As if After 55 entrepreneurs don't have enough to do, we must also be attentive to keeping our businesses fresh and up to date. The marketplace is changing at incredible speed and, if we want to remain in business and see our business grow, we must keep up with the possible options and the interests of our customers. We all know by this time in our lives that paths are rarely straight and it's the detours that bring great fulfillment to us.

Patti Kurgan is a case in point. Her most recent journey began, as so many do, with her divorce in 2003. She realized that she would have to go back to work to support her children.

She took a job as an office manager for two years before moving to start a company of her own--a company like the one she grew up with. Her father owned a shipping and distribution company in Chicago. Kurgan started working in the office when she was in grammar school and eventually worked her way up to controller.

In 2005, Astro Logistics Inc. opened its doors and Kurgan was busy making sales calls, scheduling freight domestically and internationally, and doing the myriad other tasks needed to launch a new business. Many would have stopped there; Kurgan broadened her horizons.

In 2006, Kurgan earned a certificate from the business school's Bard Center for Entrepreneurship at University of Colorado Denver and an MBA from the university. She wanted to have the strongest background she could to ensure her business would be successful . . . and she continued making connections.

Kurgan next joined the Denver chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. Within three years, she was treasurer and had a major role in expanding her chapter from a city to a state organization. She is still vitally involved and helps train women to position their companies to receive the 5 percent set aside for government contracts to women . . . and she makes connections.

When Kurgan contracted to move windmills from manufacturing to installation sites, she realized this market would be growing, and she wanted to be informed. In 2008, Kurgan was one of 20 Colorado executives who participated in an intensive, senior-level program at National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a facility of the U.S. Department of Energy in Golden, Colo. She was expanding her knowledge to expand her business . . . and she made connections.

Each of these steps has exponentially increased Kurgan's areas of expertise, her network and opportunities. Looking back on these eventful four years, these important lessons come into focus for all of us:

1. Start your business in an area where you have previous experience. Kurgan knew the freight logistics business thoroughly, and that give her immediate credibility and confidence.
    
2. Previous experience, even extensive experience, doesn't diminish the importance of getting additional education and/or training to bring all your skills to the highest levels. Even with her deep knowledge, Kurgan headed back to the university to sharpen her skills in business and entrepreneurship.
    
3. Become involved in organizations that are supportive of women in business. It is vitally important to both learn and teach. NAWBO has become a resource for Kurgan to practice her leadership skills and share her knowledge with her peers. It is also a trusted source of colleagues.
    
4. Stay alert to what is important to your customers and for new trends in the marketplace. Had Kurgan not been alert to the potential for growth in the renewable resources industry, she would have missed the opportunity to be at the forefront of leadership in this dynamic field.
    
5. Always place yourself where you can make meaningful connections. In each of the examples above, Kurgan established herself as a resource in an ever-widening circle of expertise.

Has all of this exposure and learning come easily? Absolutely not. We all know that the commitment to being the best business owner possible requires hard work, tradeoffs and diligence, but the rewards can be immense.