In this video last week, I announced Indie Cruise, scheduled to set sail on February 3, 2011 for a 4-Night Key West and Isla Cozumel Cruise aboard Carnival Destiny. This post shares an overview of the fantastic plans I have made especially for you!

First, let me share that the Early Bird registration (at the astounding rate of just $338.02 per person per cabin), expires October 1 — if you already know you want to go (and you know you do!), click here to register now.I am so excited about Indie Cruise! Not only is it a chance to relax and unwind, but it’s also an opportunity to connect with like-minded Indies Business leaders (that’s right, you’re a leader!) in an atmosphere where we can learn, love, share and grow personally.

Bon Voyage Tweetup: We’ll gather at the beautiful DoubleTree Hotel for a fun Bon Voyage Tweetup! You’ll meet, network and chat with like-minded Indies who are joining us on the cruise, plus Miami locals who want to meet up with you! Use the #IndieCruise hash tag to create some new relationships!

Fun + Collaborative MasterMind Discussions

In between shore excursions, spa, pool, food, casino and amazing entertainment, you’ll connect in person with your peers in four Collaborative MasterMind Discussions designed to help you maximize your potential and grow personally through the business you lead every day. Here’s what you’ll enjoy (the order of events may change):MM Discussion No. 1: Creating and Sharing Your Story: If you’ve been in business even for a short time, you have probably learned that the sale is made long before the buyer comes to your website to make a purchase. Anyone can make great products, but selling them starts with a great story. We’ll help you refine your 30-second Indie story. You’ll also learn the “do’s” and “donts” of maximizing your unique story, both in person and online, so you can enter and maintain business and personal relationship with confidence and style.

Key West Excursion: Enjoy Key West, either on your own or or an available tour. Known for its laid back atmosphere, quaint shops (a chance to make some wholesale connections maybe? …) and seafood restaurants, Key West is a great place to relax and unplug from the hustle and bustle of life.

MM Discussion No. 2: Building and Maintaining Momentum: So many Indies start with a bang, then slowly lose momentum, eventually grinding to a halt due to burnout, information overload, frustration due to lack of productivity, an unhealthy view of failure, life and family responsibilities and social media wipeout. This MM Discussion is all about sharing and implementing the best strategies, including the hottest ways for Indies to use new mobile technologies, we have for balancing all of your responsibilities so you and your business achieve success that last as long as you want it to.

Cozumel Excursion: Enjoy Isla Cozumel, a tranquil oasis with a world famous dive site. Don’t forget your passport!

MM Discussion No. 3: Expanding Your Sphere Of Influence: To generate sales, you must first have influence. Stories in place, along with an ability to maintain momentum without burning out, we’ll move to engaging your who you are as a person to create limitless opportunities for you to sell your products and grow your business. We’ll explore the foundations of effective leadership, separating the wheat from the chaff so you invest (not “spend”) your time wisely and with specific goals in mind.

Spa Experience: In addition to limitless amounts of food (including numerous healthful choices!), you’ll enjoy access to the on-board casino, fun entertainment and, of course, the spa! That’s right, you’ll be able to choose a la carte from dozens of services designed to further enhance your Caribbean cruise experience. Ahhhh. I’m feelin’ it already!

MM Discussion No. 4: Enjoy your life! Build your business! Have your way!: Finally, we’ll put all of this together so you can make even more of your life and your business as an integrated whole. We’ll cover team building as well as taking the MasterMind sessions to a whole new level when you get back home. We’ll implement the best follow-up mechanisms so we turn what we learn on Indie Cruise into action.

Consultations

If you provide consulting services to Indies, you’ll be able to schedule your consultations in quiet conference rooms at no additional charge throughout our time on board ship. This is a great opportunity to meet existing clients and develop your client base in a fun, relaxing atmosphere.

Continuous MasterMinding: The Indie Cruise Experience does not end when we once again set foot on dry land. When we return, you’ll be challenged to continue the MasterMind experience. Opportunities to hook up with new MasterMind partners, plus tips to help you create a successful MasterMind of your own will be available to you. Choose to MasterMind with people you meet on board, and bring others to join you when you get home if you’d like.

