Donna Maria is an attorney and an award-winning entrepreneur, and the founder and CEO of the Indie Business Network. She is the author of “Making Aromatherapy Creams and Lotions,” and the host of the Maker Mastermind a boutique business incubator program exclusively designed to help Makers and Handmade Entrepreneurs take their businesses to the next level.
A maker through and through.
Donna Maria started over 2 decades ago making soap and turned it into a business. She started with a small retail space and quickly realized that it wasn’t her dream. Her dream was much bigger. She wanted to empower other makers to take their skills and grow a business.
Donna Maria and her work to encourage entrepreneurs has been hailed by Black Enterprise as a “Haven for small business owners.” Her expertise and/or story has been featured in dozens of media outlets including Working Mother Magazine, National Public Radio, the Washington Post, the Houston Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, Time Magazine, Global Cosmetics Industry Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, NPR News, ABC World News, Entrepreneur Magazine and more.
Donna Maria was named by Forbes.com as one of the Top 20 Women In The Country Tweeting About Small Business And Entrepreneurship. She is also a winner of the United States Small Business Administration's Home-Based Business Advocate of the Year Award.
Donna Maria is a guest blogger for Small Biz Trends and American Express Open, and is one of the first contributors to Chris Brogan's Owner Magazine. Her mission, both personally and professionally, is, “To empower women to maximize their potential through small business ownership.”
A native of Washington, DC, Donna Maria lives in her adopted hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, with her family.