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.
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…
I am pleased to announce that I have been named the Handmade Business Expert for the Small Business Trends, an award-winning online publication for small business owners, entrepreneurs and the people who interact with them. Small Business Trends content is syndicated through ACI Information Group (formerly Newstex) and other sites around the Web. This trusted…
Blab closed in August 2016, so we removed the video. You can still read the tips and strategies Melody and I discussed in this post. This Blab was recorded live on New Year’s Day on the Indie Business Blab channel. I hesitated to share it because there are times when the audio overlaps, resulting in…
The new 2016 Indie Business Network member badge is here! Indie Business Network members in good standing can log in and grab the code for the badge for the current year at this link. (Members: remember to log in before following the link to avoid the “Ooops” page!) The badge looks like this, except there…
It’s time to cut the fat! A few weeks ago, I reached out to fellow entrepreneur and Indie Business Network member Melody Bockelman of Private Label Insider to catch up and chat about life and business. The conversation ended up lasting nearly an hour, and as it progressed, we both concluded that we had to…
For many of you, this is no introduction. After all, most of my members have met Jennifer personally in our Secret Facebook Group. Others have benefited from her website and blog design services, especially using WordPress. What you may not know is that, for much of 2015, Jennifer was an integral part much of what…
It was incredibly difficult to whittle this book list down to twelve, but I did it so I could present you with a monthly reading list for the New Year. I believe anyone can benefit from these books, whether or not they are an entrepreneur of any kind, and whether or not they have a…
Unbelievably, it’s nearly 70° in Charlotte on Christmas Day! It’s a bit of a challenge to feel “Christmas-y” when it’s this warm, but regardless of the temperature, it’s still a wonderful day. My kids are happy with multiple electronics devices hanging out of their ears and hanging off of their bodies, plus there is a…