Donna Maria is an entrepreneur mentor, the founder and CEO of the
Indie Business Network, and the host of the
Indie Business Podcast and the
Indie Business Retreat. She has been recognized as one of the most trusted voices for Makers and Creative Entrepreneurs. Her coaching and consulting enterprise trains thousands of new and evolving entrepreneurs every day.
We are excited to introduce you to Vivian Jamison of Xpressive Mocha and Shanon Kindred of Toushea Skincare, our 4Q 2025 Robin’s Roses Entrepreneurial Scholarship Recipients. We are normally thrilled to welcome one new scholarship recipient, so you can imagine how much pleasure it gives us to welcome TWO for the fourth quarter of this…
I’m excited to announce the October selection for the Indie Business Book Club: The Art, Science and Business of Aromatherapy: Your Essential Oil & Entrepreneurship Guide by Kayla Fioravanti. While this book was originally written for aromatherapists, the lessons extend far beyond essential oils. Kayla weaves together her insider industry expertise with timeless entrepreneurial principles that…
I recently hosted our first Mastermind Walk™, an opportunity for you to step out of your daily routine and spark fresh ideas, strategies, and collaborations with fellow small business owners. Mastermind Walks aren’t just about business; they’re about building community. Women entrepreneurs come together to connect, form meaningful friendships, and nurture both health and wellness.…
If you’re struggling to grow your business, it may not be because of something you’re doing wrong. Instead, it may be because of something you’re not doing much of at all — walking! Research shows that walking boosts your creativity by up to 60% compared to sitting. And here’s more good news! You don’t have…
I’m excited to announce the September selection for the Indie Business Book Club: Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can feel exciting, intimidating, or even irrelevant depending on where you stand. But no matter your perspective, ignoring AI is the one response you cannot have if you want to be…
I’m excited to announce the August selection for the Indie Business Book Club: The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About by Mel and Sawyer Robbins Most self-improvement books are designed to help us reframe how we think so we can begin to take the actions that will change…
Welcome to the season of sun-drenched skin and effortless elegance. Elevate your summer ritual with this curated collection of handmade beauty crafted for you by members of the Indie Business Network. We’ve got you covered with everything from rich body butters and luminous fragrances to nourishing lip treatments and beachside candles. Each one is designed…
I’m excited to announce the July selection for the Indie Business Book Club: Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen, by Donald Miller. No matter what you are selling, you need a story to sell it. That’s good news because whether or not you know it, your brand was built on a…
I’m excited to announce the May June selection for the Indie Business Book Club: Superfans: The Easy Way to Stand Out, Grow Your Tribe, and Build a Successful Business by Pat Flynn. I chose this book because, now more than ever — in both business and life — community reigns supreme. This read offers powerful…
I am proud to announce that I am a Meta Certified Community Manager — professionally trained to help you create, grow, and scale your brand community. Among other things, this certification qualifies me to help you rise above the noise of email marketing, advertising, and rented social media platforms to elevated spaces where you and your…
I’m excited to announce the May 2025 selection for the Indie Business Book Club: Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin. I selected this book because I’m more convinced than ever that the success of your business depends on your ability to build, nurture, and lead a strong community around your brand.…
I’m excited to announce the April 2025 Indie Business Book Club selection: The Membership Economy: Find Your Super Users, Master the Forever Transaction, and Build Recurring Revenue by Robbie Kellman Baxter. I personally chose this book because one of my favorite things to do is help people turn connections into cash by showing them how…
The Indie Business Network was founded 25 years ago to celebrate the transformative power of entrepreneurship. We believe it is time to replace traditional notions of entrepreneurship with the increasingly obvious reality that entrepreneurship is for everyone, and can be defined in different ways by different people with uniquely different lifestyle goals. You do not…
Now that I’ve been a successful entrepreneur for over a quarter century, I can speak with great confidence about the good, the bad and the ugly of leading a business. Like I always say, I don’t have advice, but I do have experience, and in my experience, it’s easy to start a business, but it’s…
One of the questions I receive most often from clients and members is, “How can I market my business more efficiently and effectively?” This is just a fancy way to ask for tips on ways to be seen and found by more people who will buy your products and services. While there are a million…
If you are reading this at the beginning of the New Year, it’s likely that you’ve set some goals for yourself and your business that you hope to achieve this year. Researchers call this “the fresh start effect.” Perhaps you’ve heard of it. At the start of a new year, we all look for opportunities…
If you’re anything like me, each new year begins feeling like it will be the best one yet. But as the weeks roll by, my excitement sometimes begins to fade. By the time I’m a quarter of the way through the year, I can feel like I’m falling short of the progress I’d hoped to…
As we transition from one year to the next, this moment offers a perfect opportunity to reflect on 365 days of growth and prepare to stride confidently into the new year. In this post, I take a closer look at how the Indie Business Network evolved during the previous year, putting our shared experiences into…
We are excited to introduce you to Pearl Harris of Beach Body Butter, our 1Q 2025 Robin’s Roses Entrepreneurial Scholarship Recipient. Pearl is a licensed clinical social worker at a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. Her Beach Body Butter is the elegant, essential daily moisturizer for people with active lives. Among the most popular scents are…
The new 2025 Indie Business Network Entrepreneur Member badges are here, and this year is extra special as we celebrate Indie Business Network’s 25th anniversary! 🎉 Let your customers, clients, members, and professional colleagues know that your Indie Business Network membership is current with our exclusive 2025 Entrepreneur Member badge. Display it proudly on your…
The Indie Business Network was founded 25 years ago to celebrate the transformative power of entrepreneurship. We believe it is time to replace traditional notions of entrepreneurship with the increasingly obvious reality that entrepreneurship is for everyone, and can be defined in different ways by different people with uniquely different lifestyle goals. You do not…