About Maria Marsala

An irrepressible entrepreneur, Maria Marsala sold AVON at age 14 and landed on Wall Street three years later. She became a bond trader when female executives were as rare as pink diamonds. For 25 years, Maria streamlined Fortune 500 companies, nurtured non-profits, and discovered her niche—mentoring women CEOs and executives. Armed with corporate secrets and life coach credentials, Maria founded Elevating Your Business to help female financial professionals live better using her proprietary brand of consultative-coaching. Contact Maria today and take the first step toward freedom, full-fillment, and a sparkling quality of life!
4 May 2018

Choosing the Right CPA, CPA-PFS, or EA for Your Firm

2022-08-07T16:15:27-04:00May 4th, 2018|Leadership|0 Comments

Certified Professional Accountants (CPAs) are more than just individuals who do your yearly taxes. They can advise you on a long list of finance and business issues. Some CPAs are also Personal Financial Specialists (PFS™). They are advisors with additional experience, education, and certification that set them apart from other CPAs. Additionally, if you're looking for a tax professional, Enrolled Agents (EAs) may be what you need. An EA is a federally authorized tax advisor, empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels—examination, collection, and appeals—of the Internal Revenue Service. CPAs are part of a business owner's core professional team along with a banker and lawyer (and I hope

2 May 2018

How Financial Advisors Can Help Everyone

2022-08-07T16:15:27-04:00May 2nd, 2018|Leadership|0 Comments

While I'm a big proponent of niching, like you, I'd like to help everyone.  And in this article I'll show you how to do that in a way that doesn't drain you as you "try" to help someone.  The goal, for me, as I believe for you, would be to give the person what they need to eventually become a client. See if this sounds familiar. You want to help everyone who comes your way.  You don't want to leave anyone out. However, over time, I've learned, as I'm guessing that some of you reading this have learned, we just can't help everyone.  And in some cases, I'm 200% sure I can't help someone. And it's not

29 April 2018

Advisor Succession Planning – Do No Harm To Your Family, Clients & Legacy

2022-08-07T16:15:28-04:00April 29th, 2018|Strategic Planning|0 Comments

Make Yours Happy A study released by the FPA and Janus Henderson reveals that 60% of advisors who are within five years of retirement have no exit plan. It’s the story of the shoemaker whose children need their shoes fixed. If you are part of the 40% of advisors who have a plan, make sure it has compliance approval and will past the muster of regulatory agents.  That might mean that you pay for a once over of your plan by a compliance consultant or lawyer who has a background in dealing with succession cases.  Better now than having problems later. Let’s face it: None of us wants to do this work. We’d like to live forever, but reality

23 April 2018

Advisors, Here’s An Excellent LinkedIn Cheat Sheet Infographic

2022-08-07T16:15:28-04:00April 23rd, 2018|Social Media|0 Comments

Today, as I was looking for an image to use on a new LinkedIn article, I came across the Ultimate LinkedIn Cheat Sheet by Legion Jobs. Using a Cheat Sheet, for LinkedIn, is nothing new for me.  More than 10 years ago, I created a LinkedIn Cheat Sheet for the first social media workshop I conducted at a conference. What I needed then was more of a fill-in-the-blanks, tell me what to put where, and how many characters I can use sort of Cheat Sheet. Something that can be given to compliance to approve or change. But what's really interesting about the Cheat Sheet below is that it's an infographic -- a step-by-step graphic walk through depicting a

22 April 2018

How Often Should You Update Your Website?

2022-08-07T16:15:28-04:00April 22nd, 2018|Website Development|0 Comments

To keep up with current trends or near-current trends, it's important to write "update website" on your marketing plan every year.  That doesn't mean you need to budge $4K to update it!  Instead, look at polishing or tweaking the text or photos a bit every year.   Small changes Sometimes, updates are small.  In 2001, I removed music from my home page that was popular in 1999 but had become annoying.  In 2003, I added a logo created by a pro and removed pop-ups. Maybe there's a plug-in feature you want your website to have, like an online events calendar, because you're hosting webinars or seminars. It’s important to update your website yearly.  For sure, you

Go to Top