Online Business Blog — erica.biz — Erica Douglass teaches you how to start and grow an online business!

Loyalty card schemes may be costing you cash. I am outraged, and I have no one but myself to blame.

There are two grocery stores I shop at regularly: Albertsons and Ralphs.

Albertsons is a SuperValu store, which those of you in other parts of the United States may know as a Lucky, Bigg’s, Cub Foods, or Jewel-Osco. Ralphs is a Kroger brand. (And both of them seem to have abandoned their apostrophes for branding purposes, but I digress.)

Ralphs is a 7.1-mile round trip from my house. Albertsons is 0.8mi and easily walkable. Yet I almost always go to Ralphs.

I finally figured out why the other day, and promptly became supremely irritated with myself. (more…)

Million-dollar innovative business ideas
may be lurking in your nearest newspaper… When you read the news, do you make a quick judgment in your head (”Ha! That will never work!”), or do you consider what innovative business ideas you can glean from it?

Most people tend to make snap judgments about breaking business news. One of the most famous examples of this in the tech industry was Slashdot’s coverage of the original iPod release in 2001. The snap judgment? “No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.”

While it can be entertaining to make these snap judgments, it’s not really effective in helping you grow your business exponentially.

How One Article Can Show You Many New Business Ideas

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Review: Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Boot Camp. Have you ever felt like your money was in control of you, instead of the other way around? Do you desperately wish your life wasn’t controlled by credit card payments and bills–and you just need a little help to get turned around?

I’m excited to help my friend Ramit Sethi in his quest to help you take back control of your financial future.

This video explains everything, but the story is also below for you…

My Story

In 2007, I nearly bankrupted my business because I didn’t keep track of my finances. I didn’t hire an accountant or financial planner because I “couldn’t afford it”. Little did I know that my business had far more money going out than coming in.

I always thought the numbers would work themselves out. I was smart; I read a ton of business books every month, and my business was growing like gangbusters. What was there to worry about?

It took our landlord locking us out of the building and me having to lay off most of my 6-person staff for me to hit bottom and realize what a terrible mistake I had made. (more…)

How to make a mind map. Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed by some of the projects you are working on…like you’ve set an impossible goal?

I felt that way when I first started writing my Blog Success Manifesto. I started with a blank document and quickly got lost. I had so many ideas, and it just seemed impossible that I could address all of them. The document gathered dust on my hard drive for a few months…until I figured out how to make a mind map.

I brainstormed out at least 20 topics I wanted to talk about, then realized I could sort them into five sections. Once I did that, I easily completed the entire 10,000-word ebook in just a few weeks!

This, too, may seem like a pipe dream to you…so I created a video to walk you through the process of making a mind map. In it, I show you how to map out a project to break it down into manageable pieces, so you can finally finish whatever that big project is that’s been languishing in your head for months or years. I also show you the exact mind map I used to create my Blog Success Manifesto: (more…)

Creating a new product by interviewing others
and selling it online.Back in July, I wrote 20 Scam-Free Ways to Make Money Online, which has since become my most popular post. It is an honest look at various ways that you can make money online, from quick ways to make a few extra bucks to entire businesses that can be started from your home.

Instead of posting affiliate links and hoping to gain a few dollars, I instead asked you for your feedback. And feedback poured in — from the 48 comments on the post, to email after email and Tweet after Tweet.

I wanted to know which of the 20 ways you wanted to hear more about. You told me.

Now, you get to find out why I asked! (more…)