Are you telling your brand story? Sure, some storytelling happens by default. You have to have an About page at your website, so people can read about your story there. If you do a trade show, you can tell your story in person. But those are static events. To truly solidify your brand in the…
Here is a positively beautiful bar of handmade soap. It’s Cranberry & Figs from our member over at Hill Country Haiku in Spicewood, Texas. Not surprisingly, it’s cross between the tartness of of cranberries and the sweetness of figs. What may be surprising is what a work of art it is. How gorgeous is this?…
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Welcome to Season 2, Episode 4 of the Indie Business Podcast! In this fourth episode of our Women, Wealth and Wow! series, we focus on all things local, rural, and small town with my guest Becky McCray of Small Biz Survival in Alva, Oklahoma … population 4,000 (give or take). Becky and her husband own…
Last month, some of our members were kind enough to send us some of their awesome handmade beauty products as a holiday “thank you” for how we serve them throughout the year. One of the products we received is a wonderful facial cream from our member, Marilene Richardson, at Songcroft Naturals in Monroe, Washington. I’ll…
Remember at the turn of the century when everyone predicted that the advance of the Internet and social media spelled the end of “real” personal communications? The theory was that, since you could connect online, there would be no need to connect in person anymore. Over the years, we have seen that this is simply…
Earlier this month, I attended the American made Show and the Arts Business Institute in Washington, DC. Hosted by Wendy Rosen (pictured in the front with me and some IBN members), the American Made Show is the premier wholesale trade show for handmade American made products. The Arts Business Institute is hosted in conjunction with…
Entrepreneurship can be fun. Well, it is fun. But it’s also messy, really messy. But it’s less messy when you approach your challenges in an environment where you are constantly supported. When people are there to help you, the challenges are less daunting. When you regularly soak up the energy of like-minded people, and share…
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Welcome to Season 2, Episode 3 of the Indie Business Podcast! In this third episode of our Women, Wealth and Wow! series, I am going outside my comfort zone to introduce you to someone I barely know, but who has had a big positive impact on how I view entrepreneurship. One day, I got an…
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Welcome to Season 2, Episode 2 of the Indie Business Podcast! In this second episode of our Women, Wealth and Wow! series, I’m sharing an invigorating conversation with a woman I have known for the past decade, and who has become an intricate part of our my life. While our relationship was once all business,…
In 2009, I published a blog post about my then new social networking strategy. My focus was on Facebook, though other social media outlets were mentioned. Recently, a discussion in our Indie Business Network member Secret Facebook Group reminded me of that 2009 post, and how important it is to be intentional about how we…
Can you think of a better way to invest a Sunday afternoon than Masterminding with your fellow Indie entrepreneurs? Of course you can’t, and if you need some inspiration, check out our members in the New York region. They gathered today at Jennifer Wojcieski’s store, in2ition Mercantile, which we told you opened its doors last…
This awesome video came to our attention, courtesy of our member, Sheri Pierce, over at Paradise City Micro-Farm in Northampton, Massachusetts. It’s a collage of clips from a “Farm To Table Cook-Off,” with a twist. Local celebrity chefs used ingredients from local farms to prepare dishes you can eat, and dishes you can put on…
I began blogging in 2005. I published my first Indie Business Blog post on May 7, 2007. I had hosted two blogs before that, but they were utter disasters. If you clicked the link above, you’ll see that there was not much to my 2007 post. In fact, the most important thing about that post…
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Welcome to Season 2, Episode 1 of the Indie Business Podcast! In this first episode of 2015, I am excited to announce our theme for Season 2. It’s all about an undeniably exciting phenomenon that we are not only witnessing, but that many of you — my listeners and members — are also a living,…
Other than the unofficial #IndieBusiness hash tag that we (and lots of others) use from time to time, the Indie Business Network has never had a hash tag of any kind. Today, we’re excited to introduce our hash tag for 2015. Some people choose a “word of the year.” We have chosen a “hash tag…