I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving! My family and I traveled from our home in Charlotte to my hometown of Washington, DC, to enjoy an entire fun-filled week with family and friends. It was such a treat. This year, about 50 relatives and friends gathered at my cousin’s house to eat, take selfies, hug,…
We are excited to wish all of our members and friends a very Happy Thanskgiving! As we move ever closer to the busy holiday season, let’s pause to remember what’s really important about this time of year, including all of the friends, family members and colleagues who support us all year long. May everyone who…
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Welcome to Season 1 of the Indie Business Podcast! In this eleventh episode, you will meet Erin Pikor of Naiad Soap Arts in San Diego, California. Erin is a graphics designer by trade, and when she was laid off of her job in 2007, she decided to turn a crafty afternoon activity into a business.…
Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. Coming up with a good product is the easy part, and that’s just the price of admission. These days, you need so much more than that, starting with persistence and the ability to personally sustain a high level of energy and stamina for years at a time.…
Happy Monday! It’s a great day here at the Indie Business Network! We have teamed up this week with Gloss 48 to offer a $50 gift certificate to Gloss48 and also, $50 of sustainable, handcrafted bath and body products from our member, Alana Rivera, over at Etta + Billie. Enter to win below, and then…
It’s always exciting to launch a new website, isn’t it? Everything is fresh and new. Rather than the “new car smell,” you can sense the “new website smell” coming right through your screen, right? We smelled it last week when our member, Mary Beth Worzella of Mbeze in Wausau, Wisconsin, launched a gorgeous new site…
Earlier this month, we received a lovely gift from one of our members. All of our members are special of course, and they all stand out for different reasons. One of the many ways SunRose Aromatics is special to us is because the company is one of the first to join the Indie Business Network…
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Welcome to Season 1 of the Indie Business Podcast! In this tenth episode, you will meet Valerie Reed of Valana Minerals in San Diego, California. Valerie is a college sociology professor by trade, and she also works her business, which she founded in 2007. She loves both teaching and mineral makeup, and has found a…
Yesterday, our member Christine Laureano over at Ba6 Botanicals in Hampton Bays, New York, hosted a holiday open house. (No, it’s not too early.) Here is Christine showcasing her beautiful Ba6 Botanicals handmade products. Along with Makers throughout the area, other IBN members participated at this exclusive event, at Christine’s invitation. Judging from the pictures,…
I am on a double mission. Mission number one is to eat more vegetables. Mission number two is to make something savory to take to Thanksgiving dinner next week. On both counts, the recipes have to be easy and quick, and I need to be able to make them in my Nutribullet and freeze them…
Do you like glitter? Of course you do. Do you have nails? Yes again, right? What do you get when you have glitter and nails? You put them together of course, to create nail polish with glitter in it. Here is a screen shot from a recent news story where FOX5Vegas A.M. Anchor Monica Jackson…
One of the many awesome things about entrepreneurship is that amazing things happen every day, many of them not specifically planned for. When our member Christine White of Scandle Candle in Addision, Texas, joined IBN back in January 2008, who would have known that her products would be sold in spas around the world? Check…
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Elissa has changed the name of her business to Bonblissity. The title, text, and links in this post have been updated in recognition of this change. Welcome to Season 1 of the Indie Business Podcast! In this ninth episode, you will meet Elissa Choi of BonBlissity in San Pedro, California. Elissa and her husband work…
As the economy continues to recover (ever so slowly), we are seeing an increase in the number of our members who are breaking ground on new warehouse locations and opening retail stores and work spaces. Today, we are thrilled to tell you that Niambi Cacchioli of Bloomsbury Square in New Jersey has made the leap…
Do you have a great business idea, but lack the funds to turn it into reality? If so, you might try crowdfunding via a site like Kickstarter. Our member over at Bramble Berry is in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign, which was fully funded within twenty-four hours. As you can see, the new project…
We love celebrating the success of our members! Success always leads to more success, so we shout it from the rooftops every chance we get. Today, we’ve got a big one, and right here in the Indie Business Network’s adopted home state! Here’s the quick back story. Maggie Ghanem was tired of turning away smaller…
Do you belong to your local chamber of commerce? While the Indie Business Network is not one of the more active members of our local chamber, we do belong and attend as many events as we can. If you are a member of your local chamber, it should not be terribly difficult to share the…
Do you struggle to produce an online newsletter to connect with your customers and build your list? Have you heard a billion times that you need an email newsletter, and you even know where to go to get one, and you even subscribe to newsletters so you know what they look like, and you still…
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Welcome to Season 1 of the Indie Business Podcast! In this eighth episode, you will meet Kathy Dannel Vitcak of The Blissful Dog in Pinewood, Minnesota. Kathy has built an empire from her home, which is located nearly an hour from the closest town: population: 10,000. Her success is a testament to the power of…
People contact us from time to time asking about what we do in our Secret Facebook Group. The short answer is that we share questions, ideas, feedback, thoughts, ups, downs, successes, failures, smiles and tears. It’s a proactive place where our members learn, share and grow together. Discussions include everything from branding and website design…
You may recall that our member, Donna DeRosa of Donna DeRosa coaching was included in the premier My Maker Box in August this year. She has since subscribed to our box, and she created this fun video to share all the handmade goodness she got in October. Have a look! Thanks for sharing all the…