Recently, I have been called in by several business owners and managers who, despite being in diverse industry sectors, have age in common. Not their own age necessarily, although they tend to be the other side of 40, but the age of their businesses.

When a business reaches a certain point in its life, say 12,15 or 20 years old, it has often reached a peak and may even have started to decline. This is a natural process. Growth cannot continue forever and the naivety and enthusiasm that carries one through the early years can begin to wane. Cynicism starts to chip away at the all-consuming drive that these business people once had and they quite simply don’t know how to go forward.

You also find that financial hunger lessens as the business owner or manager becomes more established in life. His personal outgoings will be reducing, children are on the way to being independent and that Aston Martin is still a nice dream but it’s no substitute for a few days off occasionally and good health.

But (and it’s a big but) this is not good for business. A business that has been nurtured for a decade or so deserves complete attention if it is to survive into the future. The government pours resources into advice and support for start-up businesses, 80% of which don’t survive year one anyway.

Wouldn’t it be great if more mature businesses were given a helping hand too? The problem is that most business consultants know less than the experienced business owner so they have little to bring to the party. Business angels are usually only interested when capital is needed, meaning there is a shortage of good quality advice for the mature business. Perhaps people like us could pool our experiences and generate new ideas. On behalf of my clients and myself, I have put some thought into the options we have when it comes to combating the negative effects of age in business:

Get out

A bit radical but worth considering if your business has peaked and you feel you are flogging a dead horse. Get advice on grooming the business for sale and regain the freedom you have sacrificed. First visualise yourself six or 12 months after the sale. Would you be content with the garden and the golfing, or would you be itching to be involved with something more absorbing? More vitally, could you manage financially on the sales proceeds? If the time isn’t right you could change things instead.

Change things

A change is not as good as a rest but it can really help to restore mental energy and boost the performance of your business. Businesses decline because they fail to move with the times. If you are doing things the way you always have, no wonder you are bored and it’s becoming less effective.

Think about your products and services and the way you market them. Go back to basics and look at the four Ps – product, price, place and promotion. All of these can be changed and you probably have the experience by now to know what the market would go for. Invest some time and money in a new idea.

Revitalise your brand and package your product or service in a different way. Using our own experience as an example and recognising recessionary signs in the air, we designed the “£15,000 Marketing Package”. Never before had price been addressed so openly by a company dealing in the black art of marketing!

Our theory was that most SMEs could afford to invest this amount of money if it meant they’d get a planned 12-month campaign to help achieve their objectives. And we were right. The idea of controlled costs and a whole team working for less than the cost of a junior employee created a phenomenal demand and won us many new clients. Of course this is just a new way of packaging an existing service. But then that’s the whole point of marketing – and when you hit the spot, it really works. Think: How might repackaging your product revolutionise your profits?

Trust your people

You probably have a few people working for you by now. Have a good look at your team. They have capabilities that are not being fully used so get them together and listen to their ideas. Dismiss nothing until you have explored it. If you have a team of mixed ages and backgrounds, there is a wealth of input that you can gain from them. By doing this, you will benefit from those who haven’t been around as long as you have, at least not in this particular business.

Once new ideas have been formulated, give people the power to carry them out. Decide on a budget and let them have it.Watch as it develops. Trust them to do it without interference and offer help only when invited. Think - how can your people improve your business?

If you have a view on this, or are interested in joining an email forum for like-minded business people for the purpose of swapping ideas and intertrading, register your interest via email to ElaineNester@adm-group.co.uk

For help in developing new marketing strategies call 01743 236631 or email ElaineNester@admgroup.co.uk. First meeting and a fully costed proposal, free of charge.

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