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

Do you believe it takes a lot of money to create an information product? How, exactly, does one go about creating an information product? Let’s take a look at the actual development process for an information product. (more…)

It’s my blogiversary! I launched erica.biz on December 4, 2007.

In December 2008, I re-launched with a new blog theme–the same one you see now. In both these cases, I spent many hours testing and tweaking themes.

Thank God those days are over! I’ve recently (more…)

Could you possibly be a social media douchebag?
Read these 10 signs and see for yourself…I wrote this list because, unfortunately, I’ve seen every single one of these episodes of ultimate douchebaggery.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was today, when I received a Twitter DM advertising some sort of Christmas shopping junk. I went to the guy’s profile page to unfollow him, and there, right on his bio, it said “I am a social media marketing expert.” I Tweeted publicly (without including his name): “If you DM spam me, you are NOT a ’social media marketing expert’. You’re just an asshole.”

That led to the creation of this list…the worst of what I’ve experienced in nearly 3 years of Twitter and Facebook: (more…)

Do entrepreneurs need to attend college? As a successful entrepreneur, I often get asked if it would be beneficial for a teenager who shows a strong interest in starting a business to attend college. I have asked this question often of other successful entrepreneurs, as well, and the answer tends to go like this: “College can open up doors for young people, and it provides great networking opportunities.” In other words, a vague, unsubstantiated “yes”.

My answer is totally different: I don’t think college is beneficial for teenagers who already have a good idea of what they want to do with their lives, especially if they want to start a business.

Here’s my story…and some tips on whether college will be right for you: (more…)

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…)