Businesses always face challenges, this simply goes with the territory. We can lose a major client, lose a key member of staff, struggle with cash flow, have a new competitor open up next door or a host of other potential issues. Our attitude towards these challenges is often the difference between getting through or not.

When times get tough financially there are always a lot of negative media stories close at hand. Everything we read, watch or listen to is filled with doom and gloom. It doesn’t take long for every conversation to turn to the subject of the latest crisis and generally everyone leaves the meeting, coffee shop or water cooler feeling depressed.

The reality is that none of us knows how bad things may become and there is not a lot we can do to change global conditions. But we can have a positive influence on those around us. At times like this people want, and in fact crave, positivity but sadly we tend to slide more easily into negativity. The reality is that a bunch of people standing around talking about doom and gloom does very little to grow a business or make it profitable.

As a business owner you are the business barometer. Your staff will reflect your mood. If you are ready to jump out of a window, your staff will pick up on that and they will start to share your gloomy mood, wor-rying about their jobs and their future.

As hard as it may be, business owners need to be motivated, inspiring and energised. Focus on managing the issues that can be controlled be-cause there is not a lot of point worrying about the things we have abso-lutely no control over. This is the time to surround yourself with positive people, to read books that fire you up, to watch movies that make you jump up and down, and to look for the positives in your world rather than the negatives.

Don’t get caught up in the vortex of negativity. Rather, become a beacon of positivity and it will rub off on those around you and benefit everyone. Behind every truly successful business is an inspirational individual who manages to remain positive and calm when everyone else is falling apart.

Sometimes a complex concept like leadership can best be described through observing it in action. This is a very funny and very informative window into human behaviour.

In recent months I have been encountering more and more older (50+) people who are busy starting up their own business. There are lots of reasons for this, and if you read this article at USA today they attribute the trend to:

1. Corporate layoffs – clearly more relevant in the USA than Australia.

2. Shifting values – people wanting to take control of their lives and actually have a life instead of the corporate treadmill.

3. An ageing population.

4. Innovative technology – this makes it easier and often cheaper to start a new business.

5. Business skills – the 50+ market has a lot of skill in the business world.

I have so much admiration for people who leave the semi-secure corporate world to enter the somewhat erratic and insecure world of self employment. It is a big step and it really takes courage. But, the reality is that this is an excellent time to start a business as long as you can get past the worry and lack of financial security.

It is certainly easier to start a business these days. There are “soft” businesses like EBay which really holds little or no risk to the business owner. There are many franchises targeted at the older buyer, with the realisation that there is a big market for products and services to be sold within the Baby Boomer’s demographic. Who better to sell to them – other Baby Boomers.

And if you are a little more mature, and you think you are getting a little long in the tooth to start your career as an entrepreneur – rest assured many very successful business owners didn’t get started until they were over fifty.

Two of the most famous mature entrepreneurs feed the masses, but with slightly different food. Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame needs little introduction. Even though he had run his own diner he didn’t embark on his franchising and global expansion of KFC until he was sixty years old. In ten years he had over 600 franchisees.

Secondly is Louise Hay, who started a global publishing and new age movement after her fiftieth birthday. Drawing on her own life experiences, Louise realised that things had to change so in her own life and she documented the steps she took towards a better life.

As people noticed the profound changes in her, she realised that she was not alone and in fact, many people wanted to make similar changes. So she started to share her own journey and experiences with like minded people, to the point where Hay House publishing has produced millions of books, products and events around the world and many say, this company has done more to help people that any other company on the planet.

I think we are going to see an entire new entrepreneurial generation evolving in the next 20 years and I think it is going to be very impressive. Maturity, calm, financial resources, energy, time, a supportive network and wisdom are all significant contributors to running a successful business and the older entrepreneurs – or the Boompreneurs, have it all.

Further to my earlier post, the author of the “Self Empowerment Pledge” is a man by the name of Joe Tye. He is a specialist Values Coach based in the USA. Take a moment to have a look at his site. Joe has some great tools and advice that really resonate with my own beliefs. Clearly he is a smart operator with real integrity. Congratulations Joe and we hope to see you in Australia sometime soon.

Joe Tye Website