In order to be an effective media outlet for your business, you should abide by some basic journalistic principles. While the technologies that support journalistic endeavors are constantly changing, the basic tenets of good journalism have remained constant for hundreds of years. The challenge for you is to use those principles to establish the branded…
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As you may know, I am the founder and CEO of the Indie Beauty Network, a trade organization representing small and independent manufacturers of cosmetics, candles, aromatherapy products, soaps, jewelry, confectionery products and other health, beauty and lifestyle accessories. My members manufacture products on a micro-scale, often by hand from scratch. In addition to manufacturers,…
DetailsIf you enjoyed my article containing 10 ways small business owners can use Twitter Lists to expand their sphere of influence and build trust and credibility, then you’ll be happy to know about this new Twitter widget creator allowing you to quickly and easily aggregate specific List content into a widget that can be displayed…
DetailsThis is a momentous time in American history for small and independent business owners. That may seem like an overstatement to some, but it’s not. We are in the midst of en economic transition that is creating new opportunities for tiny businesses nationwide. There are many reasons for this transition, and one of them is…
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When I quit my corporate job to start my business, the first thing I did was call the vice president of public relations at the company I was leaving and ask her how to get good PR. She referred me to a veteran in the industry who broke the devastating news that my business was…
DetailsToday, I attended via webcast the FDA’s hearings on the use of social media to promote medical devices and drugs. The hearings started at 8:00 this morning and I listened uninterrupted until around 3:00, and then off and on after that. The speakers included drug companies (including some that also make cosmetics, such as Johnson…
DetailsOn September 23, Senator Al Franken (D-Minn) introduced the Household Product Labeling Act. You can read the full text here (only 4 pages — yay!), and you can read the Senator’s press release here. The Act requires that the product label for all household cleaning products include all of the ingredients in that household cleaning product. “Household…
DetailsI am pleased to announce that, on December 3 and 4, I’m leading another delegation to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). The purpose of my visits is to share small business perspectives on pending cosmetics legislation, and also on current rules, regulations and current events affecting the cosmetics industry. This is my second…
Details[An article about this bill was originally published in April 2009 at my old FDA Globalization Act blog. Due to a technical glitch, the article did not transfer here. This is what I recall of that post. Update: 8/11/2010: This post is here for informational purposes only, as the bill seems to have died in…
DetailsIn a day and time when “social media” is just a word I’ve heard when things were being said, I think it is vital that anyone saying they are qualified to teach you how to use social media should be able to validate the depth of their experience as a successful user of new media…
DetailsYesterday, Kayla Fioravanti of Essential Wholesale (one of my sponsors) posted a useful summary of how household products, and cleaning products in general, are regulated in the United States. Her post points out one of the significant challenges to small and independent business owners when it comes to digesting and comply with regulations. Namely, that…
DetailsOn October 29, the FDA sent a warning letter to Procter & Gamble concering their sale of combination over the counter (OTC) drug/dietary supplement products. Without making your eyes glaze over, the problem with this is that drugs must be approved by the FDA before they can be sold. Dietary supplements do not. The FDA’s…
DetailsIn this post, I told you about the FDA/FTC warning letter to Dr. Andrew Weil. In this post, I want to tell you about the voluntary suspension of a food labeling program by the above companies. The suspension is the ultimate result of a letter from the FDA to the companies (see here) which called into…
DetailsTomorrow and Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold public hearings to provide an opportunity for what it calls “broad” public participation and comment on promotion of FDA-regulated medical products (including prescription drugs for humans and animals, prescription biologics, and medical devices) using the Internet and social media tools. The hearings will…
DetailsI am delighted that longtime IBN member Kaila Westerman will join us at The Media Is You – San Francisco! Kaila is the owner of TKB Trading, LLC, a San Francisco-based supplier of cosmetics colorants for use in toiletries, soap and cosmetics. Kaila also sells waxes, lip product bases, containers, lipstick molds, and associated products.…
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