#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…

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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…

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#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…

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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…

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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…

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#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…

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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…

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#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…

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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…

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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…

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#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…

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