Better Not Younger
Sonsoles Gonzalez and her team were wracking their collective brains to come up with a name for the new haircare brand that she founded, spurred by changes to her own hair after menopause.
Despite thinning to her once impossibly thick mane, she noticed that a lot of women like her - women in their fifties - looked and felt even better than when they were in their thirties.
These women didn’t want to turn back time. They were living their best lives. Their hair and skin may have changed, but their confidence, style, and sense of self continued to grow.
Suddenly the name became obvious: Better Not Younger. Because that’s what she wanted her brand to be all about.
Girls Gone 50 had the opportunity to chat with Sonsoles, 54, about becoming a Fiftypreneur —another phrase she coined — after a highly accomplished career in the beauty industry at Pantene, Herbal Essences, P&G and L’Oreal.
GG50: You say you didn’t start out to combat ageism, and yet your company seems very purpose-driven.
I always wanted Better Not Younger to have a purpose first and foremost. We’re a line of hair care for women over 45 that believes beauty is not defined by age. We want to show the world that we are not done and that we’re capable of doing so much more.
I worked in the beauty industry where the focus was always women 18-44. I always joked about it, “Whoa! What happens to women at 45? They just disappear!” And then it wasn’t funny anymore.
GG50: By starting your own business in your 50s, you are living your own Better Not Younger motto. How are you living it outside the office?
I do what makes me feel happy and fulfilled. In your 30s and 40s, you're trying to get so much done. You have a family and career to juggle. And then you're also trying to be perfect at everything.
Now I want to do what I feel like doing instead of what I don't feel like doing. I'm not too hard on myself anymore. If it's not perfect, it doesn't matter. I've always been a perfectionist but I've come to a point where I'm not going to beat myself up anymore.
No matter what people think or say, I'm going to do what makes me feel fulfilled. And to me, that's my work. And my family. I like to be with my kids, my grandkids, my husband. I live my life to try to make those moments happen.
My three children are super proud and tell everybody that their mom is a Fiftypreneur.
GG50: But really, can you still do what you want to do while starting your own business?
Some things are very easy for me because of my experience. But then there's a lot of things that I don't know, that I had to learn. That’s part of the fun too. I'm doing things that are different - I spend the whole morning at the warehouse, carrying boxes and stuff like that.
I never learned to do digital marketing like it's done now. Yesterday I was in a meeting and we're going through a bunch of analytics and I told my team, “I feel like I'm doing an MBA.”
“It’s not always easy, but it has nothing to do with age.”
It's not always easy, but it has nothing to do with age. It's not easy because the world has changed a lot. It's not easy because there's a ton of competition out there. And if anything, our experience is something to our advantage.
I think the odds of success are much higher when you've lived a little bit, and you worked, and you know about cash flow and other things.
GG50: Keep growing or grow old.
And the way I feel right now, it's the way I felt my first few years as a brand assistant at Procter & Gamble. I had this fantastic 'go get it' attitude. I have it again and I'm willing to do anything from carrying boxes to meeting with people like you guys. I'm just ready to do anything. Nothing makes me uncomfortable, nothing. I'm not trying to show or demonstrate anything to anybody.
GG50: What is your advice for other Fiftypreneurs?
Don't be afraid. You’re going to have a hundred people telling you, "Oh, don't do it. Don't bother. It's hard. It's difficult. It's impossible." I would say, be courageous.
Having said that, keep your feet on the ground and be realistic. The best way to do that is to get a lot of advice. But you need to know how to filter it. The people who are just giving you opinions are not giving you advice.
The people who can give you good advice are the people who are doing similar things as you. They've done it. They’re either entrepreneurs or are in some line of business that you can benefit from.
Know your limits. Don't assume that you know everything. Talk to people in whatever areas you feel uncomfortable. Some things are harder to learn, so surround yourself with people who can do that for you.
Make sure you take appropriate risk. Don't risk everything. Be cautious about how much are you willing to put on the line so that you don't end up making a huge mistake and end up going back to work.
GG50: What’s the hardest thing about being a Fiftypreneur?
Some people might not take you seriously. It's not the same when you're 25 or 30, and you say you're going to start a business, as when you're 55. The hardest thing is that people, even our peers, can discriminate.
We have a saying in Venezuela, where I am from, "You're spinning up to the ceiling and so it's going to fall back on you.”
So we’re doing things like training someone now whom some people thought was too old to work on the computer.
(Meet 40 over 40 Indie Beauty Brand Founders who are breaking age barriers.)
GG50: What are three ways that women over 50 can live better not younger?
Don’t hang out with people you don’t like. Hang out with people who make you laugh and feel good.
Exercise. I exercise every day, and I actually enjoy it now.
Keep learning new things. There’s so much to know and learn. It’s a great way to live.
