Building a Business After 40 | Career Series 4

What happens when you leave the security of your long-time career and take a leap into entrepreneurship—at midlife? 

In this inspiring episode, Cathy sits down with a guest who did exactly that. Meet Mandi Milligan, CEO of The Milligan Image. After leaving her job in marketing and communications, she made the decision to build her own business from the ground up. 

Together, they talk candidly about the fears, financial risks, and unexpected setbacks—including what it feels like when a major client backs out, or when five projects hit your inbox at once. But also the freedom, the flexibility, and the deep sense of purpose that comes with doing work on your own terms. 

If you’ve been wondering whether it's too late to start over or dream bigger—this conversation will encourage you to trust your instincts, embrace the unknown, and know that you're not alone.

And when you're ready to launch, make TheMilliganImage.com your source for all your marketing and communications needs. Contact mandi@themilliganimage.com.

Contact Cathy at https://www.moreformidlifers.com/contact/

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Welcome to more from Midlifers, the podcast for professionals who are navigating life after the career they thought they'd always have. If you're in your 40s, 50s, or beyond, and you're facing change, whether by choice or circumstance, you're in the right place. This is where we talk about what it means to reinvent, take risks, and to take back control when your work-life shifts, stalls, or stops altogether. Because midlife isn't the end of your story, it's the part where you finally get to write it your way. Hi, I'm Kathy. And today I am so excited to introduce you to someone who proves that it's never too late to rewrite your own story. At 46, she took a huge leap and completely redefined what success and fulfillment look like on her own term. And if you've ever wondered, can I really start fresh in midlife? My guest today is living breathing proof that you absolutely can. Please welcome Mandy Milligan, CEO of the Milligan Image, a marketing and communications consultation firm. Hi, Mandy. Thank you for being with us. Hi, Kathy. Mandy, you truly represent the spirit of transformation and reinvention. You made the brave decision to leave your established career of how many years? Uh nearly 20? 20 years, step into a brand new chapter. And you haven't looked back since?

SPEAKER_00 1:55

Um, I maybe look back a couple of times.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Okay. All right. To start us off, can you tell us a little bit about who you were before the big career shift? What your original career was, and what specific moment or made you or sparked the decision to change?

SPEAKER_00 2:18

Yeah. So I always wanted to be a journalist. From the time I was a young child, I was just always very curious, and I just knew that's what I wanted to do. And, you know, as in my teen years, I got involved with our hometown newspaper, working and writing on the team page. And then after a couple setbacks, I finally graduated college around 30. During that time, I was going to school. I'd gotten on with the NBC station in Huntsville, Alabama, started as a low-ly teleprompter operator and worked my way up to camera, audio, and then to web journalism, where at that time it was just really becoming a thing. And so uh I finished school and I moved to Atlanta, and I was a web journalist for CBS 46 for about nine years. And then I went to work for a the state medical society as a communications manager. It was just me and my boss, and the plan was for me to fill that role when he retired. And then after six and a half years, he was laid off along with several other older people in the organization. And at that time, they kept me on, but put me in a weird different role that I wasn't completely comfortable with. And I'm pretty sure that was by design. So then I needed to make a decision if I wanted to leave or stay. And someone told me, why don't you start your own business? And that's what I did.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

Well, I'm really impressed. We're like doing behind the scenes work in broadcasting, and then you were a manager in communications as though you were preparing yourself for what was to come, gaining experience and training and learning all the facets of communications that you could possibly learn.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

Yes. So what I did was I was a communications manager. Okay. And I we did everything from podcasts to writing journal articles for our medical journal, our website, pretty pretty much anything in the communications realm. And I had experienced, you know, in news with different mediums, with theography, all of that. So I kind of brought a lot into that role where I was I kind of like the go-to person. I'm not an expert at everything, but I know a lot about a lot of things. And that is what kind of helped me do this business, is because I could go in and work with smaller organizations who don't have the money to hire a full-time communications person, right? Making$80,000 a year, benefits and all that, but they've got little projects they need done. And so whatever they need done, I can do. I can make flyers, I can help edit podcasts, I can, you know, organize their podcasts, I can uh help with events communication. So it's kind of like a little bit of everything that that I can do videography, photography, writing, and all of that. So that the real reason I started my business was because I saw those people get laid off in their early 60s, right before they were getting ready to retire. My uncle went through the same thing. My mom actually took early retirement from the paper mill at 50 years old and started her own business, which is still in existence to this day, 25 years later. And so I knew I could do it. I knew it was in my blood. But that that's kind of what started it for me.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

Well, that was brave. You know, many of our listeners are in their 50s or 60s. Um, some are nearing retirement, others were laid off, and some of them are just rethinking their path. And while they may dream of starting something on their own, just as you did, there's this element of fear uh that holds them back and self-doubt. There's a financial risk. Uh, and and of course, you've got friends and family who are well-meaning, but who are advising them to just play it safe. So I'm wondering, did you have any of those fears or hesitations when you made the leap? Uh, and and what helped you move forward?

