I've been a business owner for 19 years. I started my first business in 2005 at the age of 37 and I am launching this business almost 20 years later at the age of 56!
The Midlife Launch brings together my 19 years of experience as a business owner, my training as a Master Life Coach, my training and experience as a branding and business strategist, my obsession with creating websites, my background as an attorney and my passion for empowering women in their 50's to build their legacies through the businesses that they create.
Founder of
The Midlife Launch
I'm Sal ...
- nilofer merchant
Onlyness is that thing that only you can bring to a situation, the collective combination of all your experiences, hopes, dreams, achievements, setbacks, meanderings and accidents of birth.
“
And what does it have to do with supporting you to start a business?
So what is my "onlyness"?
What are "the collective combination of all [my] experiences, hopes, dreams, achievements, setbacks, meanderings and accidents of birth" that bring me to do this work?
And - just as importantly - how does my onlyness support your onlyness as you launch your business?
In 1994 at the age of 26, I moved from London (where I was a trainee lawyer) to New York for six months. Thirty years later and I'm still here. During those years, I've gone from being a lawyer to a life coach/preschool founder/business coach/equus coach with some stand up comedy thrown in for fun!
I have 19 years of experience in the trenches as a business owner. I started my first business at the age of 37 (which still exists and is thriving) and I am starting this business almost 20 years later at the age of 56. So please trust me when I say that I know a thing or three about starting a business as a slightly more mature entrepreneur!
I've learned as much or more from my "meanderings and setbacks" as a business owner than I have from my achievements.
In 2005, after being an attorney for a decade, I started a business called The Creative Groove Studio offering music, art and dance classes for toddlers and a preschool prep program for 2-3 year olds. It grew from one class a week in a church hall to a business with 100+ students each week, a staff of 10, two studio locations and a six figure income.
I have learned a lot from building Creative Groove - I have learned what worked incredibly well (I was very clear on my story and my customers' stories which meant that my business story resonated) and I learned how much I got in my own way (no business strategy or planning, zip, nada).
I worked incredibly hard because I wasn't clear on the things that only I could do. For years, I did everything in the business - from the $10/hour jobs to the $300+/hour jobs. It felt like I never switched off.
I also spent way too much time doing things that I should have hired someone to do.
It all started with a Latin Dance class for toddlers in a church hall ...
- kevin kelly
Work at its smartest means doing that work that no one else can do. When you are doing something well that others want, and you are the only one who can do it, you will be uncommonly rewarded. Your greatest job is shedding what you don't have to do.
“
During the first decade of building Creative Groove Studio, I pursued my interest in coaching. I became a Master Life Coach trained by Martha Beck, a branding strategist trained by Reach and, in 2016, a Quiet Power Strategy certified business strategist trained by Tara McMullin, author of Quiet Power Strategy and creator of the What Works Network.
When I was 48, I started Ink: The Story Studio which took everything I had learned in the previous 11 years of running Creative Groove Studio to help other creative business owners to start and grow their businesses with less unnecessary effort.
When I was 50, I started The Midlife Courage Lab, offering coaching and community to women in their 50's who wanted to make the next chapter of their life the happiest and most satisfying chapter yet.
Some of my Midlife Courage Lab clients were starting their first businesses which inspired me to start The Midlife Launch.
This business - The Midlife Launch - brings together my work at The Midlife Courage Lab with the work I did with Ink: The Story Studio. It weaves together all of my skills, talents, passions and experience from the past three decades.
My journey as a coach
As a Master Life Coach and a Quiet Power Strategy® business strategist. when you hire me you get two coaches for the price of one. Because the more I do this work, the more I learn that the business stuff and the life stuff are completely intertwined. You can't work on one without working on the other. Especially when you are starting a business in your 50's and blending decades of experience and mastery with the unknown and often terrifying territory of entrepreneurship.
With me in your corner, you will have support with your life and your business dreams.
- james clear
Entrepreneurship is a
personal growth engine
disguised as a business pursuit.
“
What I have learned from the past 19 years and what I now share with all of my business coaching clients is that your most effective and most satisfying role in your business will be doing the work that only you can do. It is also the work that will create the greatest financial rewards too.
I can help you to create a successful business by being more you. While also helping you to get out of your own way.
So that you can reach your full potential and so can your business.
I want you to have the time and energy to live a life that you love. While doing work that feels meaningful and important to you. Creating and maintaining satisfying and fulfilling relationships and friendships. Pursuing creative passions like writing or photography. Supporting causes that you hold dear. Building a successful business that makes a difference in your community- which feels more important now than ever.
I believe that you and your business can thrive.
A Look Back On the Past Two Decades
Read "Finding Your Own North Star" by Martha Beck and trained as a life coach with her.
Trained as a Master Life Coach with Martha Beck and experienced Equus Coaching for the first time.
2004
2005
2016
Started a Latin Dance & Spanish class for toddlers while newly pregnant with my 3rd child. Tested the strength of lycra in my teaching outfits as I taught until a couple of days before giving birth to my son, Leo.
Closed The Creative Groove Studio in 2016 to focus on my coaching. I trained as a Quiet Power Strategy Certified Strategist with Tara McMullin and launched Ink: The Story Studio where I worked with business owners to help them to launch and grow their businesses.
2009
Keep going
Relaunched my preschool prep program as I felt that there was untapped potential ... 6 months before a global pandemic.
Reached a milestone gross income amount with the preschool program I re-opened in October 2019. This was a huge moment after 2 such challenging years.
2019
2021
Trained as a Self-Belief Coach with Sas Petherick and as an Equus Coach with the Center for Equus Coaching.
Finally launching The Midlife Launch! I'm planning Launch Retreats and Next Chapter Retreats in my favorite American and European cities starting with New York in October and Paris in November 2024. I can't wait!
2022
2024
learn more about
how I can support you
I believe in designing businesses that allow the business and
its founder to thrive.
the midlife launch vision
I created The Midlife Launch to help women in their 50's to start their first business as efficiently and with as much ease as possible.
To help you to get your business up and running with everything that you need in place so that you can focus on the work that only you can do.
When you're starting your business in your 50's, you don't want to waste years reinventing the wheel or embarking upon a steep learning curve when you really don't have to.
I've been a business owner since 2005. I've launched two other businesses and supported clients as they launched their businesses So I know the elements that need to be in place to start a business (as well as all the things that can and should, in my opinion, come later).
I have put everything that I know and have experienced as a business owner into Your Launch Pad package. It's everything that I wish I had known when I started my first business at the age of 37.
let us take care of
ALL THE DETAILS
For the same price that you could pay for just a website, my team and I will design a business blueprint that supports your business and life goals plus create your website, marketing and business tools plus give you 12 months of ongoing support, accountability and community in The Midlife Launch Lab.
You can even choose to join me monthly, quarterly or annually in one of my favorite cities (such as New York, Paris, Edinburgh or London) for a Retreat which includes life and business planning and a photo shoot.
The Midlife Launch offers what I believe is a unique combination of life + business coaching, project management, website creation, ongoing support plus a community of like-minded women.
My team and I will take care of all of the details so that you can show up from day one to do the work that only you can do in your business.
My mission is for you and your business to thrive.
Your Launch Pad includes everything you need to launch.
We take care of all the details so that you can do the work that only you can do.
learn more
melanie g.
"Sal Robertson’s strategic and intelligent approach, coupled with her kindness and understanding of creativity, helped me to focus and shine in a way I never thought possible. She goes beyond business and into the heart of why I do what I do and how I can make a difference. Working with Sal has helped me to trust the value of my unique perspective on life and build a business that is both creatively fulfilling and sustainable."
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