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Build Your Own Boat

Build Your Own Boat

By: Janine Vanderburg
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An entrepreneurship podcast for women in midlife and beyond. What if the most powerful thing you could do right now — for your finances, your freedom, and your future — was to stop waiting for someone else to hand you an opportunity and start building your own? Build Your Own Boat is the podcast for women in midlife and beyond who are done playing by rules that were never written with them in mind. Hosted by award-winning 3x entrepreneur Janine Vanderburg, each episode features real conversations with women in midlife and beyond who made the bold decision to bet on themselves — launching businesses and creative ventures, building wealth, and rewriting what entrepreneurship looks like in the second half of life. This isn't a podcast about hustle culture or overnight success stories. It's a roadmap — built from lived experience, hard-won wisdom, and the kind of honest conversation you rarely hear anywhere else. Guests include founders, consultants, creatives, coaches, media makers, and civic leaders who are proving every week that midlife isn't a ceiling. It's a launchpad. Whether you're just beginning to wonder if entrepreneurship is for you, actively building your business, or simply looking for proof that it's not too late — you'll find it here. Every episode, you'll discover: 1. How real women in midlife launched and grew successful ventures — and what they wish they'd known sooner 2. Practical strategies for building financial independence and freedom on your own terms 3. Honest conversations about the challenges of midlife entrepreneurship, and how to navigate them 4. Inspiration that's grounded in reality, not motivational posters The Encore Economy is booming — and women in midlife are driving it. Build Your Own Boat is where their stories live. Subscribe now and join a growing community of women who are building something that's entirely, unapologetically theirs. And do SUBSCRIBE to Build Your Own Boat on Substack as well, to read the full stories of our guests, and their best tips and resources. https://buildyourownboat.substack.com/© Janine Vanderburg Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • How One Ad Executive Built a Business Around the Customers Everyone Else Was Ignoring — With Susan Colby of Grace Creative

    How One Ad Executive Built a Business Around the Customers Everyone Else Was Ignoring — With Susan Colby of Grace Creative
    Jun 25 2026
    Episode SummaryMost advertising agencies chase the youngest consumers in the room. Susan Colby built a thriving creative agency by doing the exact opposite. This episode of Build Your Own Boat explores how Susan — a veteran of iconic agencies including Chiat\Day and BBDO — left the traditional ad world, raised her children, and returned in her late 40s with a radical idea: that women over 50 are the most powerful, most overlooked, and most underserved consumer demographic in America.Susan founded Grace Creative LA, a boutique agency specializing in marketing to women 50+, at a time when the industry was still chasing millennials. She shares how she turned deep personal experience, hard data, and a strong creative network into a growing business — winning major clients like Golden Door Spa and Seabourn Cruise Line — and why she believes marketing to the longevity economy isn't just the right thing to do. It's the smartest business move a brand can make.Key TakeawaysWomen over 50 control enormous spending power — they make more than 85% of household buying decisions, hold an estimated $19 trillion in assets, and account for roughly 70% of consumer spending, yet receive less than 10% of advertising budgets. The gap is a massive business opportunity.Lived experience is a competitive advantage, not a liability. Susan's team members are often part of the very demographic they market to — which means they understand the audience from the inside out, not from a research deck. That authenticity is what Grace Creative calls its "unfair advantage.""Middle essence" reframes midlife as a launch point, not a wind-down. Inspired by the research of Barbara Waxman, Grace Creative uses the concept of middle essence — the idea that women in their 50s are going through a powerful identity shift and emerging with more clarity, confidence, and resources than ever before — to create campaigns that actually resonate.Getting your first clients is messy, and that's okay. Susan's breakthrough client, Golden Door Spa, came through a connection made by her husband — a reminder that real-world entrepreneurship is built on networks, relationships, and saying yes to the room you're already in.Building a multi-generational team matters. Grace Creative intentionally hires across generations. Diverse age perspectives make the work stronger, reduce blind spots, and model the very inclusion the agency champions for its clients.About Susan ColbySusan Colby is the founder of Grace Creative LA, a boutique advertising and marketing agency based in Los Angeles that specializes in reaching women over 50. Susan spent the early years of her career at some of the most respected agencies in the country, including Chiat\Day, BBDO, and RPA, working on major brands including Apple Computer. After stepping away to raise her children and doing marketing work for independent schools, she returned to the industry in her late 40s — and rather than quietly fit back in, she saw a gap that no one else was addressing.She launched Grace Creative around a single, data-backed insight: that women over 50 are the most economically powerful consumer demographic in America, and they were almost entirely invisible in mainstream advertising. Since then, Grace Creative has worked with clients including Golden Door Spa — producing a campaign with legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz — and Seabourn, the ultra-luxury cruise line, winning a competitive pitch against ten other agencies. Susan is also an age activist, a champion of multi-generational workplaces, and the co-creator of Girls Gone 50, a social media community on Instagram and Facebook built to authentically connect with and celebrate women in the 50+ demographic.Frequently Asked QuestionsWhy are women over 50 such a valuable consumer demographic?Women over 50 make more than 85% of household purchasing decisions and collectively hold an estimated $19 trillion in assets. According to AARP economists, the economic output of Americans aged 50 and older would rank as the third-largest economy in the world, behind only the U.S. overall and China. Despite this, advertising budgets directed at this group remain disproportionately small — often under 10% of total spend — making it one of the most underleveraged opportunities in marketing today.What is middlescence and why does it matter in marketing?Middlecence is a concept — associated with researcher and author Barbara Waxman — that reframes the years around and after 50 as a period of identity renewal rather than decline. Women at this stage are often becoming empty nesters, navigating career transitions, and stepping into a new sense of freedom and purpose. Grace Creative uses this insight to develop campaigns that feel authentic to where women actually are in their lives, rather than defaulting to anti-aging narratives or generic "active senior" tropes.How did Susan Colby start Grace Creative?Susan built Grace Creative gradually —...
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    34 mins
  • How Do You Build a Business Around Your Values — and Actually Live Them? | Angelle Fouther of Kindred Communications

