This is our time! We’re stronger when we work together to lift other women up. EvolveMe's #40over40 list curates profiles of women who have or are in the process of reinventing their careers in their 40s, 50, 60s, and beyond. We're thrilled to share these stories of reinvention - women returning to work, pivoting careers, or launching new ventures!
Meet Kathy Bleier, transitional life, leadership, and business Coach. Kathy empowers individuals to unlock their strengths, lead with purpose and achieve transformative results.
Read on to learn about Kathy's career reinvention!
What is the current focus of your career?
I am a transitional life, leadership, and business coach with Kathy Bleier Coaching. I help people and organizations navigate change. My practice focuses on helping individuals and companies shift their mindset to living and working in positivity and profitability.
What prompted your career reinvention?
The pandemic brought many changes and for me, it meant getting furloughed and then laid off. I realized this was the first time in my life that my career was on pause. This pause allowed me time to think about what I really wanted and what I could create on my own terms; and after some thought, I launched Kathy Bleier Coaching.
What's the best thing about mid-life career change?
The best thing about a mid-life career change is exploring who you are and what you have to offer. Too often people in midlife do not give themselves credit for all their years of experience and skills. Standing in that power makes all the difference.
What's the biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge was going from an organization and having a team around me to becoming a solopreneur. As a solopreneur, you have to find your tribe and surround yourself with people who are supportive.
What's your personal mantra/mission? Why?
My personal mantra is to choose faith and hope over fear. Everything we want is on the other side of fear. If I let fear make my decisions there are so many experiences I would have missed. At the top of that would have been launching my business. I pivoted my mindset from fear to looking at everything from a place of growth, and that changed everything.
Your best career advice for other women at midlife is...
Never let anyone decide things for you! Show up in choice every day. It is so easy to listen to others who say "Try this" or "Don't do that." It is easy for people to give you advice when they are not taking the risk. Every day you get to choose how you show up and who you are.
Every opportunity brings you a choice. Understand there are no right or wrong choices, only opportunities that bring growth. Never give up your power of choice to anyone else. Lastly, always remember you are worthy.