Remember, knowledge is great, but only when it really only matters when it is translated into action.

Register Now!

Award-winning Indie entrepreneur extraordinaire Lela Barker of Bella Lucce has registered to joined us on board. And that’s just the beginning! Once you register, grab the badge to the right and post it on your website, blog or wherever else you want to share that you’ll be participating in this life-changing event!

You won’t want to miss this collaborative sharing event — your life will never be the same!

Click here to register now!!

To ensure your Early Bird price of just $338.02 per person per cabin, click here to deliver your $50 non-refundable deposit today! See you on board!

Question: What could you get out of Indie Cruise 2011?

Last week in this video, I introduced you to Maggie Hanus of A Wild Soap Bar in Manor, Texas, outside Austin. This week, I’m excited to share Marge Clark of Nature’s Gift in Madison, Tennessee.

Like Maggie, Marge is one of IBN’s first members. She’s also a Web pioneer, having owned and managed one of the most successful Indie essential oil and aromatherapy companies online, since 1995. You can read some of Marge’s story in the Indie Archives. You can also connect with Marge on her website, on Twitter and at FaceBook.

My husband edited this video and I think he did a great job! You can find out more about his services at his blog.

Remember: the things we make, make us. I love sharing my members’s success stories. You can learn more about IBN at our benefits page, and you can procure affordable products liability insurance at our products liability insurance page. You can learn more and more about IBN members and their products and services at our comprehensive directory where you can search for people and products by business owner name business name, state, country and/or type of product desired.

You can also just have fun networking with us and other people who love making their own beauty products for fun or business at our social networking site.

Question: I have learned a lot about online marketing by watching Marge over the years. Who do you follow for great examples of online marketing success?

I know you know this, but it bears repeating. I love serving small and independent business owners! Some people tell me that I inspire them, but the reality is that other people inspire me. People like you, who read this blog, are constant reminders of what’s possible when you put your mind to it.

The companies that sponsor this blog and my work are the same way! They all started with just a nugget of an idea. But was all know from Napoleon Hill that “Thougts are things,” and I love how these companies took intangible thoughts and turned them into realities that enhance the lives of people all over the world. Thank you for being here with us! Please take a moment to learn about these companies and find out how they can help you achieve your goals!

Essential Wholesale: Private labeling and custom formulation for your cosmetics products. Small quantities available. Choose from the largest selection of naturally derived cosmetics bases in the world. Hundreds of certified organic products and ingredients to choose from! Start shopping now! If you are a member of IBN, click here for your member discount!

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Online Labels: A world leader in blank laser and inkjet labels, Online Labels offers over 150 label sizes in 30+ different materials! Just like you, Fortune 500 companies from around the globe buy their labels from Online Labels. You’ve probably seen their labels on everything from CDs/DVDs, food, candles, mailings, boxes, tins … and almost every type of product you can think of. Now offering lip tube labels with perforated freshness/security seals! Start shopping now!

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From Nature With Love: Thousands of raw materials and supplies to make your products. Bulk, small quantities. Organic and conventional natural ingredients, complementary cosmetic grade ingredients, books, packaging, equipment, superior quality ingredients, outstanding customer service. Proudly Serving You Since 1997. Start shopping now! If you are a member of IBN, click here for your member discount!

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The Box Co-Op: Custom and stock retail boxes and printed packaging. Full color printed boxes with your artwork; custom sizing to fit your product exactly; matte, aqueous or high gloss UV finishes; metallic foils, embossing and debossing. Box windows and packing inserts; minimum volumes starting at 1,250 boxes. Start shopping now!

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Soap Equipment: Since 1996, we have designed and developed the finest soap making equipment available for professional or beginner soapmakers. Our equipment can be designed to your specifications: soap cutters, molds, bath bomb makers, oil and candle wax melters, soap drying and lip balm trays, melt and pour molds, mixing tools, safety equipment, lotion and oil pumps, bottling and labeling equipment and more. Start shopping now!

