Indie Business Blog

Donna Maria's 2009 Indie Business Predictions

Indies, It's Your Year!!

It's the season for 2009 predictions! I couldn't resist throwing mine into the fray. While I have plenty of ideas about what 2009 will bring in a general sense, the predictions in this post will focus on the year from the perspective of Indie Business owners.

       

I strongly believe that this is our year! Or, I should say that it could be our year. Whether or not a particular business will actually make the most of 2009 is up to each individual business owner. Recognizing the trends is an important part of making the most of any year, and I think that my Top 10 Indie Business Predictions are the ones to watch, plan for and act on for success in 2009.

Indie Shopping TV: Vignette #2 (Video)

Indie Shopping TV Features JoAnne Bassett, Black Pearl Botanicals, MJs Herbals

It is so much fun sharing Indie and handmade products with you this week. Shows are live every day this week beginning at 12:15pm EST, and today's went like clockwork! This week's shows are just 6 or 7 minutes long so if you join late, you might miss the live fun. Each show includes a live chat so you can connect with friends, meet new people and share your passion for Indie goodies. I record each show so if you miss it live, you can watch later. Enjoy today's show by clicking on the arrow in the player below.

         

Today's featured Indies are:

• JoAnne Bassett Perfumes, owned by JoAnne Bassett in California
• Black Pearl Botanicals, owned by Jill Gibbs in New Mexico
• MJ's Herbals, owned by MJ in New York

We are planning a vingette every day this week at 12:15pm EST. To catch it live, log onto Indie Live TV and click on the link for Indie Shopping Network TV. This week's vignettes will feature products I have on hand so if you've sent me anything in the last few months, look out! It could be featured this week. Surprise!!

If you'd like to be featured in a vignette or a full-length show in 2009, leave a comment below and I'll send you the show details.

Question: What do you think of live Internet TV? Are you planning to use it to connect with your audience and promote your business?

For more fun Indie Shopping TV, subscribe to Indie Business Blog today.

If you like Indie Business Blog, please share the home page with your friends using this link: http://tinyurl.com/6l5h79.

Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

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Indie Shopping TV: Vignette #1 (Video)
New Technologies Are Keys to Indie Success (Video)

Indie Shopping TV: Vignette #1 (Video)

Indie Shopping TV Features Good Thymes, Brenda's Body, Shea Radiance

In preparation for the launch of the full 30-minute live episodes of Indie Shopping Network TV in January, we are hosting live "vingettes" all this week, featuring Indie Beauty Network member products. The first vignette aired live today at 1:15pm EST. If you missed it, you can enjoy it now by clicking on the arrow in the player below.

      

The companies featured in this vignette are:

• Good Thymes Bath & Body, owned by Cheryl Niemela
• Brenda's Body, owned by Brenda Tucker-Johnson
• Shea Radiance, owned by Funlayo Alabi

We originally planned to broadcast at 12:15, but a last minute glitch forced us to go live a little later than planned. Thanks to everyone who joined at 12:15 -- we appreciate you hanging in as we work out the glitches for a fun blast off in 2009.

We are planning a vingette every day this week at 12:15pm EST. To catch it live, log onto Indie Live TV and click on the link for Indie Shopping Network TV. This week's vignettes will feature products I have on hand so if you've sent me anything in the last few months, look out! It could be featured this week. Surprise!!

If you'd like to be featured in a vignette or a full-length show in 2009, leave a comment below and I'll send you the show details.

Question: What do you think of live Internet TV? Are you planning to use it to connect with your audience and promote your business?

For more fun Indie Shopping TV, subscribe to Indie Business Blog today.

If you like Indie Business Blog, please share the home page with your friends using this link: http://tinyurl.com/6l5h79.

Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

Related Posts

New Technologies Are Keys to Indie Success (Video)

Screencast No. 1: How to Use Twitpic to Add Photos to Your Twitter Stream

Boost Your Twit-Appeal With Photos

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. If you are not already including photographs in your Twitter stream, now is a good time to start. As you will see in this screencast, it's easy to do using Twitpic, and it adds fun, color and appeal to your Twitter stream.

     

There are lots of other programs you can use to add photos to your Tweets, but I like Twitpic when I'm at my laptop because it's quick and creates an easy and fun way for people to share my pictures with their followers at Twitter.

By the way, this is my first screencast and I set my screen region to be a little big. Next time, I'll choose smaller screen settings so the video is clearer.

Question: Do you add photos to your Twitter stream? Has it been worth your time to do so? If you'd like, please share other photo sharing applications that work with Twitter.

For more tips on using social media to promote your business, subscribe to Indie Business Blog today.

If you like Indie Business Blog, please share the home page with your friends using this link: http://tinyurl.com/6l5h79.

Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

Combine Home and Business Without Losing Your Mind

Board Games and Crafts Make It Easy to Do Both

Raising kids and profits under one roof at the same time can be quite a challenge, especially when both demand so much of your most precious resource, your time! For example, today is Saturday, but like most Saturdays, I'm juggling home and business tasks. I'm not complaining though, especially since the new family games "Santa" brought this year are saving day.

      

Trouble is my favorite. The kids love to press the bubble (see action shot above!), which triggers a spring that causes the die to jump and "roll" a different number. "Popping" instead of "rolling" your number also makes an acceptable amount of noise. When it comes to kids, you can't go wrong with noise, right? Not only are board games a fun way for kids to spend their time, they also accomplish numerous other positive goals.

Being "Good" Isn't Enough

Don't Just Be "Good," Do Something!

I'm often amazed at how many parenting skills are transferable to Indie Business success. In fact, I believe that parents and home managers are uniquely designed to be successful in business. For example, like many families this holiday season, we got a Wii for Christmas. My children, ages 5 and 7, love to play it. However, they are not yet adept at playing fair, showing good sportsmanship and being gracious in defeat. As a result, when we first started playing yesterday, emotions and excitement ran high and the scene often dissolved into general finger pointing and tattling about the other person's behavior.

      

Each time this happened, my husband and I stepped in to broker a truce. This always resulted in a chorus of: "OK, we'll be good." We then had to teach them that being "good" was not good enough. In order to play the game, they had to agree to commit to specific behaviors that made the game as fair and fun as possible for everyone. To this end, we implemented the Pre-Wii Agreement. You must articulate out loud your commitment to abide by the Pre-Wii Agreement before playing. If during the game, you display consistent disregard for your commitment, you cannot play the game for at least an hour.

It's amazing to me how much commitment to Pre-Wii Agreement resembles a commitment to participate fairly in the business world. The parallels are so similar that I thought I'd share the Pre-Wii Agreement with you.

A Welcome Tornado

This Kind of "Weather" Comes But Once a Year

My kids woke me up at 7:22 this morning to announce that Santa had been in our home. My husband and I immediately rushed down the steps to start our Christmas morning. As you can see from this photo of the aftermath, we enjoyed a kind of "welcome tornado" that is allowed in our house only once a year.

       

Now that the day is coming to a close, I can also feel this fantastic year starting to come to a close. As we move toward 2009, I am so grateful to God for the gift of you, and most especially for the wonderfully creative members of the Indie Beauty Network. I have lots of new and exciting things in store for you, including a new live weekly broadcast especially for women who are managing both home and business. Stay tuned for more details in the coming days. In the meantime, please accept my warm wishes for a fantastic conclusion to this glorious day.

Welcome and Merry Christmas!

You're Always Welcome Here!

This is a picture of my front door. I love it because of the color of the wood and the etched glass. (I can't take credit for it. It was here when we bought it.) I also like it because of how pretty it makes my holiday wreath look. I love welcoming people through my front door during the holidays. There's always something baking this time of year and I simmer cinnamon sticks, cloves, anise and vanilla on the stove top.

        

If you're ever in the area, during the holidays or otherwise, I would love to welcome you into my home. But for now, a virtual welcome and warm holiday wishes will have to do.

Merry Christmas!

Vanessa's New 2009 Year Rules

Indie Business "Rules" For 2009

This morning, my 7-year old daughter Vanessa decided to record her "New 2009 Year Rules." I'm not sure where she got that terminology from, especially since I have always taught her that you don't have to wait for a new year to make positive changes. As she recorded her "rules" and taped them to the refrigerator door, I was fascinated with how she categorized her life, reasoning out loud about things she wants our family to strive for in 2009.

        

First, she divided her life into six neat compartments. Then, underneath each one, she wrote the "rules" she thought we should live by in 2009. I was astounded at how closely her "rules" resembled the New Year's Resolutions that are prepared by people far older than her. Pretty much everything on her list can help Indies have a better and more productive 2009. It's amazing what we can learn from children. I feel so blessed to have her perspective. It's transparent, innocent, grounding and brutally honest. Here's what she wrote, paraphrased a bit because her spelling is not the greatest yet.

Indie Business Radio: Repackaging Is Everything

Maximize Your Second Chance to Make a First Impression

My guest today on Indie Business Radio was Anthony Quinones, author of Repackaging Is Everything. Anthony encourages Indie Business owners to harness the power of their knowledge and expertise to create new and profitable income streams.

                                

 According to Anthony, whether you sell products or services, or a combination of the two, it is important to systematically disseminate useful information as a part of your marketing outreach. In doing so, Anthony suggests the following.