Keith and RobertShambhala Body GalleryDallas, Texas
Featured Florida Indie
Pennie MillsLadies BlendMelbourne, Florida
Featured Indie Family
Dennis & Kayla FioravantiEssential WholesalePortland, Oregon
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed on this site are my own and the posts you read here are provided “as is” with no guarantees or warranties. They are not to be construed as business or legal advice.
I first discovered Carol's Daughter products when I spoke at a women's conference in Pennsylvania in 1996. A woman had a booth filled to the brim with goodies made from exotic fragrance oils, herbs and colors taken from natural ingredients like alkanet root and calendula. The first one I tried was Mimosa Hair Honey. Of course I raced home to make my own version. It wasn't bad, but ultimately couldn't hold a candle to the real McKoy.
My friend Lisa Price has come a long way since making Mimosa Hair Honey in her Brooklyn kitchen. And even though the company is no longer fully owned by Lisa, her personality and dedication continue to be prominently displayed in every bottle that bears the Carol's Daughter name.
There's a lot of talk about "success" these days. In the business arena, I call it "Success Excess" because it seems as though most people inextricably link business success to financial excess. Consider the television shows which, though inspiring and entertaining, focus to a large extent on making millions, buying mansions, driving fancy cars and making tons of dough -- all without working very hard.
This episode capsulizes my thoughts on the matter, and I'm not alone. There's a revolution of Indie Business owners who agree with me that it's high time we reexamine our definitions of success. They need to be brought more in line with reality. They need to speak not only to our desires for abundance, security and gratification, but also to the contributions our work will ultimately make to our communities and the world. I think we can emphasize profitability, as we must in order to be in business in the first place, without diminishing the significance of the many other things that make Indie Business ownership so meaningful and fulfilling.
Ours is the voice of a new age of business leadership which does not focus incessantly and nauseatingly on making millions.
What Do You Think?
Do you agree with my 4 Foundations of Meaningful Work? Do you think there's more to it? Have I oversimplified things? I want to hear from you, and also to know how you combine your work and your passion to conribute meaningfully to the world rather than just count how many dollars you can temporarily possess while you're in it.
Indie Beauty Network Member Candles Light Up The World
With the increase in the popularity of candles over the past decade, the Indie Beauty Network has experienced an explosion in the number of members making and selling candles. A few members, namely Kandle Indulgence Company in Georgia and Essentials NW in Washington sent me some of theirs to enjoy, so I thought I'd tell you about them in this video.
Watch it all the way to get a hillarious behind the scenes look at me flubbing my lines and just generally forgetting what I'm supposed to say. Making these videos is a lot of fun, but it is also a lot of work. None of it would happen without my husband, the cameraman, lighting technician and good sport who is very patient with me as I use up all his tape because I keep making the same mistakes.
Are you enjoying Indie Business TV? Would you like more bloopers? More product reviews? More what?! Feel free to tell me what you'd like to see in the comments section below.
Save for your kids' college education? Sock away some more money for your advanced years? Take a vacation to Fiji? Learn to fly jets? I'm not sure I'll be learning how to fly jets any time soon, but I do want to go to Fiji, and I'm saving enough using coupons to finance the trip. Watch the video to learn how.
Now that you know how to organize your coupons, I'm going to take you with me to the grocery store next week to show you how to shop with them.
To wet your appetite for that, today I purchased two tubes of tooth paste (regular price $2.89 each) and two 18 ounce cartons of oatmeal (regular price $2.79 each). I used the store BOGO (buy one get one free) coupons for each product, I paid $2.89 for the 2 tubes of tooth paste and $2.79 for the two cartons of oatmeal. Total price, $5.68. I used coupons for the oatmeal and coupons for the tooth paste. My total price, $3.48. By combining the BOGO with manufacturer's coupons, I got $11.36 in merchandise for $3.48.
Somebody slap me!
Helpful Coupon Websites
Coupons.com: download, print and clip right from your home computer Brand coupons: yogurt, soup, cereal, bread, more Coupon Mom: this lady blogs about coupons and links to places where you can get them Wow-Coupons.com: just tons of coupons
Are You Saving Too?
Do you have some cool coupon stories? Share them in the comment section so we can all learn and save together. See you in Fiji!
It's easy to set goals and make resolutions, but when real life happens, it's amazing how quickly goals and resolutions become yesterday's news. Even though I don't accomplish every one of my goals, the process of setting them ensures that my life and my business continue to move in a forward direction. This video outlines my methods.
As you can see, the overall mindset is not to do everything. Instead, it's to do the things that are truly important, and tend to the rest later. After all, while you can't do everything, you can do the important things, and it's those things that will ensure your success.
For more insight and practical tips, I highly recommend a book entitled Freedom From Tyranny of the Urgent by Charles Hummel. It helps you examine how you invest your time so you can accomplish tasks more efficiently and eliminate things that will destroy your ability to accomplish your goals.
