By Rick Felstow

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.  Hopefully, sales were great and you had time to spend with family and friends.  The NewYear always brings with it new hope, new beginnings, and of course, New Year’s resolutions.  Did you make any New Year’s resolutions?  How are you doing so far in keeping your resolutions?  You might be interested to know that statistics show that 40-45% of American adults make one or more personal resolutions each year. However, after one week, only 75% have stuck with their resolution.  After six months, less than half have maintained their resolution and only 8% stick with their resolution for the full-year.

Was Santa good to you?  I received a music CD titled, “The Barking Dogs Christmas.” Really?  This gift was like getting the traditional neck tie for Father’s Day. I also received a box set of Rocky movies (all 6 movies).  After a few “Yo, Adrienne’s,” I started to wonder what it is that inspires most people (particularly as entrepreneurs and business owners).

I am not a big Rocky fan and do not understand why someone (my dear son) would give me such a gift.  The Rocky story is a classic inspirational story for several reasons.  Rocky arises from his humble beginnings, without much of a chance of doing anything great with his life, yet he becomes the heavyweight champion of the world.  Then there is the music. Who doesn’t want to get up and take on the world when they hear the Eye of the Tiger?  Finally, there’s Stallone himself.  He had a major uphill fight to even get a studio to take on the movie.  Stallone ended up writing the screen play, got a studio to take a chance, and then starred and directed the movie.

Now, what inspires you?  Is it a movie, a book, a song that you hear on the radio when you are driving to work?  For me, I have found inspiration in many things, but I would like to focus on two other movies: The Lion King, Hook, and a song entitled, Boats to Build.  We can use these stories of inspiration for guidance and as examples that we can apply as entrepreneurs.

The Lion King is about a young lion named Simba.  Simba’s father is the alpha male leader of the pride.  What I find inspirational in The Lion King is how Simba overcomes all the obstacles that are placed before him, as well as the help he received from others in order for him to be successful.

From a business perspective, the story of The Lion King could very well apply to business succession planning.  This means preparing for a successor for your business when you make the decision to retire or to step back from your business.  Do you have a succession plan?  Do you have someone picked out to take over when you are no longer involved?  If so, are you providing them with the knowledge and tools they will need in order to carry on with the business?  Do you allow your successor to make important decisions?  It is important to think about your business when you are no longer actively involved and how you want that business to operate once you are no longer making the everyday decisions.  A succession plan is a very important part of a company’s life cycle.  If you do not currently have a succession plan, make it a New Year’s resolution to start thinking about how you might put one into place. Two good sources to help with succession planning are a knowledgeable business consultant or attorney.

Another one of my favorites is the movie Hook.  This story stars Robin Williams as Peter Pan as an adult.  Peter is a successful businessman, with a wife and two children, living in California.  Peter is very busy with his work and finds it difficult to participate in his children’s activities.  The kids come to resent Peter because he is always missing seeing them participate in school events.

The movie Hook aims to inspire that healthy balance between work and family.  For many business owners, their business is their baby and it’s all they know to do with their time.  So the question is…are you making the necessary decisions to balance your work life with your family life?  Are you allowing yourself to get away from the business from time-to-time to relax and have fun with your family?  Don’t become Peter and be that person that is missing the things that are meaningful and important for your children.  They grow up way too fast, so don’t miss out on being involved with your family as much as possible.

Finally, I found inspiration from a song entitled, Boats to Build, by Guy Clark.  Besides being a good song, with great lyrics, I look at these lyrics as a blueprint for a strategic plan.  It starts out “It’s time for a change”.  In today’s world, the status quo is often the bridge to a failed business.  Successful entrepreneurs are constantly trying to reinvent themselves and their businesses.  Thus, every business, no matter how large or small, needs to constantly update its strategic plan.  So are you ready to chart a new course for your business in order to compete in today’s challenging economy?  Winston Churchill said it best during World War II.  “He who fails to plan is planning to fail”

So do you have a New Year’s resolution yet?  Why not make one today?  A resolution does not need to be set just on the first of January.  You can create one right now, today.  Make it your resolution to create a strategic plan for your business and to create a succession plan for the next generation at your company.  And most importantly, allow yourself to create that important balance between work, life, and family life.

HAVE A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!