Key Messages
How Turning 40 Can Be An Opportunity For Renewal: Become Your Own Boss And Find Meaningful Work
Founded After 40 provides the perfect opportunity to find your mid-life renaissance.
By utilizing this book’s basic business guidelines, you can gain the confidence and know-how required to become your own boss, as well as make meaningful work part of your everyday reality.
It will open your eyes to what you want out of a career and how best to go about achieving it.
From determining the most suitable customer for your product or service, to creating a reputable brand and learning which pricing strategies will best suit you – all of these sections have been carefully put together in order to provide crucial guidance when beginning a new business venture in later life.
With this invaluable resource at hand, you are sure to take full advantage of discovering more about yourself whilst also expanding professionally.
We All Need A Clear Understanding Of Our ‘Why’ To Succeed In Business
Glenda Shawley, a business consultant and author, teaches that understanding your ‘why’ is essential if you want to create a successful business.
When she was freelancing in 1992, Glenda hadn’t yet started her own business because she wasn’t sure why she was doing it.
Having the right ‘why’ will not only help you decide which work to take on, but will also be an inspiring reminder to your customers when they are choosing between different businesses or products.
For instance, a physiotherapist’s ‘why’ may be to help their clients live lives without pain – something that potential clients would have a strong resonance with and it could be what sets them apart from other physiotherapists whose motivation is simply profit.
Without a clear ‘why’, Glenda found herself taking on any work that paid well; this not only became exhausting but also confusing for her network of contacts who weren’t able to effectively refer her to certain clients.
Her newfound clarity created focus, with the motivating goal of helping individuals launch their own businesses guiding each client on board and decision made.
When searching for your own ‘why’ try considering your passions, interests and unique strengths – recognising those things that make you who you are and enhance how you interact with the world around you can provide brilliant insight into understanding your reason behind wanting to start a business in the first place.
If solo reflection doesn’t yield as much clarity as hoped, tap into your support system – family and friends should be able to lend another perspective with their individual interpretations of what’s special about you!
Understanding The Fundamental Principles Of Good Business Before Starting A Venture
When starting your own business, it is important to have a deep understanding of the fundamentals that can propel your venture forward.
Unfortunately, too many entrepreneurs fall victim to making common mistakes such as trying to appeal to everyone or assuming customers will buy what they need instead of what they want.
Founded After 40 by Robert Kiyosaki provides an insight into how these issues can be avoided and sets you on the right track for success.
By understanding that tailoring your products or services towards a particular niche is a key to having customer loyalty, or knowing that people prefer buying things they want over things they need, can provide invaluable information.
Having a comprehensive knowledge of how basic principles work in the business world will help you avoid pitfalls that can derail your success; so make sure you equip yourself with the necessary tools before launching your exciting new venture!
Identifying Your Ideal Customer Niche And Researching Your Local Environment To Ensure Profitability
When starting a business or launching a new product, one of the most important steps is to identify your target customer.
Having an idea of who you’re trying to reach with your product or service and understanding their needs is key.
While it pays to pick a niche that’s both narrow and deep, such as mothers with babies under three months old, it’s also important to research your local area before deciding on your ideal customers.
You can research potential customers in different ways, from talking to them directly at events such as markets, pop-ups and conferences, to gathering data from housing developments near you or by taking surveys online that are targeted at your specific demographic.
By getting to know what it is that potential customers really think about your brand and products, you’ll be better able to make well-informed decisions about how best to target them.
The Power Of Branding: How To Build An Authentic Business Identity
When it comes to successful branding, there’s more than meets the eye.
Most people assume that brand is only what customers see when they come into contact with a business; the logos, designs, store fronts, and staff uniforms.
But this is only the visible part of an iceberg – beneath the surface are consistent core values that create an engaging and authentic atmosphere that can be experienced through customer service, customer reviews, and written communication from the business.
When it comes to creating a successful brand for your business it is essential that your visible elements are consistent with what you’re representing below the surface – otherwise your customers could have a totally different experience than expected.
