This is Fifty with Genevieve Nikolopulos
Genevieve Nikolopulos
Founder of GN Communications and @This_is_Fifty
Age: 58
Zoom coffee
Social serendipity and weak links: an introduction to how I met Genevieve
Social serendipity wasn’t something I had really thought about until I read a recent Atlantic Magazine article entitled The Pandemic Has Erased Entire Categories of Friendship: There’s a reason you miss the people you didn’t even know that well and it hit me how much I have missed the casual encounters of my pre-Covid life.
Sometimes known “weak ties” - these are our relationships with people we don’t know very well or see infrequently. People you might chat with whilst walking the dog or the person you say hello to every Saturday at the gym because you do the same 12.30 yoga class.
The term weak ties was coined in 1973 by Mark Granovetter, a sociology professor at Stanford University. His paper The Strength of Weak Ties completely changed people’s minds about the importance of casual acquaintances. Until then scholars had thought that an individual’s well-being depended mainly on the quality of their relationships with close friends and family. Granovetter showed that quantity matters, too. He argued that for new information and ideas, weak ties are more important to us than strong ones. This is actually particularly important when you are looking for a job.
Unfortunately, Covid has reduced the opportunity to expand and nurture our weak ties. Thankfully social media can be a useful substitute! And this is my very long way of telling you why I love the weak ties concept (The 50:50 Project is really my trick to expand my weak ties) and how I met Genevieve Nikolopulos in the process.
Genevieve had been following me on Instagram (I also had been following her) and late last year she reached out to tell me how much really liked what I was doing and ask if I’d like to have a chat sometime. We arranged a call and then another and I was reminded of the joy that comes from talking to someone new, an interesting stranger and would-be friend… Genevieve. And now my interview.
Describe your career path in two or three sentences including any twist or turns ending with where you are now.
I started in fashion buying for a large department store group then quickly moved into PR and promotions, organising fashion shows and PR shoots. I then moved to magazine promotions at Cosmopolitan, selling and producing advertorials.
From there I joined fashion PR agency, Jackie Cooper PR, now one of the largest global agencies, Edelman. I very swiftly moved up the ranks to fashion director, leading a large team. It was a fantastic experience with some great clients, including the Wonderbra Hello Boys campaign, but also a really tough and challenging role.
I left when I fell pregnant with my son, Daniel. I freelanced for a while before starting my own beauty PR agency. This is in 1996. The agency almost happened by accident - I was introduced to a lady who was launching two fragrances and looking for PR help. We instantly clicked, and I went for it! And that was the beginning of my own PR agency from my dining room.
Twelve years later, with four staff and external offices, having built one of the first major spa brands, The Sanctuary, through almost PR alone, I decided to step away. It was a choice to either take the agency to the next level or scale down and I wasn’t enjoying it any more, running it alone - I was spending most of my time on the business side - rather than the clients.
From here I spent 3 years in-house for The Sanctuary, during which they were acquired by PZ Cussons and PZ Beauty was formed. From here I joined Kilpatrick PR as MD and spent 5 five fantastic years there. It was when I hit menopause at 53 that I found the stress levels really hard to deal with. I decided enough was enough - I've done my years and now I am going to ‘strip it right back’ again, and consult on my terms.
What is your advice to someone thinking about going out on their own?
So many women are scared to leave their jobs due to lack of confidence or uncertainty. But I soon realized that the years of hard work paid off. I had earned myself a strong reputation together with an incredible black contact book. I had so many people contacting me, within the first few months of leaving and I’ve been happily consulting ever since. It also allows me to work on other projects I really enjoy that I wouldn’t have been able to do in an ‘all-consuming’ job.
Do you work part time or full time?
The goal is to work a few days a week. Some years have been really fantastically busy. And some years haven't – last year being one of them. When you are freelance you take the work when you can so it’s about learning to embrace the busy periods and enjoy the quiet times.
What decision / experience proved to be the most helpful to your career? This could include a failure that set you up for later success.
My five years at Jackie Cooper were just the most incredible learning platform for my future career. It taught me so much. Not just about PR and client relationships, but also how to manage a team, how to be a good manager, how to mentor and obviously the disciplines of running a small business. I can't say it was always the most enjoyable period of my life, but it was the most incredible period of my life in terms of learning and experiences.
