Introducing…

Anne and Steve Holmes

Steve and I have been married for 22 years and working together for the last 15 years. We like to have a bit of fun while we work, which is why he calls himself the “High Wizard of WordPress,” though technically his title is “President.” Meanwhile, my titles are “Founder,” and “Boomer Maven.”

As for how we manage to work and live together 24/7: we divide the responsibilities: he\’s the tech guy, while I\’m the writer. He looks out for male Boomer interests, while I focus on things female… It works out very well.

Over the years, we\’ve built several websites for Baby Boomers, which we invite you to check out:

1. BoomerLifestyle.com – a blog dedicated to the Boomer lifestyle
2. Boomerpreneur.com – a website focused on helping Boomers learn to start their own businesses through coaching
3. BoomerDomains.com – a site listing some of the other domain names we own and hope to develop
4. BoomerCo.com – a WordPress blog site dedicated to showcasing publishing solutions and the tools we\’ve developed to help our fellow Baby Boomers create better blogs

We\’re in the process of developing several other Boomer-focused sites. In the future, look for sites dedicated to Boomer employment, Boomer travel, and a magazine featuring articles written by our fellow Boomer bloggers.

As exciting as those prospects might be, however, we see the acquisition of the NABBW and BoomerWomenSpeak.com as the pieces that tie all of our interests together and cement our credibility with you, our fellow Boomers. So we promise to take good care of you. And hope that you will tell us what you\’d like to see to help the site serve you even better.

Perhaps one of my best credentials in taking over as “Boomer in Chief” at NABBW and BoomerWomenSpeak.com, is that I am a fairly typical Baby Boomer Woman, and thus know a lot about what we are all encountering these days. I have true empathy for what all of us are experiencing.

In other words, I know what makes us Boomers. And I not only champion us, I take offense at those who would call us “unrealized,” or infer that we Baby Boomers have not lived up to our country\’s expectations. After all, we Boomers have always been about blazing new trails, and we\’re not done yet!! Having tackled civil rights, women\’s rights, gay rights, then reinvented what makes up a family, and what the work environment looks like, our current task, in my opinion, is to restructure retirement.

Educated as a marketer, I have spent the past dozen years helping my fellow Baby Boomers enjoy the best life possible, by showing them how to take control of their own destinies. Specifically, I have been coaching my fellow Boomers how to build profitable “2nd Act” businesses that not only support their dreams but also allow us to leave a lasting legacy.

With the recent recession, which has left so many Boomers in dire straits financially, the siren call of my mission has become increasingly strident.

Here\’s a short bio:

• Born in the early 50s, the oldest of three children. My parents were still in college when I was born, so my maternal grandmother cared for me during class hours.
• My parents were professionals: my father an engineer, my mother a teacher, who worked as a full-time homemaker until my teen years. At that point, she began teaching part-time.
• I made my first babysitting money when I was 10, and got my first “real job” as a clerk in a trendy 60s-era boutique when I was 15 – I remember having to get a work permit.
• Since I\’d always excelled academically, I went directly to college after high school graduation, even though I\’d wanted to take off for a year of travel, as so many of us had – in order to “find myself.” No commune living on my resume, but I did attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a noted hotbed of Boomer unrest, and emerged after five years with both an MS – and an “Mrs.” I\’d also pledged a national sorority, Chi Omega, and learned a lot about the value of sisterhood.
• My marriage to my college sweetheart lasted 10 years, after which I spent 5 years as a divorced working mom.
• Even after I remarried, I continued to work outside the home on a full-time basis. That\’s why my daughter calls herself a typical “latchkey kid”
• Steve and I have been married for 22 years and have mastered the art of “24/7 togetherness,” since we\’ve worked together from our home offices for over a decade now.
• Steve and I met on a blind date, and married just a few months later. Apparently I figured I had learned by that time, what I was looking for in a mate, and didn\’t feel a need to spend years dating before making a commitment.
• These days, I enjoy being the mother of two adult children, one of whom “boomeranged” for a few months, though he\’s again happily employed and living halfway across the country
• I\’m not a grandmother yet. But my daughter is married, so I have hope that I may someday experience that blessing.
• Both of my parents are still living. I don\’t see them often enough, but I do spend an hour a week talking to my mom by phone
• Like most of you, I am challenged by the need to get enough exercise, and strive to make and serve delicious, healthy meals

I consider that I enjoy good health, although in the past decade I have been diagnosed with two chronic diseases of Baby Boomers: diabetes and sleep apnea. This gives me empathy for those who suffer from these and other chronic illnesses.

For more information, please visit: www.nabbw.com

Contact Information:
Anne Holmes anne@nabbw.com

NABBW

NABBW Contributing Author