A business is like a person moving through the different stages in life. When the business is young, it's obsessed with learning, improving itself, conquering it's industry, making a mark and looking good while doing it. As it gets older it can either age gracefully or become the proverbial old guy in the socks and sandals.



The excuses both businesses and people use for not aging gracefully are all the same.
    Lack of time.
    Being busy.
    Focusing on more "important" things.
    And sometimes just running out of energy and giving up a little.

    If you think you may have fallen into this trap personally or professionally here's some advice on how to bust out of it.

    ###Take a cue from reality makeover shows###

    We all need a little rejuvenation sometimes. If the person running the business doesn't feel good, where's the energy going to come from?
    Go get a haircut, new suit, new shirt from Thinkgeek.com, go for a run or get some new art or furniture for the office. Cosmetic facelifts work
    wonders, why do you think people change their lives so much after makeover shows.

    ###Reclaim Your Time###

    When you first started your business I can guarantee you spent waaaaayyy too much time tweaking your logo, finding just the right font and obsessively experimenting with color pallets. It was more than likely because you didn't have any clients but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Now that you've become established and busy you probably haven't given much thought to those things anymore. It's time to put some effort back into those things. Schedule some time to primp and preen that logo or redesign the most perfect business card. If you have employees it will energize them to see attention being put into the business as well.

    ###Start Up Again###

    Well you don't literally have to start your business up again but you can live the experience vicariously. I often check the web for new design companies and pour through every bit of their sites. I watch for trends and laugh at mistakes but more importantly it brings me back to the days when I was first starting out. Being in that mindset releases me from the shackles of "experience" and allows me to look at things with an open mind again, to ask myself how I'd do it over if I were just starting out today.

    It's a really powerful mindset to place yourself in, especially when you can apply the wisdom you've gained over the years.