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.
There are 242 days to go until my annual 7th Annual #IndieCruise Mastermind retreat! In case you missed it, we’ll be gathering at the beautiful Club Med Luxury Resort & Spa in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on January 15 – 20, 2017. It will be here before you know it, so if you have not…
Welcome to #IndieTakeover No. 8! Today, you’ll meet an IBN member with a gentle spirit and a product line to match. Her name is Ally Lin, and she is one of the most focused entrepreneurs I know. Her Wonderland Organics product line offers a line of natural skincare products for sensitive skin, and made with…
Welcome to #IndieTakeover Day 7! Today, you’ll meet an IBN member who fills me with inspiration. Her name is Cindy Jones, and she is a pretty amazing entrepreneur with a business that has several exciting income streams. Cindy Jones, Ph.D is a scientist and herbalist, and the founder and owner of Colorado Aromatics in Longmont,…
Welcome to #IndieTakeover Day 6! One of the best things about my life (or is it my work … can’t tell the difference …) is that I have the opportunity to serve and become acquainted with people from across this incredible country. I learn from them, I mentor them, I teach them, I admire them.…
Welcome to #IndieTakeover Day 5, the final takeover day in our week-long series. Today’s #IndieTakeover guest is Roberta Perry of ScrubzBody™ Natural Skin Care in Bethpage, NY. In case you haven’t heard, #IndieTakeover is a fun new way to share your message with a new audience, and this is our final #IndieTakeover of the week.…
Welcome to #IndieTakeover Day 4. I am excited to introduce you to today’s #IndieTakeover guest: Stacia Guzzo of Handcrafted Honey Bee in Tehachapi, CA. In case you haven’t heard, #IndieTakeover is a fun new way to share your message with a new audience. If you missed our previous #IndieTakeovers this week, you can check them…
Welcome to #IndieTakeover Day 3. I am excited to introduce you to today’s #IndieTakeover guest: Torrian Denise of Dorneé Natural Body Luxuries in Twinsburg, Ohio. In case you haven’t heard, #IndieTakeover is a fun new way to share your message with a new audience. If you missed our previous #IndieTakeovers this week, you can check…
Welcome to Day 2 of #IndieTakeover. Today, we’ll follow La Shonda Tyree of Nyah Beauty and Handmade Soap Coach in Paterson, New Jersey. In case you haven’t heard, #IndieTakeover is an exciting way to help you expose your brand to more people. If you missed our first #IndieTakeover yesterday, with Jennifer Waller of Celtic Complexion,…
Iam excited to introduce you to today’s #IndieTakeover guest: Jennifer Waller of Celtic Complexion in Raleigh, North Carolina. In case you haven’t heard, #IndieTakeover is a fun new way to build community and engagement around your brand. On your #IndieTakever day, you literally take over IBN’s Instagram account and share a day in the life…
Welcome to Episode 41 of the Indie Business Podcast! In this podcast episode, I introduce you to Kara Brook of Waxing Kara and The Honey House in Owings Mills, Maryland. Kara says that entrepreneurship is in her DNA. As you’ll hear in the first part of the interview, her business experience includes leading Internet-based startups,…
Studies show that when you track your progress toward specific goals, you greatly increase your chances of actually achieving your goals. That’s why I’m excited to announce IBN’s newest member benefit — our Tracking Progress Worksheets! Using our new customized worksheets, our members can easily and quickly track their progress toward the goals that will…
Recently, Instagram announced that it will change the order in which posts are displayed to users. Currently, posts are displayed in chronological order, so that your followers see what you post in the order you post it. While it’s not completely clear how posts will be displayed after the change is implemented, it is clear…
It’s the best day ever (again) because I am here to introduce you to our first speaker for #IndieCruise Mastermind 2017. Her name is Melody Bockelman and she is the founder and CEO of Private Label Insider in Harlingen, Texas. If you haven’t yet registered for our 7th annual retreat for creative entrepreneurs, you can…
Earlier today, I announced our theme and exotic retreat destination for #IndieCruise Mastermind 2017 in Punta Cana. If you missed that, you can read all about it here. (If you already know you want to register, do it now because we will fill up fast!) Now, I am pleased to share our new collaboration with…
I am excited to announce the theme and exotic retreat destination for #IndieCruise Mastermind 2017. I’m even more thrilled to share our new collaboration with a non-profit organization to benefit native Caribbean people in Haiti. More about that later. First, for those who don’t know, #IndieCruise is a small, intimate, limited seat retreat for Makers…
This. Just this. This video packs a powerful punch in a small package: succinct wholesale tips, a teenpreneur daughter, family business inspiration, customer support in a small town (Rocky Mount, North Carolina), and more. Kimberly Thigpen is a wife and mother of six, and not only that, she’s a stellar example of successful entrepreneurship in…
When it comes to entrepreneurship, the saying “Go big or go home,” can be interpreted to mean that if your business if not big in size, then it somehow doesn’t count. I disagree with that philosophy. Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better, and it sure doesn’t mean stronger or more profitable. In fact, a business that…
This is a guest post by IBN member Donna DeRosa, an author and personal development and lifestyle management coach. Follow Donna on Twitter and Instagram. If you would like to submit a guest post for this blog, please read the guidelines here. According to 2010 census statistics*, 8.1 million people have difficulty seeing, and 7.6…
Hearken back to the early days at the launch of your business. Remember how excited you were? How giddy you felt? Finally, you were going to have a business of your own. You were in love with it and everything else in the world, and then BAM!! You began to get into a rut. The…
Blab closed in August 2016, so we removed the video. You can still read the tips and strategies Anne-Marie and I discussed in this post. While planning is critical to success as an entrepreneur, flexibility is equally important. There are times when you just have to ad lib your business, not knowing exactly what to…
I have written previously about the power of the pause, and how important it is to step away and press the reset button from time to time. I did so last week. I am freshly returned from my 6th Annual #IndieCruise Mastermind Retreat for Creative Entrepreneurs, and I have firmly pressed the reset button. Here…