Wendy Green welcomes her next act and helps others do the same.
Sometimes, it takes getting laid off to find your passion.
That’s what happened to Wendy Green, who spent most of her career in corporate training. Laid off during the COVID pandemic, she decided to reinvent herself—and help others reinvent themselves in the process.
“Many people over 55 were hit hardest and were the most vulnerable,” Green says. “I thought to myself, they need to know that we are still relevant, we have a lot to give, and we can make a difference.”
She created Hey, Boomer!, a community built around her weekly live shows, podcasts, and blog, along with an evolving set of events, one-on-one sessions, and coaching.
She trademarked the catchy name as a response to the “OK, Boomer” comment, which she finds condescending. Hey, Boomer! captures the spirit of her endeavor, welcoming that group and considering it a compliment rather than an insult.
Green grew up in Miami, got married at 19, and reinvented herself at an early age when she became a single parent with no college degree. While her kids were 4 and 2, she put herself through school, earning a degree in computer science. She began working in training, and then earned a certification in Change Leadership at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Over the ensuing years, she pursued corporate training, business ownership (she owned an art program for children), and then got certified as a life coach.
She still offers that service, called What’s Next, as part of Hey, Boomer!. “I love helping people get excited about what’s possible,” she says. “Now is the time to say, ‘I always loved singing, I’m going to do that.’”
Her own journey helps her guide others, as she has always been on a quest to find her perfect career fit, and now, in her 60s, she has found it. “I love what I’m doing,” she says. “I’m meeting people, and I’m inspired every day by the stories I hear, the clients I have. I love helping them peel through the layers and get excited.”
The live shows and podcasts appeal to her inner performer. “I am a ham,” she says. “I love interviewing people.”
Her live shows, every Monday at 1 p.m. on Facebook Live, are interactive, with a question-and-answer portion, after which she edits and plays much of the resulting content as a podcast that can be found on Apple and other podcast providers. Launched in April 2020, playing to “my mother and a couple of friends,” the podcast now reaches more than 2,000 followers, and is growing weekly.
She’s spoken to health experts, financial planners, artists, parenting and grandparenting counselors, travelers, and many others who have found purpose and joy in their later years.
A new offering this year is her “walkabout,” where people sign up to walk with her while tackling various discussion topics—sort of like a moving life-coaching session.
“A lot of it is instilling confidence in people,” she says. “I want to get them to recognize, it’s your turn. You can make sure your life stays meaningful and relevant.”
Find Wendy:
Website: Heyboomer.biz
Email: wendy@heyboomer.biz
Hey, Boomer! Podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, and YouTube
Search for @heyboomerpodcast on Facebook and Instagram
Reinvention Roadmap
- Rewrite your life story in a timeline. Pull out the things that excited you most in each chapter of your life.
- Find commonalities.
- Think about what is holding you back. “A lot of us have a voice in our head saying, ‘Everyone will laugh at me for trying to do that.’”
- Find tools to eradicate those negative voices.
- If you think you don’t have the energy, Green says, “The energy comes from the passion. If you find ways to fulfill that passion, you’ll find the energy.”
