Rentsch is the author (along with the Transition Network) of Smart Women Don't Retire-They Break Free: From Working Full-Time to Living Full-Time. Gail is a Founding Member of The Transition Network, an organization where women can share their concerns and aspirations as they move from their primary careers to something else. Gail retired from her primary career in 2004, after twenty-four years as founder and president of a successful New York City-based public relations agency with clients that included book publishers, authors, non-profit institutions, and corporations.
Laurie Smaldone, MD is currently President and CEO of Phytomedics a botanical biopharmaceutical company. She is a Yale trained oncologist who joined the pharmaceutical industry as a young mother, to develop drugs for cancer and HIV/AIDS. She joined her current company a year after she left her 24 year career at a major pharmaceutical firm.
Sponsors:
Pat Addiss is a woman of many acts. Act I was marriage and mother of three. In Act II, she started a premium promotion company which she ran successfully for 30 years before turning it over to her daughter in 2000. Act III, Pat is now a successful Broadway producer of shows like Little Women, Spring Awakening, Passing Strange, 39 Steps, and the revival of The Fantasticks.
The Three Tomatoes founder,Cheryl Benton
A sold out event.
Moderator Valerie Smaldone quizzes our panel to the right
