After55:

I was talking with Gillie Haynes, speech coach extraordinaire, the other day.  As business owners, we are constantly “presenting” our company, products and ourselves, yet public speaking is ranked very, very high on the list of stress-producing activities.  As someone who loves to talk, I don’t quite understand it, but Gillie sure does.  I asked her to give me three points about public speaking that would be of instant help to all of us.  Here they are:

1. Trust Yourself. It’s important to be confident in your area of expertise. You should feel extremely comfortable talking about your specific area.

2. Do Not Over-Think It. In your presentation, share the information you would want to receive without the extras that sometimes take away from the real message.

3. Have a Great Time. Begin with the intent to truly enjoy sharing information and ideas that you are passionate about and expect that your audience will be just as excited to receive the information.

Good points, aren’t they?  If that isn’t enough to get you comfortable in front of your chamber of commerce, contact Gillie at gilliehaynes@aol.com and find out what it will take to raise your star power.

The current wisdom among economists and pundits is that this current recession/downturn will last another six to 18 months.  Rather wide range, isn’t it?  With this piece of knowledge, what are you doing to ensure that your business will be around?  Are you looking for new applications for your products or services?

A friend of mine’s market research business has been very hard hit; she is now using the research skills she has honed over the years to do forensic research on companies and products.  Same skills, different focus–and the possibility of weathering the storm.  Keep thinking of new ways to offer your products, reposition your products and solve customers’ problems in new ways.  Your most important product is between your ears–THINK!

One the lighter side —

“Then remember the story of the poor farmer who lost his crops to a drought, battled disease in his cattle and watched his barn go up in flames after being hit by lightning. Somehow, he maintained his pleasant disposition and sense of humor. How did he stand it, his neighbors wondered.

“Well, it’s like this,” the farmer said. “In the Bible, it says, ‘It came to pass.’ But it never says ‘It came to stay.’ ”

Mackay’s Moral: Your biggest worry should be that you are worrying too much.
– Harvey Mackay

No, honey, I don’t mean the kind that removes age spots! Well, maybe I do. I am talking about focus, focus, focus. As entrepreneurs, and especially women entrepreneurs of a certain age, we are used to doing everything ourselves.  If you’re cleaning the sink, you can’t be making income-producing calls–unless you have a cleaning business!  What are your greatest strengths?  Focus, focus, focus on them.  When you’re that good at what you do, no one will notice the age spots!

If your position is everywhere, your momentum is zero.

Michael Korda

“You don’t have to put an age limit on your dreams.”
–Dara Torres, 2008 Olympic champion

Oh, how right she is! Torres again competed at the 2008 Olympics at age 41 and won! I am always reminded of the woman who wanted to go to med school when she was 40 and was afraid she was too old to start at that age. A friend told her that in seven years she could either be a 47-year-old or she could be a 47-year-old doctor. Fortunately she chose Door No. 2.

Just think! You could be a 55- or 61- or 70-year-old successful entrepreneur–with many years left to enjoy your business. Age has little to do with running a business–get started . . . NOW!

My policy is to learn from the past, focus on the present and dream about the future. I’m a firm believer in learning from adversity. Often the worst of times can turn to your advantage. My life is a study of that.
– Donald Trump

I am not the greatest fan of the Donald, but these are true, wise words.  Many times the future is what we dream it to be, no matter our circumstances now.  Rather than say, “Woe is me!”  try asking, “What is the benefit here?  What is the opportunity?”  You’ll be amazed at the extraordinary results that come from asking the right question.

Before we go any further in the step-by-step of opening a business, I want to inject a note of reality here. I have just read David Brooks’ op-ed piece about genius in The New York Times. He echoes what I have read elsewhere, and what I think bears repeating here if someone is thinking that she will whip up a startup company or simply follow her newfound bliss and become an instant millionaire. OK, it has happened, but the number of cases is infinitesimal compared with the number of startups that go belly up each year.

The issue is that excellence has been found to be the product of at least 10,000 hours of focused work on your area of interest or desired expertise. It seems that there is no way around this figure: 10,000 hours minimum. What does that break down to? I’ve done the math for you because I was curious, too:

10, 000 = 250 40-hour workweeks = 5 years of 50 weeks

(generous soul that I am, I have allowed for two-week vacations each year).

Maybe you have a leg up on this number because you have worked in your intended field. That doesn’t mean you will automatically have a “Get Out of Work” card; it means that you can still devote necessary hours about the aspects of your business that you have not studied.