SPEAKER_00 7:23

Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, I still have fears and doubts every day. I'm three years into this business and you know, sometimes you have a great month and sometimes you don't. And if you don't have a great month, that's a big financial burden. And so when I was making this decision, and what what really prompted me is I I won't go into detail who it was, but someone within the organization was like, you know what, you could go out and do this on your own. You have the knowledge to do it, and I'm like, but I I don't really know how to do that. And they guided me and and talked to me about starting my own business and what I needed to do that. And I was very, very lucky that I had ready-made built-in clients. The organization that I left was my first client. They, you know, submitted my proposal to them that I would leave the organization, but stay on as a consultant for them. So that made it really easy for me to transition out of that, having a guaranteed so-called paycheck without it being a W-2 paycheck. And that and because of the connections that I had in the industry, there were several other medical specialty societies that needed someone like me that they couldn't pay for a full-time person. So right off the bat, I had two other clients that were like, hey Mandy, since you're leaving and you're doing this, we would like, you know, to hire you as a consultant to do this. And I was very lucky yet again, where another client gave me a retainer and it was an hourly base. So I had a little bit of guaranteed income there. And that made it easier for me to go ahead and leap into it. But yeah, I was scared. The biggest, my biggest supporter, my wife, she's like, you know, you you've got this. And if it doesn't work out, we'll figure it out. Like, we're we're not gonna be destitute, we're not gonna lose the house. I've got a good job, like we're okay. But if you don't try this now, you're gonna kick yourself. And of course, friends and family, I I got that support as well. You know, my mom, like I said, she started her own business at 50. And, you know, I I relied on her a lot for advice and how to do this. But yeah, every day it's it's scary. It's it's going month to month, you know. You know, several months I might have some great months, and I've got some new stuff coming in, and then the beginning of the year rolls around where everybody's a little slower. You've got the holiday months and all that, and those months are just hard. Nobody, nobody's taking on new projects then because they're going off to, you know, their Thanksgiving and their Christmas and their new year and all that. So those are you know the the harder times. It's very inconsistent. And the other thing is I'm 49 now. I just turned 49, so I'm not quite 50. But if for some reason it doesn't work out, I still can get a job, but I have I have this knowledge and experience as a backup. So if if I can continue to do it on the side, I can do that. And then if something does happen where, you know, I do lose that job, then I can still continue this business. So I'm not gonna let it go. Like it's it's not anything I'm gonna let it go, but I I do feel like I can get another job if I need to. It's not ideal, but I can do it.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

I think that's great in that uh you have uh uh a cushion, kind of like a safety net, and that when you launched yourself, you had a base. There are lots of people out there who don't have that. And so a lot of times as a strategist, I will suggest that they not leave their jobs yet, that they start putting their dipping their toes into what they really want to do while they're still employed, so that they are not completely without an income is what I'm saying. Exactly. And and giving it about six months to a year until you feel comfortable enough to let it all go. But for those of the midlifers out there listening who are already have already been laid off and who no longer have jobs um and who are looking to get back into the workforce or start something new, what would you say would be the first thing that they should do beyond getting a support system as you did? Did you use books or other resources besides family and friends and all that?

SPEAKER_00 12:51

No, I really didn't. I just I just relied on, you know, the knowledge base of of people around me and I just kind of went with it. I I feel I felt competent enough to be able to say, I know what I'm doing in the career, right? I knew the product I was producing was going to be good. But I I still didn't understand the business side of it. You know, just expenses and income and all the things that I would have to pay for, all the software that I was going to need that, you know, was provided by my employer before, but uh things cost money and just kind of that balance um of having all that and then making enough money to pay for it and build.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

So are you uh would you suggest or would you advise our listeners to prepare for this new time in their lives by reading up, uh getting a business maybe partner or consultant to help them get through the business part of it? What would be the one thing that you would suggest that they start with?

