Our October 2022 Indie Business Book Club selection is Live What You Love: Notes from A Passionate Life by Bob and Melinda Blanchard. This book celebrates the fact that there is more than one path to success. And that’s why you have to read it. In this book, we will meet the authors, a married…
I recently enjoyed the honor of being interviewed on Bubble Babez University’s Let’s Talk Live program with host Nikkie Davis! Nikkie reached out a while back to invite me to meet up virtually with her tribe to share a little about my entrepreneurial journey and what we offer here at the Indie Business Network. Nikkie…
The Indie Business Network was founded 20 years ago based on the transformative power of entrepreneurship. We believe it is time to replace traditional notions of entrepreneurship with the increasingly obvious reality that entrepreneurship is for everyone, and can be defined in different ways by different people with uniquely different lifestyle goals. You do not…
According to William Congreve’s 1697 play The Mourning Bride, “music has charms to soothe the savage beast.” Inspired by this well-known quote and our upcoming Indie Cruise 2023: Cabo San Lucas, this playlist is sure to soothe and deflect any beast out to stalk you — especially if you love sounds of sand and sea.…
Our September 2022 Indie Business Book Club selection is To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink. At its core, this book is a reminder that we all spend a considerable amount of time and energy trying to convince others to do what we want them to do. •…
Maker Planner is a repeatable system designed to help you forecast your future, create your quarters, and design your days to you can continuously transform and improve your business and your life, and it’s now available for purchase through next two weeks at this link. When used consistently, Maker Planner will help you clarify your goals…
Our August 2022 Indie Business Book Club selection is YOU-NICORN: 30 Days to Find Your Inner Unicorn and Live the Life You Love by our Indie Business Network member, Danielle A. Vincent. YOU-NICORN is a 30-day, step-by-step program to help you get a better perspective on your thoughts, improve your relationships, clarify your goals, and find…
We are excited to introduce you to Simone Maldonado and Eden Holt, our 3Q 2022 Maker Scholarship recipients. Simone is the founder of The Calm Joy Candle Co. in Williamstown, New Jersey. Eden is the founder of The Connection Effect in Springfield, Missouri. We are normally thrilled to welcome one new scholarship recipient, so you…
As you may know, IBN hosted Mastermind Intensive 2022 recently in Charlotte, North Carolina. As you may also know, the Indie Business Network has a long-standing and successful collaborative relationship with Veracity Insurance Solutions, to provide affordable and accessible general and product liability insurance to our members. Thanks so much to Veracity for sponsoring our…
Our July 2022 Indie Business Book Club selection is The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life and Your Success, by Darren Hardy. I first encountered the author after I agreed to be a blogger for Success Magazine. Shortly after I signed the contract, Darren Hardy purchased rights to the Success Magazine brand and changed…
The Indie Business Network was founded 20 years ago based on the transformative power of entrepreneurship. We believe it is time to replace traditional notions of entrepreneurship with the increasingly obvious reality that entrepreneurship is for everyone, and can be defined in different ways by different people with uniquely different lifestyle goals. You do not…
According to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “music is the universal language of mankind.” In celebration of the ubiquitous nature of song, we present for your enjoyment the first curated Indie Business Network Spotify Playlist composed of songs selected by our members for their motivational qualities. About the Motivate Playlist As entrepreneurs, our members have to maintain…
Our June 2022 Indie Business Book Club selection is Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur, by Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby. Like many American Maker Entrepreneurs, Derek did not start his business “on purpose.” Instead, doing something he loved (making music) led organically to a business opportunity, which led…
For the March 2022 edition of the Indie Business Book Club, we read Get Different: Marketing That Can’t Be Ignored! by Mike Michalowicz. The book drives home the point that “different sells.” This article provides a summary of what we learned. If you’re not familiar with the Indie Business Book Club, you can click here for more…
People often ask me what to do with a Facebook group that seems to have outlived its usefulness. The short answer is you should shut down everything (including a Facebook group) that is useless or filled with dusty cobwebs. IBN recently closed this Facebook group. This article shares a little of our thought process and…
Our May 2022 Indie Business Book Club selection is The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It, by Michael Gerber. Originally published in 1995, this classic book continues to be relevant and practical for entrepreneurs. In it, the author explores the critical distinction between working on your business…
If you are considering fighting Etsy’s marketplace transaction fee increase, don’t waste your time. For those who don’t know, effective yesterday, Etsy has increased the fee it charges Etsy sellers to sell products on the platform from 5% to 6.5%. The increase in this “marketplace transaction fee” has caused some Etsy sellers to put their…
Entrepreneurs Reveal the Game-Changing Path to American Maker Success The American Maker Revolution is here, and you are invited to take your seat at the table at Maker Mastermind LIVE Intensive, June 24-25, 2022, in Charlotte, NC. Every day here at the Indie Business Network, we hear stories confirming the challenges of entrepreneurship. But here’s…
In response to my marketing advice about effective publishing strategies, a client once told me she refused to get bogged down with publishing email newsletters. Her logic made some sense. She told me that she did not go into business to become a publisher. As I listened, a feeling of complete dread overtook me. Even…
Introducing Stephanie Hendricks of Stephanie’s Scents in Gloucester Massachusetts. Stephanie is our 2Q 2022 Maker Scholarship recipient. Stephanie’s makes candles with soy wax and cotton wicks, and she sells them at her website and on Etsy. Current popular scents include Pineapple Sage, Tomato Leaf, and Peppermint Mocha Soy. Here is Stephanie with her husband and…
Some of our members are finalists in the 2022 FedEx Small Business Grant Contest, which awards 10 American businesses cash, email marketing and website auditing services, sustainable packaging consultations, FedEx print services credits, and more. The top 100 finalists out of 18,000 entries have been selected, and some of them are Indie Business Network members.…