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TKB Trading: Since 1997, offering pigments, dyes, micas and more! TKB Trading’s primary focus is on color additives and associated products for the soap, cosmetics and personal care industry. We also offer color additives for arts, crafts and industrial arts. Led by Kaila Westerman, the author of two craft books, TKB offers an informative blog and a forum to help you use the products you purchase from them. Start shopping now!

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Shea Radiance Supplies: Fair trade raw shea butter, black soap and other products imported from Africa and around the world. We offer carrier oils and butters, essential oils and an exclusive line of natural and organic culinary oils, herbs and spices. Beautiful, renewable, sustainable. Start shopping now!

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Mold Market: Mold Market designs and manufactures high quality plastic soap molds for all occasions. Our multi-cavity custom molds designs are suitable for hot and cold process soap making, melt & pour soap making, candle making, and ceramic crafts. You’ll find our customer service impressive and shipping turn-around time fast. Our ever-expanding mold line tips the scale in quality. Start shopping now!

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Bramble Berry: Bramble Berry offers more than 2500 soap making products, including fragrance oils, soap molds, packaging, soap making kits, as well as supplies to make essential oils, lip butter flavorings, herbs and botanicals, cosmetics and much more. Watching industry trends carefully, Bramble Berry CEO Anne-Marie Faiola stays ahead of her customers’ needs by frequently adding new products. If you have a suggestion, please let us know and we’ll do our best to find it for you. She also tests all existing products herself to make sure that she’s offering her customers the highest quality in crafting supplies. Start shopping now!If you are a member of IBN, click here for your member discount!

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SunRose Aromatics: Founded in 1997, SunRose sources quality essential oils from around the world and makes them available to you at affordable prices. She has scoured the globe investigating distilleries and their practices to ensure the product she imports is of the highest quality grade. To this end, she always ensures that her oils are GC/MS tested. SunRose has a vast array of well-known oils, and also hard to find exotic oils. All are certified organic or wildcrafted where possible. Start shopping now!

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Garden State Naturals: Your source for wholesome ingredients, straight from nature. Our speciality is cold-pressed oils and butters from the Amazon rainforest. These are natural extracts long-prized in Brazil for their beneficial and healing properties. We supply Açaí oil, which has a higher amount of skin-protecting anti-oxidants than any other natural source in the world. Start shopping now!

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Elements Bath and Body: If you need supplies for making cosmetics and toiletries, or some old fashioned soap making, we have everything ready to order. We offer a wide variety of wholesale soap making supplies, bath and body supplies, recipes, packaging, and accessories to suit any soap making or cosmetic requirements. We also carry lip balm tubes, beeswax, fragrance oils, liquid soap base, melt and pour soap base and recipes. Start shopping now!

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Mountain Rose Herbs: Since 1987 Mountain Rose Herbs has been known for its uncompromising commitment to organic agriculture and steadfast focus on the pure aesthetics and freshness of botanical products. Every aspect of all our products, from the procurement, and the receiving, to the processing and packaging, is done in accordance to strict quality control and organic handling procedures. Start shopping now!

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Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe: The Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe now supplies soap and toiletry makers, crafters, and aromatherapists with high-quality affordable products. What makes us unique is that we actually use most of the raw materials we sell in our soaps and toiletries so you can be assured that you’re getting the best possible raw materials for your own products. Start shopping now!

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BioChemica: Home of “The Butter People!” First we start with organically grown, freeze dried berries which we micronize and infuse into a blend of certified organic ingredients like shea and palm butters. The result is a smooth butter with the beneficial attributes of the butter and the fruit: blueberry, Açaí, cranberry, pomegranate, and black currant. We offer a full range of plant-derived ingredients from all parts of the globe. Start shopping now!

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Planet Label: Laser, inkjet, or custom printed labels. As one of the most established online resources for blank or custom printed labels & stickers, our quality and variety are second to none. Use our filtering system or product configurator to find a label by material, use, size or shape. Still not sure? Call us! Our friendly & knowledgeable staff are here to help you find the perfect label. Start shopping now!

