The Indie Experience
November 3, 2009
A Publication of The Indie Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 10, Issue 27
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1. Notes and Highlights From dM, the Chief Executive
Indie: Your Sweet Spot
2. Meet Our New and Renewing IBN Members
3. Where's dM?: Seminars and Events With dM!
4. This Week's Indie Business Radio Show:
Shiv Singh: author of "Social Network Marketing For Dummies"
5. Featured IBN Member: 10 Awesome Indie Business Radio
Show Guest & Their Books!
6. Indie and Small Business Resources
7. About dM, the Indie Business Advocate: How Can I Help
You??!
Make It Yourself!: Nourishing Lip Salve
1. Notes and Highlights From dM, the Chief Executive Indie: Your Sweet Spot
When I started IBN nearly 10 years ago, the first thing I did was set up a
website. The second thing I did was revise it. While simplified, that
experience summarizes what it's like to be in business today. No
matter who or where you are, and no matter what you sell, your business is
in a constant state of change and reinvention. This is really no different
than life has always been. As a mother, I see this daily in my children.
Every morning when I get up, it looks like my kids have grown an inch in
their sleep. Their needs change constantly and I must adjust quickly in
response to those needs. But while change is a part of all aspects of life,
today, change in business is different than it once was. It happens faster,
and each individual change brings about more dramatic consequences if we do
not adjust to those changes.
But adjusting to the changes is the easy part, once your brain wraps itself around the fact that adjustment is necessary in the first place. For example, if you are resisting launching a blog to support your business because you're worried about your privacy, your business will not survive for very long. If you have not yet realized that creation of original content are the way to succeed, your business will not survive for very long. If you have not yet realized that people see an undeniable connection between who you are and what you sell, and then if you don't act on that realization, your business will not survive for very long.
Here are 3 simple principles to help you internalize what I am saying, and act on it:
- Find Your Sweet Spot. This means investing in
finding that special place where you and your products stand out. It
means identifying a specific niche. You may offer consulting services,
but so do a million other people -- and many of them do at least as good
a job as you. Likewise, you may make fantastic soap. Well, I'm not in
that club but lots of other people are. So what makes you different? Why
should I spend my money with you? The question is not whether anyone
will buy what you have to offer. There's a market for pretty much
everything! The question is whether you have identified the reasons
why they will buy it, and then positioned yourself and your
products to answer that question in a unique way. First, identify what's
so great about your stuff! This is your sweet spot.
- Format Your Sweet Spot. Once you find the sweet
spot where you and your business overlap, format that sweet spot. Blog
about it, comments on other people's bogs about it, FaceBook it,
videotape it, podcast it, photograph it -- get my point? Once you
realize the connection between you and what you sell, take that
connection and create ways for it to take on a fixed form. A picture. A
video. A blog post. Even a 140-character Tweet can do the trick
sometimes. Once you find your sweet spot, it will do you no good to keep
it to yourself.
- Evangelize Your Sweet Spot. Once your sweet spot is
in fixed format, give it legs. By this I mean, make it sharable. Share
it on Youtube, FaceBook, Twitter, Posterous, Tumbler, LinkedIn, your own
branded blog (very important!), other people's blogs (via guests posts
and comments) and any other way you can think of. You don't have to use
all of them! Actually, you shouldn't -- at least not to start, and
maybe even never. But
you absolutely must use some of them in order to prepare up for long term success.
I work with dozens of people to help them do this and my experience shows that the "find" part is the most challenging. It will take the longest period of time too. This means that, if your business is already established, it's just a matter of translating it into the formats noted above and then evangelizing it. You may have to make some tweaks here and there, but since the sweet spot is already identified, you are way ahead of the game.
For those who are starting out, you kind of have to do all 3 of the above at once. You must use the formatting process to actually identify your sweet spot. In this way, Steps 1 and 2 work together at the same time. Once you know your sweet spot and figure out the one or two best ways to format it, the evangelization part it just a matter of time. It will happen naturally.
I hope this article is helpful to you! Thanks for allowing me into your email boxes and have a great week!
2. Meet IBN's New and Renewing IBN Members!!
Here is a listing of the new and renewing IBN members! You can see an entire official membership directory at our flagship website. You can also meet members who are active in our social networking site here! Welcome one and all!
So Cal Green Candle Co | Liza Gampon | California
* Eco-friendly producer of handmade soy candles based in Orange County, CA.
