Thriving in Business: Tips for Senior Business Owners
Starting out as an entrepreneur or continuing to thrive in an established business later in life can be both exciting and challenging. Senior entrepreneurs and seasoned business owners bring a wealth of experience, wisdom, and resilience to the table, which can be powerful assets in the business world.
Whether you’re starting a new venture or seeking to sustain and grow your existing business, leveraging these strengths effectively and adapting to the ever-evolving market landscape is essential.
Here are some practical tips to help you succeed and thrive in your business ventures.
Embrace Technology
Technology can be intimidating, but it’s also a critical component of modern business. Embracing technology can streamline your operations, improve communication, and expand your market reach. Educate yourself, leverage social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram can be powerful tools for networking, marketing, and customer engagement), and use business software such as Zoom for meetings, QuickBooks for accounting, as well as project management software.
Use Your Network
One of the greatest advantages senior businesspeople have is a vast network of personal and professional connections. This network can be a valuable resource for advice, mentorship, and future business opportunities.
Focus on Your Niche
Experience brings deep knowledge in specific areas. Using this expertise can set you apart from younger competitors. Identify your unique selling proposition and your target market and stay undated on industry trends.
Prioritize Financial Planning
Effective financial management is crucial for any business, but it’s particularly important for seniors who might be relying on savings or investments. Work with a financial advisor and look to your CPA for guidance. It might be time to consider succession planning and exit strategies. Whether you plan to pass the business to a family member or sell it, having a plan in place is essential.
Maintain Work-Life Balance
It’s important to maintain a healthy work-life balance to avoid burnout and exhaustion. Set boundaries, take care of your health, and engage in activities that bring you joy and relaxation. This can help reduce stress and keep you energized.
Seek Professional Advice
Navigating the complexities of running a business can be challenging, especially in areas like legal compliance, tax planning, and marketing. Seeking professional advice can save you time and money in the long run. A business consultant can provide personalized advice and strategies tailored to your business needs. You should always consult a lawyer for advice on contracts, intellectual property, and other legal matters.
Stay Positive and Resilient
Business is filled with ups and downs. Maintaining a positive mindset and resilience is key to overcoming challenges and achieving long-term success. Celebrate small wins, learn from failures and treat setbacks as learning opportunities. Analyze what went wrong, adapt your strategies, and move forward.
It’s never too late to start a new venture and make a significant impact. Your experience is your strength—use it to your advantage and watch your business flourish.
Starting Over at 70
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. As we enter the ninth month of contact-less networking, no get together for the holidays and binge shopping, I wanted to do something outside of my comfort zone.
Here are the first 3 articles I wrote for the North Shore Towers Courier after a conversation with Publisher Vicki Schneps of Schneps Media. I was thinking of doing this as a podcast, but Vicki suggested that I build an audience first to see if this resonated with the people I am speaking to.
Here’s what it looks like in the paper.
https://digital-editions.schnepsmedia.com/NST102020/page_11.html
Here are the November and December articles.
Who will be there for you?
I often act as health care proxy and power of attorney for my clients. I always make it clear that I am a Patient Advocate, not a family member. Yet, every time I speak to someone at the hospital or any care setting at all, the people constantly refer to ‘My Mom.’
Do they think they are reaching me at some level, where I will turn off my business sense and burst out in tears of thankfulness for their sensitivity. Surely they say this to everyone, like when the home health aide says “I treat everyone like my grandmother?”
I have several clients who are in their early seventies. They seem more like friends to me, since we are all baby boomers. They are nothing like my mother, who went to high school during WWII and lived through the depression. Their hair has less grey in it than mine! Yet, people still refer to them as ‘Your Mom’ when we are talking about their care.
Some of my clients have their own children, who have hired me because they want a professional to help them to navigate the complex and fragmented health care system. Some of the people have hired me themselves, because they are used to delegating to professionals or because they have hit a wall with the long-term care bureaucracy. They need someone to take care of business, not another child.
My mother was an executive secretary to a Supreme Court Judge. She also ran political campaigns and was the go to person when something happened in the neighborhood. She knew the bankers, the lawyers and the chiefs of whatever you needed. After she passed, many of her neighbors told me that they would miss her counsel more than anything. Even when I had to invoke her health care proxy, I didn’t think of myself as being the decision maker. I was simply carrying out her wishes. I wasn’t the ‘child’, I was the person who she had placed her faith in to convey her preferences.
As professionals, we often talk about the importance of preplanning. As we move into a time when long-term care will be ‘Managed’ along the lines of our health insurance plans, I ask you to consider the terminology that will be used to refer to the person receiving the care. Will it be the ‘user’, ‘the consumer’, or ‘your Mom’? I hope it will be the ‘individual’ with all the rights and choices that come along with the title.
AGINGICON.COM
Have you lived a life of accomplishment, doing what fulfills
you? Have you reached an age where things are harder to do?
Are you a leader and you know that you cannot do it alone?
Then, you are an Aging Icon.
My name is Caryn Isaacs.
Having been at the helm of developing hundreds of healthcare
businesses and running several multi-million-dollar companies,
my journey includes pioneering a physician-owned HMO and
active engagement in Healthcare Reform.
As a Patient Advocate, my company, GetHealthHelp, LLC,
specializes in crafting solutions that enable Aging Icons to
continue pursuing their passions.
An example is a 98-year-old author, playwriter and poet who is
suffering from fibromyalgia and thought that all her work
would be forgotten. I found a way for her legacy to continue by
publishing them as books and now working on having them
made into films.
If this sounds like something of interest, let’s meet to talk
further.
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