This year's Indie Business Conference has been postponed to Spring 2008. Further details to come.

A SCHEDULE TO MEET YOUR NEEDS

The Indie Business Conference sessions will be held in The Clayton Room on the hotel's main floor. The Opening Reception and Awards Banquet is optional (select at Registration). Basic conference registration fee includes Thursday and Friday's full continental breakfast, buffet lunch in the Pavilion and one refresher break with snacks and beverages. Friday evening's dinner with the speakers at Maggiano's Little Italy Restaurant where we have reserved a banquet room is optional with payment being made at the site.

Thursday Evening, August 16
Registration, Opening Reception and Awards Banquet, The Pavilion :: 6:00pm - 10:00pm

Friday, August 17

 Speaker Time Event, Topic
  7:00 to 8:00 Continental breakfast. Join us bright and early as we continue the celebration of our businesses from the night before. Coffee, tea, pastries, fresh fruit, breads, juices and fresh fruit rev up your system for the day ahead.


Donna Maria

 8:15 to 8:45 Plenary Session, welcome and Keynote Address: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Indie. Don't oversleep or you'll miss the inspirational keynote of the year. As only she can, Donna Maria spreads her unique vision to encourage you in your own person pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of the independence you deserve and can enjoy.

Casey Carole Kellar		 9:00 - 10:30 Attending trade shows is by far the fastest and most efficient and cost effective way to expand a product line nationwide. It can also be a lot of fun. And a ton of work. How do you make it pay off? By picking the right shows to attend? Maybe it's choosing the nicest booth signage? How about an attractive product display? The right booth location? Maybe it's the after show follow up? Curious about how you can make trade shows help you proliferate your products and add to your bottom line? Author, speaker and serial entrepreneur Casey Carole Kellar will tell you how in this session.

Larry Coats Esq.		 10:45 - 12:00 Other than the high quality of your products, perhaps nothing is as important as the perception your customers have of your brand. And once you establish that brand in the minds of your customers, you also want to protect it as your own. Larry's presentation during this segment will help you do that. 
  12:00 to 1:30 Lunch on the Pavilion

Jack Veale		 1:30 to 2:45 Clare and here husband owned a successful herb business selling fresh and dried herbs from around the world to customers throughout the United States. It was a great life because they worked from home and were able to home school and raise their two children according to their own personal beliefs in natural living. But then Clare's husband became ill and died a few years later. The couple's business was healthy and vital at the time, yet they had not planned for what would happen to it if something happened to them. In this session, you'll learn about how you can avoid the same challenge.
  2:45 to 3:00 Break

Vera Moore		 3:15 to 4:30 While Vera had an extremely successful career as a soap opera star, she knew nothing about business when she started Vera Moore Cosmetics. Armed with just tenacity and determination, over the last 3 decades, she has created one of the most enduring cosmetics businesses the beauty industry knows. How did she do it? Where could your business be in the next 10 years? Find out in this session.
  4:30 to 6:00 Meet and greet mixer; meet the authors in the Board Room

 

Saturday

Speaker Time Event, Topic
   7:00 to 8:00 Continental breakfast. Join us bright and early as we continue the celebration of our businesses from the night before. Coffee, tea, pastries, fresh fruit, breads, juices and fresh fruit rev up your system for the day ahead.


Romanus Wolter

 8:15 to 9:30 Whether your business is new or you've been at it for a while, you won't want to miss Romanus' key steps to help you reach your highest levels of success. Like a vintage automobile that needs jumper cables now and then, Indie business owners can also use a periodic kick start to boost confidence, innovation and enthusiasm. Romanus will provide that and much more in this session.
  9:30 to 9:45 Break

Michelle Tennant		 9:45 to 11:00 It's no secret that a third party acknowledgement from a credible media source goes a long way toward helping you build your brand and increase sales. Who hasn't heard about department stores nationwide selling out of a certain ginger scented line of bath and body products within hours of them being mentioned by the host of the world's most popular talk show?! Like all businesses, we need media coverage to expand brand awareness, but all to often, we can't afford to pay someone thousands of dollars a month to help us get it. What's an Indie to do? Come and hear Michelle Tennant share tops and secrets on how to do it yourself, that's what!

Susan Benjamin		 11:15 to 12:30 Marketing a business is hard enough. Add that there aren't a million Benjamins lying around and you know you have to be mega-creative to make a name for your products. Can you do it without breaking the bank? Can you do it and still have time to shower and take care of your kids? Susan Benjamin says you can and in this presentation, she will tell you how to get a lot out of a little when it comes to marketing your products with style and flair.

Jo Ann Hines		 12:45 to 2:00 Yes, your products are fantastic. Yes, they work well and are appropriately priced. Everyone loves them. But did you know that in order to acquire more customers, you need more than just a good product. You also need quality packaging -- packaging that is appropriate for your audience, your product and your price point. In fact, you only have 2.6 second to turn a potential buyer into a paying customer, and the reason they buy often has to do with the packaging and not the product itself. What are the latest packaging trends, and how can you put them to work for your business without breaking the bank? Get these and other answers in this presentation by The Packaging Diva!
  2:00 -3:30 Luncheon, Closing Session, book signing and Time with the speakers on the Pavilion

After the luncheon and closing session, take some time to relax, take a dip in the pool or just review some of the great information you gathered at the conference. Then meet us for Dinner wit the Speakers at Maggiano's Little Italy. Also joining us will the Daryle Stafford of Stratus Insurance Services, the company that brokers our landmark products liability insurance member benefit.

Located a short walk from the conference venue, we have reserved the Abruzzi-Burgoni Room, a private dining area at Maggiano's Little Italy for more networking, meeting, greeting and fun. This is optional and once you register for the conference, you will be contacted with dinner details and an invitation to join us. There is an addition charge for the dinner, which includes family style servings of:

Fresh Mozzarella and Tomatoes (vegetarian)
Stuffed Mushrooms (vegetarian)
Spinach Salad (vegetarian)
Maggiano's Salad (Romaine, crumbled cheese and Prosciutto)
Linguini with Pesto Chicken and Pine Nuts
Pasta Shells with Roasted Vegetables and Pesto Broth (vegetarian)
Stuffed Chicken Fontina
Eggplant Parmesan (vegetarian)
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Fudge Sauce
Fresh Fruit