Our organization is focused on creating unique gifts that are
environmentally friendly for the home.
Good Scents, Inc. | Maren Good | New Jersey
* Good Scents Essential Care Kits™ are a selection of essential oils blends
packaged to target specific needs. The kits address the physical and mental
to the spiritual, each containing just the right selection of products for
that particular condition or activity. The most effective essential oils
have been selected and blended with an appropriate carrier where necessary,
making these convenient and easy to use. Some of the kits are: Office Kit,
Chakra Kit, Stress Kit and Meditation Kit.
Lindell Laboratories | Charles Lindell | California
* Lindell Laboratories produces high quality products for cleansing and
nourishing skin care and therapy for alleviating pain and other problems we
encounter in our daily lives. We have applied scientific technologies to
combine the healing powers of pure natural products to enhance the physical
health and spiritual quality of life. Our products have been field tested to
ensure they are effective, safe and reliable.
Velvet Gardens | Joni Savage | Montana
* IBN Member Since October 2007. Velvet Gardens....Relax.
Refresh. Revitalize. Natural Handmade Skincare & Cosmetics. Velvet Gardens
restores your skin's natural beauty and leaves you with a healthy glow.
The Greek Goddess | Alexandra Pacella | California
* IBN Member Since October 2006. Founded in 2001 offering
natural perfume, skin care and home spa products. All of the products are
handcrafted with 100% natural ingredients. Product line includes: solid
perfume, jojoba based perfume oil, rose body butter, scented shea butter,
nail oil, facial elixir, smoking cessation oil, foot balm, pregnancy belly
balm, lavender bar soap, gardenia bar soap, vanilla lip balm, botanical milk
bath, bath salts, massage and bath oil, salt scrub, foot soak, organic
tropical body oils, massage, bath and personal care accessories such as foot
rollers, sea sponges and bamboo moisture gloves. Variety of gift
collections. Free Shipping $75+. Retail/Wholesale.
My Solae Design Studio | Deborah Chambers | Illinois
Designers of natural handmade soaps, shea butter enriched body products and
home fragrancing products for wholesale purchase. All products are available
for private labeling. We also design and produce custom soaps for wholesale
customers.
Christina's Candle Lights | Christina Baldenchini | North
Carolina
IBN Member Since October 2007. All of my candles are made by
hand in my home studio. I use only the finest waxes, wicks, scents and jars.
Your nose can tell the difference!
3. Where's dM?: Seminars and Events With dM
Here are some other exciting things coming up!
Today on Indie Business Radio: My guest will be Shiv Singh, author of "Social Media Marketing For Dummies." Listen live and join the live chat at 1:00pm New York Time on Monday, November 2, 2009 here.
dM at Indie Business Revolution: 11/14/09: Join me, Kayla Fioravanti of Essential Wholesale and Monique Hayward, author of "Divas Doing Business" at this fantastic event at Bay 13 Restaurant in Portland's Pearl District. Click here to learn more and register!
dM on "Online Marketing With RSS Ray". Ray will interview me on "The 7 Characteristics of Highly Effective Twitter Pages and the Importance of Twitter Follower Numbers" on 12/9/09 at 1:00pm EST.
dM @ The Media Is Y-O-U! I am leading the day-long, intensive, hands on media training workshop designed especially for Indies! Join me in:
Atlanta: 1/21/10
New York City: 2/4/10
Chicago: 2/18/20
San Francisco: 3/4/10
dM at 2010 Conference of Handcrafted Soapmakers in Denver, CO: Join me and hundreds of other soapers for the premier soaping event of the year! I'll deliver a presentation on advanced social media and how you can use it lead your business, expand your sphere of influence, maximize your time, and generate more sales! Click here for details. (My husband edited and produced the video on that page!)
4. This Week's Indie Business Radio Show: Shiv Singh, author of "Social Media Marketing For Dummies"
<
--- Featured photo: Shiv Singh, today's Indie Business Radio Show guest
Shiv Singh, author of "Social Media Marketing For Dummies," joins me today to share tips for learning how to apply social influence to your online marketing campaign and select the right social media sites for your business!
Indie Business Radio airs live every Monday at 1:00pm New York Time. There are two ways to join the live show:
Listen Only: Click here at 1:00pm New York Time and follow the instructions to choose your audio player.
Listen and Chat: Once you activate your audio player (above), you can join us for the accompanying live chat on Savorchat at 1:00pm New York Time. Just click the link, sign in using your Twitter or FaceBook account, and you can join us live!