    How Do You Build a Business Around Your Values — and Actually Live Them? | Angelle Fouther of Kindred Communications
    Jun 25 2026
    Episode SummaryWhat does it look like to launch a strategic communications firm in the middle of a global pandemic — and build it entirely around a commitment to equity and social justice? Angelle Fouther did exactly that when she co-founded Kindred Communications in 2020 with her daughter, Darren. In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, Angelle shares the real story behind the leap: the years of frustration working inside nonprofit hierarchies, the pandemic that stranded her daughter in Africa, the first client call that changed everything, and the day she handed back a significant retainer because her dignity was worth more than the paycheck. Six years in, Kindred is thriving — working exclusively with organizations committed to equity and social justice — even as the political climate makes that work harder than ever. This is an honest, grounded conversation about what it actually means to build a business that reflects who you are, not just what you can sell.Key TakeawaysValues alignment is a business strategy, not just a tagline. Kindred Communications works exclusively with organizations committed to equity and social justice — and Angelle has returned client money when that alignment broke down. Choosing your clients carefully protects your business, your reputation, and your wellbeing.Your professional network is one of your most powerful startup assets. Decades of relationship-building in Denver's nonprofit sector — especially through her years at the Denver Foundation — directly generated Kindred's earliest and most enduring client partnerships.Intergenerational teams produce better work. Angelle and Daryn's mother-daughter partnership is a living case study: Angelle brings decades of strategic context and community relationships; Daryn brings fresh design sensibility and fluency with what resonates now. Each makes the other's work stronger.The freedom to pursue your beliefs without red tape is a legitimate and powerful reason to start a business. Financial freedom matters, but for Angelle, the deeper motivation was the ability to follow her convictions without navigating organizational hierarchy or having her ideas extracted and reassigned.Taking the leap changes how you feel, not just what you do. Angelle sat on the desire to run her own business for decades. Her advice: "Jump, and the parachute appears." Living on purpose — even through the uncertain and difficult stretches — is worth more than the comfort of a predictable paycheck.About Angelle FoutherAngelle Fouther is the co-founder and principal of Kindred Communications, a Denver-based strategic communications firm that works exclusively with organizations committed to equity and social justice. With more than two decades of experience in marketing, storytelling, and strategic communications — including leadership roles at Denver Botanic Gardens and the Denver Foundation — Angelle brings deep community roots and a sharp eye for authentic narrative to every client engagement. In 2020, she launched Kindred alongside her daughter Daryn, a designer and communications strategist, building a fully remote, intergenerational partnership that has operated seamlessly across continents. Kindred's current work includes communications and impact storytelling for the Colorado Health Foundation's annual symposium and impact investment portfolio, and ongoing partnership with Justice for Black Coloradans. Angelle is also a recent member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce's Women's Chamber.Frequently Asked QuestionsHow did Angelle Fouther start Kindred Communications?Angelle filed Kindred Communications with the Colorado Secretary of State in December 2019, then nearly abandoned the idea when a nonprofit job opened up. The COVID-19 pandemic — and her daughter Daryn being stranded in Africa with no way home for 16 months — pushed her to commit. When Janine Vanderburg called looking for communications support, Angelle brought Daryn in, and they operated as a cross-continental team from the start. Angelle ran Kindred alongside full-time employment until September 2022, when she made the full leap into entrepreneurship.What does Kindred Communications do?Kindred Communications is a strategic communications firm specializing in storytelling, brand development, messaging strategy, and communications planning for nonprofits, foundations, and mission-driven organizations committed to equity, inclusion, and social justice. Services range from full brand identity and website development to long-term embedded communications partnerships.How do Angelle and her daughter Daryn work together as business partners?Angelle handles strategy, business development, and messaging; Daryn leads design, technology, and visual communications. They share equal pay and operate as true collaborators — not boss and employee. Disagreements are resolved through what they call "collaborative honesty": neither gives empty praise, and both are willing to ...
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    51 mins
  • How Chelle Johnson Went From Corporate Burnout to Building a Fleet: Fractional Talent, Executive Coaching, and Entrepreneurship After 50