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Monave: Mineral Makeup by Monavé is makeup that you can trust. Full ingredient disclosure reveals a product line based in whole, organic botanical ingredients, and completely gluten-free formulas that are 95% vegan. Monavé has never engaged in animal testing, and chooses the highest quality mineral makeup ingredients, not simply for the press, but for the health and performance of the products. Monave: modern, versatile, natural. Start shopping now!

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I Connect You To The Small Business Owners Who Want To Do Business With You!

Contact me for more information about supporting the work I do to support and advocate on behalf of small and independent business owners. Packages are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and include promotional consideration on my Twitter page (over 12,000 small business followers), FaceBook (over 2,000 active participants), Indie’s social networking site (nearly 6,500 engaged users), this blog, on Indie Business Podcast and more!

I produce a steady stream of engaging, consistent, focused content that puts you in touch with the small and independent business owners who want to do business with you. I also offer sponsorship opportunities for events, sponsored giveaways and contests and custom partnerships designed to advance your business interests and connect you with the small business owners who want to do business with you!

I look forward to serving you!

Beyond the Wall of Resistance, Revised 2nd Edition

Why 70% of All Changes Still Fail--and What You Can Do About It

By: Rick Maurer

Published: June 16, 2010
Format: Paperback, 208 pages
ISBN-10: 1885167725
ISBN-13: 978-1885167729
Publisher: Bard Press





"You'd think we'd be pretty good at making change work by now, but we're not", writes renowned change management expert and speaker Rick Maurer, in his practical and change facilitating book Beyond the Wall of Resistance, Revised 2nd Edition: Why 70% of All Changes Still Fail--and What You Can Do About It. The author describes why even well designed plans for organizational change fail, and why this lack of effective change management is costing businesses money, time, and opportunities for innovation.

Rick Maurer presents the sobering reality that since the first edition of his landmark book, that discovered that 70 percent of all change efforts fail, that the statistics have not changed at all. During that time, attempts at organizational change have not been effective, and many of the affected companies have continued to lose competitiveness, or have gone out of business entirely. Change leaders continue to make what the author calls the four biggest mistakes:

* Assuming that understanding equals support and commitment

* Underestimating the potential power of employee and management engagement

* Failure to appreciate the power of fear

* Failure to acknowledge that even a slight lack of trust and confidence in leaders can kill an otherwise fine idea



Rick Maurer (photo left) recognizes that the common causes of change management failure are challenges for leaders, but he has good news for change oriented leaders. There are proven techniques for implementing change effectively, and for overcoming the all too frequently encountered resistance. The author begins by advising leaders to look at change in a new and different way than in the past. Changing the approach taken to change requires an open mind, and a commitment to understanding how change really works. Rick Maurer shares new ideas for planning and implementing change. Through better planning, and consideration of the point of view of those affected, a more effective change management concept can be devised for application. The author also describes proven techniques for creating change effectively through improved leadership skills, for engaging everyone involved, and for meeting and overcoming resistance.

For me, the power of the book is how Rick Maurer addresses the challenges facing change management leaders, and provides a fresh approach to implementing that change effectively with the needs and concerns of all stakeholders in mind. The author demonstrates that top down imposition of change will not work as employees are not engaged in the process or even the reasons why change may even be critical to organizational survival. Building trust is essential to facilitating optimal change, and that requires listening to and engaging the employees. Rick Maurer recognizes that there is very often a gap between what a leader knows, and what can be done, and shares ideas for bridging that knowledge gap successfully. Not only does the book focus on the necessity for a new type of change leadership, but also on the importance of developing a plan with input from all interested parties. At the same time, the book provides a series of actions that can be taken to coordinate change and implement it effectively with the support of employees.

I highly recommend this revised edition of the landmark book Beyond the Wall of Resistance, Revised 2nd Edition: Why 70% of All Changes Still Fail--and What You Can Do About It by Rick Maurer, to anyone seeking to implement change in their own organization effectively and with positive results for management and employees. In this uncertain economy, the need for change is often critical to company survival. By making embracing resistance and gaining support for change through engagement and trust, a leader can guide the organization through a difficult transition more easily.

