An 82-Year-Old Barber Offers Haircuts for Hugs

At age 57, Anthony Cymerys retired from a career in business and started a mobile barbershop in 1988, offering his services at shelters, convalescent homes and a local YMCA. These days, the Hartford, Connecticut resident – known on the streets as Joe the Barber — continues to help the less fortunate.

Each Wednesday, the 82-year-old Cymerys sets up a chair in Hartford’s Bushnell Park and puts his clippers to work. For longtime clients, the homeless or those facing hard times, the haircut fee is always the same:  a hug.

Cymerys decided to offer haircuts for hugs after being inspired by a church sermon. His goal: to help the homeless not look homeless.

You can read more about Joe the Barber’s heart-warming story in this article.

How Business Owners Can Stop Worrying (So Much)

While it can bring excitement, gratification and financial rewards, entrepreneurship isn’t exactly a relaxing endeavor. Long hours, complications and problems also are part of the package, of course.

For business owners, Dale Carnegie’s “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” is a useful book to have on the shelf. Although it’s been around for decades, this oldie but goodie has a lot of timeless wisdom and practical tips for managing worry.

One chapter, “How to Eliminate Fifty Percent of Your Business Worries,” presents a practical, four-step formula. When you’re facing a problem, ask yourself these questions:

1. What is the problem?  The first step to resolving any issue is to define it clearly. Otherwise, you lose time and energy going around in circles.

2. What is the cause of the problem?  Doing some fact checking and review will unearth key information needed to make decisions.

3. What are all the possible solutions?  Look at your options, along with the pros and cons for each one.

4. What is the best solution?  The answer may be obvious by the time you’ve answered the first three questions.

For better results, don’t just do this exercise in your head. Putting everything in writing clarifies your thinking.

Hopefully this approach will help you find the best solution faster. Good luck!

The Rewards for “Boomerpreneurs”

What are the greatest rewards that come from starting a business when you’re older?  In this article from The Globe and Mail, writer Stacey Stein asked five Canadian “boomerpreneurs” about various aspects of business ownership, including what’s made it all worthwhile.  Here’s what they had to say:

Dean Shaver, 58 — Founder and CEO of Canadian Safety Inspections, Inc., which performs safety audits for the oil and gas industry, mining companies and other businesses concerned about workplace safety.  Greatest reward:  His employees, who are “a huge source of pride.”

Corrine McIsaac, 51 — President and Founder of Health Outcomes Worldwide, which  offers consultation services, data analytics and a software application for healthcare professionals (Corrine is a nurse by training). Greatest reward:  “We’re helping people get better every day. And that keeps you going every day.”

Glenn Cox, 50 — Founder and president of Zengo Innovations Inc., which sells the RuptureSeal (a product he invented). Greatest reward: Being able to do something he loves.

Sandra McLeod, 58 and Ian McLeod, 66 — Owners and managers of Expedia CruiseShip Centers, a travel industry franchise. Greatest reward:  The clients who go on vacation and have a fabulous time, returning home full of excitement. Sometimes clients thank Sandra with hugs and bottles of wine — something she didn’t get when she was doing tax planning.

For aspiring boomerpreneurs, Sandra has this advice:  “Never lose sight of your dreams, because if you can dream it you can do it.”

Who Are Today’s New U.S. Entrepreneurs?

As a group, new U.S. entrepreneurs are different than they were a few years ago,  show newly released data from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

From 1996 to 2012, the share of entrepreneurs in the 55-64 age group grew from 14.3% to 23.4%.  During the same time period, new Latino entrepreneurs nearly doubled from 10.5% to 19.5% . In addition, a growing immigrant population and rising entrepreneurship rate contributed to a rise in the share of new immigrant entrepreneurs.

The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity also shows that overall startup activity in the U.S. dipped last year — from 0.32 percent of American adults per month starting businesses in 2011 to 0.30 percent in 2012.

“It’s likely not a coincidence that the number of new businesses created dropped when the economy improved last year. While a stronger economy is good for business growth, it also means the unemployed find jobs instead of starting firms,” said Dane Stangler, Kauffman’s Director of Research.

