As a business owner, you may attend seminars on how to move your product, watch videos on leadership, or listen to audio books on the Zen of being a Mom & Pop shop—but do you know where to find the resources for when and how to file Form 1099-Misc?

Often business owners think they know all there is to know about the 1099 Misc, and sum it up with “I only have to file one if a worker earns over $600.” While that is true, 1099s also need to be issued when you’re paying attorneys over $600, and paying rents to property owners for business space. You can read all about these other items in the 1099-Misc instructions on IRS.gov at your leisure, but for now let’s take a look at the form as far as your workers are concerned.

Yes, your membership site can make you more of the expert! All things being equal, people buy from who they know, like and trust. Use your membership site to increase your authority and therefore your level of perceived trust.

Increasing Authority

My mentor Dan Kennedy councils that as your reputation grows you move from charging for what you do to charging for who you are. Charging for who you are can command much higher fees. Well known marketer Frank Kern said last year, “Positioning, most importantly positioning yourself as an authority, is the single most important thing you can do increase your perceived value to the market place.”
 

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Video Marketing Engagement Platform

More Engagement. More Leads. More Sales.
You work hard. Let interactive content work for you.

Check out who we recommend - solid vendors and products that could benefit your business today.

Join us at the next Infusionsoft User Group meeting in Westborough, MA! It’s free, it's tomorrow -- Tuesday, January 5, 2016, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. at Tatnuck Bookseller, 75 Lyman Street, Westborough MA, just 5 minutes west of Rt 495. See you there!

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

We are always working to add more functionality to help make your membership site the best it can be. To that end, we are excited to share two important announcements with you today.

NEW! JoomFuse V2.1 is ready
The latest version of JoomFuse has 4 major upgrades:

1. Support for short-codes to display Infusionsoft contact information on your site.
2. Added support for API goals in addition to the existing tag setting on JoomFuse success or failure
3. Support for JomSocial 4.1.x
4. Support for and the introduction of JF Portal!
5. Additionally, we have made some internal improvements (like data-type mapping) and fixed some bugs.

 There's more...

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.

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 Whether you are a dentist, salesperson or office worker, there has never been an easier way to send a genuine thank you, reminder or follow-up card. Greeting cards can be powerful business tools to help make sure your business clients and customers know just how important they are!

Here's an added bonus: To totally integrate your SendOutCards into marketing campaigns through your Infusionsoft or other CRM, check out Fix Your Funnel too! It's the glue between your SendOutCards and Infusionsoft.

Check out others who we recommend - solid vendors and products that could benefit your business today.

As you stare at the sinister stacks of papers piled up on your dining room table, you wonder: how long would it take me to locate my car title, the warranty on my air conditioner, and all the papers I’ll need to support my 2015 tax return?

How do you keep track of your important documents? Are they properly filed and labeled or are they sitting there like Mount Everest daring you to tackle them? While each of us has our own way of organizing our paperwork, it's not uncommon to be confused as to what papers we should keep and how long we should keep them. Here's a guide to help you decide what to save and what can meet its end in your shredder:

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.

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.

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.