Visit the Indie Business Radio Show 2009 Archives to enjoy past shows. You can also subscribe to the show on iTunes by searching on Indie Business Radio.
-- Sponsor --
5. 10 Awesome Indie Business Radio Show Guest And Their Books!
It's hard to believe, but I will host and produce my 37th Indie Business Radio Show of 2009 year today. I usually reserve this section of the newsletter for a fantastic feature of an inspirational IBN member. But this week, I've decided to do something different and share with you some of my shows from this year that will help you build your business. My guests are all experts in their field and they have a lot to share. You can pretty much pick any show and learn something, so don't be afraid to just choose one, click through and turn up the volume or download it to your iPod and get some of the best no cost tips to help you be successful in your business from the comfort of wherever you are right now!*
Tips For Launching A Magazine: In this show, my guest was Rieva Lesonsky. As the former editor of Entrepreneur Magazine (for 20 years!), Rieva knows a lot about what it takes to be successful in business. She also knows the magazine business. You know how important it is to create media outlets for your business so I asked Reiva for her best tips and insights. She did not disappoint in this interview!
Listen and Stream Rieva Lesonsky on Indie Business Radio at this link.
Rules of the Road For Small Business Owners: Attorney Andrew Sherman is the author of over 20 books on small business success. His latest book is called Road Rules: Be The Truck, Not The Squirrel. Andrew is also an attorney, a husband and a dad, and I am proud and blessed indeed to call him one of my mentors. In this interview, I took him from the "sale old same old" small business tips to the practicality of how to actually be successful while also juggling real life. I asked Andrew some tough questions, and frankly, I was a little afraid to do so. But Andrew, who is always eager to help, opened up and shared from his heart about what must be done in order to reach certain levels of success as a small business owner.
Listen and Stream Andrew Sherman on Indie
Business Radio
at this link.
Read the book and show review
here.
Barack Your Business: If you're heard enough about how Barack Obama used social media to win the election, then skip this show. But if you have no clue what I'm talking about, regardless of your political persuasion, don't skip this show. I grilled David Bullock, author of Barack 2.0, on the details. David and his co-author tracked the details of the 2008 presidential election and have some great statistics and facts to share that you can apply to your business.
Listen and Stream David Bullock on Indie Business Radio at this link.
SEO For The Rest of Us: Heather Lutze, author of The Findability Formula, says that search engine optimization has been made out to be more confusing than it is. While you can spend spend spend when it comes to optimizing your online presence(s), you can also do a few things yourself that will make a big difference. I pulled those needles out of Heather's hay stack in this interview.
Listen and Stream Heather Lutze on Indie Business Radio at this link.
Start Your World Wide Rave: Oh! Oh! Oh! One of my favorites! David Meerman Scott is hot hot hot! He's been on my show twice, and I hope to have him again! In this interview, I asked him for his best "how to" insights for using digital technologies to spread the word about your business. David had a prior career as a PR executive so he knows the deal.
Listen and Stream David Meerman Scott on Indie
Business Radio
at this link
or
Listen to the show at my
blog or
Watch the fun video and book review
here.
Craft Your Way Up: IBN's own very own Debbie Chialtas, owner of Soapylove and author of the Soapylove book, busted it open with the answers to my questions about how she gets so much done while also manage a home and two kiddos. Debbie is honest, authentic and the real deal. If you are wondering whether you're alone as a parent trying to juggle it all, Debbie will let you know that's not true and also show you what you can do if you really really want to!
Listen and Stream Debbie Chialtas on Indie Business Radio at this link.
Bootstrap It Baby!: Sramana Mitra is a columnist for ___ Magazine and a wealth of knowledge about what it takes to bootstrap a business. She's interviewed dozens of bootstrappers and launched a few bootstrapped businesses herself. In this interview, she shares the benefits of bootstrapping a business, and how other people have done it successfully.
Listen and Stream Smamana Mitra on Indie Business Radio at this link.
The New Social Economy: Like many public relations professionals, Eric Qualman knows that the next phase of his career must fully embrace social media. And embrace it he has in his new book, Socialnomics. Not only do I recommend the book, but this show is a fantastic overview of the importance of social media to your business. With concrete examples of how others have used it to engage customers and other stakeholders, this show is one you don't want to miss.
