Donna Maria (or “dM,” as she is affectionately known by fans and friends alike) is the leading voice in the women’s independent, handmade entrepreneurial movement.
In 2000, after quitting her job as a corporate attorney in Washington, DC, dM founded the Indie Beauty Network, a for-profit trade organization serving small and independent businesses in the health, beauty and lifestyle industries.
Today, Indie Beauty Network is part of Indie Business Media, LLC, a multi-faceted company through which dM hosts Indie Business Podcast, manages Indie Business Blog, publishes the Indie Experience Newsletter, and leads the New “One Percent” entrepreneurial MasterMind coaching program.
dM’s mission is to empower women to maximize their potential through small business ownership. She has become a trusted advocate and a voice of influence and friendship for women business owners around the world. Among other honors, dM has been:
- named by the US Small Business Administration, Washington, DC Office, as the Home-Based Business Advocate of the Year
- named by Black Enterprise.com as one of the “Black Blogosphere’s Best”
- named by Forbes.com as one of the 25 most influential women Tweeting about entrepreneurship
- quoted and/or featured for entrepreneurial expertise in several publications, including Working Mother Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, Washington Business Journal, Ebony Magazine, and Upscale Magazine
- quoted in several business books, including Bye Bye Board Room (Capital Books), Business Plans Made Easy (Entrepreneur Press), and The Brand Called You (Peter Montoya Publications)
- named by Evan Carmichael, as one of the top 100 small business experts to follow on Twitter
- named by American Express OPEN Forum as one of 80 Small Business Twitters You Should Be Following
- named a “Haven for Small Business Owners” by Black Enterprise.com
- nominated by Small Biz Trends as a Small Business Influencer Guru
“My hobby became my passion, and that led me to a real business!”
dM is an accidental entrepreneur.
As a high-powered Washington, DC attorney, dM billed large corporations hundreds of dollars an hour for her legal expertise. While she was thankful for the blessing of a solid career path and a six-figure salary with many benefits and perks, she felt trapped by a traditional work environment that offered little room for personal growth and no ability to control her income. dM had a passion for smaller businesses that could not afford to pay the firm her hourly rate. Figuring there wasn’t much she could do to change things at the firm, she continued to advance her career, with the intention of someday becoming a partner in a coveted corner office.
Then, something unexpected happened.
To pass the time one weekend, dM ordered a soapmaking kit and began learning how to make her own soap. What was supposed to be a one-time rainy day activity turned into a passion she could barely control. After working a 10-hour day, dM came home to her tiny kitchen and made soaps, sugar scrubs, body oils, scented candles, and fresh fruit face masks. When much to her surprise, people began buying her creations, she knew she had stumbled on more than a rainy day past time.
“… I knew I was destined to be an entrepreneur!”
dM opened her own handmade soap, cosmetics and aromatherapy shop in Takoma Park, DC. The little store was open on weekends and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 9pm. After a few years of juggling, dM quit her job to manage her growing cosmetics business full-time. After a few fits and starts (including a return to traditional work, followed by a transforming 6-month trip to South Africa), dM formed the INDIE Beauty Network in January 2000, and finally quit her last job as an attorney in November of that year.
dM wanted to have a family, yet she knew that the traditional work world would not provide her with the autonomy and flexibility needed to work and be available to her husband and children. She wanted to work, but since a desirable job situation did not exist, she created one herself.
This journey led to dM to coin the term Lifestyle CEO to identify one-day mentoring workshops she hosts to teach women the secrets of successfully serving as CEO of a lifestyle and a business at the same time.
“I created my own definition of success.”
Searching for a way to combine her passion with a business model, dM managed her cosmetics business for a few years and became immersed in the cosmetics industry. She quickly discovered that while she made some pretty good soap, others made products that were far superior to hers. These amazing artists and crafts persons struggled, however, to embrace the business concepts that are necessary to become profitable over the long-term. Before long, dM began receiving more requests for business mentoring and coaching, than for soap and sugar scrub. Many more.
“My gift was not selling my own products. It was in empowering others to sell theirs.”
dM’s life took a drastic turn when her dearest friend was murdered — a tragic victim of domestic violence. dM’s friend passed away unemployed, never discovering that she had the power to provide for herself and her two young children on her own. Determined that no woman should suffer through a violent home life for fear of not having enough money to make it on her own, dM solidified her mission to “empower and encourage women to maximize their potential through small business ownership.”
“My mission: to empower and encourage women to maximize their potential through small business ownership.”
After reading a few books about starting a small business (there weren’t many good ones back then), dM was on her way. In 2000, she married her high school sweetheart and welcomed the publication of her first book, Making Aromatherapy Creams and Lotions: 101 Natural Formulas to Revitalize & Nourish Your Skin.
Entrepreneurial Media Maven, DIY Style
dM knows what it’s like to lead a business on a budget, and she is known for her savvy use of technology to efficiently and cost effectively grow her business and teach others to do the same. Perhaps because of her undergraduate training as a Journalism and Public Relations Major at the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications, dM knew that producing original, quality content would be the most effective way to share her unique gifts and talents worldwide.
She published her first email newsletter on the day she launched IBN, January 16, 2000. This was followed by a series of online classes and information products designed to help other women launch successful beauty businesses.
In 2005, she launched INDIE Business Podcast, which may be the longest running weekly live podcast hosted by a woman, anywhere in the world. Her 300+ podcasts have been downloaded and streamed many thousands of times by people around the world, and feature numerous inspiring entrepreneurs including Chicken Soup For the Soul’s® Jack Canfield, Baby Einstein founder Julie Clark, Food Network® star Paula Deen, former Entrepreneur Magazine® editor Rieva Lesonsky and “Secret Millionaire” Ali Brown.
The online journal dM began publishing in 2001 is now the widely recognized INDIE Business Blog, dubbed by Black Enterprise Magazine as “a haven for small business owners.”
The Small Business Administration has honored dM as the Washington, DC Home Based Business Advocate of the Year.
She has been featured for her lifestyle and/or business expertise in dozens of books and national media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Washington Business Journal, the Chicago Tribune, ABC World News, National Public Radio, Entrepreneur magazine, Working Mother magazine and Ebony magazine and many others. dM is also a contributor to SmallBizTrends.com.
dM’s annual #INDIECruise encourages entrepreneurs to unplug from their day-to-day routines to connect and MasterMind in an intimate setting with like-minded entrepreneurs. On the cruise, dM provides workshops and opportunities for practical instruction to help entrepreneurs not only think but, but implement new ideas with confidence and style as they position their businesses for long-term success and growth.
Through IBN, dM has helped entrepreneurs around the world to discover, claim and maximize their ability to succeed, both in life and in business. dM’s accomplishments and unparalleled ability to lead and encourage people from all walks of life has established her as one of the leading small business experts today.
Combining Entrepreneurship and Family, Without Compromise
dM’s first hand experiences as a business woman and home manager have empowered her with the type of valuable insights that allow her to inspire and encourage women everywhere to become successful in family and business — without compromising either.
A native of Washington, DC, dM’s children, Brooks (age 
and Vanessa (age 10) are her chief motivators and her biggest cheerleaders. Their presence in all she does helps make her life both fun and fulfilling.
Learn more about coaching and mentoring with dM here.
Learn more about dM’s books and products here.