Still sitting around waiting for the New Year get up and go spirit to hit you? Then wait no more! If you're not fired up for 2008, you will be after enjoying this segment where together, we get ready, aim and fire at our business goals for 2008!
If this message has been helpful to you, feel free to share it with a friend using the Permalink below. Also, I want to know what's great about your buisness in 2008, so feel free to leave your ideas for taking aim in 2008, along with your website link of course, in the comments section below.
Church Start Up Has Same Challenges as For Profit Indies
I know you want to get to the video, but please allow me to set it up for you with some interesting background. In the early 90's when I was an employment attorney at a Fortune 500 company, a stranger knocked on my office door. Tall, handsome and soft spoken, he introduced himself as Dwayne Bond. He worked in a department at the company that had just announced layoffs.
As one of the company's employment attoneys, I had helped organize what the company then called a "temporary reduction in force." (... And we all know what "temporary" means.) Dwayne said a mutual friend referred him to me, so he stopped by to introduce himself, give me a copy of his resume and let me know that he was in the market for a new job.
In our brief conversation, I discovered that he had just gotten married -- not a good time to lose a job. Even though I was not aware of any openings, I kept his resume and wished him well. I never forgot the dignity and perseverance he demonstrated.
I predicted that Dwayne's self assured confidence would take him far in life. Turns out, I was right. What I didn't know was that our paths would cross again. And again. When my family and I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, last year, Dwayne and his family, who relocated to Charlotte in 2005, welcomed us into their home and helped us get acclimated in our newly adopted hometown.
They say that men are not typically good multi-taskers. As you can see from the video, Dwayne blows that myth right out of the water, proving that when you have a true calling in your life, nothing will stop you from answering it. Dwayne and his wife, Leslie, have become my friends. Today, Dwayne is my pastor at Wellspring Church, so I now address him as Pastor Bond. It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to the person who has helped my family over the past few years through some very difficult times.
It's funny how life is. You meet someone who makes a lasting impression and years later, have a chance to see how that person has grown and flourished. It pleases me greatly to share a little of Dwayne's story and philosophy of life with you.
If this segment of Indie Business TV has encouraged you, please drop a line and let me know.
As we ring in the New Year, I am thankful to you for allowing me to reach out to you in person or through this blog or Indie Business Radio. It is a true privilege and one of the greatest joys of my life to serve you. There's so much exciting activity here, and I am often asked by members, clients and the media for an overview of the company.
This video provides a bird's eye view of Indie Business, including the Indie Beauty Network, websites, forums and publications. It's a sort of "State Of Indie Business." I hope it is helpful to anyone who wishes to know exactly who we serve with such passion and enthusiasm.
Iam having a blast telling you about so many great products made by members of the Indie Beauty Network. Click on the arrow in the picture below to enjoy a look at some more great Indie finds!
That travel pack from von Natur has sailed with me through many a security check point and I love that it's refillable so I can put other products in when I'm done or order refills from them. Joanne Bassett's Le Voyage perfume is out of this world, and only a tiny bit is needed to give me a great personal scent that beats the department store stuff hands down. And sugar coat it has a great sweet thing going with the pretty gift pack all wrapped in velum and matching tissue.
Indies are on the case this holiday season! Enjoy more Indie Business TV product reviews at these links:
Like many people I've talked with, I once thought social network marketing was strictly for Generation Y'ers. You know, people born after 1981 with too much time on their hands or who just wanted to find their next date. I was wrong and this segment of Indie Business TV shares why. Click on the arrow in the screen below to learn how social network marketing can energize your business, as it has mine.
Do you participate in social network marketing? Why or why not? Is it a waste of time? What would it take for you to give it a try? I would love to hear your experiences and I know others would too so please share them here. And you can download or stream my interview with Fuchsia McInerney, the social network marketing guru mentioned in this segment of Indie Business TV, at this link.
There's soap. And then there's soap. The stuff in the big box stores cleans well enough I suppose, but why use that when you can treat your skin like you actually care. Indie Beauty Network members care about the products they make for you, and these soaps are top notch examples of that.
I hope to make it to Alaska someday. Well, actually, I'm not a cold weather person. But if I ever venture out, I'll try to check out Lee Cloward and her We're No Angels Soap Company. Jennifer Dionne at The Soapsmith in New Hampshire is a little closer but still out of my own personal acceptable temperature range. Stop by their websites to see what I mean about how they care about making quality products.
As you can see, it's not just about the soap. It's about creating products that are useful and good, and which also satisfy the soul and meet the personal needs of the person making them. And that's what I call good, clean fun.
Everywhere I go, people want to know what "Indie" means. Sometimes they think I must be somehow associated with the professional racing circuit. Other times, they know that "indie" means "independent," but they want to know more. I created this segment to share the 5 concepts upon which Indie is based.
If this helped you further define your own "Indie-ness," please leave a comment behind to let us know how it impacted you.
