I am joining you today from the studios of WUSA-Channel 9, the CBS affiliate in my hometown of Washington, DC. (Go ‘Skins!), fresh from taping "Moms Love Lucy," a show to help the station launch DVM moms.com. Moms Love Lucy will air on Friday, September 1 from 8 to 10:00pm EST, and will feature me…
Donna Maria shares an overview of blogging tools, including Wordpress, Typepad, Blogger and Movable Type.
Time is money, and Indies don’t have a lot of either so it’s important that we invest our time and money on things that yield a tangible business benefit. Yesterday’s post shared some of the benefits of blogging. Today, we discuss the other side of the coin (pun intended …) …
Since I launched Indie Business Blog nearly 4 months ago, I have received many questions from Indies who want to know if blogging can enhance their business, and if so, how to get started. Let’s begin with a high level look at the benefits of blogging for business. 1. Your blog keeps lines of communication…
In football, a blitz occurs when a defensive player charges the quarterback with the goal of forcing the football from his hands by any means necessary. After making decorations for their Crocs with clay and rhinestones, Sheri and Rich Schmelzer and their kids started selling them to family and friends.…
It was exactly sixteen years ago that I took responsibility for my own life. The first step in doing this was creating a business that could afford my sons and me financial independence." So wrote Paula in the introduction to a chapter from her cookbook, Paula Deen & Friends: Living…
Answer: I don’t. (And yes, my life looks like this sometimes.) I get this question a lot. I don’t do it all. If it looks that way, it’s because I set priorities so at least I accomplish as many important tasks a week as possible. Having said that, I don’t always…
Many great spiritual texts start with the creation of the world, summarizing a mysterious process where a great and powerful being made something out of nothing. What passion that reflects! A similar fire burns inside all of us, just waiting for a chance to ignite. Last week, my mother found a copy of my very…
Podcast (indie-business-podcast-vault): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 50:14 — 92.0MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | RSS
The Vault is an archive of my first podcasts so there is a record for you to enjoy. Welcome to the Vault Episode 75 featuring my interview with Jill Iurato. In today’s world, conventional styles of work often leave people feeling unfulfilled. As a response, there is a growing trend of “moonlighting,” where individuals start…
Indie Beauty Network member Jennifer Hardaway of KLEAN Bath and Body is a woman on the move. In addition to holding down a full time job, she makes and sells fabulous products, including this luscious German Chocolate Cake Body Scrub. Decadence in a jar, do you hear me?! Can you stand it? Of course not,…
I used to hate my name. My mother named me Donna because she liked the Donna Reed Show. Great. I’m named after the perfect television stay-at-home wife and mother. Oh well. At least people can pronounce my name. My late father was not so lucky. His name was Acrafare James Coles, but since no one…
My father died in late June. He had been ill for quite some time. Still, it was a jolt like I have never felt before. As the days since his passing have melted into weeks, and now a few months, I have had numerous chances to reflect upon his impact upon my life. I know…
I always get such a thrill when I see Indie Beauty Network member products in shops that I just happen to stumble upon. Today, it was The Olive Branch near my new hometown in North Carolina. I love decorating my home (even though I’m not terribly good at it) and I have noticed the shop…
The new embroidered branded t-shirts I ordered for the whole family are here! Since my husband’s is in the laundry, my son refused to cooperate during my impromptu photo shoot and I don’t look nearly as good in mine as my daughter does in hers, here’s my sweet Vanessa wearing our brand on her sleeve,…
Podcast (indie-business-podcast-vault): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:32 — 90.7MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | RSS
The Vault is an archive of my first podcasts so there is a record for you to enjoy. Welcome to the Vault Episode 74 featuring my interview with Aliza Sherman, the author of “Everything Blogging Book”. This episode is dedicated entirely to blogging, and Aliza is a true Web pioneer, online marketing expert, and a published…
At the Mocha Moms conference this weekend, Holly Robinson Peete was the keynote speaker. You may know that she recently shared with the world that one of her kids has autism. At the conference, she spoke on the topic of how parents must fight for their children in all cases, especially in the face of…
Indie Beauty Network member Jamila White is a busy woman these days. In addition to working on a lucrative e-commerce consulting project for the Smithsonian Institution, she serves several clients one-on-one and also runs j.blossom, a bath and body products company aimed at young girls. I caught up with Jamila yesterday at the Mocha Moms…
Today, I spoke at the Mocha Moms National Conference outside Atlanta, Georgia. Without Mocha Moms, my life as a young mother would have been a train wreck. After marrying in May 2000, quitting my job in November 2000 to start my business and delivering my daughter Vanessa (here enjoying her first birthday cake) in October…
Podcast (indie-business-podcast-vault): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:15 — 84.7MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | RSS
The Vault is an archive of my first podcasts so there is a record for you to enjoy. Welcome to the Vault Episode 73 featuring my interview with Jena Thompson, the founder and president of Daisy Blue Naturals. For any business Network member, expanding our businesses and reaching a wider audience is always a top priority.…
This time last year, my family and I sold our home and were packing our life up to move nearly 600 miles away from everything we knew and held dear to the great state of North Carolina. My husband and I were born and raised in Washington, DC, and grew up in the same neighborhood.…
