I’ve Spent 37 Years in Business — Here’s How I Beat the Odds and Stayed Ahead

I have led a successful media production and communication consulting company for over three decades. That means I have beat the odds. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “about 20% of new businesses fail in their first two years, 45% fail in their first five years, and 65% fail in their first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses survive for 15 years or more.”

What’s interesting is that these percentages have not changed that much since the mid-1990s. Beating the odds and having staying power is not a matter of luck. It takes consistent effort to meet customer needs, be financially responsible and grow at a pace that allows you to manage the growth while continuing to provide a quality product or service.

There are many reasons businesses fail: lack of financing, poor location or ineffective marketing. The list goes on and on. I would argue that it all comes down to one thing, or should I say one person.

Companies fail because of the entrepreneur. That same person who created the business can be the undoing of a profitable enterprise. I know. What I do today differs from what I did in the early years. I have purposely “remade” my job every five to seven years. Here are a few things I have learned about how to stay relevant over the decades.

Don’t get complacent

It is easy to get complacent and just keep doing the same thing over and over. Some entrepreneurs get comfortable and lose that spirit that made them successful in the first place. They move from being courageous to simply managing the business.

All you need to do is look at companies like Blockbuster, Kodak, Borders and so many others. When you fail to innovate, others pass you by. When you fail to take risks, you miss opportunities. It is easy to believe your product or service will stand the test of time. But not everyone is L.L. Bean, John Deere or Coke. These are brands that have more than a 100-year history. They have staying power but did not get complacent. They continue to innovate. Entrepreneurs need to monitor their operations and adjust consistently.

Related: How to Adapt When Your Product Stagnates

Stay hungry

You love it when you finally can breathe because you have consistent, loyal customers. But it is a mistake to think your customers will always want or need what you do. For about thirty years, my company worked with a major furniture manufacturer. We were there every month producing employee communications, a video business review that became the preferred method of sharing information.

Until it wasn’t. The company decided to move the video production in-house and did not give us any notice. At one point in our company history, losing this customer would have been devasting. They were more than 60% of our sales. However, my business advisors warned me to diversify and capture new clients. We did. By the time we got the news that they would do it alone, they were less than 5% of our sales. Overdependence on a few large customers is risky.

Every year, I take stock of my customer portfolio, so I never worry about whether a customer decides to move on. Sure, it hurts, but it will not take the company down. I also take time to watch industry trends. When one industry is experiencing challenges, others are doing well. Stay curious. Stay hungry.

Related: 7 Tips to Stay Ahead of the Curve in Your Industry

Get out of the way

One of the things I loved to do in the early years was go out to customer sites. I loved the interaction, doing the work and seeing the results. It is gratifying when your customer wants you on the job. However, entrepreneurs can easily fall into the trap of thinking that they can do it better than anyone else and that they want to be involved in every decision.

Early on, I had a business partner. He was that type of individual. One of the key things that led to the break-up of the partnership was his need to control everything. We hired qualified people, but they did not really make decisions.

As a result, there were times we could not move quickly enough. One day, I entered the office, and the supplies we ordered were sitting there. When I asked why they had not been put away the office manager responded that she was waiting for my partner to tell her where things should go. That was a wake-up call. Soon after that we began to dissolve the partnership.

One of the things I learned is that building a talented team is not enough. You need to get out of their way if you want to grow. Today, I set expectations and talked about the results we need to achieve. My team may not do the work the way I do, and that’s OK if we get the results.

Getting out of the way can be humbling for an entrepreneur. It is also freeing because you get to do more interesting work.

Embrace change

If you manage to stay in business for any period, you will need to change. I have navigated the Gulf War Recession, the dotcom recession, the Great Recession that started toward the end of 2007 and lasted until 2009, Covid and the Great Resignation.

It is never easy, but when others are throwing the towel in or stagnating, I look at ways to change and help our customers. Everything is on the table. Nothing is precious. When things are at their worst, doing nothing is not an option. In my opinion, doing what everyone else is doing may also not be the best course of action. In other words, when some people zig… you may want to zag.

As I approach forty years in business, I hope to keep growing, changing and beating the odds.

Related: 4 Bold Leadership Moves Every Successful CEO uses to Navigate Change