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

This Conference is Different

If you want a cheerleading session, call your best friend and ask her to pat you on your back and say, "Atta girl." If you want hard hitting advice from seasoned experts who have your maximum success at heart, then August 16 to 18 is your chance to join us as we collectively catapult your business and your life into the stratosphere. I am proud to share the podium with these fantastic men and women who are gathering from around the country just for you!

Meet The 2007 Indie Speakers

Donna Maria Coles JohnsonKeynote Speaker & Host Donna Maria Coles Johnson
The Chief Executive Indie, Charlotte, North Carolina
Presentation: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Indie

Donna Maria Coles Johnson is the founder and president of the Indie Beauty Network and an award winning entrepreneur. The author of the Lifestyle CEO Book: How to Break all the Rules, Build Your Own Corporate Ladder and Create the Life You Love" and Making Aromatherapy Creams & Lotions (Storey Books, 2000), dM is knowns as the  She is Success Magazine.com's "Business As A Lifestyle" blogger and the founder and president of the Indie Beauty Network, a trade organization providing business services to independent (indie) business owners who are committed to enjoying life and business on their own terms. She is also the Washington, DC Small Business administration's 2003 Home-Based Business Advocate of the Year and an expert in the growing field of business as a lifestyle. Using a unique combination of gifts, talents and indestructible determination, Donna Maria Coles Johnson has created an unprecedented connection with women everywhere. As the author of several "how to" books for people who like to make their own cosmetics using natural ingredients, "dM" has inspired thousands of people to enhance their lives through her breakthrough "View It Then Do It!" philosophy. Speaker website.

Casey Carole Kellar: Trade Shows
Founder, Turn The Rock Publishing

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.

Casey started her first business with a $5,000.00 loan from her mother and within 3 years grew it into a multi-million dollar producing company. She says not every business adventure was a total success, but along with way she learned plenty at the 'school of hard-knocks'. An inspirational and motivated speaker Casey is no newcomer to building businesses and knowing 'what it takes' to be cost efficient while doing so (she loves what she calls “bootstrap business building”). Casey and her husband Byron have pioneered over 7 businesses. During her career Casey worked as a Chemical Designer / Business Consultant for many well known companies and has developed marketing programs and manufactured over 500 formulas for more than 3000 companies worldwide, including such names as L'Oreal, Nike, Lynn St. Claire, and RainCountry Naturals. Casey & her husband Byron have also “bootstrap built”: a fitness center, a gift & antique store, and a retail/wholesale distribution line in the gift industry (in total, Casey & Byron have “bootstrap built” over 7 businesses). Casey & Byron also oversee CKC Property Management and Investment Company which develops & manages Millions in Real Estate located in 5 states. They believe that it's always a good time to invest in real estate, even though their strategies may change with the market conditions. Casey and Byron love a challenge and enjoy making profits for themselves and their clients. Casey was recently chosen as one of the 340 Top Real Estate investors in the United States by Mentor Magazine and is featured on the cover of the book with Donald Trump and Dan Kennedy. Speaker website.

Jack Veale: Business Succession
Founder, PTCFO Consulting

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.

Jack Veale is a nationally-recognized consultant, business strategist, and speaker and an expert in the challenges facing privately-held or family businesses in this highly competitive environment, Jack's career began in Idaho, where he worked as one of two non-family members for a high-growth family-owned business for 12 years. Jack served in various operational, general management, IT and financial positions, concluding as their CFO by age 30. Speaker website.

Jo Ann Hines: Packaging
"The Packaging Diva," Atlanta, Georgia
Presentation: Thinking About The Box: How to Translate Packaging Trends Into Increased Sales and Profits

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!

As the leading online career expert for the packaging industry, JoAnn R. Hines is The Packaging Diva. She has been named "One of the 50 most influential packaging leaders in the 20th century" and was the only woman on the list! Speaker website.

Larry Coats, Esq.: Intellectual Property
Partner, Coats & Bennett, PLLC, Raleigh, North Carolina
Presentation: The Crown Jewel: How to Identify, Protect and Profit From Your Brands and Trademarks

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. 

Larry Coats has practiced patent and trademark law for 30 years. After graduating from the Engineering School at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina Law School, he served as patent counsel for Sperry Rand Corporation in Pennsylvania. Since 1972, he has been in private practice in Raleigh, North Carolina. Mr. Coats has represented clients in patent, trademark, copyright and unfair competition litigation in federal courts including both jury and non-jury trials. His appellate background extends to patent, trademark and copyright matters before various federal circuit courts of appeal with considerable experience before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. He also has extensive experience in multi-party proceedings within the United States Patent and Trademark Office, particularly trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings. He serves clients in the areas of preparation and prosecution of patent applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Coats' patent practice entails a wide range of technologies and industries. He has extensive experience in machine tools and machine systems, fluid flow control systems, packaging equipment, material handling equipment, cable manufacturing and packaging systems, cardboard container manufacturing equipment and agricultural machinery. In recent years, he has developed an international wastewater treatment practice that focuses on biological nutrient removal. Mr. Coats is admitted to practice law in the State of North Carolina before the North Carolina Supreme Court and before the Supreme Court in Pennsylvania. Mr. Coats is also registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He graduated from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Science in Biological and Agricultural Engineering in 1967. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1969. Mr. Coats is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, Wake County Bar Association and the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Speaker website.

