In an article some time ago on Inc.com, Jeff Haden wrote about a study of 2.7 million Start-ups, and the ideal age to start a business.
Some interesting observations from the article are –
A 40-year-old start-up founder was 2.1 times more likely than a 25-year-old to establish a successful start-up.
A 50-year-old start-up founder was 2.8 times more likely than a 25-year-old, and 2.2 times more likely than a 30-year-old to establish a successful start-up.
And a 60-year-old start-up founder was 3 times more likely than a 30-year-old to establish a successful start-up, and 1.7 times more likely to establish a start-up that winds up in the top 0.1 percent of all companies.
The obvious question is “Why?”
Why do the numbers favour the “older” business owners?
Well, according to Haden, although there are plenty of reasons, one key factor is the difference between IDEAS and EXECUTION.
Ideas are great, but execution is everything. Many people can come up with ideas, but far fewer people can execute.
It reminds me of Dwight Eisenhower’s quote – “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
A plan matters, but tactics, execution – those things that are done daily – are what matter, are what helps businesses grow.
All businesses, not only start-ups, know that when you have limited experience, it is much harder to develop a sound strategy, execute well, and to make smart tactical decisions, especially when you already must make a host of decisions daily.
This is where it is important to remember the old saying – “You need to know what you don’t know.”
And to know what you don’t know, you need experience.
The thing with experience though, is that it only comes with time. So, can experience be sped up?
The answer is a definite no. Experience cannot be sped up, and successful business owners or entrepreneurs don’t have some intangible something that others don’t.
What is possible is exposure to experience, and it works like this.
Take a bunch of business owners from different industries and different ages and you have experience.
Put them around the same table.
Then, let them do the following –
Let each one of them share what they believe is a challenge or opportunity that they have in their business.
Let them share what they’ve done to try and solve this.
Then, let them ask questions to each other to get a better understanding of what the individual challenges or opportunities are, and if what they believe to be the challenge or opportunity, is in fact a challenge or opportunity that deserves priority.
Now, let them offer advice to each other based on (1) their understanding of each other’s’ challenges or opportunities, and (2) their own experience.
Finally, let each one of them use the advice they received to make a tangible and measurable decision that they commit to implement.
On a regular basis bring these business owners back together to check in on each other’s progress on the decisions they committed to implement in their previous meeting.
Let them hold each other accountable for those decisions – get feedback on what worked, and what didn’t work, so that they can all learn and again offer advice.
Then let them repeat what they did in their first meeting.
Do this, and you have a group of business owners getting exposed to and benefitting from the experience of others in real-time without them having to go through it themselves.
Now you have a group of business owners that can focus on the actual real-time tactics needed to get them the results they want, no matter their age and experience.
At The Alternative Board® we have been doing this for more than 25 000 business owners, for more than 31 years, and we are now doing it in 22 countries.
If you want to benefit from real-time experience without having to go through those experiences yourself, contact us and let’s see how we can get you to share in the wisdom of others for your own bottom line success.