SPEAKER_00 14:10

I think that we have this worldwide web that you can get on and you can ask it all kinds of questions, and you can even use AI and create a business plan for yourself. Tell tell go into ChatGPT and say, This is what I want to do. Give as much information as you can, and then tell it to create a business plan tailored to what what you want to do. Um, and I think that's a good start. It'll give you some good ideas. I wouldn't take it word for word, I would still double check everything, right? Because it's still AI. But I would take that as as a start and see if it gives you something to with. I think that's the one thing that I would do. And and then I would reach out on your local pages. We're we're in Lilburn, Georgia, and we have a great support system. It's a Facebook page called Lilburn Local, where people ask questions of everybody all the time, and just go on your local page and say, Hey, has anybody done this? And can you offer any advice? I think that's another place that you can go to, and that way you get real-world people that have done these things, and and you can get some good advice that way.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

I agree. Oh, wholeheartedly. Your community is really the best place to start. You can use social media to advertise your services too, and start small. And that way get build a reputation and start, like I said, with with things that you can handle and then grow from there. Here at More for Midlifers, we believe that even when your career path gets shaken up, that there's always more to learn, more to live, more to give, and that's what you're doing for us here now. You're sharing your expertise and your words of wisdom with us. Thank you for being so open and real. It's incredibly refreshing. And so I'd like to know what's on the horizon for you? What's next in this chapter?

SPEAKER_00 16:31

I've been in my business for three years now. I always hope that I will never have to give it up. And I I don't think I will. I think it will at least always be part-time if if I do have to go find uh quote, a real job. But I I really feel like when it looks like I don't have anything coming in, then I'm gonna get five projects on top of each other. And the it's were it has worked out really well. At the beginning of this year, it was really slow. One of my clients was affected by the budget cuts from the the federal, and I lost several projects that I was working on uh during that. And things got really slow for me. And then all of a sudden, I got some new stuff and it picked back up. But the first four months of the year were really hard. And I really had to evaluate and start saying, Do I need to, do I need to find another job? What do I have to do? Like you said, on the on the Facebook community page, I put it out there, you know, what I was doing, and and I I ended up getting getting some new new jobs from it. But I I feel that you're never too old to make the change in any kind of career change, because I feel like you're always learning and you're always growing and you're always taking on new challenges, right? So as far as what's next for me, I hope I continue to grow and grow myself, grow my skills. And one day I would love to win an Emmy or a Peabody for my video work. I mean, that would just be the dream right there. And and maybe I'll get that, and maybe I won't, but I can always keep dreaming that that's that's what I'm what what I'm shooting for.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

That's what we all should do, Mandy. We should all dream. Chase those dreams and make them happen. Life is too short not to take those kinds of risks. At least you can say that you tried to achieve whatever it is that will ultimately give you that prize, you know, that feeling that I have I've arrived. But you'll never get there if you don't try.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

Absolutely. Right.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

So uh tell me one super rewarding part of making the change. I you've already said, you know, what what you've gained from it, um, what you're gaining from it now, and what your hopes are. But um tell me what you're the most proud of at this moment.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

So the most rewarding thing to me about having my own business is freedom. Freedom to take the jobs that I want to take, freedom to travel. My mom was going through some health things this year, and I can pick up my laptop and my equipment and go to Alabama and stay there for a week and work and help her. And I did that about five or six times this year, where I I could pick up my stuff and and go do that and still work and be take care of my family. I went to Ireland last year and I worked a little, got up early, worked a little bit in the morning, and then had the rest of the day. So I didn't leave my clients high and dry, but I had the ability to travel and do this job wherever. And I think that is the most rewarding thing for me, is just to have the freedom and the freedom to to grow and continue to learn, where sometimes when you're in stuck in that 40-hour work work week job where you're eight to five, you don't have time to learn anything else because you got to get home and feed the kids or do whatever. And I can block off certain parts of my day to take a webinar or you know, go to lunch with a friend like I did earlier today, and and keep those connections with people. And I think that is definitely the most rewarding part of what I'm doing now.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

Okay, we all want that. We all want that. We want that freedom and we want that the ability to make our own lives, make a living at what we love to do. And you have shown us how you've done it. And so maybe we can do it too, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:28

