I was a stay-at-home mom. Now, I'm a fashion influencer in her 50s with brand deals and a podcast.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Caroline Baudino, a 53-year-old content creator and mother-of-two based in Los Angeles. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Before I became a stay-at-home mom, I worked as an actor and TV host in California. We would shoot a live entertainment show about what's going on in Hollywood, and I did that until I gave birth to my youngest son.

I went from having my own show to being a stay-at-home mom, which was a huge turning point for me. Not to say kids aren't exciting. But let's be honest: The day-to-day can be monotonous and isolating. It's really hard, and not enough women talk about it.

I was in mom mode and only doing mom things. I volunteered at school 24/7 to the point that I became vice president of the school board. I didn't have a life of my own, and I depended on my husband for every little thing. Honestly, I thought it was over for me.

But there was a major "aha" moment.

I had to find my spark again

In 2019, I was walking around my house like a zombie when I got a phone call. It was the scariest day of my life.

My mom called me hysterically crying and said my dad's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, two years of taxes hadn't been paid, and she didn't know where anything was. Now, it was my job to take care of them. I was now in charge of everything.

My hands were shaking, and I thought, "What just happened?" I walked past a mirror, looked, and didn't recognize myself. Where is the independent badass that would never depend on anyone? The panic, stress, and fear honestly scared the shit out of me.

I was like, "I have to get my shit together."

Everyone says it's over when you reach middle age, but every middle-aged woman I know is incredibly intelligent, capable, and multi-dimensional.

And what happens when the kids leave? You have another 20 or 30 years left, so what are you going to do with them? I plan to make them amazing. I want to make money, have my own job, and have a career.

Caroline Baudino motivates women through her social media accounts. Caroline Baudino

I knew fashion came easily to me, and I loved it. So, I said, "I'm going to bring myself back to life and what's that first step? Me getting up and getting dressed."

That's my motto: "Get up, get dressed, let's do this."

I started posting videos on social media under Shop With Caroline in 2019 and launched my website, Being Caroline, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

My goal with the videos is to motivate women to believe in themselves and bet on themselves. It's to remind them that they are important, too. You don't need to sacrifice it all to be a good mom, wife, or daughter.

Now, I have a diverse business portfolio

My husband has always been my biggest supporter. I focus on the creative and he does the business.

When we first started, he analyzed different social media platforms and told me I should get on TikTok. I was already on Facebook and Instagram. I was like, "Are you crazy? I'm not dancing on TikTok. I'm 50 years old." He said, "No, not dancing. We need to diversify our platforms."

So, we did. I started throwing some videos out there, and we were having fun with it. Then, one night in 2024, we went viral on three videos and woke up to 70,000 new Instagram followers. From there, we went from 38,000 followers to 500,000 in two months. TikTok and Facebook were almost at 200,000 at the time.

After that, we buckled down and made it a real business.

We have a podcast, "Coming In Hot," and sell merchandise, which has sold out twice. We make money through affiliated links, brand deals, speaking appearances, events, and advertisements. We have also invested in three tech companies.

For me, the greatest success was building our community.

I've had daughters come up to me at a restaurant and say, "You made my mom smile again." I've also received messages from husbands saying, "Thank you for bringing my wife back to life."

I always stayed very true to myself because I didn't want to put on a show. Authenticity and trust have been key to building a community.

So many women in midlife don't know how to get started again, but you are smart and capable. Yes, you have to work hard and figure it out, but it is possible. It's not over.