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.
[Note: this post was slightly updated on February 22, 2010.] I am the founder and president of the Indie Beauty Network (IBN) so it will come as no surprise that I think my members make the best products in the world. Whether you want candles, sugar scrubs, perfumes, essential oils, lotions, jewelry, body oils, hair…
Connecting With More People Increases Your Bottom Line One question I get over and over again is how I got thousands of subscribers to my email newsletter. The answer is: I got to know my customers and consistently filled my newsletter with information they enjoy reading. Lots of people ask me…
The Vault is an archive of my first podcasts so there is a record for you to enjoy. Welcome to the Vault Episode 96 featuring my interview with Steven Little. Drawing inspiration from the concept of perfection often attributed to the number 7, our guest has authored “The 7 Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth.” While…
Without Breaking The Bank Thursday night’s group coaching sessions was incredible. While I’m told by everyone in attenance that it was an excellent investment of time, the best part is that everyone found a way to contribute something unique to the conversation. We were all uplifted and encouraged. This month, we’re launching and improving email…
3 Steps To A Basic Yet Solid Blog Post Blogging can enhance your business, but while it’s easy to consider blogging, it can be more work than it’s worth, especially if you don’t post regularly. There are millions of blogs in the blogosphere, but only a small fraction have fresh content added at least twice…
I have always loved roses. They smell fantastic and each one is so unique. The petals are soft and delicate. I guess it’s fitting that something so lovely should only last a few days. I got some roses today and this makes me very happy. Whether or not you get roses,…
3 Easy Steps: Teach, Inspire, Do Email newsletters are the most convenient, efficient and cost effective way to use technology to create, develop and enhance relationships with your customers around the globe. My Group Coaching session last night was filled with information on how to launch and maintain an email newsletter to grow your business.…
Indie Beauty Network Member On The Big Idea Even though I don’t ascribe to the belief that making millions is the ultimate small business goal, I do enjoy The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch. I especially like it when my friends are on the show. A few weeks ago, my friend and fellow Mocha Mom…
East Meets West In Wedding Design Business When Dorothy (“Dot” for short) was a child, she and her sisters desperately wanted a video game console. Rather than buy one for her children, Dot’s mother gave them some glue, paper and cardboard and told them to make their own video game. The sisters spent hours assembling…
The Vault is an archive of my first podcasts so there is a record for you to enjoy. Welcome to the Vault Episode 95 featuring my interview with Maggie Kennon. Maggie’s website, www.givingadvice.com, offers personalized 1-on-1 Giving Strategy sessions to help you create a powerful giving action plan and maximize your charitable impact. Inspired by a…
Smart Philanthropy For Indie Business Owners As Indies, we like the idea of aligning our business with charitable causes that help those in need. As people, we enjoy helping others. As business owners, we enjoy the tax deduction. But how can we be sure that our donations really get to those…
Create Your Own Economy With My FREE Group Coaching Along with dozens of major newspapers yesterday, the New York Times reported that more Americans were laid off in January than in any other month in the last four years. To me, this is much more than a statistic. When my husband was laid off in…
Longtime Indie Beauty Member Struts Her Stuff I am always so pleased with the success of Indie Beauty Network members. Of course "success" is different for all 650+ of our members, but there’s no denying that video makes it easy to share what my members are doing. Today, I’m pleased to present this clip where…
Have Yours Fizzled or Sizzled? It’s the last day of the first month of 2008. Have your new year’s resolutions fizzled or sizzled? Let’s admit it, we Indie Business owners can easily set ourselves up by making resolutions that are a little unrealistic. And while hope may spring eternal, the reality is that specific goals…
… Is No Credit Card A few weeks ago, in response to a reporter’s query, I suggested that the best credit card for Indie Business owners was no credit card. I explained why. I never heard from her again. Presumably, her story ran without my input, but that’s OK becuase I…
I first discovered Carol’s Daughter products when I spoke at a women’s conference in Pennsylvania in 1996. A woman had a booth filled to the brim with goodies made from exotic fragrance oils, herbs and colors taken from natural ingredients like alkanet root and calendula. The first one I tried was Mimosa Hair Honey. Of…
The Vault is an archive of my first podcasts so there is a record for you to enjoy. Welcome to the Vault Episode 94 featuring my interview with Robin Ryan, a career expert with a passion for pushing you forward. Robin specializes in individual career counseling and emphasizes the importance of commitment to your success. She’s…
Put The Needle On The Record When I was an attorney representing the business interests of a Fortune 500 company many years ago, my colleagues and I quickly figured out which arguments swayed the regulators to our side and which ones didn’t. As we preapred for a trial or hearing, we knew that, while we…
The Vault is an archive of my first podcasts so there is a record for you to enjoy. Welcome to the Vault Episode 93 featuring my interview with Dawn Fitch of Pooka Pure and Simple. From crafting products on her apartment stove to a Kearny, NJ showroom, and distribution across Whole Food markets and online…
He Had A Dream So We Could Have A Chance What did he see through that window, this strange, brave black man? Smooth southern sun kissed skin, a broad nose and full lips — all so hated throughout so much of history. Doesn't he know that one person can't change the world? …
Work + Passion = Success There’s a lot of talk about "success" these days. In the business arena, I call it "Success Excess" because it seems as though most people inextricably link business success to financial excess. Consider the television shows which, though inspiring and entertaining, focus to a large extent on making millions, buying…