Founded After 40

Why do you want to start a business? Without a clear purpose, you might just end up taking on everything for everyone—and pleasing no one, including yourself.

1. Define Your Purpose Clearly

Starting a business isn’t just about making money—it’s about understanding your deeper motivations. A strong purpose serves as the foundation of your venture. For example, physiotherapists succeed not just because they help with physical pain, but because they aim to give clients pain-free lives.

When Glenda Shawley initially ventured into freelancing, her activities were scattered because she lacked a clear purpose. She was just chasing profitable gigs instead of focusing on a coherent reason for her work. This left her exhausted and made it hard for people to understand what she offered. Later, when she honed her purpose—helping others launch businesses—it became easier to focus on meaningful tasks.

Understanding your "why" affects not just your choices but also your reputation. Clients are drawn to businesses driven by values they admire. Shawley’s physiotherapist example works because it focuses on a shared goal rather than money.

Examples

• A physiotherapist focused on eliminating pain connects deeply with clients.
• Shawley herself thrived once she clarified her goal of aiding new entrepreneurs.
• Freelancers often work more efficiently when they define their niche.

2. Resist the Temptation to Appeal to Everyone

No product or service can please everyone. Trying to cater to a broad audience often leads to vague offerings that fail to attract loyal customers. Narrowing your focus makes room for depth and authenticity.

Shawley explains that focusing on a deep niche creates opportunities for businesses to create tailored communication and effective advertising. Targeting mothers with newborns under three months, for instance, allows businesses to choose specific marketing tactics, like advertising in parenting forums or baby-friendly cafes.

Moreover, customers often buy what they want, not what they need. People are attracted to brands they feel speak to their desires or preferences. A woman may not prioritize essential household items but might splurge on a self-indulgent piece of jewelry.

Examples

• Tailoring language for mothers with newborns makes advertising efforts more effective.
• Apple’s appeal to creative individuals helps set it apart from generic PC brands.
• Instead of selling bread, a baker could market to foodies seeking artisan pastries.

3. Find and Understand Your Ideal Customer

Finding your ideal customer starts with choosing a niche that’s both narrow and filled with sufficient demand. Mothers with newborns are an example of a niche that’s focused yet has plenty of potential buyers.

To connect with these customers, it's vital to first research the area surrounding your business. For instance, if you dream of opening a high-end boutique, you’ll need to confirm that there’s a concentration of people in your neighborhood who can afford it. Similarly, testing your idea with minimal cost—like renting a pop-up stand—can reveal how your product is perceived.

Understanding your ideal customers deepens your connection to them. Beyond knowing who they are, testing their willingness to buy lets you optimize your offerings before fully launching your service.

Examples

• A gap in the market for baby products might inspire renting a pop-up at a baby fair.
• A pet grooming service might test its prices and services locally before full launch.
• The mosaic artist targeting affordable yet high-quality designs matches customer expectations.

4. Build Your Brand Inside and Out

Your brand isn’t just a logo or catchy slogan—it’s what people feel about every interaction with your business. Think of it as an iceberg: the visible features are only a portion of the story, while what lies below determines lasting impressions.

For example, a business with a slogan like “Feel safer with us” loses credibility if its drivers are known for reckless behavior. Similarly, much of branding today is tied to online reputation. A dissatisfied customer review on TripAdvisor can now damage your credibility beyond the reach of word-of-mouth alone.

Once you’ve defined your brand values—like reliability or affordability—it becomes easier to make consistent decisions. A mosaic designer wanting to be affordable yet high-quality can use these principles to guide everything from pricing to tone in marketing materials.

Examples

• Volvo aligns its branding around family-friendly reliability, making it easy to trust.
• Poor customer service undermines brands that promise care or kindness.
• A bakery emphasizing fresh, high-quality products avoids using frozen ingredients.

5. Choose a Pricing Strategy That Works for You

Your pricing is a balancing act between appealing to customers and covering costs. "Cost plus" works by adding a specific markup to basic costs, while "competition pricing" sets rates based on competitor behavior. Both have their limits and call for careful financial management.

Another option, value-based pricing, focuses on elevating what you offer to justify higher costs. For instance, adding unique elements like a head massage during haircuts can attract customers willing to pay more for an improved experience.

Whatever strategy you choose, tracking costs ensures any potential profits aren’t eaten up by what’s left unsold or overlooked expenses.

Examples

• Fashion brands often apply large markups to offset discounted sales later.
• A hairdresser adds a head massage to cut-hair services at a higher price tag.
• A low-margin café with tight cost control becomes a neighborhood favorite.

6. Make Your Business Customer-Centered

Rather than putting yourself at the center, focus on how your business solves problems for others. Entrepreneurial success depends on how well you identify, empathize with, and address customer needs.

Take a struggling mother who hasn’t thought about using an ironing service. Advertising with language addressing her stress and exhaustion directly connects her challenges to your business as a solution. By framing marketing around the customer's language and experience, you’re creating a bond that feels personal and impactful.

This customer-first mentality shapes every decision, from what services you prioritize to how you spread awareness.

Examples

• An ironing service positions itself as stress relief for full-time working moms.
• Travel agencies align itineraries around key concerns like safety for solo women travel.
• Ads for a tech company showing how seniors use iPads bridge specific pain points.

7. Create a Strong Hiring Process

Bringing help into your business can boost its capacity. But hiring isn’t about rushing to fill a role—poor hiring decisions can damage customer impressions and company efficiency.

Shawley gives the example of assessing candidates based on specific tasks during recruitment. A phone-based salesperson, for instance, might be asked to do a trial cold-call, while an administrative assistant could be given prioritization tasks to demonstrate organization.

Professional help accelerates growth, provided the support is based on gaps you’re struggling to fill.

Examples

• A greeting card designer outsources sales to a well-connected industry rep.
• A café hires a specialist instead of the owner attempting to manage baking solo.
• A social media assistant takes over outreach tasks for an artist.

8. Start Small Before Going Big

A low-key beginning may seem counterintuitive when launching a dream venture, but it allows you to test systems, handle customer flow, and build stability.

Shawley warns against starting with a publicized bang—because the attention might overwhelm your new venture. Testing your business in manageable phases allows for adjustments without tarnishing your customers' first impressions.

Judging early success through gradual feedback often builds organic word-of-mouth loyalty, which in turn leads to repeat customers.

Examples

• Launching a bakery through pop-up stalls helps iron out supply chain hiccups.
• Fitness trainers start with small neighborhood classes to hone group dynamics.
• Launching an app with beta testers allows developers to resolve bugs.

9. Learn the Art of Delegation

Being over forty often means managing limits like lower energy levels compared to younger counterparts. Delegating tasks appropriately ensures that you can use your time for the aspects of your business that need your personal expertise.

Shawley places value on practical delegation—whether it involves hiring contractors or automated tools. Entrepreneurs often waste countless hours on tasks better suited to specialists, like legal requirements or inventory control.

Choosing where you dedicate effort not only preserves energy but enhances efficiency.

Examples

• An accountant saves hours for a designer struggling with taxes.
• Using packaged inventory systems keeps stock manageable for small pharmacies.
• A blogger hires an editor to manage re-writes while focusing on creativity.

Takeaways

1. Test your product or service quietly before launching to avoid being overwhelmed and to fine-tune operations.
2. Shift your mindset to embrace delegating tasks that consume time and don’t require your expertise.
3. Focus on understanding not just your ideal customer's demographics, but also their emotions and pain points.