Sometimes, the world of entrepreneurship seems to move and change at a breakneck pace.

Everywhere you look, entrepreneurs are buzzing about the newest trends, the latest productivity hacks, and the boldest hustles that promise to take our companies to the next level.

When you are a business owner, it’s true that you must commit to never stop evolving, adapting, and learning.

This can be very daunting for some people – especially new entrepreneurs, and ESPECIALLY new entrepreneurs who are just starting to dip their toes into business ownership while in their forties, fifties, and sixties.

For someone starting a business “later” in life, it can seem like a lot to take in. It can feel like starting at the bottom – from the beginning, all over again.

Being treated like a rookie who is new to the game despite working for several decades can be a bitter pill to swallow.

But wait – older entrepreneurs need not feel demoralized.

In fact, they have a distinct advantage over younger new entrepreneurs, given their work experience and cultivating certain soft skills.

Because, while trends, hacks, technology, and fads come and go, there are some core practices that have been around forever – and they are not disappearing, at least not any time soon.

Here are 3 business practices that have been around forever, and will likely never go out of style…

It’s still about relationships

People do business with people they like and trust.

If you want to grow your business, you need to cultivate relationships.

These could include relationships with your target audience, your referral partners, your peers, your mentors, your suppliers, and your contractors – just to name a few.

Your network is your net worth – as the old saying goes.

Has the way we network changed? Absolutely.

We can now meet people online, through social media and other online outlets, and we can communicate via Skype and Zoom and have meetings and give presentations from across the globe in a way that feels like we are all interacting in the same room.

But, while the technology has changed a few things, we still need to form relationships. We still need to build rapport and trust. We still need to stay in touch with consistency after making initial contact.

You can facilitate relationships with emails and visual conference calls, but no amount of technology can’t replace a sincere human connection.

Always add value

Adding value has always come before hardline sales tactics.

Back in the day, we’d talk about the greasy car salesperson, or the aggressive door-to-door salesperson.

Those types of business people might get a few sales here and there, but their overall reputation – their brand – would suffer because they failed to offer consistent value.

They didn’t put the needs of their customer above their own sales targets. They didn’t take the time to learn about their customers, much less listen to them. They were more focused on their bottom line than they were on improving the lives of those they served.

The modern-day equivalent of this is when you see overbearing entrepreneurs on social media where they flaunt their assets and sell their wares to the point where it becomes boastful or overbearing.

These kinds of sales tactics just don’t work. And yet, we see it all the time.

If your online content – whether it be in the form of your website, your blog, a podcast, or your social media presence – doesn’t help, inspire, or entertain your target audience, it’s a complete fail.

You can’t just boast about who you are and what your product or service is, and expect customers to line up at your door. You need to create articles, memes, videos, and podcasts that add value to your specific audience.

You need to engage your audience in meaningful conversation. You need to listen and address their pain points.

Add value first, and the clients will follow.

Just be honest

One of the worst mistakes a new entrepreneur can make is trying to be everything to everyone.

This is a recipe for disaster.

The temptation to try to serve a broader audience arises when a fledgling entrepreneur becomes afraid to say “no” – often because they don’t have many clients or much business coming in.

So, they say “yes” to everything and everyone and before you know it, they are pretending to be something they’re not.

Their brand becomes diluted, their message becomes inconsistent, and their ideal customers see no reason to do business with them, because they can’t connect or align with the business’s values.

Authenticity is not easy to come by, and is often the product of hard-earned experience.

When you are a new business owner, stay true to your vision and the people you know you can help best with your product or service.

Stick to your niches and stay authentic. Don’t be desperate.

Then, and only then, will your personal values and brand values align, and you can operate your business from a place of integrity. People entering the world of entrepreneurship in their forties, fifties, or sixties might feel like they are starting from scratch, when in fact, they are not. In all likelihood, they have cultivated many soft skills that still apply to running a business today. In fact, these best practices have been around forever, and they will probably never go out of style. Business has always been, and still is, about cultivating relationships. The best business owners know how to consistently add value to their customers. And, authenticity and honesty will always be a driving force behind a successful business.