Inspirational Woman: Ali Miles-Jenkins | Founder of The BoomBiz

Ali Miles-Jenkins is an award winning business owner, trainer, coach, author of ‘New Manager Secrets’, a speaker and hypnotherapist.

She’s now championing the cause of women over 50 who want that second bite of the cherry to set up and grow their very own expert businesses.

“Women may be over 50 but they’re not going to be overlooked. I’m helping them build businesses, enabling them to become their own CEOs, at work and play, finally getting the lifestyle they deserve.” 

Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role

I help women over 50 have that second bite of the cherry, set up their very own businesses and become their own CEO at work and play, finally securing the lifestyle they deserve.

I’m an award-wining business owner, trainer, coach, speaker and author. I’ve had a passion for business and marketing since I graduated from Warwick in 1982, despite coming from a very academic background.  I had successful research and development roles in European Marketing and Business Training, and in 1987 set up one of the first Local Authority training departments in the UK.

I took that huge leap of entrepreneurial faith in 1990 and set up my own management and training consultancy right in the middle of a recession!  I wanted the flexibility to combine work with spending time with my first child.

I went on to create multiple business, management and personal development programmes which have helped more than 50,000 people achieve individual and business goals, overcome challenges and make the most of opportunities, personally and professionally, in the UK and internationally.

I had an epiphany moment in 2016 when I realised that some of the senior women in management roles that I was coaching at work were subsequently leaving their careers because “They wanted to me more like me and do what I was doing- running my own expert business.”

This was the inspiration behind ‘The BoomBiz’  and the ‘BoomBoss Manifesto’. I now champion an ever-growing global group of women over 50 who are determined to become

BoomBosses, and reinvent and reinvigorate themselves. I show them how to turn their life experience, skills, knowledge and experiences into booming businesses, to create meaningful change in their lives and others’.

Did you ever sit down and plan your career?

I was a linguist when I graduated with a degree in German Studies and ended up as a business woman! So no I didn’t, not in that very intentional way.  I knew though when I left Uni that I wanted to go into marketing. Of course that was what I ended up doing in effect when I set up my own business in 1990.  That’s because you have to love marketing as much as you love your business if you want to be successful!

Have you faced any challenges along the way? How did you deal with them?

Goodness, yes, Lots and lots over the 28 years I’ve been in business. I started my business in a recession and then lived through the next one in 2009. That was a really scary time because there was one week I remember when I lost about 70% of my client base.  It was as I was trying to cope with that, and then recovering from that, that I learned the most phenomenal lessons about how to really run a successful business. I discovered that up until then I didn’t really know about the marketing ‘must-haves’.  I knew all the theory – I even taught it on qualification courses!  But the ‘in the trenches’ type of marketing, the expert positioning strategies and the latest online methods were completely new to me. It was a major lesson for me and it changed my life. Those lessons l learned and what to do to avoid them all now form part of my story and the business training that I provide to my BoomBosses!  I invested every penny I could in 2009/10 to discover how to save my business.  I did this by seeking out the best people in the world to teach me about the latest thinking and tools in marketing. I’ve been to some amazing places and learned from some amazing people.

How do you feel about mentoring? Have you ever had a mentor or do you mentor anyone?

I am a huge fan of mentoring.  Not only do I now mentor lots of women over 50, but I have also mentored managers and professionals with my other ‘hat’ on.  I have also created and run many courses on how to mentor and the impact it can have.  I regularly have mentors, here in the UK and especially in the USA, as I find they are often a little ‘ahead of the curve’ with business and marketing innovations.

If you could change one thing for women in the workplace, what would it be?

For me, it would be changing the way employers view women over 50.  We may be over 50 but we shouldn’t be overlooked.  We have so much experience, so many skills, areas of expertise and knowledge.  AND we are known for our entrepreneurial spirit.  We have a strong work ethic and the willingness and capability to continue learning and developing.  We can use technology!  We can get on with other generations and we don’t want to, or can’t retire, for a wide range of reasons.

Employers can’t afford the brain drain. Unsurprisingly, men over 50 don’t seem to bear so much of the brunt of age discrimination although it is still present.  So I urge employers to rethink their attitudes to women over 50 and start seeing them as an asset rather than a liability.

What has been your biggest achievement to date?

Although I am really proud of having helped 50,000 people become more successful at work and in their lives, without a doubt my biggest achievement is setting up The BoomBiz from a blank sheet.  In just over a year I’ve created this vibrant, powerful and fabulous community of BoomBosses – women over 50 who are now confident in their abilities to become entrepreneurs and have their second bite of the cherry!

What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?

I’m already working on my next challenge, which is to get my K.I.M. initiative out there globally. K.I.M. stands for ‘Keep In Momentum’ and is a very special programme that I provide for free to women over 50 who have had cancer and want to start afresh and become their own boss. I know there is a saying that you should wait until your business has been up and running for a good period of time and generating huge profits before you give back. But I don’t want to wait to help these women.

I had a very special, unique and unlikely friendship with my ex husband’s girlfriend Kim.  She died aged 55 in May 2017 of lung cancer.  Kim embodied the ‘BoomBoss’ mentality even though she was not a career or business person.  Kim was so interested in hearing all about my plans to help women over 50. She was strong, a no BS action taker who didn’t want to waste another second of her life.  She would have given anything for the opportunity to reinvigorate herself and take advantage of the endless opportunities out there.

So in memory of Kim, my challenge is to get this free programme out there on a global scale, to help women over 50 whose lives have been so terribly interrupted by this cruel disease.

I’ve also got a book coming out soon for Women over 50..but I can’t reveal the title yet!

What do you do when you aren’t running your businesses?

I’m a family person at heart.  I love being at home.  We live in the country. I have three children, one granddaughter, four Jack Russells and a horse called Harvey.  I’m passionate about having a great lifestyle over 50, as that’s all part of being your own boss with your own business.  I enjoy running, the gym, riding, dancing, socialising and travelling.  So there’s always lots going on!

 

Visa - WeAreTheCity - Pioneer 20 - nominations open
WeAreTech Festival 2024 advert

Upcoming Events

march, 2024

Job Board Banner

Related Posts