Listen and Stream Eric Qualman on Indie
Business Radio
at this link
or
Read the book summary and watch the video review
at my blog, where you can also get the show!
Life In Twitterville: I was a journalism major in collect and Shel Israel is a journalist. We speak some of the same language and that's why I wanted to have him on my show. He's the author of "Twitterville," a book that shares how "homey" Twitter is even though there are millions of people there. Twitter is a website, but it's also a place. A place to hang out and engage in the conversations that help your business grow. I drilled him on how to do that in this show.
Listen and Stream Shel Israel on Indie
Business Radio
at this link
or
Read the book summary
at my blog, where you can also get the show!
Passion, Plan & Profit: Christy Strauch, author of Passion, Plan & Profit, works a lot with artists and solo-preneurs who work hard to deliver products and services that enhance people's lives. She says that many of them are extremely good at what they do, but are deathly afraid of the number crunching process. In this show, she shared tips for overcoming that fear and becoming confident in your ability to control the financial aspects of your business. If you hate number but love your business, this is the show for you!
Listen and Stream Christy Strauch on Indie Business Radio at this link. Read the book summary at my blog, where you can also get the show!
* Editor's Note: If you're wondering why all of the shows are not housed only at one place, it's because, like you, I am in the midst of constant transition where my websites are concerned. Rather than stop everything and change the location for hundreds of radio shows, I am making them available to you in multiple formats so you can choose what works best for you. As always, your feedback about what you like and don't like is always appreciated. Send your emails to me anytime at indie business @ gmail dot com.
6. Indie and Small Business Resources: Give 'N Take @ Our Social Networking Site!
<--
Featured photo: our home page screen shot, featuring the
pretty smile of Terri Simmons of Mangoberry Botanicals in Georgetown, Texas!Each week, I make additions to the site so you can enjoy it even more. Each day, a new IBN member is featured and there's also a fun new poll where you can share your favorite fall fragrance oils.
There are also some brand new fun and informative discussions going on all the time. Here are some recent highlights -- join us with your thoughts and experiences, and find out what other people in your industry are doing!
Question of the Week: How do I know your products are safe?
Private Sites: any suggestions for using a blog or website to set up a private area for independent consultants or wholesale customers?
Preservatives Commentary: IBN member Gretchen Moritz has done some research, come to some conclusions and wishes to share!
Approaching Salons and Spas: any tips for making the right approach?
Doing My First Craft Shows: can you share the good, the bad and the ugly from your experiences?
7. About dM, the Indie Business Advocate: How Can I Help You??!
How can I help your women's group or conference gathering?!!
Donna Maria Coles Johnson, the Chief Executive Indie, helps small and independent businesses owners, combine smart sales and marketing strategies with integrated, branded digital media tools to create relationships, expand their sphere of influence and increase sales. Through her blogs and weekly radio show, dM delivers helpful and entertaining content that inspires, encourages and informs small business owners worldwide. Known for her innovative yet friendly style, dM's expertise has been showcased in Entrepreneur, Global Cosmetics Industry, Working Mother, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, National Public Radio, ABC World News This Morning, WUSA-TV9 (CBS Washington, DC affiliate), Ebony and a host of other regional and national media outlets.
Whether the topic is integrating career and family, leadership, small business ownership or new technologies, dM has a life-changing presentation for you and your audience. Contact dM today at donnamaria @ indiebeautynetwork.com to discover how she can contribute to your unforgettable conference or gathering event.
If this issue of The Indie Experience has been useful to you, please feel free to hit the Forward key and share it with a friend, or you can link directly via URL to this issue here.
See you next week! In the meantime,
Enjoy your life, build your business and have your way!
Donna Maria
Editor, The Indie Experience Newsletter
www.IndieBusinessBlog.com
Copyright (c) 2000 - 2009 by IBN and Donna Maria. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized distribution or reproduction is prohibited. IBN does not necessarily endorse any product, event or ideology featured in this newsletter or on IBN's website. All information is provided on an "as is" basis and no express or implied warranties are given. Any use of the information contained in this newsletter or on IBN's web site, including recipes, is solely at your own risk. IBN and Donna Maria disclaim any liability in connection with the use of all recipes, products reviewed and other information. Except for sponsorships, this newsletter refuses compensation from companies to feature or mention their names or products. Opinions expressed in any Product Review are personally those of the reviewer and do not represent the views of IBN, Donna Maria (unless she is the reviewer) or any other person or company.