    How Chelle Johnson Went From Corporate Burnout to Building a Fleet: Fractional Talent, Executive Coaching, and Entrepreneurship After 50
    Jun 25 2026
    Episode SummaryAfter two decades as a talent acquisition executive at Fortune 500 companies, Chelle Johnson found herself successful on paper — and spiritually depleted in practice. In 2019, she made the leap: she launched Best You Talent Advisors, a fractional talent advisory firm, and never looked back. This episode is a masterclass in what it actually takes to build a sustainable business in midlife — the real financial timeline, the client development grind, the pivots, and the mental fitness work that makes it all possible.Chelle doesn't sugarcoat the first three years — including the year she earned a third of her corporate salary, deferred her mortgage, and still kept going. She walks us through how she built a referral-driven consulting practice, grew Colorado Career Connectors to serve over 6,000 job seekers, and evolved her offerings to focus on what she calls holistic talent operations and executive coaching — grounded in a framework of head, heart, soul, strategy, and wisdom.If you're a woman over 50 wondering whether your experience is enough to build something of your own, Chelle Johnson's answer — backed by a fleet she built herself — is an unequivocal yes.Key TakeawaysThe first three years are the real test. Chelle made a third of her corporate salary in year one and didn't hit her stride until year three — when confidence, testimonials, and a clearer niche all came together at once. Expecting overnight success is the fastest way to quit too soon.Fractional consulting is a powerful entry point for midlife entrepreneurs. "Fractional" means providing Fortune 500-level expertise to companies on a part-time, contract basis — typically 10–15 hours per week per client. It lets you generate real revenue while maintaining flexibility, and Chelle's clients have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees as a direct result.Business development is the skill most people skip — and the one that matters most. Chelle credits 100% of her early clients to networking, trust, and consistent follow-up. She notes that it now takes approximately 13 touch points to convert a prospect, and she built her pipeline through speaking engagements, LinkedIn, a social media strategy, a newsletter, and warm introductions.Narrowing your focus is not giving up — it's how you grow. Chelle started with a wide range of offerings and deliberately pulled back to two core services: fractional talent operations and executive coaching. Simplifying her message made her easier to refer, easier to hire, and more profitable.Mental fitness is not a soft add-on — it's a business strategy. Chelle integrates Positive Intelligence and neuroscience-based tools into her coaching practice because she's seen firsthand how internalized ageism, self-doubt, and negative inner critics derail talented people. Getting clients mentally fit is part of getting them placed — or launched.About Chelle JohnsonChelle Johnson is the founder and CEO of Best You Talent Advisors, a fractional talent advisory and executive coaching firm based in Denver, Colorado. A first-generation college student who double-majored in Spanish and organizational development, Chelle went on to earn an MBA from one of the country's top international business schools, live and work in Japan and Latin America, and build a 20-year corporate career in talent acquisition at major companies including Sonora Quest Laboratories.In 2019, after reaching the top of her field and feeling her soul being crushed, she left corporate life to build her own. Best You Talent Advisors brings Fortune 50-level HR expertise to growing companies on a fractional basis, and her coaching practice — grounded in a framework she calls Career DNA (head, heart, soul, strategy, and wisdom) — helps executives and professionals at career crossroads find clarity, build mental fitness, and move forward with intention.Chelle also founded Colorado Career Connectors (now Best You Career Connectors), a community that has helped more than 6,000 people navigate career transitions. She has served as a trusted advisor for Vistage, the nation's leading CEO peer advisory organization, and was named an exclusive Forbes recruiter for Colorado. She speaks Spanish and Japanese and once led a group of women on a transformational walk of El Camino de Santiago through Spain and Portugal.Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat is fractional talent acquisition and how does it work?Fractional talent acquisition means hiring an experienced HR or recruiting professional to work with your company on a part-time, contracted basis — typically 10 to 15 hours per week — rather than bringing on a full-time employee. Companies get Fortune 500-level expertise at a fraction of the cost. Chelle Johnson's fractional clients have saved over $400,000 in recruitment fees with a single project management firm and more than $50,000 in three months with a women's healthcare company.How long does it realistically take to ...
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    36 mins
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