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Press Article Source: Bucks County Courier Times - Phillyburbs.com: A mid-life crisis leads to new career By CRISSA SHOEMAKER DEBREE
Some people start contemplating retirement when they reach 50. Dale Blair turned 50 and launched her second career. It all started when Blair turned 49. "All of the sudden, my body isn't the same as it used to be," Blair said. Despite being physically fit, her cholesterol hit 237. She started dieting and researching health online. What she found startled her, and led her to create LifeTime Expos & Events, which produces health-related events for consumers. "There have been so many changes in the health industry," she said. "There've been so many innovations, and alternative health has come to the forefront for people looking for options. There were a lot of products and services out there that people didn't know about." Blair's first career was in advertising, where she spent 20 years in sales. During most of that time, she commuted to Manhattan from her Newtown Township home. Her last job was at a pharmaceutical marketing magazine based in Newtown. When the company developed a conference center, she became the manager. She found she enjoyed organizing expos. But what she no longer enjoyed was being someone's employee. "I was turning 50," Blair said. "And just as we all say "mid-life crisis' - if 50 is mid-life - I said, "That's it; I don't want to work for other people.' " Blair's first event was a senior citizen's health expo at the Radisson in Bensalem. It drew about 600 people. She will return to the Radisson Oct. 8 for the Family Caregiver Expo, an event for people caring for family members who are disabled or sick. She's also planning a Healthy Living Expo Nov. 4 at the Southampton Road Armory in Philadelphia. LifeTime's events typically draw between 500 and 1,000 people, Blair said. Her challenge is filling the expos with vendors, which is how she makes money. LifeTime pays the venue a rental fee, then sells spaces to vendors. The company hosts eight shows a year and is the event planner for the state of Delaware, she said. Now 53, Blair said she's enjoying the new path she's taken. "This business is fun," Blair said. "It's basically event planning. It's like planning a wedding." Want to know more? Call LifeTime Expos & Events at 215-968-4593 or visit http://www.lifetimeexpos.com. Contact us Do you know anyone who's making a living as an entrepreneur of an interesting business or as an employee in an occupation he or she always had dreamed about? If so, e-mail cshoemaker@phillyBurbs.com or call 215-949-4192. Crissa Shoemaker DeBree can be reached at 215-949-4192 or cshoemaker@phillyBurbs.com. |