Fashion And Function For Spa and Salon Professionals
For Indie Beauty Network member Karen Williams of Pockuts, LLC, in Charlotte, North Carolina, most days are a flurry of activity. Afer seeing her children off to school and her husband to work, she usually rushes to her hair salon to tend to clients' coifs. Most afternoons are spent visiting other spas and salons to demonstrate and close sales for "pockuts," the smocks and aprons she designed especially for people working in the beauty, salon and spa industries.
In addition to Pockuts, Karen also designed and is in the process of patenting an ultrasonic product that uses laser beams to clean and sterilize curling irons, scissors, styling wands, nail clippers and other products that are a mainstay of the spa and salon industries. With her faith and determination in tact and the support and assistance Karen gets from her husband, daughters and the memory of the incomparable Madame CJ Walker, don't be surprised to see her uniquely designed smocks soon at a spa or salon near you.
There was a time when pumpkins were only associated with pies and coconuts with a fancy desert at a Thai restaurant. But at the Indie Beauty Network, members are cooking up face and body goodies using delicious ingredients that are not just for tasting. I've got my hair (what little I have) pulled back to make way for the goodies I put on my face! (Somehow this video looped so it plays twice. We're working on getting that fixed.)
I am enjoying my jar of French Polynesia not only in the shower but also to give myself an awesome hand massage at the end of the day. When I put my head down on my pillow, I can sniff my sweet smelling hands as I nod off to my dreams of some exotic place in the South Seas for which Bella Lucce's Body Buff is named.
As for my face, I don't take as much time as I'd like to these days for masking, but I am enjoying using the pumpkin mask from Saphoros' Lucky Punkin' Gift Set as a face scrub. Using my favorite cleanser, I add a bit of the powdered pumpkin mask and it provides nice and light exfoliation that I can use every day.
California is one of my favorite states and my husband and I have a long term dream to live there someday. We've got some offspring to usher into adulthood first, so for now we'll just enjoy the state remotely, starting with some bath goodies from a few Indies who are based there.
Don't you just love those fizzy shower steamers?! There's no Internet scratch and sniff yet, but if there were, your nose would be very happy right about now. The shower steamers are available from Mary Avery over at Cerise. The Hawaiian Ginger and other scented sugar scrubs and hand and body creams are avaialable at Melba's Paradise Potions.
Strawberry Banana and Grape scents are complemented by uplifting messages to help little girls feel confident and beautiful. What little girl could resist the j.blossom Mini Fun Pack Gift Sets? Certainly not mine, as you can see!
Get your Mini Fun Packs at j.blossom.com. $12.00 in reusable drawstring pouch.
Working in cyberspace most of the time as I do means that like you, I communicate a lot by phone, email and blog post. And I am always curious about who I'm talking to. Where are they emailing me from? Where do they work? What does their work space look like? People ask me that a lot so I thought I'd bring you along for a tour of Indie HQ today.
It's pretty simple as you can see. The most exciting part is probably the wonderful Indie Beauty Network member products that are always on my desk -- today some soap, pumpkin products, mineral makeup and a "how to" soapmaking DVD. (Stay tuned for in depth reviews of these and other goodies as the holiday gifting season approaches.) If we are chatting by phone or email, chances are good that I'm in this office (unless I'm trying to start dinner or wash a load of clothes ....)
What's your work space like? Post a video to your blog or to YouTube or load a picture to your website and leave a link in the comment section so we can meet you up close and personal. That makes all this online stuff so much more fun, don't you think?
Guest Shares How To Shave Thousands Off Your Grocery Bill
Last week's Indie Business Radio Show was one of the most popular ever. It featured my next door neighbor, Suzanne Phillips, whom I have dubbed "Real Coupon Queen." She earned that title by shaving $7,000 off her grocery bill in a single 12-month period. As soon as I found that out, I knew she had to be on my show. Here's a show clip, thanks to my video guru husband, featuring a valuable tip about how the manner in which you pay for your groceries could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year.
Betcha didn't know that!! Betcha also didn't know how unglamorous it is do to a radio show from the comfort of your own home. Note how "unfancy" the whole thing is. The audio is a little over-modulated so it's sounds a little "crinkly" at times, but you can hear the money saving tips loud and clear. Here's a little overview of how each show is brought to you each week.
Welcome to Indie Business TV, where we empower you to enjoy your life, build your business and have your way!
Today, I am pleased to introduce you to Nikki Rodriguez of Augisa Natural & Organic Beauty. Nikki is a member of the Indie Beauty Network and she runs here business from her Charlotte, North Carolina-based home. Between them, Nikki and her soon-to-be-husband have 5 young children. I caught up with them at the Augisa booth at the Art & Soul Festival in Charlotte, North Carolina's historic South End.
Thanks for tuning into our first episode. If you think you can't have a successful business because you're a busy parent with a lot of other important responsibilities, Nikki offers encouragement to just get out there and do it.
For more tips on making your business and lifestyle all it can be, choose from dozens of Indie Business Radio shows, by download or stream.
IBTV's next episode will feature the information you need to understand and procure affordable products liability insurance for your business.
