The New Year is upon us, the landscape is definitely changing for many of us and it's time to put pen to paper on what our plans are going to be for next year to reflect those changes.  It is a time of renewal for many businesses, but also a time to sit back and look at the successes and failures we made as business owners for 2009.  While we reflect on the good times and the bad, don't forget to take a break for yourself (get unplugged), take a deep breath and move forward. 

It seems that we take one step forward and two steps back at times and it’s just darn right frustrating.  Don't give up, many are on that same boat, looking for that island filled with treasure.  Sometimes you get a few waves crashing over the bow, but PERSEVERE is the name stamped on the side of the ship you’re sailing on.

The Zen of Business, that’s how I look at it sometimes.  We are all walking different paths to success and this road gets real rocky to a point where it becomes so rough that you just want to throw in your hat and just turn around and walk back the way you came.  Since you took this path, this is unlikely and the road you paved has disappeared behind you.  There is no turning back.  Don't give up!  Change that walk into a four-wheel drive truck with a big blower on the hood with Yokohama studded tires and attack that terrain.  Don’t tear up the road with haste, but take every step carefully with a purpose, with a drive and a plan.  Go up that hill slowly, as each tire touches the changes in that landscaped road and take yourself to the top.

Upgrade those pair of shoes and create your own vehicle.

Rethink your plan for 2010.  Talk to someone.  Listen to their advice and implement.  I have found myself at times gritting my teeth at some of the suggestions made to me by my advisors and mentors and end up not implementing them.  Why?  Could be the fear of change?  Am I just pig headed?  Am I seeing the results differently in my mind  and label it as something that won't work.  It would be nice if we could all step outside our bodies and look around, to see ourselves and realize that the change must come from within.  They may be right, but you won't know until you try it.  What could it hurt?  If you feel like the change in your landscape looks a little rocky, seek someone’s help.  Jump in that new tricked out road climbing truck and talk to an advisor, a friend, another business owner.

My advice to you and from my own advisors is to make a plan for next year.  WRITE IT DOWN!  Take it with you wherever you go.  Look at it, continue to tweak it.  Reprogram your mind to make it work.  It will soon turn it into a piece of art and its beauty admired by many.  Go out, get a notebook, keep it with you all the time, put your thoughts down, journal if you must, but at least you have it.  Review it daily. 

 

Now, don’t take months to put this together.  Give yourself a date and implement it.  You don’t need to make it perfect, you just need to make it.  The fine tuning comes later.  Test the waters, retool if necessary, but just do it!

At Twin Cities Entrepreneurs, we have noticed a big shift wrapped around this economy and we have seen many businesses come and go, and many of them have been friends of ours for many years.  We wish those people the best in prosperity in whatever road they take. 

While engaging in conversation with other leaders in our community, life-changes seems to be the theme lately.  Everyone is going through one transition or another.  I have noticed it in our business community, I hear comments from those who lead networking and other social groups.  There seems to be a rotation of people no matter where you go.  Transition is coming and it is one thing that is around that next corner.  When it hits, take it, work with it, and move on.  Don’t let fear be the driver when a change in lifestyle is at your door.

With the stories we hear from many business owners, we decided to change also to be more accommodating and bring our community a little closer together.  For 2010, we are going to focus more on providing workshops for our entrepreneurs (online and offline classroom environment), quarterly events, and additional online resources.  Our direction will be moving more to an online presence to be more convenient for you.  Many of our members are micro-businesses, many whom work from home and with running a business, your time is very valuable with little breaks in between.  With an online presence, we can be more useful to you at any time of the day (except for some of the workshops and events).

You may have noticed our new webpage, and it is still a work in progress.  So we apologize for any inconvenience.  We will be fully online by the end of January 2010.

We wish all of you a happy holiday and a new years.

Jim Cormican
Founder
Twin Cities Entrepreneurs