Entrepreneurship starts with an idea. One of the challenges once the business gets off the ground, though, is coming up with more ideas that push the company forward.

An idea often stems from inspiration and lacking that, some business owners say, can result in stagnation or a failed enterprise.

“Without innovation and forward thinking, no business can succeed,” says Peter J. Strauss, an attorney, entrepreneur and author of The Business Owner’s Definitive Guide to Captive Insurance Companies. “But being a business owner is very demanding, and you’ll hit a wall where you can’t seem to come up with new ideas.

“To be a successful entrepreneur, you have to stay on the search for the next idea, and that requires inspiration. If you just wait for that to happen, your doors eventually will be closing. You have to try different ways to find and bottle inspiration.”

Strauss can discuss where to locate inspiration and, just as importantly, how to turn those revelations into resolutions that drive business.

     Discussion topics:

• What do you tell business owners who are overwhelmed by the day-to-day operations and don’t have time to meditate over ground-breaking ideas?
• Does lacking a long-term vision for the business in effect limit an owner’s ability to find inspiration on a regular basis?
• Does lacking inspiration, or running out of it, correlate with an owner losing passion for his or her business? How do they prevent that from happening?
• Is “the big idea” often right under an entrepreneur’s nose in the form of existing problems at the company that need fixing?
• While at work, what are some good ways an entrepreneur can find inspiration?
• How can peers or even competitors help an entrepreneur find inspiration?
• Does “getting away” – a long vacation, long walks on a daily basis – fuel inspiration, or is there a regular regimen that can spring a fountain of ideas?

About Peter J. Strauss

Peter J. Strauss (www.peterjstrauss.com) is an attorney, entrepreneur and author of several books, including most recently The Business Owner’s Definitive Guide to Captive Insurance Companies. He is the founder and managing member of The Strauss Law Firm, LLC, on Hilton Head Island, S.C, and also the founder and CEO of Hamilton Captive Management, LLC. He is a graduate of the New England School of Law and of Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management program. Strauss also holds an LL.M. in estate planning from the University of Miami and speaks regularly at public seminars.