Note: This article launches our January tax series and is intended to be generally informative. You should always consult your tax professional or attorney for questions specific to your own situation.

“One of these things is not like the others...”

Many of us remember this song from shows like Sesame Street or maybe from one of our elementary school teachers. And it is usually accompanied by a pile of triangles, squares and circles in different colors for us to sort out. Like those shapes and colors, businesses come in different shapes and sizes, too. There are several basic ways businesses are organized.

Do you always put up your Christmas tree on the first weekend in December?  Is It’s a Wonderful Life firmly entrenched in your holiday viewing list even though you’ve seen it more times than you can count?  Do you faithfully go down to your local playhouse every yuletide to watch this year’s version of the Nutcracker?

Can there be anything more enjoyable than creating memories year after year with your family and friends?

Four mistakes impacting your bottom line: Parts 1 & 2 of this mini-series related to the site itself and the content contained within. Now let’s look at 4 mistakes that sabotage monetizing your site…

While not all membership sites require users to pay for access, having a paid membership site is a great source of recurring revenue. if you are going to charge for access, you must avoid these critical mistakes.

8 - No automation

Does the thought of using social media for your business make you feel like an awkward teenager starting high school again? Will I be popular?  What if no one likes me? Is there a solution that won't make my face break out?

Social media is a lot like high school in some ways. Choosing the right activities and the right friends, building your reputation, being your true self—these things can make a difference to your status just like they did in school. If you're planning your social media platforms for the coming year, here are some things you need to take into consideration.

For many of us, Thanksgiving is a time to relax— particularly after we’ve eaten a second helping of turkey and dressing and ‘tested’ the pumpkin pie once more just to make sure it still tastes like it did the first time.

Thanksgiving is also a time for friends, family and fun. From the comforts of our table to the annual holiday spectacles like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or the Dallas Cowboys’ yearly tilt, Thanksgiving has a lot to offer. With all the hustle and bustle of the day, it can be easy for us to forget another important part of Thanksgiving: giving thanks.

Ok, if you have been following along with this article series, you now know ( a ) why you need a membership site, ( b ) several different ways to set them up, and ( c ) some real-world case studies on how other people are using their membership site.

Hopefully, you have taken my suggestions and have created (or are creating) a membership site for your ‘herd’ of followers. If you have, I’d love to hear about your experiences.

In this fourth article in our membership series, we’ll dig deeper and begin discussing common critical mistakes to avoid.

According to the New York Times, the 2014 elections had the “worst voter turnout in 72 years.”  They went on to say “the national turnout was 36.3 percent; only the 1942 federal election had a lower participation rate at 33.9 percent.”

Did YOU vote last year?

What does it matter, you ask? “There are millions of people in this country, and I’m just one vote.”

You can find just about anything and everything on the internet. Take personality tests—have you ever wondered which Harry Potter villain you're most like? Or whether you have the personality of a particular type of IKEA furniture? While these tests are entertaining, they’re not likely to help you reach a deeper understanding of yourself.

Are there personality tests available that have any value, especially when it comes to growing your business?

How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination by Sally Hogshead, points out that understanding your personality provides you with key information to work with when presenting yourself to others. If you've ever tried to create a 30-second elevator pitch or write your resume, you probably know how difficult it can be to deliver the exact message you want to convey. Hogshead's book provides you with a step-by-step method to discover what your personal tagline should be, and how to use it to create better relationships and grow your business.

There’s a knock on your door. You walk past the leftover confetti on the floor from your New Year’s Eve party the night before, past the Christmas lights still blinking serenely on the mantle and go see who it is. In the back of your mind you already have an idea. As you turn the knob and open the door, you’re not really surprised. After all, you’ve been planning this visit for months.  

Yes, 2016 has come to see you. Are you ready for it?

Your goal during the holidays should be to enjoy yourself and your loved ones, but that's practically impossible to do if you're feeling too much stress. Here are some things you can do to prevent that anxiety from spoiling your good times:

1. Pay attention to your health.
Too many projects and activities can stress anyone out, but don't let them keep you from taking care of yourself. Make sure you're getting plenty of sleep, eating properly, and exercising. Combat winter's dry air by taking steamy showers. Dress warmly and appropriately during cold weather. There's nothing like getting sick to take all the fun out of the holiday season.

Many of the stories during the holiday season often evoke thoughts on the possibilities of magic and miracles. And in that spirit, we would like to wish you the greatest gift of all: a wonderful life. But no matter how much we wish it, remember that most of that magic will have to come from you and your efforts to make it so, just like George Bailey.

This holiday season we wish you hope.

Many people may confuse hope and faith, and while they can be interchanged, think of faith as being almost certain the sun will rise tomorrow, and hope as feeling that even if the sun doesn't rise, it could still be a good day.

A quick review: The first four critical mistakes we discussed last month are: 1 - Not enough value. 2 - Complicated user interface. 3 - Poor user experience. 4 - Bad customer service. Now on to the next 3 which are related to your content…

5 - Not enough content

This relates to number 1 in the last article but deserves to be identified as a critical mistake on its own.

There are lots of ways to not offer enough value that do not have to do with content, but it’s impossible to give enough value if your content is thin, especially if the member is paying for the privilege of accessing your site.

“Without promotion, something terrible happens....Nothing!” --P. T. Barnum

In Barnum's day, advertising meant word of mouth and newspapers. Neither of these was very expensive at the time— unless you were Barnum. The American showman at one time had 26 journalists on his payroll. His belief was that advertising should not be done “sparingly and grudgingly,” and freely admitted that most of his success was due to the press.

Free stuff? From the government? OUR government?

These days you’re more likely to hear about government cutbacks than bold new initiatives.  Whether it’s in the form of a stripped down IRS or another looming government shutdown, it seems Uncle Sam is tightening his belt. But just because the Feds are running a little leaner doesn’t mean there still aren’t some freebies available for you at the many dot.gov sites.  From free online recipes to interactive travel guides, there’s a little bit of something for everyone.  Here are just a few:

In my first Joomla Magazine article we discussed why everyone needs a membership site, then we went on in the second to discuss different types and ways to use membership sites. I hope you got good value from those and are ready for some ‘show and tell’!

In this installment, we’ll go behind the curtains of how some clients are using their membership sites every day.