This past week we spent the day in Mount Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. We sweat through a mid-day hike, plugged our noses at the sulfur springs, saw a mama bear and her two cubs play in the meadow, and played in the snow!

Our hike was the Kings Creek hike back to the Kings Creek Falls. It was supposed to be a moderate, two hour hike – Perfect for the kids! But that wasn’t exactly the case.

Read About The Success Escalator

Imagine running your business by the seat of your pants with no plan in place.

You know where you want to go, and luckily you make the right turns, take the right roads, and hit most of the green lights. You’re coasting along on auto-pilot, knowing that someday your dreams will come true.

But what happens if you get lost along the way?

Your marketing plan is your own personal road map, helping you stay on the right course, making continual progress toward your big vision. Think of it as your very own personal small business success compass. That way, if you do get lost or run into a detour, you can review your marketing plan and correct your course to keep you headed in the right direction.

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With a couple weeks of first grade and preschool under our belt and soccer underway, I’ve finally got my family’s new schedule down, things are running smoothly, and getting up early (school starts at 7:50!) is getting somewhat easier for the kids! (Check them out the first day of school!)

The start of the school year is always a reminder for me that the end of the year is quickly approaching. Right about now, if I blink too long it will be Christmas and we’ll all be in full-swing holiday mode.

These last few months are a popular time to really focus on achieving your goals and getting the things done that you wanted to accomplish in 2009. Did you want to get a new website launched? Did you want to start an ezine? Create a compelling speaker one sheet? Were you thinking about starting a blog or maybe sending out a postcard campaign?

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