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.

In my last article in JCM, I worked really hard to convince you that regardless of what business you are in, or even for non-business sites, you need to have a membership component to your site. Assuming that I did a reasonable job, you either have one in the works or are at least planning one.

Now you want to know the most effective way to use membership in your own website, right?

Answering this question is exactly the focus of this article. There are many combination of ways to help your business by incorporating membership into your site. Here are 5 perspectives to spark your creativity and help you focus your plan…

If the thought of what to do for your Halloween marketing this year has you yearning to hang a “Gone Trick-or-Treating” sign on the door the first day of October, then this post is for you!

Marketing for Halloween is a must, of course, if you're selling Halloween-related products.  Even if you’re not however, it's a great way to generate goodwill, keep your name in customers' minds, and kick off your other holiday sales. Besides, everyone needs a little Halloween fun!

Long before October 31st you should be posting some Halloween related content on your website and through social media.

If you were to describe your life at the moment, how many of us would use the word ‘busy.’ How many of you have never ending ‘to-do’ lists?

If someone asks you how you are – How many of you would reply ‘Good….but busy.’ Why are we so obsessed with packing our schedules, thinking a mile a minute, rushing around with no time to stop and smell the roses? There is an obsession with needing to do something all of the time, a cultural badge of honour. It’s not unusual to wake up and scroll through your feeds before even saying ‘Good morning’ to the person lying next to you, or checking in with yourself.

As a society we have never worked more hours in a week than we do now; we have never pushed ourselves so hard. Our list of things ‘to do’ never ends - it just keeps getting bigger. And are we happier for it?
 
When was the last time you just sat and did nothing? Reflected? Took time out for yourself just to ‘be’?
 
If this resonates with you or you’ve ever found yourself feeling stuck in cycles of stress, dissatisfaction and discontent, or unsure how to simply relax and find some inner peace, then the practice of mindfulness is for you.
 
Mindfulness is the art of living in the moment, rather than 2 minutes ahead or 2 weeks behind. This style of thinking allows you to wholly experience everything in your life; taking time to focus on the present. The benefits don’t stop there. It’s also been found to reduce cortisol (the stress hormone), it allows you to handle stress better, and more recently, ‘mindful eating’ has been linked to weight loss.
 
So, how can I get involved?
 
Melli O’Brien, of MrsMindfulness.com, presents The Mindfulness Summit; 31 Days of Mindfulness a FREE 31-day online summit this October 1-31st designed to bring mindfulness to everyone, giving you the opportunity to learn mindfulness from the comfort of your own home, from some of the world’s most respected teachers.

It's not easy being the boss.

Owners of small businesses, particularly those who have employees working under them, have many things to contend with: legal issues, business licenses, insurances, safety regulations, payroll, taxes, inventory, banks, vendors, hiring employees and marketing. The list goes on and on. There may be times when a business owner worries whether there will be enough income this week to pay employees, let alone the rest of the bills. So it might come as a surprise to hear an employee complain that the boss or company “doesn't care about me.”

As the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks approaches, you might consider starting a new tradition to commemorate the day — a September 11 journal.

Keeping a journal is a way to not only keep the memories alive, but can help you sort out the emotions you may feel about the event. Whether you decide to show it to anyone is up to you; you may decide thirty years from now that you want to share it. You might choose to keep the journal on paper, online, or perhaps create a photo album.  

Even if you’re familiar with marketing on social media, you may still have questions about which platforms are best for your business. Content marketing is all about providing interesting and valuable content to your customers, so it's important to establish which networking site(s) your customers will be using.

B2B or B2C?

Check out current marketing information online, and you'll likely encounter the acronyms B2B and B2C before too long. B2B means you are selling your product or service “business to business”. B2C is “business to consumer”.

A few years ago there was an article on using email to increase your revenue on the Glazer-Kennedy Insider Circle (GKIC) site, an online entrepreneur marketing network.

The article emphasized three important ways to maximize the returns (ROI) of e-mail marketing:

1. Setting up automated email campaigns
2. Gaining valuable information from email
3. Using email to build brand loyalty

Not getting the results you want?

You may enjoy your work, but do you oftentimes feel as though you aren't getting anything done, despite the long hours you're putting in? What about the rest of your life? Do you have time to enjoy being with your family? Or do you feel like there's just too much pressure like you're on some crazy roller coaster, trying your best just to hang on?

One of the best-selling time management books on Amazon addresses these issues and offers sage advice on how to deal with them. Greg McKeown's Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less argues that if people were more selective about what they consider essential then they would have more control over their own choices. Too much of what we spend our time on tends to be trivial, which not only threatens our success at work, but trickles down into our personal lives as well.

Cyber Monday could be one of the most important days of the year for your business financially. Last year, there were over 2 billion (yes, that’s BILLION) dollars of online sales generated on the Monday following Thanksgiving.

If you want a piece of that action, you’ll need a strategy in place well before hand.

When it comes to Cyber Monday, there are several big draws for consumers: the convenience of shopping many different stores without leaving home or the office; the ability to easily comparison shop and check out reviews; and the extra value or deals that aren't available year-round.

There are the obvious reasons - to collect money and to create a community. Ah, but it goes much deeper than that.

I provide web and email marketing for my international clients and for many years have recommended that they offer a membership component in their website for exposure, value, and insurance. But before we get deeper into why…let’s be sure that we are all speaking the same language. Then I’ll give you 10 reasons why to add membership to your site.

Pay attention to this quote from business consultant and ‘millionaire maker’ Dan Kennedy in this article:

“[The] big difference between wealthy and poor is that wealthy people get paid before they work;
 the poor get paid after they do work.”

Think about that for a minute. Would you like to have customers giving you money BEFORE you gave them a service or a product? Would you like to have them giving you money IN ADDITION TO being paid for your service or product?

The best way to relieve the stress that always accompanies the holiday season is to have your plan in place early—the sooner, the better.

Start circling days on the calendar. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday are the big shopping days. While your business may not depend greatly on Halloween sales, remember that customers are already thinking about Christmas shopping, and it's another opportunity for promotions.

There are people in this country who work hard every day
Not for fame or fortune do they strive
But the fruits of their labor are worth more than their pay
And it's time a few of them were recognized
Hello, America. Let me thank you for your time

                - Alabama

Do you remember learning about Labor Day in school? An American holiday since the 1880s, it celebrates what workers can accomplish together when they organize. Unions and the labor movement fought for things like Social Security, the 8-hour workday, unemployment insurance, and against child labor. While unions are on the decline nowadays, the American Worker is still out there, more often in the form of a self-employed individual, exhibiting that same spirit of risk-taking, ambition, and hard work that put Labor Day on the calendar.  

If you've established a Twitter account for your business, one of your main goals is to accumulate followers. But who should YOU follow?

While it seems like the polite thing to do is to follow anyone who follows you, oftentimes this isn't a very effective strategy. Neither is following people in the hopes of having them return the favor. You're setting yourself up for a Twitter feed that is cluttered with information that isn't helpful to you or to your business.

A great place to start following may be your competitors. Rather than looking at them as opponents, realize that people in your industry share many of the same issues you do, and can be a valuable resource. Even new businesses in your field can be good to follow—if they are unable to serve a customer for some reason, you could be in a position to get a referral.