For example if you have a slogan of ‘Feel safer with us’ then having reckless delivery drivers would absolutely undermine this message.
Now more than ever with websites such as TripAdvisor or Facebook allowing customers to easily share their experiences with thousands of people – companies need to back up their statements by providing services or products that embody them core values.
A good way to determine what brands represent is through crafting core values which reflect on every element of your brand in order for it to be both consistent and meaningful.
Say for example if as an artist-entrepreneur you wanted to offer affordable high-quality mosaic pieces -your core value should be consistent across all aspects in order for them maintain integrity in the product and company vision.
Overall, getting branding right requires consistency over time while keep focusing on describing its underlying purpose on why the customers should engage with one’s product or service – this way potential customers can develop positive associations behind any given brand which in turn will decide its success!
The Key To Finding Financial Success: How To Choose The Right Pricing Strategy For Your Business
Having the right pricing strategy is key to turning a profit when starting a business, particularly as an older entrepreneur who may have more experience with managing funds.
Thankfully, having a plan can make all the difference.
Establishing your selling price requires you to consider the type of pricing model that works best for your venture and how much of your costs will be recouped at each sale.
One such method is cost plus pricing—calculating a product’s or service’s true cost, before adding an extra percentage to arrive at your desired price.
By familiarizing yourself with what’s typical in your field, you’ll stay competitive without losing too much financial ground.
Alternatively, there’s competition based pricing where setting prices below rival averages can be a great way to attract customers; however, it can sometimes bring smaller profits than expected as holding expenses in check is essential for success.
And for larger markups without sinking your business margins, try value-add pricing by offering something special that persuades customers to dig deeper into their wallets – like complimentary gifts or bundled items in order to really stand out from the crowd and maximize gains.
Put Customers At The Center Of Your Business For Successful Entrepreneurship
When you’re looking to start a business, it’s essential that the needs of your customers come before your own.
Too often business owners identify their ideal customers, set a price point, and then expect those customers to line up with no effort on their part.
In order to make sure that your company is customer-centric right from the get go, it’s important that you consider their journey throughout your business.
Start by raising awareness of your product or service in a way that puts your customer’s needs at the forefront.
Think about what problem they have and how you can provide them with an unexpected solution to said problem.
For example, if you own an ironing service, focus on describing the stress-relieving benefits of outsourcing such tasks when advertising.
You could say something along the lines of ‘Too much to do causing you headaches and sleepless nights? Reduce your stress levels by letting us do the ironing.’
By doing this from the beginning, you’ll ensure that each and every customer feels like their needs are being taken seriously and it’ll pay off for both of you in the long run.
Make sure to always keep the customer central in all decision making processes within your business for maximum success!
How To Stay Ahead Of The Challenges As A Mid-Life Entrepreneur
When you’re running a business, it’s important to recognize when you need an extra pair of hands.
You may find yourself struggling with a time-consuming task or perhaps too busy with other commitments that you don’t have time to get everything done.
That’s why it’s essential to understand when the right person can help you out and make the process more efficient.
Natures Nutrition‘s Founder After 40 book summarizing provides insight into how to find just the right person for the job.
It focuses on implementing a recruitment process in order to select the best candidate as well as how to assess their skills through telephone interviews or in-tray exercises.
This approach ensures that no stone is left unturned and that you’ll get the very best help for your business, who will be better skilled at getting things done quickly and effectively, allowing you more opportunity for self-fulfillment and success!
Wrap Up
Founded After 40 is a must-read for those looking to start their own business later in life.
The key takeaway from the book is that you need to have a clear sense of purpose, financial strategy, and knowledge of your customers for your venture to succeed.
You also need to take advantage of the self-knowledge and finances you’ve accrued over the years, as well as preparing yourself for the physical strain that comes with running an older business by recruiting help where necessary.
The final summary: it’s important to look before you launch – don’t jump into launching your business with outrageous expectations; start quietly and let word of mouth do its work.
It’s likely best if you give yourself time before opening up fully; this way, your customers will get the experience they’d expect and more!
