Sometimes creating a plan for a company’s future is as simple as creating the vision. While some entrepreneurs started their businesses with crystal clear ideas of what they wanted their companies to do within the next 5 or even 10 years, others hit the ground running and didn’t slow down enough to strategize. This article outlines several ideas that two different types of business owners may consider while shaping the futures of their businesses.

Accidental Jane is a successful, confident business owner who never actually set out to start a business. Instead, she may have decided to start a business due to frustration with her job or a layoff and then she decided to use her business and personal contacts to strike out on her own. Or, she may have started making something that served her own unmet needs and found other customers with the same need, thus giving birth to a business. Although Accidental Jane may sometimes struggle with prioritizing what she needs to do next in her business, she enjoys what she does and is making good money. About 18% of all women business owners fit the Accidental Jane profile.

Accidental Jane business owners often started their businesses by accident; after having been laid off, or to create a product they needed but couldn’t find, or to get out of corporate politics. They sought to leverage their unique talents and interests. Rather than developing a grand plan for a big company, they simply wanted to get paid for work they enjoy. Accidental Jane defines success by having just the right amount of income and work, and by having the ability to make her own rules, set her own schedule, choose who to work with and what to work on, and feeling happy with her life. Accidental Jane business owners are more likely, on average, than other business owners to report feeling satisfied with how much they work, the costs of running their businesses, their stress level and their revenue. B