🦅 Nick here! Let’s get started on another great week.

2025 didn’t go as planned for many business owners, but that doesn’t mean you failed. This post unpacks the mindset shift from doing to owning so you can lead with clarity, step out of daily operations, and build the business you actually want in 2026.

Each fall, I’d take a deep breath knowing we made it another year.
Give thanks to everyone for their hard work.
Take stock in everything we accomplished.

Then I’d look at all the hours we'd worked, the stressful days, and where we were as a company and where I was personally.

For many years, the small growth and profit weren’t worth it.

I thought I was alone with these results and feelings until I took on more and more clients under the Falcon banner. Almost everyone is in the same situation when they finally open up and admit the truth.

Soooo, if 2025 didn’t go how you expected, you’re not alone.

Maybe you set ambitious revenue goals and missed them.

Maybe you hired someone who looked good on paper but flopped in reality.

Or maybe you’re still the one who opens the shop, answers the emails, signs the checks, and closes up at night… wondering why the hell you still feel stuck after all this work.

Here’s the truth: That feeling? That’s not failure.
That’s feedback.

I can only say this now because for the longest time, I thought I was failing.

And if you’re willing to listen to it, not ignore it, not shame yourself over it, it might be the most valuable insight you carry into 2026.

Too many business owners start the new year like this:

But here’s the problem: You can’t outrun chaos by adding more to your plate.

Especially if you’re still stuck in operations, still the bottleneck, still reacting to everything that happens in your business.

The business you want can’t be built from the role you’re currently playing.

It’s not a productivity issue. It’s a leadership issue. It’s an ownership issue.

Let me be clear: I believe in optimism.

But not the kind that pretends everything is fine when it’s not.
Not the kind that tells you to manifest a seven-figure year while your systems are duct-taped together.
Not the kind that ignores that you’re exhausted, underwater, and unsure what to do differently.

Real hope is earned.
It comes from knowing that even if you’re behind where you wanted to be, you’re not helpless.
You have options. You can change. But only if you choose to lead differently.

That’s the pivot point between feeling stuck and finally making progress.

Not a new planner ➡️ You need time to think
Not a new hire ➡️ A team you can trust
Not a vision board ➡️ Systems that support growth instead of draining you

True Ownership.

 Like the time I realized I wasn’t competing with every other company and that to achieve a fair gross margin, I had to increase our prices by 43%. Through letters three months out, reminders, and personally sitting down with several clients, we ultimately lost three small accounts.

Let’s call it what it is.

If you’re still in the daily grind…
If your team can’t run without you…
If every fire ends up on your desk…
Then, next year is already at risk.

And no vision or goal will fix that if you’re not willing to shift your role.

You don’t need to do more.
You need to own differently.

That means:

This isn’t about having it all figured out.
It’s about deciding that you’re done playing small inside your own business.

Here’s how I’m thinking about it:

2026 will reward the business owners who take their role seriously.

Not the ones who run faster.
Not the ones who hustle harder.
The ones who build real structure.

Because what got you here (the long hours, the hands-on work, the grit) isn’t what’s going to get you there.

Next year is about leadership. Period.

And if you’ve been feeling buried by the business you built, it’s time to rebuild around your leadership, your ownership.

What if 2025 wasn’t a setback… it was just the nudge you needed to stop building a business around your burnout?

What if everything that didn’t work was actually pointing you toward what has to change?

What if the growth you wanted is still within reach… but only if you stop trying to earn it through exhaustion?

You’re not behind.

But you do have a decision to make.

Keep trying to fix the business while staying stuck in the same role…
Or finally own the role your business actually needs you to play.

I say this with all the respect in the world:

Your business isn’t going to change because the calendar flips.
It changes when you do.

You want 2026 to be different?

Then you have to be different in it.

And that starts with one hard truth:

You’re not just the owner of your business. You’re the biggest lever in it.
When you grow, everything else can grow.
When you lead, your team can follow.
When you let go of tasks and step into ownership, the business can finally scale without you in the middle of everything.

If you’re ready to lead differently next year, and not just hope things improve, The Raptor Route was built for precisely this kind of moment.

We help business owners like you remove themselves from daily operations, build the leadership systems they need, and scale with confidence.

Because success isn’t given. It’s owned.

📣📣 Cheering you on, Nick 📣📣