It’s easy to get stuck in a pattern. You do the same things in and out on a daily basis. That’s all fine and well, but how do you intend to grow? How will your business thrive with fresh ideas? Ohhh, you haven’t thought about growing your business, only owning it.

That’s a big mistake a lot of people fall into…create the business, run the business, but not growing the business. For a business to succeed in the long run, you need to consider a few things. You can:

1. Grow the business by:
a. getting new clients
b. offering new services

2. Outsource some of your work to others by:
a. delegating tasks to others in your business
b. delegate tasks to virtual assistants who can do your daily, menial tasks

The difference between someone who owns a business, and someone who just runs their business is the ability for it to be able to perform even if you aren’t there doing every single chore and task. If you’re doing everything, all the time, and it’s not “working” for you….you’ve basically just created a job for yourself.

How will you grow and learn?
This week, I bought three books to help me grow and learn…what will you do?
What am I reading?

Small business and taxes go hand in hand. You’ve started a small business online, and while it’s going well, you’ve never thought much about taxes….until now! Its that time of year, and suddenly you realize that you’ve got a small online business. Oops, how did that happen?I was just playing around on line and made a little money. If you made over a certain amount my friend, it’s time to file taxes.

Online retailers are not exempted from paying taxes. With confusing rules and laws, how do they all apply to you, the online business owner? If you’re a business owner, it’s time to “man up” and handle yourself like a business.

Let’s talk sales tax. Did you know that you’re responsible for it? You should be collecting it, along with paying taxes if they are physical products you’re selling. Digital products, and it’s a little different. Here’s the scoop, sales made in your state may need to be taxed, where as sales in another state may not need to be. You’re paying based on your business location.

Listen, don’t panic. Keep good records, speak with an accountant and learn what you’ll need to know. It doesn’t have to be scary. It’s the lack of information that makes it seem so daunting. Be in the know, and figure out what you’re responsible for…it’s as simple as that.

I recently went in search of ecommerce shopping carts. It was confusing and frustrating. There were so many choices, but I really wasn’t sure what would work for me. When it comes time to have a shopping cart, you need to know what you want out of a product, what you expect it to do, and how much you’ll want to pay for it.

One aspect, you’ll need to consider is how payment is taken and made. Does your shopping cart take credit cards, is it secure, and what kind of support does the company offer if there’s a problem? Does your shopping cart take a wide range of payments, and will people from other countries be purchasing items or services?

What is included in the cost of the software, and how much is your monthly fee? Is there a set up fee, and what is that going to run you? What kind of track record does the company have? What are your competitors using? Do you offer physical goods or digital downloads?

Are you buying software, or paying a monthly service fee? How large is your need, and how much are you willing to pay? If you’re using their storage space, how much is included? With ecommerce shopping carts, these are all questions you need to consider before finding “the one”.

When you decide to make a new blog or web site, what tools are you using?? I use Micro Niche Finder to help me find pockets of gold. It’s the ULTIMATE tool when it comes to finding underdeveloped niches.

Let’s look at when you’re trying to break into a competitive market:

Suppose you’re trying to get into the credit card market…Discover Card pays $40 for all new card members you send their way. Not too shabby…oh wait, did I mention everyone and their brother is trying to do that?

Sounds good, until you do a Google search for “credit card” and realize there are 56 MILLION sites in the results. Yikes, lots of competition…

Here’s a secret…Discover applies a 5% cash back incentive on gas purchases, and if you do a search for “credit card gas rewards” you get 56 results. Big difference, right? Yup, it means there’s a LOT less competition. Easier competition means easier money.

No matter what kind of marketing you do, it stands to reason that if you target overlooked, under-the-radar keyword phrases, you’ll divert more traffic and convert more of that traffic into money.

So, how do you FIND these missed, under-the-radar keyword phrases?

I use Micro Niche Finder, and I LOVE it! It was one of the best tools I’ve purchased.

With Micro Niche Finder, you will be able to uncover untapped niche markets and completely rule them in Google. You can find new keywords related to your base keyword that are more profitable than the keywords you’re using now. You can rank higher in the search engines, bringing more traffic. You’ll be getting targeted traffic, which means you’ll be converting at a higher rate…which means more money!

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*I have an affiliate relationship with MNF. If you buy the product, I get a small referral fee, but it does not change the price you pay in any way.