Anne Marie Smith is a professional writer, successful business consultant and entrepreneur whose passion is helping individuals and businesses achieve and excel. After spending ten years in the computer technology industry as a technical editor and writer, Smith went out on her own in 1995 and started her first company building it into a high-growth, successful venture with over 50 employees. The company was on Inc magazine’s 500 Fastest-Growing Privately-Held Companies list for two years.

But something changed. In 2002, the year Smith turned 40, she started to experience the Big Blank. Running the business didn’t give her the same thrill it once did. For more than a year, she found herself questioning her life and its meaning. She yearned to be able to do the one thing she was still passionate about but had no time to do: to write. But she felt trapped and her fear kept her in a place she no longer wanted to be. Finally, Smith devised and began executing her plan of escape. She sold the business in 2005 and started doing what she loves.

Smith is also co-author of the business book, 60 Minute Strategic Plan: 2 Stages, 12 Steps, 300 Words…Planning and Problem-Solving for the Real World and conducts workshops to help business professionals create strategic plans.