Do you take time during the summer months to evaluate the business goals that you set at the beginning of the year? If you feel like you’ve become stuck, you’ll want to check out this article to discover what hidden blocks might be keeping you from achieving the progress that you’re hoping for. You’ll also take away some great action steps to get you moving in the right direction.

A big part of small business branding is clearly and concisely communicating what you offer. When people ‘get’ you, they less likely to forget you. They may not recall you right away, but when they do, they recognize what you do instantly. Photo Credit © Depositphotos.com/konstantynov Have you ever heard or participated in a conversation that goes something like this? “Do you know Sarah Brown?” “Oh yeah! She’s that interior decorator who specializes in vintage decor.” If you were Sarah, you should be very pleased because people can put your name, profession, and specialty together. On the flip side,allow me…

Many people hate taxes and record keeping. They don’t want to think about numbers, software and paperwork on top of their daily business activities and other responsibilities. But despite the dreariness of it, every business owner should take the time to at least learn the basics in order to be sure that their business is on the up-and-up. You’ll be thankful come next tax season!

Some people just seem to glide towards success while others get stuck in ruts, often of their own making. Take stock of your mental thought processes and see where you can make improvements. This helpful motivation flowchart  really breaks this down and keeps things simple. As you may already know, success is really all about your attitude and how you handle obstacles but a visual reminder can be a big help.

If you’re active on Instagram and Pinterest, it’s important to be on top of trending topics and hashtags to make the most of your visual marketing strategy. These printable content calendars for both platforms are excellent to print out and stick in your business notebook to refer to throughout the year as you plan out your social media calendar.

Many business owners tend to create websites that aren’t much more than an online business card with just basic contact information. This approach isn’t going to go far in terms of online visibility and conversion. In order to be found by your potential customers and audience, your website must have important navigational and design features. Check out this easy-to-read infographic which will show you the important features that your website must have.

You’ve probably noticed that Instagram has exploded in popularity over the last year. More and more bloggers and businesses are using it for marketing. One of the keys to making an impact on Instagram is knowing how to use hashtags effectively. But which ones should you use? How do you find them? What did you use last time? Where do you even start with all this without wasting too much valuable time? You’ll want to check out this useful article which will show you step-by-step how to find and save groups of appropriate hashtags for your niche with minimal effort.

Systems and workflow are an important part of running a business successfully. Every entrepreneur should know what activities need to be done on a regular basis in order to keep things running smoothly. You’ll want to check out this great read that will show you how to automate your regular business activities, leaving you with more time and energy for your biggest income producing pursuits.

It’s said that iron sharpens iron, and online entrepreneurs should always be seeking to improve their game. If you’re interested in seeing what other successful business owners are doing to market themselves, you’ll want to read this great list of marketing strategies. You’ll definitely take away some new ideas that you’ll want to try out for your own business endeavors.

  Pinterest is a top source of traffic for many online business owners, particularly bloggers, brick and mortar businesses and online shops. If you’re using Pinterest, it’s important to understand that using Pinterest effectively is more than just getting repins and shares. You’ll want to design pins that entice people to click on them, thus driving more traffic to your website.