We had a great Christmas up north this year, and we finished it off with a nice impromptu day-after-Christmas family lunch before I headed to the airport.  While we were working our way through another great meal at Giancarlo’s, we went around the table talking about our plans for 2016.  Richard and Kelly got us started [and their plan of an addition to the grandchild lineup sounded like a great idea to us all].  We made our way around the table with an infectious enthusiasm for 2016.  As good as 2015 was for us all, 2016 holds even more promise.

When it was my turn, I mentioned a few things off the top of my head, but on my plane ride back to Naples, I was able to come up with a little more that I have planned for the new year.  My list starts with getting in shape, and from there I have listed most of what I am looking forward to working on in 2016.  I know some of it is repeated from previous blogs, but hope springs eternal [especially at the beginning of a new year].

9/9/90/9  The first thing that came to mind during lunch was my desire to lose some weight and get back into shape.  I need to lose 9% of my weight, and that brings me to my 9/9/90 program [because I know I am not the only one].

The program is pretty simple: Lose 9% of your weight over the first 9 weeks of 2016, and if you don’t, you have to pay everyone in the program who has lost the requisite weight $90 each, but if you do lose the weight – and keep it off – you’re guaranteed at least an extra 9 years of life.  The final weigh-in will be on April 1st.  I’d like to get all of my friends who need to lose weight to join me.  I don’t want to name names, but if I have to …  Of course, I guess I could just add in some initials [which certainly got a rise out of more than a few people in my last posting].

Right now I am about 4 pounds away from an all time fat, so the first several pounds should melt away pretty easily.  I weighed in this morning at 169.5 lbs, so I will have to lose 15.25 lbs by April 1st.  I was 154 lbs about seven years ago, and I felt great, but I’ve gotten shorter since then.

Special weight-loss diets are generally foolish because you never keep the weight off once you stop sticking to them.  So I am simply going to eat a little better, eat a little less, and exercise a little more – and that should be good for about two pounds a week.  And then if I can eliminate Coke Zero and chocolate chip cookies, I can count on another pound a week.  I’m getting a jumpstart on it by not waiting until January 1st – and I encourage everyone who is going to join in to do the same.  Weigh yourself in right now and get started.  If you need some encouragement, just call Robbie [whose weight loss has been remarkable].

Capax Archive Solutions  Ever since John cut the deal to license EAS, we have been working to provide a best-of-class enterprise archiving solution.  At Capax Discovery, Jeff and his Sceven team of programmers now offer the most trusted archiving product on the market, putting our clients in control of their information with sophisticated and reliable enterprise software.  Our enhanced Enterprise Archive Solution now offers an updated comprehensive solution for all governance and risk management requirements, and although this is the most successful of all the Advantage Co partnerships, our program will remain incomplete until we incorporate ACA into our archiving solution.  My number one business goal for 2016, therefore, is to acquire ACA.  I’ll keep you posted.

David Anthony of London, Ltd.  Dave and I are looking to develop a resource for professional services in our London office that will facilitate international operations and trade, including a focus on international law and transfer pricing solutions.  I’ve been wanting to provide International Transfer Pricing services ever since we launched CT&K over 20 years ago.  I’ve been digging up my international transfer pricing notes from my brief teaching tenure at UB.

iWorldFundraising.org  It’s been a long time coming, but we are finally getting to work on iWorldFundraising.org.  Jamie and Shauna are putting the finishing touches on our website, and I anticipate a March 1st launch.

iWorldFundraising.org will provide a revolutionary online vehicle to raise money for organizations and events.  iWorldFundraising.org is a free web-enabled fundraising program designed to help facilitate organizations and individuals raise money and create awareness for their cause, all without the hassle of traditional fundraisers and their fees.  Unlike fundraising services like GoFundMe [who charge an 8% service fee], iWorldFundraising.org will charge no fees and take no commission on any transaction.  All of the functionality and support will be donated entirely by the Walker Kids Trust.

In addition to providing a free venue for direct online cash contributions, iWorldFundraising.org will also provide members access to our iWorldFundraising online marketplace – where the entire revenue from donor purchases goes entirely to their fundraising effort.  Manufacturers and retailers will be encouraged to provide their goods and services through the iWorldFundraising online marketplace at their wholesale cost and to donate the handling and delivery of the donor purchases.

Supporting worthwhile causes is our top priority with this initiative.  We will be the complete ecommerce solution for an event, organization, or individual’s fundraising efforts.  The days of dangerously selling Girl Scout Cookies door to door are over.  There will no longer be a need to for anyone to handle cash contributions, especially children.  All transactions will be online and fully recognized.  We will provide all fundraisers with full access to our resources at zero cost to them.  This is truly a unique fundraising opportunity.  All that’s necessary from the organization is to promote access their fundraising venue, iWorldFundraising.org.

The Grivani Wine Cellar  Our Grivani wine collection from Tuscany, Italy, will be the main focus of our new premium wine shop located in the Walker Center nestled between TW&Co and Giancarlo’s Sicilian Steakhouse.  The Grivani Wine Cellar will provide cross marketing and selling opportunities with Giancarlo’s Corporate Catering and Grivani Corporate Gift Giving.  Our target opening is March 1, 2016; and we better hit that date because that’s when our first harvest of wine is showing up.

Grivani Corporate Gift-Giving.  Grivani Corporate Gift-Giving will provide our corporate clients with a full array of premium gifts as well as white glove gift giving facilitation [including the sourcing, shipping, and return processing of all gifts].  At Grivani Corporate Gift-Giving, we will also offer our corporate clients a gift giving concierge service that will provide notification of gift giving events, gift suggestions, and gift sourcing.  Additionally, Grivani will provide our corporate clients with corporate branded specialty product.

More information is at https://tonywalkerpost.com/advantage-co/grivani-corporate-gift-giving/

Walker Sports Audit  I’ve been getting anxious to launch Walker Sports Audit, and I think we can get it done by the summer.  Walker Sports Audit will provide an independent third party audit service that autonomously evaluates our client’s entire portfolio of endorsements, contracts, investments, compliance, and tax reporting for a fixed or contingency fee.  For more information see the WSA blog post at https://tonywalkerpost.com/2015/07/13/walker-sports-audit/

Advantage Business Exchange [ABX]  ABX is being developed to provide a trusted one-stop venue for all of our commercial, institutional, and government clients by enabling direct access to premium resources to facilitate and enhance all of their various business activities.  All of our services, programs, and products will be fully vetted for our clients’ assurance that they are receiving the finest resources befitting their specific needs.

By identifying, certifying, and making available the key resources of our Advantage Co’s and affiliates in our Advantage Resource Library, we will be able to develop a worldwide network of sales agents, as well as provide a more universally accessible resource for our current sales groups.

The first ABX was recently launched in our Walker Center in Williamsville, NY, and it has the potential to grow worldwide.  Although I am not that actively involved, I am looking forward to working with everyone on this.

Of course, there are still all of our FedCloud Resources to be developed, as well as the relaunching of C1 Resources.  But, let’s face it, when it is all said and done, I still like renovating our stores and our homes more than anything, so that’s where you will probably find me.

I’m going to hit the Publish button, but I will definitely edit it after I hear about the mistakes I most likely made in the morning.  You can never proof read enough.