From Dairy Farm to Boutique Chic: How This Colorado Entrepreneur Reinvented Her Career at 52

Written by Krystal Covington, MBA

Career change isn’t just for twenty-somethings. According to AARP, 40 percent of people working at age 62 had changed their careers since they turned 55. Baby boomers are the first generation to break the norm and routinely change careers after 50.

Jonna Tellinghuisen is no stranger to switching careers.

Launching her own company at just 24, she began a career offering customized accounting software during a time when corporations had begun making the switch from manual bookkeeping to automated computer software. As a legacy entrepreneur, Jonna used her skills and business savvy to eventually build a team of eight who provided accounting software training to large corporations.
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After becoming a wife and mother, Jonna joined her husband as the owner and operator of a 5000+ herd, family-run dairy farm in Iowa where they managed a team of 37 employees. She took the lead on maintaining employee files, payroll, loans and anything related to accounting for the business. At 49, Jonna and her husband made the decision to retire and sell the farm.

After just 3 years in retirement, Jonna felt the itch again and was led to start a new business. With 6 daughters, finding the right business was easy.

“Our daughters always loved shopping at the different Plato’s Closet locations. Plato’s Closet is the buying and selling of name brand, gently used apparel and accessories for teens and twenty-something girls and guys. However, we were introduced to Style Encore, the sister brand at Discovery Day and we were instantly hooked.”
 
Jonna opened her Style Encore franchise location in Centennial Colorado and added a philanthropic mission to support Hope’s Promise, an adoption and orphan agency. Her daughters have taken on roles in store management, marketing, customer service and personal styling. Her hope is that they will one day own their own stores in the future and become successful entrepreneurs themselves.

When asked about the journey of entrepreneurship, Jonna told us, “Being self-employed is hard work and might not be the best route for everyone, but if you’re motivated and dedicated, it’s a path that can lead to great success and financial independence.”
 
Jonna’s Style Encore store is located at 8223 S Quebec St, Centennial, CO 80112.