(Another) Wake Up Call For The Middle Class
Donna Maria shares help and encouragement for hurting and laid off Americans.
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.
#HandmadeChat: September 2012 LineUp
Each Thursday night at 8pm ET, IBN hosts #HandmadeChat, a weekly Twitter talk show designed to help you sell more of the products you make. If you’ve never attended before, now is the time. It’s fun, informative, and a super supportive environment where you’ll learn so much about making your business more successful. Here is…
IBN Members On The Move: Shea Radiance To Hit Target Stores This Week!
Congratulations to Indie Business Network Member Funlayo Alabi at Shea Radiance! Several of their hair care products, including conditioner, shampoo, hair milk, and hair cream, are coming to select Target stores on August 16! Funlayo and her husband run shea radiance, as they also parent two young sons just outside Baltimore, Maryland. They have been…
#HandmadeChat No. 13: How To Deal With Difficult Customers
Thursday’s #HandmadeChat covered the topic of dealing with difficult customers. This is an important topic because, as small business owners, we deal with people all the time — and where there are people, there are challenges. Whether an issue can be traced to you, your customer, or some act of providence, how you handle it…
Change Your Avatar. Please.
I hope I have seen the last Indie using a FaceBook Page or Twitter avatar that reflects poorly on their business. Stop what you are doing right now and look at your avatar. Does it represent your business well? Or is it a blurry product photo? Or a blurry picture of you? Or a picture…
#HandmadeChat No. 10: Organizing Your Day For Maximum Productivity
“Feeling overwhelmed today. … My garden has gone to pot and I can’t keep up, with 2.5 hours on the mower a week, and then the house needs cleaning. Maybe it will lift after I do my big event at our county fair. I’m making lists of my priorities in life, and the yard and…
Save Time By Turning A Meeting Into An Email Message (Video)
I learn so many valuable things each day. In fact, I learn so much that there are not enough hours in each day for me to transfer everything I learn to you. After thinking about this for a bit, I decided to try to create quick videos with my iPhone, on the fly, when I…
#HandmadeChat No. 9: How To Work Your Business With Kids Around
Last night, Alyssa Middleton facilitated #HandmadeChat: How To Be Work Your Business With Kids Around. Because I started my business when my children were infants, and help women do so today, this topic is near and dear to my heart. Alyssa shared a great deal of insight and many tips on how she manages her…
Independence is Good. Interdependence is Better.
Happy Interdependence Day! Yeah, I know. It doesn’t quite have the right ring to it, does it? But as a small and independent business owner, in order to be successful in your quest for independence from things you don’t want, you must first be successful in achieving a state of interdependence when it comes ot…
#HandmadeChat: July 2012 LineUp
We are trying out a new format for the July 2012 edition of #HandmadeChat. Rather than having a guest “speaker” on our weekly topics, we will have a guest “facilitator.” I will introduce the facilitator and the topic. The facilitator will then lead the discussion, inviting anyone with something to share to join in and…
This Blog Is Being Transferred To a New Host
One of the reasons I’ve been posting less frequently lately is because I have been preparing for a new website launch. More about that later. For now, I wanted to let you know that this blog is currently undergoing a hosting transfer. For the next few days, you may notice intermittent downtime as content is…
Join Me On June 26: My Interview With Author and Feng Shui Expert, Tisha L. Morris
Are you ready to clear the clutter and allow more positive energy to flow through your business and your life? Feng shui offers a powerful, low-cost way to harness powerful energy forces that can transform your life and create a supportive environment where you can thrive. Today, dM will interview Tisha L. Morris, author of…
How To Get Your Kids To Eat Spinach
It’s Monday and I’m ready for another super week. There’s lot of great stuff happening at Indie as we close out June and head into July. For one, Team Indie and I are working hard to launch a new website for you. There are many moving parts to my business and this move will consolidate…
#HandmadeChat No. 7: How To Wholesale Your Handmade Products
Last night, our topic on #HandmadeChat was How To Wholesale Your Handmade Products. Our special guest was Alyssa Middleton, founder and CEO of Vintage Body Spa and the Bath and Body Academy, and IBN’s Louisville, Kentucky, Local Director Alyssa Middleton. Alyssa has been leading Vintage Body Spa since 2007, and her premium spa and bath…
Join Me On May 29: My Interview with Danny Nardo of ABC Shark Tank’s Nardos Natural
If you’re like me, you are a huge fan of ABC’s Shark Tank, the show that airs each Friday night featuring five wealthy investors called “Sharks” who consider pitches from entrepreneurs seeking funding for their business or product. Earlier this year, four brothers from Tampa, Florida, pitched their line of Nardos Natural skin care products…
Ask Indie Business: “Should I Sell Information About How To Get Products Onto Retail Store Shelves?”
Q: “Dear Indie Business: I need your advice on something. I have been getting a lot of inquiries from people asking how I got my products into Whole Foods Market and other stores. Should I give this information away or write an ebook on the process? I have found when I try to help others…
10 Habits Of Highly Effective Business Owners
Do you want to (continue to) be a successful business owner? I do. It’s what I invest most of my time doing, really — performing activities that help me serve my members more effectively. Ideas pop into my head all the time. Thank goodness for my team members, who receive a steady stream of dM’s…
3 Easy Tips To Make Your Blog Shine
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Asian Kale Salad
I love kale, and even better, so do my kids. It’s a super healthy veggie, and it’s easy to prepare and enjoy without messing up your fitness routine. This weekend, we devoured this easy Asian Kale Salad. Just wash a big, huge bunch of kale, and separate and discard the stems. Chop up the leaves…
Why You Should Keep Blogging
A few days ago, USA Today published More Companies Quit Blogging, Go With FaceBook Instead. Huh? I don’t get it. You know I don’t get it, especially if you read this 2009 post about why a blog adds more long term valuable to your business than a FaceBook Page could ever add. Sure, it takes…
Opportunities and Challenges
What do you see when you survey the small and independent business landscape? You won’t be surprised to know that I see a world of opportunity. You won’t be surprised to know that I see a world or challenges. Let me explain. Opportunities Let’s start with the opportunities. You can do it. The world is…