Today we’d like to introduce you to Rhonda Short
Hi Rhonda, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story starts at age 49 (8 years ago). I had fears and questions about turning the Big 5-0. There wasn’t a lot of useful information out there, and I was made to feel that at midnight upon turning 50 that I’d be issued a rocking chair, knitting needles, and given an appointment for a hysterectomy. I knew there had to be more to life than that.
So, I had an idea to start The Mature Diva. It is a growing YouTube community of like-minded women in their late 40’s, 50’s and 60s that are vibrant mature women. The goal was to talk about everything from fashion, beauty, health, saving money, travel, manifestation, and goals, all from a mature woman’s perspective.
I started my YouTube channel, not knowing anything about growing a channel. The first year, I didn’t do anything with the channel, but just hold the name and study how to make videos and determine what I wanted to talk about. In my second year, I slowly started making videos. A few years later, I’m finally comfortable making videos and I’m working to grow my community. My YouTube channel (The Mature Diva) is important to me because I didn’t see anyone else that looked like me sharing information with 50+ women.
Out of a passion for travel, and a layoff from a Fortune 500 company, I started Mature Diva Travel, as a natural extension for mature ladies that love to travel. My mission is to help women Get Outta Town to their dream destinations. So many times I had conversations with mature women that have raised their families, sacrificed for their children and their education, and worked hard for companies, only to find themselves divorced, laid off, and lacking the money to do the things they really want to do in their 50s and 60s, and they hadn’t traveled to the places they always dreamed about. I wanted to change that and provide not only travel services, but also create the “Manifestation Journal For My Best Life”. It is a journal to express your emotions and challenges to take action steps, achieve your dreams and celebrate. It has thought provoking exercises to help women achieve their dreams, develop a manifestation mindset, have self-confidence, save money and experience their dream trip without going into massive credit card debt to achieve it.
When my mother recently suffered a massive stroke, I knew I had to examine another way to serve, which is planning Recovery Travel. This type of travel is for women that have survived a major illness, and they are looking to experience their dream trip. Unfortunately, my mother didn’t get to experience her dream trip to Hawaii before she had a massive stroke and became my guardian angel. My mission is to help women just like her achieve their travel dreams. Life is too short to not see beautiful places.
I’ve had a wonderful time getting to know certain brands that value and represent the 50+ vibrant woman, and I’m looking forward to more work in this space. Finally, companies and brands are starting to recognize that the Gen X woman is vibrant with tons of wisdom and has the disposable income to spend on the brands we love. When we feel valued and heard by companies, we are a loyal demographic to tap into. Making products designed for our needs and cultivating relationships with us is pivotal in earning the 50+ Woman dollars and trust.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nooooooooooo…..
One of the major struggles has been slow growth. Not knowing social media strategies and fear really slowed my growth. Sometimes as a new content creator, we think all the other channels have overnight success. Some do, but I’ve learned to stay in my lane and that slow growth allows me to appreciate every step along this process.
I’m learning though. Right now, I’m focused on awareness and growth of both my YouTube channel (The Mature Diva), and my travel business – Mature Diva Travel – www.maturedivatravel.com. I’d love to have all of you be a part of both platforms.
I’m no longer fearful of being my true self in my 57 year old body. I’m me, and I’m proud of the lessons I’ve learned to get here. I’m a lifelong learner, so I look forward to the adventures ahead.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work with The Mature Diva focuses on bringing content to YouTube, Facebook and Instagram for vibrant 50+ women. Discussions are about mature fashion, beauty, health, weight, travel, manifestation, saving and living your best life. We only focus on positive energy. There’s no drama in my space, which is important. I set out to empower women like me.
My work with Mature Diva Travel allows me to plan beautiful trips for women 50+ and their families. I love planning milestone birthday travel, as well as anniversary trips, Diva getaways, family reunion cruises, romantic getaways, and recovery travel. When I’m planning and getting to know my clients, I get to hear their excitement and it makes me happy to be a part of a happy time in their life.
I’m most proud when I hear from women that have used me as their travel agent, and they report that they had the time of their life. It makes me very happy to get that feedback. It’s even more rewarding when they ask me to plan their next trip and they tell others.
One thing that sets me apart from other travel agents is that I love to focus on women 50+. That is my tribe! I understand the needs of mature women. So, when I work with clients, I look for things that mature women would appreciate, as our needs change as we mature. What worked when we were in our 20’s and 30’s, may not apply in our 50’s. For example, in my 20’s I simply wanted to get to the destination. Any seat on the plane would suffice. Now, I have back issues and I’m a tall woman, so I’m willing to pay for a comfort category on the plane, and I want a balcony when I cruise.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I believe in calculated risk taking. Sometimes you have to take risks in order to grow. The safe route is comfortable, but sometimes great things are discovered when we take small calculated risks.
For example, I had fear of starting my YouTube channel. I felt people might laugh at me or make fun of an older woman on social media because it was only thought of as a young persons thing.
Then I thought, “What The Heck? I can either take a risk or complain about not reaching my goals because I didn’t try.
I also had the fear of failure and thoughts of imposter syndrome. But I realized through my journey that no one else is me, and no one else can articulate my thoughts and feelings, so there’s no need to fear imposture syndrome. Regarding the fear of failure, I got over it. I’m doing something that a lot of people my age are afraid to do. I’m happy that I took the risk, as I got to meet some fabulous people on this journey of The Mature Diva, and I’m looking forward to meeting more.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thematurediva.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thematuredivas
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMatureDiva
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thematurediva
