Indie Herbalist Combines Three Passions To Make A Profit Like all new college grads, Maria Noel Groves of Wintergreen Botanicals in Allenstown, New Hampshire, looked forward to putting her degree to good use. As a journalism major who also loved herbs, it seemed almost predictable that she would make a living by using the written…
DetailsIndie Business Owners Redefine Working For A Living Last night, I watched a little of The Billionaire Inside. Donald Trump was the guest and one of the things he talked about was how his father worked all the time. "There was never a time when he wasn’t working," said Trump. "He hated to take a…
DetailsBeing The First To Market Is A Huge Leg Up In economics, a theory called "the first mover advantage" describes the benefit obtained by the company that is the first to market with a new concept, product or service. MCI, for example, was the first company recognized as going toe to toe with AT&T in…
DetailsDon’t Stop Your Online Sales Before They Even Start An Indie recently contacted me about joining the Indie Beauty Network. After talking with her, I realized that the business had a few significant problems, starting with their website address: BusinessName.info. Yick. It’s difficult indeed to launch a business with a unique…
Details7 Parenting Skills To Make Your Business Successful As the mother of two children, I have only just begun my parenting journey. But in the short time I’ve been a mom, home manager and business owner, I have noticed several parallels between raising a child and raising a business. Doing both…
DetailsEnter To Win Cash To Launch Your Business Need a cash infusion to launch your business? Or how about a new wardrobe so you can look the business part wherever you are? Either way, maybe Mirassou’s Make Your Dreams Come True Contest can help. The winner will receive $50,000 or a Talbot’s shopping spree. …
DetailsIndie Mom Turns Sewing Habit Into Thriving Business Like all new moms, Jill Bredow used soft blankets to welcome her babies into the world. Like me, she made them herself. Like me, she didn’t care whether anyone else liked them. Like me, she just wanted to make her kids feel loved. The similarities end there.…
DetailsAromatherapy Comes To The Small Screen Indies wear lots of hats and juggle a dizzying number of balls in the air. But a truly impressive Indie is one who can catch more balls than she drops. Take Indie Beauty Network member Noelle Katai (pronounced "Kay-Tai"), of Vim Essentials, for example. She contacted me earlier this…
DetailsHundreds Of Businesses Will Be Celebrated, Why Not Yours? In April 2008, we will celebrate Small Business Week. To mark the event, as it does every year, the US Small Business Administration will recognize small business owners for the contributions they make to our nation’s economy, to society and to communities across America. …
DetailsIt’s been 5 days since I started Indies For The Cure, and it’s getting embarrassing. I know the Surgeon General recommends at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day for optimum weight management. I also know there are studies showing that that’s the equivalent of taking about 10,000 steps each day. When I started…
DetailsBack in my real job days, I spent a lot of time criss crossing the country between Washington, DC and Orange County, California. I once went out there to cross examine John Paul DeJoria, founder and owner of John Paul Mitchell Systems, in a multi-million dollar civil lawsuit. But I digress. …
DetailsI always thought of Tori Spelling as a snotty, rich, spoiled brat. Maybe that’s because she was one in Beverly Hills 90210. Or maybe it’s because after seeing her father’s 123-room, 56,000 square foot Hollywood mega-mansion, I was just jealous. Either way, when Tori & Dean Inn Love, Tori’s reality show…
DetailsAll hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." So says Proverbs 14:23. Preachy, I know, but it makes the point. How many times have you or someone you’ve known said, "I’m going to start a business next year," or "I’m going to do such and such to make my business…
DetailsHave you ever turned down $25,000? I have. One of my last traditional jobs was at a law firm. I started the job in January, and in March, the firm increased my annual salary by $25,000. It wasn’t because I was brilliant. (I’m not, but you already knew that.) It seems they had decided that…
DetailsRemember the air traffic controllers strike of the 1980’s? Then President Reagan ordered the striking workers back to work under threat of termination. Those who didn’t return to work were fired. Those who did are now headed for handsome retirement packages. Their replacements earn 70% of the outgoing workers’ salary, yet they work harder and…
DetailsTwo decades ago, my mother-in-law succumbed to breast cancer. While I never knew her well, I had a few precious opportunities to talk with her briefly in my youth. In hindsight of course, not nearly enough. This month, I am wearing a pedometer. In November, in…
DetailsHas technology ever disappointed you? Last week, my email software program suffered a massive coronary. At first, I refused to believe it, as if ignorning the problem would make it reverse itself. I rebooted and gently clicked all the right buttons. Ack! My mind screamed in frustration, yet I resisted the urge to kill Laptop…
DetailsAn Example of Living Well When was the last time you read something that impacted the way you perceived life? Earlier today, I read "grow ’til you go" as the part of an endorsement on the outside back cover of a book. I can’t remember the book or the author, but I do remember that…
DetailsGoing “whole hog” means devoting yourself entirely and completely to something. As Indies, if we’re not going whole hog in business, we’re pretty much not going anywhere, right? And if a blog is added to the mix, the only way to make it worth our time is to go whole hog with that too. Easier…
DetailsForbes Magazine recently asked 20 rich business people — I’ll call them "Richies" — a series of questions. One of them was, "What was the hardest lesson you ever learned?" I thought the answers were insighful. 1. Don’t Lose Focus. One Richie said that losing focus caused him to go bankrupt.…
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