It will be if you don't set it up so that someone else can take it over or you can sell it. Every decision, big and small, that you make in your business, from the moment you create the idea to start it should be made with the end in mind. When you create a vision for your business in a year, create one for your exit, too. If you don't know how to do that, we'll show you how in a tuition free 30-minute program -- Maria

"How do I set daily, monthly, quarterly or yearly priorities?" That's a question I'm often asked by clients and new prospects alike. The truth is that small business owners wear many hats from janitor to speaker and everything in between. Every day more management and marketing tasks are piled onto your "to do" lists. Without effective systems, business owners don't know what needs their immediate attention, and which items can be “dumped” or put on hold. Instead of enjoying your business success, time is wasted putting out fires, and rushing from one thing to the next. How do you balance everything that has to be done, when there is so much to do? A popular secret

My clients think it's strange, but they do it anyway and thank me latter. After they create a Business Vision Statement for the next year, they create an exit vision. Actually create 3 visions - a year, an exit and somewhere in between. And if you're a mom create one for when your children are in school part time, and then full time, too. Knowing where you want to go will help you make better decisions and focus on what's important to you and your business. And there are no excuses -- yes, there is a big chance that, over time, your vision will change (usually it gets bigger as you become more confident). Here is

During a recent 30-minute Business Vision Statements class taught by Maria, a student asked: “I spent some time scrolling through your site and was intrigued by the One Page Business Plan® for Women. But I was disappointed to discover that it's a book and CD set – I was hoping for one of your templates. In keeping with your own advice to cut through the clutter, I don’t want to wade through text explaining what a good idea it is to have a business plan. I already know that I need a business plan, and want to ‘git-r-dun’. Isn’t a template enough?” Coach Maria Answered: If only life were as simple as filling in a template

“The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.” —Maureen Dowd, New York Times columnist Big companies start out as small businesses; the most successful ones do all the right things that help them grow. When I was a junior trader on Wall Street, I learned a lot of those corporate “secrets” without realizing it. My five-year plan always got done in two years. At the time, I didn’t understand why; now I do. It was the “power” of planning, focus, and accountability. There is a lot we can learn about guiding our careers from how companies operate. You can take the same strategies used to grow multi-billion