You check the forms one last time, wipe the sweat from your brow and hit the ‘submit’ button. If all goes well, the Internal Revenue Service will only take a cursory glance at your return before processing it. You’ve taken care of your taxes for one more year. 

“Glad that’s over with,” you say to yourself. 

The next tax year will be here sooner than you think. In many cases, by the time you’ve filed one year, you’re already nearly a third of the way into the next one. It doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom though. With a little proper planning, you can make filing your taxes next year a smooth and simple process. Here are some tips to help you get started:

Spring is here, and no doubt you are itching to get out and enjoy those nice warm days. Whether you want to catch a baseball game, work in the garden, or visit a local festival, it can be hard to justify taking some time off when you know you haven’t done your marketing.

Lucky for you, Infusionsoft has you covered with some simple campaigns, designed especially for small businesses.

Infusionsoft’s Campaigns of the Month posts feature great, easy-to-use campaigns (and some have video instructions as well), so you can launch these marketing campaigns and boost your business with a minimal amount of time and effort.

If you could read just one book on business and marketing this year, what would it be? Well, one of the great things about the modern world is choices, and rather than confine you to just one, we’ve assembled a list of 10 books some of the top entrepreneurs are leafing through. 

The Best Damn Web Marketing Checklist, Period!  This is a hands-on guide written by Stoney deGeyter that walks you through the process of building a website that not only attracts visitors, but increases sales.

The beginning of each new year often brings cold, chilling winds, hailing the promise of another long dreary winter. And just when that wintry depression threatens to take hold, we often find ourselves temporarily saved by that army of precocious females: the Girl Scouts and their annual cookie sale. 

Originally a money-making scheme for a single troop during World War I, Girl Scout Cookies have become a much-anticipated institution for girls and customers alike. According to Wikipedia, sales of these cookies average 200 million boxes per year.

Business blogs come in all shapes and sizes. Some are must-have players for any serious small business owner’s lineup, while others need to be sent back to the minor leagues. Here are 5 business blogs that will be worth their spot on the team.

• First up to bat is Infusionsoft’s marketing blog, designed with small business owners in mind. Written in a casual format, the site contains articles about a wide variety of business topics. Want to know how to woo your perfect customer or learn ways to boost your content strategy success? The Infusionsoft marketing blog has you covered. It also contains handy links to Infusionsoft’s toolbox of goodies for the small business owner.

Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction - John C. Crosby

As you grow in your business career, you may find yourself gradually changing from the person searching for answers to the one who has the answers. Are you ready to pass some of that knowledge on to a promising newcomer? 

At first glance it might seem a mentor-protégé relationship is one-sided. You’re effectively giving away your hard-won experience and asking little in return. A mentor can gain satisfaction from building a legacy however, as well as developing leadership skills and gaining prestige within the industry.

Valentine's Day is a special time for lovers, boxes of chocolate and hearts, not to mention a perfect excuse to send that special someone a sentimental e-card. It’s also a special time for businesses, and regardless of what type of business you have, you can use this holiday to show your customers some love.

Here are some ideas to help you become Cupid for a day:

Although they never met in person, Martin Luther King Jr. found great inspiration in Gandhi's teachings of nonviolence. Using this campaign, he was able to push forward the Civil Rights Movement in a mere ten short years. When you compare this accomplishment to other violence-related protests, such as apartheid in South Africa, it is truly a testament to King's drive and desire to fulfill his dream.

In any business, an entrepreneur needs to have that same drive, a passion to succeed under his own initiative. The entrepreneur needs to be able to persevere when faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. He or she needs to have self-discipline and focus, to let nothing get in the way of his or her success.

Google’s Mobile Update is Looming! Are You Ready for April 21st?

On April 21st, Google is planning to rock its mobile search results with an algorithmic update that will change everything. This update is expected to affect more sites than Penguin and Panda combined because searches from mobile devices are estimated to make up more than 50% of all Google searches. To be clear - there is no site that is safe so do NOT pass over this update thinking it isn't relevant to you.

24 hours. It seemed like an eternity when we were younger. As adults, we often wish there were more hours in the day. It always seems like there’s too much to do and too little time to get it done. It can seem like a daunting task to keep on track when there are deadlines everywhere we step. Fortunately, technology has given us the tools we need to keep the deadlines at bay. For every need, there is a productivity app to fill it. 

Here are 3 good ones that will leave you with more to-do time:

We are super excited to announce another video in our collection for you! This one demystifies Joomla!™, the popular global CMS (content management system) for building robust business websites.

In March 2015, Dom co-presented with Sarah Watz, President of Open Source Matters Inc., the nonprofit organization that supports the Joomla! project which is completely run by volunteers. The webinar was originally presented for Infusionsoft Certified Partners but there is plenty of value there for the small business owner or marketing consultant.

“I know every mile will be worth my while. I would go most anywhere to find where I belong.”

The words come from a song in Disney’s 1998 animated film Hercules, but they can just as easily apply to many small business owners struggling to find their place in a competitive market.Breaking in can be daunting. It often seems the competition is bigger, badder and more importantly, already entrenched.  If you try to be everything to everyone, you’ll end up spreading yourself too thin. To find where you belong, sometimes you have to find your perfect niche. If you’re good at something no one else is, why not take advantage of it?

With a chill wind blowing and snowflakes filling the air, thoughts of warm spring may seem like a distant dream on the horizon. Even though winter may be seem like a frozen eternity, it’s never too early to start planning your marketing for Q2. What are your goals for spring, and how will you reach them?  

The marketing calendar may look a little bare at first glance, what with Christmas and the other winter holidays receding in the rear-view mirror, but the spring and early summer months have plenty to offer.

In April, there’s Easter, Thomas Jefferson's birthday and April Fool's Day for starters. Throw in Tax Day, Earth Day, Administrative Professionals Day, and Car Care Month, too.

Obi Wan Kenobi.  Merlin.  Mister Miyagi. 

In film and in stories, heroes and heroines have benefitted from the wisdom and advice of a mentor. Would you and your business benefit from someone who could provide you with knowledge, support and guidance? If your answer is yes, then it might be time to consider finding a mentor. 

A mentor/protégé relationship is not one where the mentor offers his time and advice for compensation. Although paid consultants and advisors can be beneficial, a mentor is only interested in helping his or her protégé to succeed.

January is almost over already. Do you know where your Q1 goal is? Like any goal, your plan for Q1 is more likely to be met if you write it down. Better yet, make your goals S.M.A.R.T.

S.M.A.R.T. goals have been around in one form or another since the early 1980’s. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and over the years they’ve been tailored to fit a wide variety of different businesses. Generally, being S.M.A.R.T means having goals that are: