What does it actually take to build a meaningful presence online after 40, without losing yourself in the process?
In this episode, I sit down with Csilla 🌹 Feminine in midlife 💃, a former corporate finance executive turned pole dancer, choir singer, and Substack writer based in Spain. Six months ago, Csilla had three subscribers, one of whom was herself. Today she’s building a quietly powerful community of midlife women, one joyful, honest conversation at a time.
Together, Csilla and I pull back the curtain on what actually moved the needle for both of us, and it wasn’t the algorithm.
We talk about the co-authored article that changed everything for Csilla, why easy questions get the most honest answers, and the compound effect of ten women showing up together.
I share my own turning point, the moment I stopped performing as the expert and started writing from the messy middle: real, 3 am version of myself. And what happened when Instagram and Facebook suspended my accounts without warning, and why it turned out to be something of a gift.
This is a conversation about vulnerability as strategy, connection as currency, and what it looks like to build something that genuinely belongs to you, not to a platform that could disappear tomorrow.
If you’re a woman over 40 writing into the void and wondering if it’s worth it, this episode is for you.
In this episode:
Why Csilla went from 3 to 145+ subscribers by asking one simple question about joy
The mechanics behind a co-authored article that actually builds community
What made me finally drop the expert persona, and what happened when I did
On vulnerability online: healing, not oversharing
Why focusing on one platform changed everything
The truth about algorithms, suspended accounts, and building something that’s actually yours
Links mentioned:
Csilla’s Substack: Feminine Energy for Midlife Women
Kiran’s series: 85 Weeks to Fifty
