From the monthly archives:

September 2008

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Bail Your Own Self Out

by Donna Johnson on September 30, 2008

The Economic Message of the Century: Bail Yourself Out

Yesterday, I posted an in depth analysis of how the Emergency (which really isn’t an emergency) Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 is affecting "real" small businesses. After yesterday’s failed vote on the Act, and after listening to President Bush speak a few minutes ago, the post is even more relevant today. Together, the Act, the vote and the President’s morning message point inevitably to one conclusion: you can and should bail yourself out.

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Neither you nor I can expect the federal government alone to protect and defend our economic interests. That’s true now, just as it has always been. Each one of us must climb his or her own group of stairs, pause at the top and begin to fly under the power of our own economic potential. Here’s why you are your own best bail out plan, and what you can do now to start soaring.

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Bad Bailout!!

by Donna Johnson on September 29, 2008

How the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 Affects "Real" Small Businesses

Yesterday, the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services released the text of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. I spent a few hours reading through it and I have some thoughts. In a nutshell, the Act allows the United States Secretary of the Treasury to establish a Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) pursuant to which it can purchase the "troubled assets" of certain financial institutions. It also creates a new regulatory body, the Office of Financial Stability, within the Treasury Department, the purpose of which is to implement TARP. You can view a section-by-section summary of the Act here. (PDF)

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While I am glad to see that, under the Act, the actions of regulators would be subject to review by federal courts, and also that the Act includes some provisions to help home buyers and (on paper anyway) prevent the corporate elite who started all of these problems from enjoying windfall profits, I can’t help but note that this is not really an emergency. An emergency is unforeseen, yet we’ve been watching this happen for years. And lawmakers have done nothing until now. Calling it am "emergency" does not excuse any of them, or the millionaires who are at the heart of this debacle, from the consequences they should (but will not likely) face. Regardless of whether we "must" act now, and in this way, I am very troubled by this piece of legislation from a policy perspective, particularly as it affects Indie Business owners. Here’s why.

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What Did You Steal Today?

by Donna Johnson on September 25, 2008

Successful Indie Says "Steal" Your Way to the Top

I love traveling for many reasons, but lately, the main one is the interesting and friendly people I’ve sat next to on airplanes. Last month, I met Amri Johnson (Twitter: @amrijohnson), an author I hope to have on Indie Business Radio soon. Yesterday, on the flight from San Francisco after The Nova Studio’s Business Boot Camp, I met E. Gary Smith. E. Gary, age 57, is a native Atlantian who now makes his home in the San Francisco bay area.

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The first thing I noticed about E. Gary is that he was holding a book by Michael Gerber, a well known small business success guru. The first thing he noticed about me is that I was holding a book my Mark LeBlanc, a well known small business success guru. We struck up a conversation, and what do you know? E. Gary allowed me to snap a photo of him (sorry guys, he wouldn’t go for the video), and he agreed to let me interview him about his journey as a successful Indie Business owner.

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My Social Media System

by Donna Johnson on September 24, 2008

How I Maintain My Social Network Without Losing My Shirt

Thank you for the great collection of comments, tips and insights you are sharing on yesterday’s post about making connections on Twitter. One of the themes of the comments is that, if you’re not careful, Twitter and other social media become colossal time suckers with little to no return. Indie Beauty Network member Anne-Marie wrote, "It can be a bit of a black hole if I follow all the cool links that show up on people’s Tweets." And Indie Beauty Network member D’Anna Catterson said, "It can be quite addicting!"

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I have found these things to be true. If you don’t discipline yourself in any fun social situation, you’ll find yourself hopelessly unproductive. Who hasn’t experienced staying at the party or talking on the phone so long that some other important detail of life or business is not tended to? We’ve all done that, so we all appreciate the power of using a system to ensure that our social connections are maintained while our businesses continue to thrive.

Here are my Social Media System recommendations and a little about how I incorporate social media into my business model.

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Would You Tweet With Me?

by Donna Johnson on September 23, 2008

3 Types of People To Avoid On Twitter

You know, Twitter rocks, or at least I think so. But not everyone agrees. My interaction with thousands of people on Twitter has lead me to believe that it is a valuable tool for meeting new people, learning new things and expanding your circle of influence as an Indie Business owner. For example, Indie Beauty Network member Marla Bosworth of Back Porch Soap Company, who just started Tweeting a few months ago, says that Twitter accounts for 30% of visits to her website, and that she was booked to speak at a conference directly because of Twitter networking. You can’t shake a stick at that!

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Let’s face it, social media like Twitter is time consuming. And it is sometimes difficult and frustrating to deal with multiple personalities. This is especially true if, like me and most Indie Business owners, you are also managing a home and want to maintain some level of privacy. But the reality is that, marketing is time consuming, business is business and if you’re home-based, you have to figure out how to connect everything in a way that works for you and your family. And with 75% of Americans on the Internet, this boils down to resisting the urge to maintain so much privacy that your business goes down the tubes.

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dM and IBN Member in Television News Segment

by Donna Johnson on September 21, 2008

Earlier this month, I taped a segment for WUSA-9, the CBS affiliate in Washington, DC, on the topic of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008. I wanted to share it with you because it’s summarizes the heart of the issue. That is, if passed in its current form, it would put thousands of small and woman-owed businesses out of business, while doing nothing to protect consumers. The segment features me, news anchor Lesli Foster and Indie Beauty Network member Jamila White of j.blossom. Click here to open up a new browser window and watch the video. (I am not streaming it here because there’s no way to supress the embed link that makes the video play automatically.)

This whole process is such a fantastic adventure for me. It is such a pleasure to be in a position to inspire, encourage and advocate on behalf of Indie Businesses across our nation.

If you have not signed our Petition in opposition to the FDA Globalization Act of 2008, please do so by leaving your comment in the comments section of this blog post. You don’t have to write a lot. Just say as little as, "I oppose the FDA Globalization Act of 2008. Name, city, state."

Related Posts

Stop the FDA Globalization Act of 2008
Preparing For a Date With Congress
Sample Letters You Can Send to Congress and the Media
It’s Not About You

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