“Will” is a powerful word. With will, you have the strength to do anything. Without it, you’re a lot of talk and no action.

This year’s Serious Business theme, “Will You?” challenges attendees to dare to find the will to follow through.

We chatted with Debra Neill Baker, principal at Neill Corporation and Carol Augusto, executive producer of Serious Business, to learn more about the event, which takes place January 15-16, 2017 in New Orleans.

Neill Baker: We are self development junkies, and saw this as a way to challenge owners and managers. We want them to think about what “Will You?” means to them. What does it evoke? We want people to question their own thinking in their lives and businesses, which is why the tagline of “Will You?” is “What are you willing to do…to be who you want to be?”

Augusto: We take the theme very seriously. Every speaker we choose is with the theme in mind. This year, not only will we help you develop the will, we’ll also give you the tools to execute.

Augusto: This is going to be a very action-oriented event. There will be a lot of focus on execution and self awareness.

Neill Baker: Will is the strong desire to do something, it’s action-oriented. Everything boils down to will power, self mastery and the power to control your own actions. The past two events were about getting “Naked” or vulnerable, and then “Intimacy.” These have led us to action. You can’t just think about it anymore. You have to do something.

I recently had a conversation with Van Council, who shares everything he does with everyone. He told me the one thing he always notices is that while he keeps telling people the same thing, there are very few who are actually willing to do what it takes.

Neill Baker: We don’t create Serious Business in a vacuum. We’re always talking and listening to people. So when a salon owner showed me a YouTube video of Caleb, I immediately sent it to Carol. He’s over-confident and a perfect example of will. He’s only 14 years old. He doesn’t have a lot of experience or wisdom. So when you listen to him speak, it’s pure will.

Augusto: He’s brilliant. He has written a book, “Keys to Success for Kids,” and he’s already an entrepreneur. His vision is to provide kids with the tools to create a life and think much bigger than getting out of school and having a job.

Neill Baker: Charles Duhigg does all his research on will and wrote, “The Power of Habit.” He recently worked with Starbucks to help them create a training program that evokes the will of the baristas.

Augusto: Debra and I learned about Anders Ericsson through Brian Johnson’s PhilsophersNotes blog. Ericsson did the research behind the 10,000 hours concept in Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers. Ericsson’s latest book, “Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise,” is all about using your gift and becoming an expert.

Neill Baker: Kimberly Snyder will relate to the younger segment of our audience. She’s a nutritionist and author who focuses on beauty from within and the mind, body and soul.

In the past, we’ve been very proud to find speakers before they get so hot we can’t afford them. This year, that speaker is Vishen Lakhiani. He questions everything and has worked with leaders like Richard Branson on company culture. He’ll be the closing speaker.

Neill Baker: The breakout sessions will provide the tools. Kimberly Snyder is doing a breakout as well as some favorites of salon owners, including Heath Smith, Gayle Fulbright, Frank and Jana Westerbeke, and many more. They’re coming back by popular demand because they’re continually successful and thriving. They are willing to do the work, and their businesses are examples of that.

There’s hardly anything new out there. Everything we know that works to make salons successful—it’s all out there. It’s just whether or not people do it.

The mainstage is going to provoke the questions, “What are you willing to do?” and “Will you?” Then when you get to the breakout, the action will be shared and you have to decide what you’re willing to do. When you engage your will, it creates this momentum and gets you jump started. You can just keep riding that. The vision is not enough.