Men started companies at twice the rate as women between 1996 and 2012. However,  a primary driver for last year’s overall decrease was a decline in business creation rates among men. The rates for women stayed the same last year.

Here’s a news release with more details about entrepreneurial activity in the U.S.

Entrepreneur Launches Anti-Bullying Project

Nancy Tedeschi knows what it’s like to be the victim of bullying. As a young girl, she struggled with her looks and the people who picked on her mercilessly.

“They’d call me Bucky Beaver, and I was really skinny so they called me bony and bucky,” she said in this article from The Wenatchee World.

Today, the 55-year-old Tedeschi is a successful entrepreneur.  In 2007, she got the idea of the SnapIt eyeglass screw when she helped her mother with a pair of broken glasses. Her SnapIt Eyeglass Repair Kit was one of the first-place winners in Walmart’s 2012 “Get on the Shelf” contest.

She hasn’t forgotten the pain of her younger days, however. Now that’s she made a name for herself, she’s channeling her success to help others facing similar bullying predicaments.

In March, she and two friends (including one who is a film producer) began coaching students in New York and Washington State to produce short films on bullying. The finished segments will be distributed to local TV stations as well as on YouTube. For the most part, Tedeschi is bankrolling the project with proceeds from her invention.

“I really feel that God had a hand in my life the whole time,” she told The Wenatchee World, “because I really believe I’m supposed to be doing what I’m doing now.”

83-Year-Old Inventor Makes 3D Printers More Affordable

You won’t find too many households with a 3D printer, which can turn digital blueprints into physical objects made out of plastic or other materials. Right now, the machines are pricey, selling between $399 and $2,200. But that may change, thanks to Hugh Lyman.

Lyman, 83, is the winner of the Desktop Factory Competition, whose goal was to find a solution to lower the costs of producing the 3D printer. The contest’s sponsors were Inventables, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Maker Education Initiative.

Just as the cost of ink-jet printing stems from ink cartridges, the spools of plastic filament — which a 3D printer layers into an object — greatly affect the long-term economics of 3D printing. Lyman’s winning entry, the Lyman Filament Extruder II, can turn less expensive plastic pellets into filament.

As reported by this Time Magazine article, Lyman ran Ly Line Products, a manufacturer of scientific cabinetry and related items, until he retired 17 years ago. Today, he’s an avid fisherman and golfer – as well as an inventor.

So what are Lyman’s plans for his $40,000 award?  He’ll give half of it to his wife, he told Time Magazine, “and tinker with the other half.”

A Life Coach’s Fitness Tips for Entrepreneurs

Patti M. Hudson

By Lynne Strang, Late Blooming Entrepreneurs

A common recommendation for aspiring and new entrepreneurs is to prepare a written business plan. But do they also need a “wellness plan”? According to Patti M. Hudson, the answer is yes.

Hudson is the founder of Patti Says, a Warrenton, Virginia-based coaching practice that offers workshops on health, stress management and other topics related to work/life balance. As someone who’s worn many entrepreneurial hats during her 30-year career in fitness and nutrition, she knows a thing or two about business ownership.

“I’ve always worked for myself,” she said. “While attending Boston University, my plan was to become a Ph.D. and save the world. Then I got married and had my first child when I was very young. That prompted me to create my own fitness routine and become an instructor.”

Hudson opened three New York studios and a boutique during the 80s, when the nation’s fitness movement was just getting underway. Around that time, Hudson’s husband – her high school sweetheart and the father of her two sons – decided he didn’t want to be married any longer. “I had no money, no master’s and no financial back up,” she said. “At the time, my sons were two and four and my future was scary.”

Still, Hudson swallowed her fear and moved forward, building one studio and using the proceeds to start the next one. Over time, she bought a home for her boys and remarried.

“My fitness business saved my life in many ways,” she said.

In the late 90s, Hudson’s second husband, who was on active military duty, received a job transfer to Northern Virginia. “I was in my 40s and wondering if I could parlay my fitness knowledge into a speaking business,” she said.

She found the answer while cycling one day, when she struck up a conversation with an Air Force officer. When she mentioned her interest in public speaking, he handed her a business card with the name of a seminar company. Hudson contacted the company and, before long, began giving seminars on employee transition services for government agencies.

