What’s Your Why?
HANDMADE ENTREPRENEURIAL COACHING AND MENTORING The best coaching and mentoring for handmade entrepreneurs is at Indie Beauty Network. Click here to connect at our social network.
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How To Request a LinkedIn Recommendation
I enjoy opportunities to use LinkedIn to recommend the work and/or products of people who have enhanced my life. Since I frequently receive requests for recommendation from people whose work or products I have never tried, I thought I’d share these tips to help you request LinkedIn recommendations that maximize your chances of receiving a…
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Top 10 Reasons To Buy Handmade
As you probably know, I am the founder and CEO of the Indie Beauty Network (IBN), which offers coaching, mentoring and services like products liability insurance for handmade entrepreneurs. Since I founded the organization in 2000, I have watched your options for quality handmade products expand from items you would only come across now and…
DetailsBrooks Johnson: Shameless Son Promotion
While most of my posts are designed to help you maximize your potential through small business ownership, a few are designed to make me personally happy. This post is one of those. My son is Number 85 on our local Pop Warner football team. Like his Titans teammates, he plays offense and defense, and I…
Details#HandmadeChat Q&A No. 26: How To Open A Retail Store
Every Thursday evening from 8 to 9pm ET, IBN hosts #HandmadeChat, a Twitter talk show to help handmade entrepreneurs sell more products and make more money. While the show is aimed mainly at members of business owners and artisans who make handmade consumer products, the topics and discussions can empower and encourage the growth of…
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Lela Barker of Bella Luccè to Speak At #IndieCruise 2013
I am pleased to announce that IBN member Lela Barker of Bella Luccè in Columbia, South Carolina, will join join me and dozens of other Indies on #IndieCruise 2013 as a speaker and fellow MasterMinder. The theme for #IndieCruise 2013 is Conceive! Believe! Achieve!, making Lela’s topic of How To Get More Retail Stores To…
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Autumn
“Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn.” -Elizabeth Lawrence Walking through the North Carolina woods with the kiddos. HANDMADE ENTREPRENEURIAL COACHING AND MENTORING The best virtual coaching and mentoring for handmade entrepreneurs is at Indie Beauty Network. Click here to connect at our social…
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#HandmadeChat No. 25: How To Sell More #Handmade Products On #Etsy
Every Thursday evening from 8 to 9pm ET, IBN hosts #HandmadeChat, a Twitter talk show to help handmade entrepreneurs sell more products and make more money. While the show is aimed mainly at members of business owners and artisans who make handmade consumer products, the topics and discussions can empower and encourage the growth of…
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Help Mariann Smith of Just Bubbly, Rockaway Beach, NY, Recover From #Sandy
All of us know someone who has been affected by the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. One of the people I know, a member of IBN, lost her home, many of her pets and her business. Her name is Mariann Smith and she is the founder and CEO of Just Bubbly, a…
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Announcing IBN’s 2012 #HandmadeHoliday Gift Guide!
I am pleased to announce the publication of IBN’s 2012 Handmade Holiday Gift Guide! Inspiration is everywhere inside this 32-page publication. Click the cover to open the publication and start shopping now. Be on the lookout for discount codes throughout! We invite you to grab a cup of your favorite tea, sit back and relax.…
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#HandmadeChat: November 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. To learn…
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IBN Member Spotlight: Charlotte Clary and Bev Vines-Haines of Healing Leaf To Appear On ABC’s Shark Tank On November 9
Are you fan of the television show, Shark Tank, airing weekly on ABC? It’s always been one of my favorites, but it’s clout shot to the stratosphere when I learned that IBN members Charlotte Clary and Bev Vines-Haines, co-founders Healing Leaf in Yelm, Washington, will be featured on the show next week. A lot of…
DetailsHow To Pick Yourself Up When You’re Discouraged
I‘m a naturally upbeat person. Even so, there have been times in my life when I’ve been especially discouraged. Some of these times are fleeting — like when I was not selected to win this trip to the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs’ Conference earlier this year. Other discouragements have been more jarring and long lasting —…
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Butternut Squash Lasagna
Fall is the perfect season for root vegetables, and butternut squash is one of my favorites. I love cooking it over a low flame with salt, pepper and chicken broth. Once the chunks of squash are soft, I mash them into a thick pudding-like side dish. It’s good paired with baked chicken and green beans.…
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