By Phaedra Rogers, EBW Worldwide
Have you ever met someone who is a perfect mix of unicorn and warrior – someone magical and strong? I have, and her name is Sandy Parker Martinez, founder of Pink Lady Posse. I didn’t want to get off the call when I first spoke to Martinez, and it’s no wonder why people flock to her. Her captivating history, coupled with her exuberant personality, makes her a rarity. But don’t let her cheerful demeanor fool you; she’s lived through some of life’s darkest moments, including the loss of her husband in 2019. That loss, among other things, makes her equipped to take the women in Pink Lady Posse by the hand and show them how to navigate difficult life transitions. Her strength is palpable.
What started in 2014 as Lighten Up Global morphed into Pink Lady Posse, a virtual empowerment and personal growth organization reaching women globally. As Martinez puts it, women between the ages of 40 and 60 will endure 5 – 7 major life transitions. The space in between when a transition starts (illness, death of a loved one, divorce, etc.) and when someone comes out on the other side is called a liminal space. It’s the murky middle when a life with a specific shape and form becomes difficult to define.
It’s through her deep desire to serve and help women thrive that her business continues to grow. And because of that, she’s creating a path forward for women who may otherwise have no support and no idea how to reinvent their midlife lives. As a successful founder, author, speaker, and newlywed, she’s proof that women can live a vibrant life no matter what.
She recently decided to accelerate the growth of her business by becoming one of the first women to become an EBW Worldwide ONE Card holders! More information is coming soon on accelerating your business with the EBW One Card] but in the meantime, we’re thrilled to share her story with you!
Tell us a little about yourself:
I was raised in Atlanta, GA, and right after graduating from the University of Georgia, I went to work as a secretary in a magazine rep group. With immediate (and accidental) sales success, they shifted my work to the beautiful home furnishings magazine Southern Accents. I was recruited to move to Dallas, Texas, for a start-up magazine, and my magazine career of 15 years ended with my favorite two magazines, Vogue Magazine and Southern Living Magazine.
Hard as it was to leave (and it was hard!), my instincts told me that unless I committed to my priorities of having a family, I was going to miss out on what I really wanted. Good news. I got married and moved to Lubbock, Texas, where my husband was a High School Band Director and, a year later, had a baby at 40.
My husband died in 2019, and it equipped me even more fully for my business. I married in 2023, and now – as I’m thriving – I’m, again, even more, equipped to lead people through surviving the liminal spaces, knowing thriving is ahead. Pink Lady Posse now opens the world to a global reach by helping more women in liminal spaces.
Please give us a little background on Pink Lady Posse and how it impacts women 50+.
Pink Lady Posse is a virtual emPOWERment community for women who want to have a feisty life after 50. Most “boomers” fondly recall the Pink Ladies, who were bound by friendship, loyalty, and a desire to shake up the status quo. We want to provide education, support, and life design skills so that no woman has to be alone or without the support she needs during times of transition. We’re also in an epidemic of loneliness and isolation that is a disaster for the human spirit, wellness, and longevity. Being virtual allows us to be anywhere we are.
Programs like “Living in the Gooey Middle” and a “Grandma Certified Tech Buddy” offer a “non-anxious presence” to potentially upsetting areas of life. I want to speak everywhere I can to shed light on this underdeveloped area of knowledge that applies to 100% of us.
Pink Lady Posse helps women become a more fierce version of themselves. Is there a single most significant challenge women over 50 face, and how do you address that?
What all women over 50 have in common is that life will take interesting turns, some wanted and some not so much. The average woman between the ages of 40 and 70 will face between 5 and 7 major transitions in those years. These times of “in-between” – the normal we know and a new normal – are called liminal spaces. And yet most of us have never heard the term nor have a toolbox ready to navigate and survive these times. Pink Lady Posse is a resource for women over 50 in these areas: Connection, Empowerment, and Designing a Great Life.
What advice can you give women during a life transition, whether becoming an empty nester, job transition, marital transition, illness, etc.?
First step: know where you are. You’re at a real disadvantage if you don’t realize you’re in a liminal space. Next, just like solving a jigsaw puzzle, locate your life’s corner pieces and edges first and then build from there. What are those corner and edge pieces? Those are your navigation tools and basic support structures. Having the awareness and your navigation toolbox is best collected before you need it. It’s also helpful for friends and family who will also find themselves there.
That said:
1. Everyone should take our 1-hour INTRO to the IN-BETWEEN class. This one hour will educate you and equip you tremendously. You can attend alone or schedule a group on our Learn Page at Pink Lady Posse.
2. We have a free TOOLBOX for the IN-BETWEEN. It’s a colorful PDF document highlighting the 5 most important tools available for download. It will be on the opt-in bar on the home page.
What do you do when you start to doubt yourself or hit bumps in the road in your business?
I place a high priority and commit to strong and meaningful connections. My grief group after my husband’s death 6 years ago still meets every Monday morning. They are my lifeline. When I doubt myself, I ask my posse for support. I also maintain a collection of videos from women I have served through the years and remind myself of the privilege of this mission I get to share. I invest in ongoing training to keep my skills sharp and ever-expanding, even if I’m the oldest in the class.
Vision, focus, and connection to other powerful women motivate me when I hit bumps in the road. While all of us are uniquely gifted for something, this is MY JOURNEY, MY GIFT, MY MISSION. Bumps are part of everything … so I just keep going. I’m not afraid of bumps.
Why did you choose to invest in yourself and become a ONE Cardholder?
To have something different, I have to do something different. I want to elevate my circle of support and influence and expand my reach. I know IV and EBW are world-class, so why look elsewhere? Alone, I can only do so much. With other strong women, watch out.
You can connect with Sandy Parker Martinez on the EBW.ONE platform. To learn more about Pink Lady Posse, please visit www.pinkladyposse.com
