How To Find Victory

This week was extremely challenging, both personally and professionally. A few personal family matters exploded. My son was sick all week with a weird, low grade, no-fever stomach ache (that our pediatrician attributes to touching a turtle last month), which manifested itself mainly around 2:00 in the morning. The widgets and plugins on my blog…

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10 Free iPhone Apps To Boost Indie Business Productivity

I enjoy my iPhone. In fact, I sometimes wonder what I did before I owned it. I resisted purchasing an iPhone because I once owned and intensely disliked one of these. I’ve made a complete turnaround, and today, we are a happy Apple family. This was the home screen on my iPhone last week. (I’ve…

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[POLL] Are you more likely to buy a cosmetic if "organic" is on the label?

According to the Organic Trade Association, in 2009, US sales of organic products grew grew by to $26.6 billion. Of that figure, $24.8 billion represented organic food. The remaining $1.8 billion were sales of organic non-foods, including cosmetics. As the founder and CEO of the Indie Beauty Network, a trade organization serving small scale cosmetics…

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Five Specific Actions You Can Take To Build Your Personal Brand

Each day, small business owners fail to maximize the most valuable asset they have: themselves. They invest hours creating marketing copy that touts the benefits of their products. They spend a small fortune on a website. They plunk down thousands on ingredients, supplies, labels and everything else. While those things are important, none of them…

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10 Things That Make A Blog Stink

Some things make a blog great while other things make a blog stink. Luckily, the things that make a blog stink are not only easy to recognize, but also easy to fix. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say my blog is great, I am pretty sure it doesn’t stink. But it used…

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An IBN Member "Thank You" Slideshow

I hope this Memorial Day post finds you enjoying time off with family and friends, and remembering the people who sacrificed their lives over the centuries for our freedom. As the leader of a trade organization that celebrates the strength and tenacity of small business owners, I can think of no better way to celebrate…

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My Sponsors Want To Serve You

You can buy the stuff you want and need anywhere. But instead of buying just stuff, why not buy an experience? And why not buy it from companies run by people like you — people who not only support the Indie community in general, but also go out of their way to support your efforts…

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