Iam pleased to introduce you to IBN’s new Membership Coordinator, David Boling. David is a native Charlottean, and we are so excited to have him right here with us as we prepare to open our offices in south Charlotte. David is a seasoned relationship builder who enjoys meeting and connecting people, and helping them be…
Our member, Kelly Bloom of Soapalooza in Richmond, Virginia, was recently invited to show viewers how to make sugar scrub on on the Richmond CBS affiliate. Take a look. Kelly is a high school science teacher by profession, and her natural teaching abilities shine through beautifully here as she shows the host, Cheryl Miller, how…
Iam pleased to announce our March 2013 Indie Business Book Club pick: The Power of Starting Something Stupid: How to Crush Fear, Make Dreams Happen, and Live Without Regret, by Richie Norton. If you are an IBN member, click here to join me in our private Facebook book club group, and request to join in…
On Thursday evenings from 8 to 9pm ET, IBN hosts #HandmadeChat, a Twitter talk show to help handmade and creative entrepreneurs sell more products, have more fun, and be more successful personally and professionally. While the show is aimed mainly at business owners who make and sell handmade consumer products, the topics and discussions can…
Today, I’m honored to announce that I’ve joined the team at Global Shea Alliance as 2013 Global Shea Conference Social Media Liaison. You can read the Global Shea Alliance announcement here. For those who don’t know, I have traveled to Africa previously, in particular living for a time in Johannesburg, South Africa, where I taught…
On Thursday evenings from 8 to 9pm ET, IBN hosts #HandmadeChat, a Twitter talk show to help handmade and creative entrepreneurs sell more products, have more fun, and be more successful personally and professionally. While the show is aimed mainly at business owners who make and sell handmade consumer products, the topics and discussions can…
Lots of amazing things happened on #IndieCruise last week, among them the sharing of these customized lip balms from our member, Emily Caswell at GCDSpa in Topsham Maine. Just look at how gorgeous this is — a customized lip balm made with cocoa butter, shea butter, sweet almond oil and other lip loving goodies. Our…
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” – Maya Angelou ENTREPRENEURIAL COACHING AND MENTORING The best coaching and mentoring for handmade entrepreneurs is at Indie Beauty Network. Click here to connect at our social network.
Of course you must leverage all of the typical free and low cost promotional tools at your disposal. But if you really want to step up your marketing and create something special that stands out in the crowd, you have do to things that other people aren’t doing. One of your options is to host…
Our member, Sandi Garrett of Harmony Bath & Body and the Alabama Soap and Candle Association, is featured in a current local news story about a new retail shopping initiative taking place in Sandi’s home town of Birmingham, Alabama. Check it out! Like Sandi says, all of her products are handmade by her, and not…
As you lead your business forward, you will eventually have to do one of three things to grow your handmade business: (1) train others (either employees or contractors) to help you make the products you sell; (2) offer “how to” information products along with handmade products; or (3) add complementary business models within your existing…
Last week was one of the most amazing weeks of my life, as I and dozens of Indies set sail on my annual signature event, #IndieCruise, aboard Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas. Along with a record number of attendees, I sailed to Belize and Cozumel for MasterMinding, snorkeling, island touring, shopping, sunset watching, horseback…
On Thursday evenings from 8 to 9pm ET, IBN hosts #HandmadeChat, a Twitter talk show to help handmade and creative entrepreneurs sell more products, have more fun, and be more successful personally and professionally. While the show is aimed mainly at business owners who make and sell handmade consumer products, the topics and discussions can…
On Thursday evenings from 8 to 9pm ET, IBN hosts #HandmadeChat, a Twitter talk show to help handmade and creative entrepreneurs sell more products, have more fun, and be more successful personally and professionally. While the show is aimed mainly at business owners who make and sell handmade consumer products, the topics and discussions can…
This quote, attributed to Dorothea Brande, has always fascinated me. Unseen forces are always at work, no matter what you do. Whether you act boldly or as a coward would, unseen forces will indeed come to your aid. The question is — what will they help you do? Will they help you be bold? Will…
On Thursdays at 8pm ET, IBN hosts #HandmadeChat, a weekly Twitter talk show to coach, inform and inspire #handmade and creative entrepreneurs. If you’ve never attended, now is the time. #HandmadeChat is a fun, inspirational and supportive event where you’ll learn so much about making your business more successful. As you’ll see below, you can…
Iam pleased to announce our February 2013 Indie Business Book Club pick: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide To Personal Freedom, by Don Miguel Ruiz. Indie Business Book Club (now merged into our private members only Facebook group) provides a private, convenient way for IBN members to grow together in business and in life. As…
I can hardly believe it — #IndieCruise2013 is just 5 days away. As I was finishing up my planning this afternoon, I realized that I had announced all of the speakers and topics, except for me and my topic. So, I thought I’d tell you what I’ll be speaking on. First, you might also want…
I am thrilled to announce that IBN member La Shonda Tyree, aka “The Soap Coach,” of Handmade Soap Coach in Paterson, New Jersey, will join us on #IndieCruise2013 as a speaker and fellow MasterMinder. The theme for #IndieCruise 2013 is Conceive! Believe! Achieve!, making La Shonda’s topic of How To Make Money Teaching “How To”…
On Thursday evenings from 8 to 9pm ET, IBN hosts #HandmadeChat, a Twitter talk show to help handmade and creative entrepreneurs sell more products, have more fun, and be more successful personally and professionally. While the show is aimed mainly at business owners who make and sell handmade consumer products, the topics and discussions can…
Our members, Funlayo Alabi and her husband, natives of Nigeria, are heading back to their homeland in a few months to speak at the Global Shea Alliance conference in west Africa. Among other things, they’ll be teaching a series of classes on how to make all types of soaps and cosmetics using shea butter. They’ve…