How Couponing Is Changing My Life For The Better Last night, a friend I’ll call "Jim" dubbed his wife the "Coupon Queen" because she saved $700 on groceries last year by clipping coupons. No offense, Jim, but your wife’s coronation is a fraud. My next door neighbor, a stay at home mom named Suzanne, is…
Prepare Business Proposals That Close Deals A happy shout out to freelance writer and editor Matt Alderton who included my advice in a new article he wrote for the Masterd Card Business Essentials Library to help Indie Business owners prepare proposals that land new business. Matt…
AARP May Have Some Money For You! But time is short! The deadline to apply for the women’s scholarship is October 31. A big shout out to Indie Jamila White for the heads up! If you are over 40 and enrolled or will enroll in a school or…
Donna Maria shares some of the story of indie beauty entrepreneur Lela Barker of Bella Lucce.
Tips for Being a Cheerful Giver All Year Long It’s mid-October and the season of opportunitites to donate to various worthy causes is upon us. For most Indies, philanthropy is not seasonal. Instead, we give back in numerous ways, not all of them financial, all year long. I believe that how much we give is…
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The Vault is an archive of my first podcasts so there is a record for you to enjoy. Welcome to the Vault Episode 82 featuring my interview with Shannon Kilkenny, the author of “The Complete Guide to Successful Event Planning”. In today’s digital age, the Internet has revolutionized networking and sharing common interests and concerns.…
Indie Herbalist Combines Three Passions To Make A Profit Like all new college grads, Maria Noel Groves of Wintergreen Botanicals in Allenstown, New Hampshire, looked forward to putting her degree to good use. As a journalism major who also loved herbs, it seemed almost predictable that she would make a living by using the written…
Indie Business Owners Redefine Working For A Living Last night, I watched a little of The Billionaire Inside. Donald Trump was the guest and one of the things he talked about was how his father worked all the time. "There was never a time when he wasn’t working," said Trump. "He hated to take a…
Being The First To Market Is A Huge Leg Up In economics, a theory called "the first mover advantage" describes the benefit obtained by the company that is the first to market with a new concept, product or service. MCI, for example, was the first company recognized as going toe to toe with AT&T in…
Don’t Stop Your Online Sales Before They Even Start An Indie recently contacted me about joining the Indie Beauty Network. After talking with her, I realized that the business had a few significant problems, starting with their website address: BusinessName.info. Yick. It’s difficult indeed to launch a business with a unique…
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The Vault is an archive of my first podcasts so there is a record for you to enjoy. Welcome to the Vault Episode 81 featuring my interview with Deborah Balmuth, a seasoned publishing professional and the Director of Editors with Storybook. As the saying goes, there is at least one book in every person, and…
7 Parenting Skills To Make Your Business Successful As the mother of two children, I have only just begun my parenting journey. But in the short time I’ve been a mom, home manager and business owner, I have noticed several parallels between raising a child and raising a business. Doing both…
Enter To Win Cash To Launch Your Business Need a cash infusion to launch your business? Or how about a new wardrobe so you can look the business part wherever you are? Either way, maybe Mirassou’s Make Your Dreams Come True Contest can help. The winner will receive $50,000 or a Talbot’s shopping spree. …
Indie Mom Turns Sewing Habit Into Thriving Business Like all new moms, Jill Bredow used soft blankets to welcome her babies into the world. Like me, she made them herself. Like me, she didn’t care whether anyone else liked them. Like me, she just wanted to make her kids feel loved. The similarities end there.…
Aromatherapy Comes To The Small Screen Indies wear lots of hats and juggle a dizzying number of balls in the air. But a truly impressive Indie is one who can catch more balls than she drops. Take Indie Beauty Network member Noelle Katai (pronounced "Kay-Tai"), of Vim Essentials, for example. She contacted me earlier this…
Hundreds Of Businesses Will Be Celebrated, Why Not Yours? In April 2008, we will celebrate Small Business Week. To mark the event, as it does every year, the US Small Business Administration will recognize small business owners for the contributions they make to our nation’s economy, to society and to communities across America. …
It’s been 5 days since I started Indies For The Cure, and it’s getting embarrassing. I know the Surgeon General recommends at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day for optimum weight management. I also know there are studies showing that that’s the equivalent of taking about 10,000 steps each day. When I started…
Back in my real job days, I spent a lot of time criss crossing the country between Washington, DC and Orange County, California. I once went out there to cross examine John Paul DeJoria, founder and owner of John Paul Mitchell Systems, in a multi-million dollar civil lawsuit. But I digress. …
I always thought of Tori Spelling as a snotty, rich, spoiled brat. Maybe that’s because she was one in Beverly Hills 90210. Or maybe it’s because after seeing her father’s 123-room, 56,000 square foot Hollywood mega-mansion, I was just jealous. Either way, when Tori & Dean Inn Love, Tori’s reality show…
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." So says Proverbs 14:23. Preachy, I know, but it makes the point. How many times have you or someone you’ve known said, "I’m going to start a business next year," or "I’m going to do such and such to make my business…
Have you ever turned down $25,000? I have. One of my last traditional jobs was at a law firm. I started the job in January, and in March, the firm increased my annual salary by $25,000. It wasn’t because I was brilliant. (I’m not, but you already knew that.) It seems they had decided that…