Because it's possible. I I think I think what stands in our own way sometimes is just the thought that it's not possible. I've never done this before, so it can't be done. And I think that you just have to just jump off the ledge sometime and go, you know what, if I fail, I fail, but I tried it. And you know, if if you can do it, and and I understand not everybody can financially do this, right? And it honestly, if it wasn't for my wife and and knowing that she had a full-time job that I can depend on and get health insurance, that's the other thing, is health insurance is tied to our jobs. And if you freelance or do any kind of gig work, you're you're priced out and you don't have health insurance. So I'm very lucky that you know there's still a full-time worker in the house that I could get health insurance. And I know that's not everybody's reality, right? So I think my situation might be a little different, but but maybe not. But I think I think sometimes there you just have to take that leap and see, see, you know, what happens. But I totally agree with like if you've got a full-time job, if if you're able to start a business on the side, I I started my business while I was still working, and then kind of broke away and just kind of came up with this proposal. Like, I'll I'll leave as an employee, but hire me back as a consultant. And that did make it easy for me. So maybe whatever kind of job that you're in and whatever you're trying to go to, you can tie it in and say, hey, look, I I'll leave as an employee, hire me as a consultant for six months, you'll save money. And and then if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. But you know, you've got something to fall back on, right?

SPEAKER_01 23:43

That is so true. I I couldn't have done, I couldn't even have thought about doing having my own business when I was a single mom, for example. I was stuck with in a job because I required, I needed the benefits and I needed a steady paycheck.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:02

And I'm sure that we have listeners who are single also and who don't have that buffer like you have had. But there are such things as partnerships.

SPEAKER_00 24:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 24:15

And you can definitely tag on to somebody who's already in the business by apprenticing, interning, I don't care how old you are. If you can offer them something, they will take you on. You just have to have connections, be in networking groups and tell them what you can do. Real estate people always require extra hands.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

You could start as a volunteer if you're financially able, but when you're looking for a job and you're not able to find something right away, um, and you want to do something with your time, this would be the way to do it. It's to sort of inch your way into that job of your dreams that will give you the freedom that you want and start slow. So tell us how our listeners can connect with you and learn more about your work and tell us a little bit about what you might be able to do for someone who's just starting.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Absolutely. So I am a communications consultant, but I'm very hands-on. I can come up with a communications strategy plan, but I also do a lot of the work. I build websites, I take pictures, I do flyers, social media, podcast editing, pretty much anything that you can think of in the communications realm. That's what I do. My business is the Milligan Image.com. And the Milligan Image was actually brought about by my father in his 20s. He did some photography and he had a business called the Milligan Image. And he passed in 2017. So he never actually got to see me realize this this dream, right? But I named my business in in honor of my father. And that's kind of how I came up with the name.

SPEAKER_01 26:19

That's amazing. That is amazing that you do take photographs. You're a photographer as well. So you're sort of following in his footsteps, but you've expanded it and broadened it so that you are helping people develop their own personal and professional images, and that way they can broaden uh their own brand, who they are, sell themselves better. Yes, whether you're trying to find a job or start out and take the risk of going in, going to business for yourself, because your brand and that image of who you are is crucial to career advancement and positive first impressions. I'm a believer. So I would suggest that you call and contact Mandy Milligan, her company again, the Milligan Image, where she helps you build and grow. It's like building blocks from start to finish, and Mandy will help you do that. What an inspiration. What an inspiration you have been. Thank you so much for sharing your courage and your story, and for reminding us that it's never too late to choose a new path.

SPEAKER_00 27:39

Thank you so much for having me. So I really appreciate you.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

Best of luck. Thank you, Mandy. Before we go, all I can say is, wow. And what I really loved about today's conversation was how honestly Mandy shared the real side of starting something new in midlife, the highs, the lows. And she reminded us that it isn't easy, it's not glamorous, she did not sugarcoat it, but it's worth it. And even as she described her very real struggles, she has proven that if you're willing to take the risk and stay the course and do the work, freedom and fulfillment really are possible. I love that kind of honesty. It's so refreshing. And I'm so glad that you're able to join us today. Many of you are right where she once was, unsure. Don't know where your identity fits now. And some of you are trying to muster up the courage to step off the nine to five treadmill. I know I was there and you want something more meaningful. Right? Let this be your nudge. It is not too late to start again on your terms. Act on it. Start. How about right now? If job insecurity or unemployment or just a deep sense of restlessness are keeping you up at night. Come on, let's explore your next step together. Contact me. Share your vision, share your anxiety. Let's work through things together. No pressure. No strings, just honest, supportive conversation. And when you're ready to launch the MilliganImage.com, let Mandy help you put your best foot forward. You don't have to do this alone. We're here walking with you. Thank you for spending time with us today. Share this episode with a friend who might need it. And I'll see you in the next episode of More.