You already know I am passionate about owning your own business. I also want to be fair and clear–having the knowledge to do it successfully is not a slam dunk (I can’t believe I’m using sports metaphors!).

OK, I am assuming you have done your homework from the last post–oh, my! It was 10 days ago!  Time really flies when you are running a business, doesn’t it?

My point exactly. . . just because you’re in the midst of starting or running a business doesn’t mean you don’t take time to think about your business and what the value proposition is.  This week’s assignment is to take those three unique qualities of your business that you last identified and write every wonderful thing about them from your customer’s point of view!

No matter how in love with your idea you are, if your customer doesn’t understand why she should love it, too, you will be soon putting up your “closed” sign.  That’s right. Write a paragraph for each of the three qualities as if they were testimonials for your business.  Do they really ring true to you or, deep down, do you think your reaction indicates you need to do more work on the concepts? Better to go back to the drawing board now, when you don’t have a ton invested and are not carrying a lot of inventory.  Listen to your gut–are you on target or missing the mark?

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.”

- Helen Keller

 I hope you have now identified an area you would like to address by starting your own business. For entrepreneurs, there is a lot of activity between the two pillars of Helen Keller’s statement, and that is where success begins–with a lot of planning and hard work. Talk to any entrepreneur and you will find she is always thinking about her business.  Entrepreneurs love the “product,” and the intricacies and challenges of bringing it to market. Here is this edition’s question:

What three features or qualities make my idea/product/service different from what is already out there?

This may seem like a pretty simple question, but it will be the foundation for your sales and marketing efforts.  Don’t slide over this step.

Of course, there’s a side of entrepreneurship we don’t like to talk about–when the going gets beyond tough, when the water is rising higher than your Wellingtons.  Yet, we Women of a Certain Age know a thing or two about keeping on keeping on.  To whit, I am going to ask you to do me a favor–when you do, I think you’ll be inspired and motivated, and no longer weakened by seeing the world through rose-colored lenses.

Cindy White is an entrepreneur of many years standing, and the creek is rising.  I met her, as we each do with new friends we feel a kinship with,  through someone I know and trust saying, “Would you take a look at this?”  I did and I’m glad.  Here’s what I’m asking:  Please click here and read about Cindy–good looking, too, no?  If you feel like it, please make a comment–no pressure, just if you feel like it.  Getting a lot of visitors and comments/votes will not ensure that she’ll come out a winner, but it won’t hurt either.  What’s in it for you?  Glad you asked:

The opportunity to:

1. Meet one of us
2. Read a great story
3. Help a “sister”
4. When you’re finished reading, take a look at her website. Her product is nothing short of magnificent.  I have been in the garment business nearly all of my working life, and I have never seen anything like it.  Yum!

Let’s go, girls, and win one for the After 55.  Rah!

When Pat Henriques started her corporate relocation service, she knew that the important components of a successful corporate move were organization, a solid plan and strong communication with the client.  Doesn’t sound like rocket science, does it?  How many times have you had questions about a large project you were heading–corporate organization to redoing your kitchen–only to lack a firm grasp of the schedule and work progression, yet you had trouble contacting your point person?  Now you understand what Pat brought to the table.  Her experience managing a law firm taught her volumes about precision, accountability and anticipating needs in a stressful environment.  She didn’t need to reinvent the wheel; she made sure the wheel  moved smoothly.

A good place to start thinking about a business is: “What can I do just a little bit better?”

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
–Steve Jobs

As we start the journey of exploring ways to replenish our retirement (and day- to-day) accounts through entrepreneurship, let’s look at this quote.  What business should you start? Here’s one idea. How many times have you struggled with getting something done and thought there has to be a better way to do this? If you’re like me, it’s not a rare occurence. Probably one of those “burrs in your saddle” bothers you more than others.  Your assignment is to identify one item or process you think can be done better and give some serious thought to exactly how to make it better.  You’re on your way to innovation!  As always, keep in touch.

According to Careerbuilder, “60 percent of workers over age 60 believe they’ll need to delay retirement because of money they’ve lost during the economic downturn, with 73 percent of those saying they’ll need to work an additional six years to recoup what they’ve lost.”

These are really big numbers!  Because we are all here on Entrepreneur.com, we know that one of the ways this 60 percent of workers are meeting this challenge is by starting their own businesses and reinventing their future.  That is exactly what this blog, my sister column After55 on WomenEntrepreneur and my website, Silver Vixens, will be focusing on in the coming weeks.  Stay in touch and keep in touch.