Staying power no secret for successful businesses

Businesses come and go, but for those who reach the silver or gold anniversary, it takes more than luck.

“I don’t think there is any luck involved at all beyond Divine Providence, which is different from luck,” said Gordon Crow, president and CEO of the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce. “If luck were involved, there’d be some businesses that would be out of business now and some that would still be in business.”

For companies looking to last for the long haul, survival in the 21st century are going to need a solid product or service, be adaptable to the market, be courageous in embracing innovative changes and technology and have a keen awareness of customers’ needs, according to Shawn Mauldin, dean of Nicholls State University’s College of Business.

“It’s the most successful of businesses that offer the best product or serve and double down on the best customer service,” Crow said. “Those are the ones who survive.”

And, for some, even that might not ensure long-term success.

“Sometimes, life cycles of products or services just aren’t needed anymore,” the chamber leader said. For example, steam-powered engines have given way to internal combustion engines – a change no one could foresee more than 100 years ago.

“Adaptability is another hallmark to longevity,” Crow said, a point Mauldin emphasizes regularly to business majors.

South Louisiana’s numerous “mom and pop” operations account for the majority of businesses in the Tri-parishes.

“We see, especially in South Louisiana, there are a lot of entrepreneurs,” he said. “And they bring a culture of high values and integrity to what they do.”

The abundance for smaller operations speaks to the superiority of “mom and pop” stores, Crow said. In the four weeks since he’s arrived in Terrebonne Parish, the self-professed Yankee said he’s been met with a warm Southern welcome. “I’m just amazed at the basic kindness and niceness of people here,” he said. “It should be the standard of service everywhere.”

Because “mom and pops” aren’t strapped with the bureaucracy as bigger organizations, they are generally able to adjust quicker to market changes or customer needs – a huge advantage to successfully navigate today’s competitive marketplace, Mauldin said.

“These businesses have a vested interest in keeping up with the market,” he said. “They have a keen awareness of what their customers need because, often, they are working right on the front line.

“Ultimately, luck will only take you so far,” he added. “It takes an extraordinary amount of work and the right tools to make it 50, 60 or 100 years.”

Among the most essential tools today’s professional needs is a good business plan, according to Michael Ricks, district director of the state’s Small Business Association.

“They really need to have a business plan that defines well exactly how they plan to make money,” he said. And companies’ business plans should be treated like a “living document. “Expect to make changes based on what is going on in the market.”

Citing the ever-changing cell phone distribution market, Ricks said today’s businesses should expect that technology could likely make aspects of any profession obsolete.

“What we tend to see if that businesses around for the long haul may not be selling what they were selling 100 years ago,” he said.

Today, change is imminent and fast. “I don’t know of a whole lot of cell phone distributors anymore,” Ricks said. “You almost have to go into business planning for obsolescence.”

Mom-and-pop businesses also have to plan for succession. “You have to have a succession plan in place – figure out how to pass down the business through the generations,” Mauldin said. “For family-run businesses, you should figure that out early on.”

Tujague’s Restaurant in New Orleans – the Big Easy’s second-oldest restaurant to the renowned Arnaud’s – recently saw its owner, Steven Latter, die in February. His son Mark has been running the restaurant since, but has said the operation’s future remains in question.

“It’s a tough spot to find yourself in,” Mauldin said. “And it’s one more essential part of creating an effective business plan. That flexibility toward change is going to make all the difference.”