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.

Bath By Chocolate

Chocolate is not just for eating. If you don't believe me, try Rendezvous' Chocolate Soap made with real chocolate. When it arrived in the mail, I had a hard time not biting into it. Rendezvous owners Erik and Karen Burgess are a husband and wife team who are raising two kids while making all kinds…

Playing It Safe Can Be Fatal

Swimming with my 5-year old daughter today reminded me of the similarities between Indies and children learning how to swim. When learning to swim, kids need to rely on inner tubes, inflatable arm bands and swimwear with personal flotation devices built in. These "safety nets" empower new swimmers and encourage them to gain confidence in…

Romancing The Wi-Fi

As a full fledged Indie business owner, these days, I don’t choose a coffee shop based on the food and beverages it serves. I choose it based on the following cirteria: 1. Do they offer free Wi-Fi for customers?2. Do they have enough electrical outlets in the walls so I can compete with everyone else…

Family First

Family First. Sounds good, but what does it mean? It’s tempting to define it according to the amount of time spent with your family compared to time spent leading your business. As Indies, there is always overlap, and since no two families or businesses are alike, there is no way to define for everyone what…

The Value of Vision

Vision is an essential element of any business. If you do not have a vision for what your business will become, you cannot wisely choose which steps to take to achieve anything. This short clip represents the first steps toward implementation of an expanded vision for Indie Business Media. That was the first show introduction…

I Love Picnik!

While I run my business almost entirely online, I am surprisingly awful with computers. I am particularly terrible at using traditional software programs like PhotoShop to edit and load clear, quality images to my websites and blog without pulling out all of my hair (or what’s left of it since I whacked it off earlier…

Conference Photos!

Here are some pictures from the Conference of Handcrafted Soap Makers held earlier this month. As you can see, I was like the paparazzi flitting around from one Indie to another meeting, greeting and photo-opping. Will post more photos later. L. dM and Brenda Sievers of Oak Court Creations. Brenda sells soap, candle and cosmetic…

A Word To The Wordy

As a former full-time attorney, I have several dysfunctions. Apparently, one of them is using 50 words when I only need 28. I was delighted when Marcia Yudkin (pictured) responded to my request for tips on brevity by describing my writing as "strong but repetitive". She then published "Shorter: Say It In Fewer Words," 40…