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.
I read an interesting post today at the the CPSIA Comments & Observations blog. Maintained by Richard Woldenberg, chairman of Learning Resources, a manufacturer of learning toys and hands-on classroom educational materials, the CPSIA Comments & Observations blog tracks activity with regard to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) implementation of the Consumer Product Safety…
Yesterday Randall Rothenberg, head of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, published an open letter to Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission highlight what he calls “a grave concern” with regard to the new Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (PDF). In particular, Rothenberg says that the Guides are unconstitutional because…
UPDATE 2/12/2010: As of today, Indie Business Advocate.com has been closed. All small business advocacy and public policy posts can be found in the Advocacy Category at this blog. Thank you. For as long as I have served small and independent business owners, I have observed how challenging it is to have an impact on…
A recent segment of 60 Minutes was devoted to the life and work of Don Hewitt, the new magazine’s creator, who passed away in August 2009. As you may know, 60 Minutes is the longest-running prime-time television broadcast in the country. I enjoyed learning about Hewitt’s perspective on the show’s phenomenal success, which he says…
Last week, I shared plans to return to Washington, DC on a fact-finding mission with regard to the FDA Globalization Act of 2009 (FDAG 2009). If you have not done so, please read that post for background and context. This post provides a high level overview of what I learned on that trip. (If you…
If you don’t already think The Media Is You, this will change your mind. YouTube recently announced YouTube Direct, a service that allows news organizations to customize YouTube’s uploader to receive video from people who want to share items of interest with the news organization’s audience. The potential of this new format is massive, both…
Small business owners often say they don’t want to be bothered with social media because the learning curve is too steep. Here’s what I have to say about that. Get over it. When isn’t the learning curve steep? Here’s an analogy. If you are a homeowner, you can’t let your front lawn grow wild. Not only…
The Vault is an archive of my first podcasts so there is a record for you to enjoy. Welcome to the Vault Episode 171 featuring my interview with Shiv Singh, the author of “Social Media Marketing for Dummies.” Shiv has extensive experience working with some of the world’s largest corporations and specializes in developing unique…
On December 1 and 2, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold two days of workshops on how the Internet has affected journalism. The workshops come in the wake of the release last month of the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, which become effective on the first day of…
[This post was originally published on my Twitwall on March 12, 2009. I think it is important for context to share it with you at this blog as well. You can see the comments on the original post beneath the post itself.] A 32-page report (PDF) entitled “No More Toxic Tub” has been released by…
Yesterday, I Tweeted my experience linking from a small business owner’s Twitter page to her website, and not finding her name anywhere. There was also no phone number and no address, yet her products were sold via a shopping cart at her site and her newsletter subscription form required subscribers to enter a first and…
[This post was inadvertently published yesterday. I recalled it, but not before Feedburner picked it up. I apologize for the inconvenience.] A few days ago, Twitter announced Twitter Lists, a great new feature that allows users to create pubic and private lists of people on Twitter. If you read Item #9 on Top Ten Actions…
In case you haven’t heard, Oprah Winfrey will host the final episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show sometime in 2011 when her contract with CBS Corp. (which syndicates her show) expires. At that time, she will turn her attention to a 50-50 joint venture, announced last year, with Discovery Communications called, “OWN: The Oprah Winfrey…
I recently received an email from a small business owner who said, “I hate social media.” In the next paragraph, she asked me what she could to do grow her business, which relies on the Internet for the vast majority of its sales. While the short answer to that question is, “Use social media,” I…
This past Sunday, Mike Soltys, a media relations vice president at ESPN, announced the termination of ESPN sports personality Steve Phillips. As you may know, Mr. Phillips has been embroiled in a nasty sex scandal. I don’t watch ESPN, but I’m quite sure that ESPN must have announced this action on the air at some…
According to the today’s New York Times two Northwest Airlines pilots flew over 100 miles beyond their destination because they were distracted by their laptop computers. For the 90-minutes during which they were flying in the wrong direction, they did not hear more than a dozen air traffic controllers trying to get their attention. They…
In his December 12 weekly address, President Obama continued to point out the failures of financial institutions and their leaders, and once again lamented that so many small businesses have closed their doors over the past several months. He also expressed his intention to push banks to give small businesses access to lending “they desperately…
One of the thousands of things I wanted to be when I grew up was a news anchor, and my major in college was Journalism. While I never worked as a journalist, the fact that I trained to be one explains why I have been an early adapter of the concept that small and independent…
[This letter is being sent via fax to Chairman Leibowitz today.] The Honorable Jon Leibowitz Chairman Federal Trade Commission Dear Chairman Leibowitz: I am the founder and CEO of Indie Business Media, and the Indie Beauty Network, a trade organization representing 800+ small health, beauty and lifestyle companies. As an advocate for small and independent…
Yesterday, my husband and I hosted a party to celebrate our daughter’s eighth birthday. One of her favorite gifts was a Webkinz toy given to her by a neighbor. I had heard of Webkinz before, but since I’m the type of mom who likes to wait until my kids are as old as possible before…
On October 15, 2009, the FDA and the FTC sent a joint warning letter to Weil Lifestyle, LLC (owned by Dr. Andew Weil, a physician (not sure if he’s licensed at this time in any state) and health/wellness advisor), about a product marketed at his website called Immune Support Formula. The next day, the Today…