Five Cologne women over 50: The courage to reorient themselves professionally!

Five Cologne women over 50: The courage to reorient themselves professionally!

In Cologne-Rodenkirchen, five women are conquering creative independence and showing that a new beginning is possible even at the age of 50. These remarkable women entrepreneurs have taken different paths and focused on personal fulfillment in the professional world. Rundschau Online reports that Gertrud Kemper, 59, who produces lampshades and smile boxes with her label Lampiluu, is one of the pioneers. Before becoming self-employed, she worked in educational psychology and advised companies. Together with her business partner Susanne Schnorr, who previously worked as a European manager in an American company and is happy with her new passion for lampshades, she shows that the path to self-employment can always be worthwhile.

But the journey to self-employment is not always easy. Both women report the existential fears that accompanied them. “It’s not easy to start a new career, but the feeling of self-realization prevails,” says Schnorr. These personal challenges are relevant not only thematically but also regionally, because they reflect a trend that many people over 50 are experiencing today.

Diverse new beginnings

Myriam Lang, 56 years old, took the step out of the real estate industry and founded an office in Bayenthal that aims to help young adults. “I attach great importance to humanity in my new work,” says Lang, emphasizing how important it is to help young people determine their position. She wants to show her own children that professional dreams know no limits.

There are also new talents in the creative sector: Claudia Mieß and Kirsten Steinmels have launched the Cologne knitting label “Cologne Knits”. While Steinmels has an artistic background with her training as a goldsmith and her studies in product design, Mieß wants to build a second pillar in the field of creative crafts. Both women invest a lot of time and passion into their projects and feel “simply happy” in doing so.

The connection between self-realization and professional happiness

The stories of these five women are not only inspiring, they are also in line with a social trend: more and more people, especially from Generation Z, are attaching importance to professional self-realization. A current analysis shows that young adults in particular value meaningfulness, fun at work and a good working atmosphere. The discussion about job satisfaction and self-realization is more acute today than ever before. The Federal Agency for Civic Education points out that it is rather naive to believe that the urge for self-realization is a mere fantasy or an aberration.

Workshops, such as those offered by the entrepreneurs mentioned above, not only contain methods for overcoming obstacles, but also help to visualize and implement clear goals. GL-Idea describes how important self-leadership is as the key to professional satisfaction. Techniques for sustainable development and increasing one's own satisfaction are taught, which can help not only new starters but also long-time professionals to achieve their goals.

On September 25th, Cologne's creative women also had the opportunity to introduce themselves at the Pop-up Day at Rolandstrasse 5 - a platform to present their projects and visions to a broader audience. The response shows that the dream of self-realization and creative work is still very popular.