Eventually, Hudson returned to New York State, where she got into life coaching for eight years before moving back to the Washington, D.C. area. Nowadays, her career consists of teaching and speaking to mostly government and corporate clients on a wide range of life topics.

“My ultimate goal is to raise workshop participants’ awareness of their self-limiting thoughts and actions,” she said. “And then provide them with tools and knowledge to help them break their behavior patterns.”

In the Q and A below, Hudson shares her thoughts on health and fitness for entrepreneurs and the benefits they can obtain from a comprehensive wellness plan.

Why do entrepreneurs need a wellness plan?

Patti Hudson (PH): For 40-and-older entrepreneurs, it’s essential to have this type of a plan. The body wears out as you get older. Energy goes out with stress, an inevitable part of entrepreneurship. Infusion comes in with proper food and fitness.

What should a wellness plan include?

PH: The primary factors that affect physical wellness are the environment, genetics and behavior. Out of those three, you only have absolute control over the last one.

In addition to proper nutrition and a daily stress reduction routine, a good plan will focus on the following:

1)  Flexibility. As you get older, a balance and agility routine becomes important. In my workshops, I explain how to do a “body scan” once an hour, so you can note where your muscles feel stressed and tight. Over time, you’ll become attuned to which parts of your body–whether it’s your neck, shoulders or other areas– need greater flexibility and stress reduction.

2)  Cardio vascular fitness. Buy a pedometer to determine how much you move. I advise my workshop participants to create 3,000 steps (a little over a mile) a day, then maintain that track for a three-week period. Once you form that habit, go for two days with 5,000 steps – and do that for three weeks. Then incorporate small bouts of intensity into your routine. Get a heart rate monitor to help determine your bio-specific fitness zone, since most of us overestimate exercise intensity by 50%.

3)  Muscular strength and endurance. Include a core-strengthening exercise, such as Pilates or yoga, to improve your muscle tone and center of gravity. Otherwise, “Bob” (Belly on Belt) may come to visit. For every decade over the age of 22, we lose significant muscle mass, which highlights the need for strength training exercises.

4)  Body composition. Buy a body fat monitor to keep track of your fat and muscle composition. While the ideal body fat percentage depends upon body type, it’s generally in the 8-22% range for most younger women and 28% for those age 50 and older. For men, the ideal range is 11-17% and 20-22% for those 50 and older. Using your body fat percentage for a proper weight goal – one that reflects your age, genetics and gender – is just smart lifetime fitness.

How can entrepreneurs incorporate exercise into their lives when they’re already pressed for time?

PH: Actually, the time commitment isn’t as much as you might think. For busy entrepreneurs, thirty minutes of exercise three times a week will do it.

You also can use your workspace to improve wellness by making one simple change. Instead of a desk chair, use a physioball — one of those big, brightly colored rubber balls you’ve probably seen at the gym. Sit with your legs at a 90-degree angle. Since you have to balance on the ball, you will use your core muscles in the body’s mid-section. This helps strengthen your back, a common source of pain for those 40 and older.

Aside from lack of exercise, what do you see as the most common wellness-related downfalls?

PH; One is little knowledge about food portion sizes. Another is lack of sleep. If you’re sleep deprived, it affects everything you do, including your ability to pay attention. Sleep deprivation influences 40-and-older entrepreneurs more than younger ones because their reaction and decision-making time already is slower because of age. They need a minimum of seven hours of sleep per night.

What steps can entrepreneurs take to start making wellness improvements?

PH: When you have your own business, it’s easy to lose track of what you’re eating during the day. For entrepreneurs who want to shed a few pounds, two good web sites to check out are My Fitness Pal and Lose It!

If you’re eating on the run, avoid overly processed foods when possible. Instead, choose foods that are prepared simply with natural ingredients, such as a veggie-filled tossed salad with chicken or a baked potato. The smart entrepreneur will plan and prepare meals in advance and follow a guide, choosing to eat veggies and protein for lunch and forgoing starches until later in the day.

The best course of action is to stay fit, put good food in your body, avoid sugar and limit alcohol. Within these general guidelines, anything you can do will make a positive difference.