Earlier this year, my friend, Corey Creed, and I saw a need for a professional MasterMind group in Charlotte, North Carolina. We met a few times and then added Nate Kennedy to the group. We hashed out a format and decided to open the group up to others. We have since added a few more…
I am pleased sad to announce that IBN member Kelly Bloom of Soapalooza in Richmond, Virginia, will not be joining us on #IndieCruise 2013 as a speaker and fellow MasterMinder. You’ll have fun anyway, so stay tuned for updates! The theme for #IndieCruise 2013 is Conceive! Believe! Achieve!, making Kelly’s topic of Living Your Passion…
It has come to my attention that the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is considering new regulations that, if enacted as drafted, would eliminate what it calls “chemicals of concern” (COCs) from a variety of consumer products, including cosmetics, that are sold in California. The proposed regulations would apply to manufacturers, marketers, importers…
Donna Maria shares her best tips for getting through a rough patch in your business, and coming out stronger on the other side of it.
Donna Maria shares Tweets from #HandmadeChat No. 21: Best Twitter Practices For Handmade Business Owners.
Have you considered using FaceBook ads to promote your handmade products? Maybe you’ve pondered it, but with budgets being so tight, you’re not sure you want to give it a try. Wouldn’t you like to talk with someone who has taken the plunge — and is selling more products as a result? Of course you…
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. To learn…
Every Thursday evening from 8 to 9pm ET, I host #HandmadeChat, a Twitter talk show designed to help handmade business owners sell more of the products they make. While the show is aimed mainly at members of IBN, the topics and discussion can empower and encourage the growth of any small business owner. Yesterday, I…
Donna Maria shares the achievement of members Joseph and Laralyn Riverwind of Native Touch, LLC.
Limited space is now available in IBN’s 2012 Handmade Holiday Gift Guide! As you can see from the cover, this is one eye-catching, festive piece of media, and we plan to put it in the hands of as many thousands of potential buyers as we can between October 15 and the end of the holiday…
Donna Maria shares help and encouragement for hurting and laid off Americans.
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…
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…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…