Forty is
fabulous
ON A WEEKEND getaway with her 40-some-
thing-year-old friends,
Yana Berlin realized they
were all going through life
changes, such as new
careers, divorce or kids
leaving home.
SASHA SHKOLNIK
“You realize half your
life is gone and have a need
to reassess,” the mother of
five says.
Yana Berlin
Back home, she thought about how her
kids were on social networking sites; why not
create one for women like her? She woke up
her husband, and right then he had her write
a business plan.
The result was
www.fabulously40.com,
which was launched in March 2006 and now
boasts seven employees, 1 million monthly
hits, 1,500 daily posts and a growth rate of
about 18 percent per month.
Women worldwide set up a free profile
(or pay $40 annually if they want to promote
their business) to access a weekly newsletter,
blogs, articles, forums, message boards,
instant messaging and other online tools.
PHOTODISC
They share their joys and struggles regarding
careers, children, relationships and other
issues women face in today’s hectic world.
To ensure the site is user-friendly as well
as tasteful, Berlin runs everything past her
63-year-old mom.
What’s next? Berlin is taking the virtual
community and making it real by launching
local chapters where members who meet
online can meet in person. The longtime
Carlsbad, California, Costco member loves
helping women from all walks of life connect
on a level they couldn’t before.
“Forty and beyond are the best years of
our life,” says Berlin, whose background
includes a successful career in mortgage
finance. “It’s not midlife; it’s the next stage. We
should embrace this time and celebrate it.”
—Shana McNally
64 ;e Costco Connection MARCH 2010
IF YOU HAPPEN TO see a longhaired, motor-mouthed giant
strolling through Costco, enjoying
the free samples with flair and
wild gesticulations, a beautiful
lady on one arm, it could very
well be Penn Jillette—“the larger,
louder half” of comedy-magic
superstars Penn & Teller—enjoying
a hot date.
More than once, Jillette, a Costco
member since 2003, has brought lady
friends to a warehouse store for a leisurely afternoon of noshing and chitchat.
“I once had a whole date just walking
around and talking about the cool big
boxes,” he laughs. “It’s
a great date spot.”
It’s also the pres-
tidigitator’s pre-
ferred spot for
acquiring back-
stage snacks for
Penn & Teller’s
long-running Las
Vegas show at
the Rio. Their
green room is
stocked entirely
from the local
Costco, according
to Jillette. “We love
the mixed nuts, the
cheese-and-peanut-butter
crackers, and those killer
chocolate cakes from the
bakery are amazing,” he
says.—J. Rentilly strolling through Costco, enjoying
superstars Penn & Teller—enjoying
member since 2003, has brought lady
friends to a warehouse store for a lei-
“I once had a whole date just walking
around and talking about the cool big
t ’
h
crackers, and those killer
a
says. —J. Rentilly Penn is mightier at Costco
IN 1994, COSTCO member Peter
Jeschofnig created a chemistry kit that
allowed his college students to perform
lab experiments at home.
The kits proved so
popular that, 16 years
later, Jeschofnig and
his wife, Linda, have a
name (LabPaq, www.
LabPaq.com), a company (Hands-On
Labs), 24 employees
and a new 28,500-
square-foot facility in
Englewood, Colorado.
Linda, a college
business professor,
recognized the kits’
potential and initiated
the business.
Single-use, single-student LabPaqs
are assigned by professors. Linda adds,
“Adult learners particularly appreciate
being able to take their lab science
courses online using LabPaqs to retrain
for jobs in healthcare, green energy and
other science-related fields.”
Each kit includes a lab manual, chemi-
cals, specimens and supplies to perform
the same types of experiments performed
on campus. More than 250 experiments
and 100 different LabPaqs are available in
all the hard sciences, including biology,
geology and forensic science.
Thanks to dramatic increases in
distance learning, this year the
Jeschofnigs expect to sell 40,000 of the
kits to more than 150 colleges and universities, military personnel overseas and
an increasing number of high schools in
the U.S. and Canada.—SM
Successful
chemistry
Peter and Linda
Jeschofnig, creators
of LabPaqs
(pictured below).
We want to
hear from you!
IF YOU HAVE a note, photo or story
to share about Costco or Costco
members, send it to “The Member
Connection,” The Costco Connection,
P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088,
or e-mail to
connection@costco.com
with “The Member Connection” in the
subject line. Submissions cannot be
acknowledged or returned.
