Indie Business Blog

The platinum is within you

At the start of a New Year, it's typical to consider getting rid of the old way of doing things. The logic is that, from a new piece of technology to a new shoe, if something is new, it's also probably better. Hence, we say: "Happy New Year," or "2009 is going to be my year," implying that the new year brings with it better times.

One of the results of this thinking is a plethora of new programs: Join my Platinum Club! Join my Inner Gold Circle! The promise of some new system that will make you rich sounds good. But before you spend a lot of money on the next new precious metal-themed program, remember that no club or inner circle will work unless you first know what your goals are and have at least the beginnings of some strategy to accomplish them.

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.

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.

Dreams Are Not Just For Dreamers

How Dreaming HUGE Can Transform Your Life and Your Business

I once saw a television program featuring an interview of 9-time Olympic gold medal (and 1-time silver medal) winner Carl Lewis. You may recall Lewis' inspiring track and field accomplishments during the Olympic Games of the 1980's and 1990's. During a time when track and field athletes were being disqualified left and right for drug testing violations, Lewis inspired everyone with his stellar career, unmarred by even the slightest allegation of impropriety. Just look at the form, focus and poise he displayed in this Sports Illustrated Magazine photo.

        

During the interview, Lewis was asked what advice he had for aspiring Olympic athletes. His response was simple, "Dream huge, not big. You have to dream huge in order to accomplish anything in this life. Don't sell yourself short by limiting your aspirations to just the "big." Dream HUGE! Dreaming HUGE made all the difference in my athletic success."

Barack Your Business!

 5 "Bar-acktions" You Can Take To Grow Your Business

I am so totally jealous (in a good way) that my husband went to hear President Elect Barack Obama address a rally at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte on the day before he won the election. Darryl and thousands of others braved pouring rain and long lines in the hopes of being inspired and for an opportunity to take a picture. Standing on his tip toes and unable to see through the view finder, Darryl snapped this picture of our soon-to-be leader. (I used Picnik to color Obama and the flag so if you don't like that effect, don't blame Darryl.)

  

The day after the election, a CNN journalist recounted 5 things that President-Elect Barack Obama did that helped him win the election. As I listened to the report, I couldn't help but notice clear analogies between what Obama did to influence people to vote for him and what we Indie Business owners must do to influence people to do business with us. Whether or not you like the outcome of the election, there are several "Bar-acktions" you can employ to help you win friends and influence people.

Style and Substance as We Rock the Vote

The Importances of Style and Substance

Yesterday, my guest on Indie Business Radio was leadership expert and author Mark Sanborn. In his most recent book The Encore Effect, Mark shares his 5 tips to help you deliver "performances" that leave your customers applauding and wanting more. I'll let you know when the download is ready. Meanwhile, I wanted to share that Mark also answered my spur of the moment question about his impressions of the leadership qualities of the leading presidential candidates. Without getting "all political," Mark shared his thoughts about a single important strength of each one of them.

       

As an initial thought, Mark noted that the most effective leaders have a combination of both style and substance. While noting that both of this year's presidential candidates have some of both, he also pointed out that Senator McCain has a lot of substance that he does not always deliver in a stylish way. By contrast, Senator Obama, who is much younger and far less experienced than McCain, is incredibly talented when it comes to stylishly packaging the experience he does have.

3 Hot Tips To Kick Start Your Business

Spice Up Your Business In 3 Easy Steps

I have been quite exhausted over the past few months. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. However, my fast-paced and ever growing business and family require every ounce of my strength and sometimes, I have to take special steps to fill up my cup in order to continue to make progress on my journey. About this time last month, I began to feel really wiped out. For a few days, my husband sort of took over everything. I lounged around all day one Saturday while he cooked, cleaned, managed the kids and got some business done. I also stopped working early during a few weekdays to ponder why I was feeling so glum.

                  

It helped of course that I have a supportive business partner and husband, but three other things I did also quickly spiced up my Indie Business engine so I could continue creating my own version of success. The things I did made such a huge difference and were so easy to do, that I want to share them with you.

Survival of the Fittest

Darwin Was Right, In Nature and in Business

In his book, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Charles Darwin penned these words.

[A]s more individuals are produced than can possibly survive, there must in every case be a struggle for existence, either one individual with another of the same species, or with the individuals of distinct species, or with the physical conditions of life. ... Although some species may be now increasing, more or less rapidly, in numbers, all cannot do so, for the world would not hold them.

These words sum up brilliantly the constant interaction between and among businesses in a rapidly evolving global economy. And Indie Business owner Christopher Hazlett's current situation perfectly illustrates the importance of being adaptable in a changing market environment.

You Have to Touch Home Plate

Getting Dirty Means Nothing if You Don't Touch Home Plate

While cheering on my son and his team, the Lightening Bolts, at a t-ball game this morning I watched youngster after youngster slide in for a home run. I enjoyed seeing how they loved sliding in the dirt. Almost without exception, when they finished a slide, they looked at their pants to assess the dirt stain. The bigger and more messy the stain, the happier they seemed to be with their efforts.

       

Each boy slid home, but hardly any of them touched home plate in the process. Instead, they slid dramatically across the dirt in the direction of home plate, stood to their feet, celebrated, checked out their dirt stain and started to walk away. The coach had to tell them to come back and touch home plate. Pointing proudly to his dirt stain, one boy responded, "But I was already over there. I did that already." The coach reminded him that, while he slid toward home plate, he didn't actually touch home plate. The boy went back and touched home plate with the tip of his cleat.

Being Oprah Winfrey

Love Her or Hate Her, What You Can Learn From Her Journey

Once upon a time, as a small child growing up in the south, Oprah Winfrey had few financial resources. But that was then. Today, she is one of the world’s wealthiest people. This wealth extends far beyond her bank account, for Oprah seems decidedly rich not only in a financial sense but also in terms of her life. So many people love Oprah. So many people hate Oprah.

      

Whether you're on one side of the fence or another, or are straddling it, if you're Indie, you can learn a lot about business by studying Oprah's career choices. This post outlines the three main things Oprah has done to create a lasting empire -- things Indies can do to manage and sustain our own piece of the American dream.