What advice would you give your 20 year old self knowing what you know now? Or what advice would you tell her to ignore?
Two things.
I would say listen to your heart and trust your gut. I used to think I should have trained in one skill and stuck to it. I would look at my friends that had stayed in one career and been really successful and think, ‘I should have done that, I should have followed one path’ and I would be at the top of the ladder and very successful. But actually, I don't feel that that's the case now, as the diversity throughout my career has provided me with varied skills which have really helped my consultancy business and have given me the confidence to go it alone.
Positivity is key. I think I only realised in the last few years, that positivity is a mindset you can choose. Often you may not even believe the positive outcome is out there, but by simply choosing to think that way, it can really help your decisions, your mood and your energy in both work and personal life.
Where or to whom do you look for inspiration?
I’ve been lucky to have a tremendous network of amazing women in my life. One of my closest girlfriends, Melanie, became a successful author at 61 after trying for 10 years, with her book ‘Life and Other Happy Endings’. Another of my friends and in fact, old client, is founder of an incredibly successful pre and post natal platform for mums, baby2body. To be working successfully in tech at mid-fifties is such an inspiration. So many other women in my life inspire me – all for different reasons, but it’s important to have your network of women and I value mine enormously.
What do you think is their secret for staying confident and relevant as they get older.
Definitely experience and self-belief and possibly a bit of focus and tenacity thrown in. Staying positive and staying true to what they believe in and not feeling that they have to follow the pack.
When you're feeling stuck or uninspired. What actions do you take or questions do you ask?
When I have a bad day, it is important to recognize it, and either decide to give into it or fight it. You don't have to ‘achieve’ or ‘produce something amazing’ every day. So if you have a bad day, and you can afford the time ‘off’ to do something else, something that doesn't require much headspace or creativity - do that.
A bit of exercise always helps too, yoga or a walk and some fresh air. Try not to be too doom and gloom about it because after a bad day, a good day will follow. Maybe not tomorrow, but the day after. So go with the flow. Yoga with Adrien has really kept me going through lockdown.
In the last 5 years what new belief, behaviour or habit has most improved your working life (or your approach to creating your post 50 work life)
The realization that I’m not less of a person, if I don't have the fancy title or the fancy salary. That was a big thing for me when I left a big job to go freelance. It was a massive learning. At this stage in life, if you can afford it, it's less about the title and the money, and more about what you actually want to do and enjoy and what's actually going to stimulate you. It’s a true luxury to be able to follow your passions.
If you could put one quote or piece of advice on a big billboard for everyone over 50 to see what would it be?
Experience is your superpower.
What are your top tips for staying “visible” in a society that too often makes older women feel invisible. (or feel free to suggest another question if there is something else you would prefer to discuss)
Don't listen to self-doubt from anyone, especially yourself. YOU have the power to make yourself invisible or not!
It is also really important to tap into and grow your network. Don’t close any doors and always be open to talking to and meeting new people.
For me, social media has been huge. Even though my platform, This_is_fifty isn't about my PR and communications work, it's allowed me to stay relevant and visible in the health and beauty sector amongst my contacts, and also literally soak-up the workings and power of Instagram.
Can you talk about why you created @This_is_Fifty.
When I turned 50, there weren't many people talking about turning 50 - it was 8 years ago, in the early days of Instagram. And I thought 50 isn't so bad. When you’re 30, you think 50 is going to be horrendous. But I didn’t feel any different. I still had long wavy hair, I could wear red lipstick or whatever I wanted. And I wanted to put this out there. I wanted to help other women to not be afraid of the big 5-0.
Since then it has grown in other areas. It started off as a bit on red lipstick and glittery eyeshadow platform, and then it spread into general midlife conversations, fashion, lifestyle and well-being. As an HRT advocate, I do like to spread the word and try and encourage those suffering with menopause symptoms to get proper help. So many GP’s are just palming off midlife women with antidepressants! Don’t get me started…
What is the book or podcast you most recommend for someone thinking about designing their post-50 work life?
I really love listening to Sam Baker's podcast, The Shift.
Sam also wrote a book of the same title. It's a very interesting book, covering everything from career to fashion to sex and HRT and from that she launched her Shift podcast.
I’ve also just started reading Sarah Ivens, Get Real which is all about embracing our strengths, accepting our limits and creating a happier place going forward.
You can follow Genevieve at