Michelle Tennant
Co-owner, Wasabi Publicity, Saluda, South Carolina
Presentation: The Makings of a Media Star: How to Develop and Maintain Media Relationships that Increase Your Bottom Line 

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!

As the co-owner of Wasabi Publicity, Inc., Michelle has more than 17 years of public relations experience, specializing in product launches and nonprofit publicity. A forest conservation campaign she created involving Robert F. Kennedy Jr. generated 96 editorial placements in less than twelve weeks. She won industry awards for a program she wrote and produced with the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. After launching a TV training network for the National Head Start Association, she saved a Department of Education program 1/2 million dollars in one month's time. Throughout her career, she has engineered cutting edge projects in public relations, publishing, television production, distance training and online press kit technology. Visit her PR firm and sign up for a free creativity tele-club, The Wasabi Club, and be sure to check out her blog. On her days off, she can be found whitewater kayaking on raging rivers near the Blue Ridge Parkway & Smoky Mountains, where she lives with her husband, Shannon, and their Siberian huskies, senior cats (14+ yrs.) and tropical fish. In 2010, she and her husband plan to tour South America by motorcycle, so lately she can be found riding her dual sport in and around the Carolinas. Speaker website.

Romanus Wolter
"The Kick Start Guy," San Francisco, California
Presentation: Kick Start Your Business Success: Four Powerful Steps to Achieve What You Want

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.

Known by millions of visionaries and entrepreneurs as "The Kick Start Guy," Romanus Wolter is the Success Coach for Entrepreneur magazine, the Donald Trump Personal Success Expert and the author of the popular Kick Start Your Success (Wiley & Sons) and Kick Start Your Dream Business (Ten Speed Press) books. Romanus is also the former director of the San Francisco Small Business Development Center and a Small Business Administration Speaker of the Year. He has been profiled in numerous media outlets including MSNBC, U.S. News and World Report, The San Francisco Chronicle, Business Week, The Chicago Tribune, Quicken.com; Bloomberg Television, and others. former  he provides practical, proven action steps that close the gap between goals and success. Romanus holds a Masters of Business Administration and International Business from the American University in Washington, DC. Speaker website.

Susan F. Benjamin: Marketing Expert
Author and speaker
Presentation: Marketing Your Products On A Shoestring Budget

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.

As the author of Instant Marketing for Almost Free (Source Books, January 2007) and numerous articles in publications like The Wall Street Journal and The Chicago Tribune, Susan Benjamin has found a special place in the world of marketing. She has appeared on CNN and National Public Radio and trained over 100,000 federal and private sector employees in venues including videos, satellite broadcasts and in-class seminars.. Her clients include the Carnegie Mellon Executive Program, the National Geospacial-Intelligence Agency, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, the Social Security Administration, the United States Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Food and Drug Administration and many others. Susan’s research includes assessments of organizational communication processes and studies on how language affects reader-responsiveness. Among other results, her research helped the U.S. government overhaul their recruitment and hiring processes and the Treasury Department validate their approach to conveying regulatory requirements. Susan’s articles about these findings have appeared in numerous publications including Scribes Legal Journal, Government Executive, and Employment Management Today. Susan studied philosophy and writing at Boston University and Bennington College. She received her Masters in Writing from Lesley College. Speaker website.

 

Vera Moore
President and CEO, Vera Moore Cosmetics, New York City
Presentation: Bootstrap That Baby!

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.

Vera Moore  is a nationally recognized business leader and one of the first African American actresses to be contracted on a national television show when she portrayed “Linda” on the soap opera Another World for 12 years. As an actress starring on television and stage, Vera recognized the need for quality beauty and makeup products specifically designed for women of color. Her personal experience, unstoppable tenacity and entrepreneurial acumen helped her give birth to Vera Moore Cosmetics, a family owned business. Vera is celebrating 28 years in her flagship store in Green Acres Mall and stores in Valley Stream Long Island, NY. Vera continues to expand her company and capitalize on new growth opportunities, including the 2007 opening of her new store in Harlem, New York, at Nubian Heritage at 126th Street and Fifth Avenue. Vera has been featured on the cover of numerous magazines including Networking Magazine, Black Enterprise, Network Journal and others, and is a featured entrepreneur in the book, Against All Odds (John Wiley & Sons, 2001). Speaker website.

2007 Indie Beauty Business of the Year

This year's winner has not yet been announced but rest assured she has experiences and energy that is positively contagious and will leave you stunned at what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it. The owner of the Indie Beauty Business of the Year will be speaking at the Thursday night awards banquet where she will also be presented with the Indie Beauty Business of the Year award.