Read the transformational book Beyond the Wall of Resistance, Revised 2nd Edition: Why 70% of All Changes Still Fail--and What You Can Do About It by Rick Maurer, and discover how to facilitate change in your organization with less chance for becoming one of the 70 percent of organizations that failed in their efforts to change. This book will give you and your company the tools to create change, and gain a lead over the competition, who may be struggling ineffectively with change resistance themselves.

Tags: Beyond the Wall of Resistance, Revised 2nd Edition: Why 70% of All Changes Still Fail--and What You Can Do About It, Rick Maurer, organizational change leadership, business book reviews.

Confucius Jade

By: Frederick Fisher

Published: March 30, 2010
Format: Perfect Paperback, 350 pages
ISBN-10: 0981929133
ISBN-13: 978-0981929132
Publisher: Dudley Court Press













Kong Wan Yi, descendant of the great Chinese philosopher Confucius, narrates the remarkable story of a beautiful jade carving of Shou-Xing Lao, Chinese God of Longevity. The story tells of the near miraculous origin of the jade, its amazing carving, its mystical powers, and its effect on the entire Kong family. The work of art becomes part of a high stakes bidding war between three billionaires who covet the carving's perceived properties to generate long life and atonement. This fantastic tales is woven in the enjoyable and engaging novel Confucius Jade by retired gemologist and frequent traveler to China, Frederick Fisher.

Frederick Fisher creates a world where magic exists in very tangible and affects people in both mystical and real ways. The book is a marvelous fable of loss and redemption, of the seeking and meaning of immortality, the importance of family, and of the spiritual healing power of forces greater than even the wealthiest person. The story is one of many journeys. There is the overarching journey of the jade itself, from its origins to its eventual discovery, its carving into a priceless work of art, and its eventual final resting place. The novel also chronicles the Kong family, of which Confucius was the most memorable member. The Kong family travels from place to place throughout the book, but is always at home in their hearts and minds, if not their physical bodies. The tale also covers the fateful voyages of the three wealthy would be owners of the jade, as their lives are intricately entwined with that of the jade itself.



Frederick Fisher (photo left) presents many themes under the guise of a fable. The jade possesses miraculous powers, or so it seems. The author tantalizes the reader with the possibility that the gods of China play an active role in the lives of its people, and of anyone who comes into contact with that vast and ancient land. The jade represents the possibility of long life, important to many people, and perhaps even critical for those who possess great material riches. The jade carving also presents the deeper power of redemption and atonement. For the three billionaires who have lived troubled by the mistreatment of others, of seeking wealth and power for their own sakes, and casting aside the true riches of of love and family, the jade presents a redeeming quality and a second chance. For the Kong family, the jade is a connection to the past of the family, all the way back to Confucius, and a gateway into a future where the teachings of the ancient sage can become a basis for peace and happiness for all humanity.

Frederick Fisher writes fluidly, and shares his passion for the world of fine gems, art, and his love for the people of China. He may not have set out to create an allegory of the healing power of love, family, and of helping others even in very small ways, but ended up rediscovering the magic that dwells in everyone and everything. The jade may or may not possess mystical properties, but the ability of people's souls to project their hopes, fears, and desire for redemption onto the little statues, forms a magic all of its own. The jade was simply the key that unlocked the love of family and all people that lives inside of everyone, including three billionaires who had spent their lives in avarice. For the Kong family, the jade projected their dreams of reestablishing the teachings of Confucius as a guide to living for everyone in the world.

I highly recommend the exciting and delightful novel Confucius Jade by retired gemologist and frequent traveler to China, Frederick Fisher. The characters are well drawn, memorable, and real for the reader. Even the jade itself, and the spirit of Confucius and his teachings, are important characters in the story.

Read the enthralling and page turning novel Confucius Jade by retired gemologist and frequent traveler to China, Frederick Fisher, and travel with the characters from China, to America, to their eventual peace with themselves and their families. It is a rewarding and wonderful voyage.

Tags: Confucius Jade, Frederick Fisher, China, fiction book reviews.