Handmade Beauty Business Exchange

What is a Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchange?
How does a Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchange work?
Does it cost anything to join a Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchange?
What topics are discussed in Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchanges?
How can I join the September 8, 2005 Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchange?
How can I find out more?

What is a Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchange?

A Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchange is a telephone conference call where HBN members gather to brainstorm about various challenges associated with success in small business -- the handmade beauty business in particular of course! Our Brain Exchanges are dynamic problem solving events and all you need to do to participate is call a specially assigned telephone number to join in the discussion and get some timely solutions to the problems faced by everyone in our industry, from marketing and web design to selecting trade shows and manufacturing challenges -- and so much more! (You pay toll charges associated with placing the call to join the Brain Exchange. If you miss a Brain Exchange, they are available for download purchase at HBN's site. HBN members enjoy a discount of course.) Handmade Beauty Brain Exchanges take place on the First Thursday of every month and are announced in the Handmade Beauty Connection, HBN's weekly online newsletter.

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How does a Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchange Work?

HBN's Brain Exchanges are conference calls. HBN members call in using a special telephone number reserved especially for them. After entering a unique password, HBN members are entered into the conference call and can begin the process of collaborating to help each other address and solve common problems faced by members. Calls last no more than an hour. Our Brain Exchanges are great ways for members to get together and network, learn from one another and encourage one another. All Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchanges are recorded so that members who cannot make the Brain Exchange in person have an opportunity to benefit.

All Brain Exchanges take place from 2:00pm EST to 3:00pm EST. This is the time that best accommodates members from around the country.

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Does it cost anything to join a Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchange?

As an HBN member, you pay only the long distance charges associated with placing the conference call.

What topics are discussed in Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchanges?

In a word, anything and everything! Throughout the years, HBN members have relied on a variety of sources to help them be successful in business. Many of these sources consisted of books written by experts in various fields, the companies that supplied them with the ingredients and packaging supplies needed to make and sell products and others. Now that the handmade beauty business industry has grown and expanded, many wonderful resources are right here at our fingertips in our own midst! HBN has 450 members around the world, and I have worked with nearly every one of them in some capacity. In doing so, I have seen first hand the "magic" that happens when members begin to share experiences and problem solving tips. The Brain Exchanges facilitate these types of remarkable interactions.

To help make Brain Exchanges as efficient and cost effective as possible for everyone, we have implemented the following schedule of topics for 2005. (Please do not RSVP for a Brain Exchange until it is announced in the Handmade Beauty Connection.

July 8 (special date): Spreading The Word About Your Products
During this Brain Exchange, members will share and learn about how to get into retail stores. Whether you're looking to get into the local boutique in your town or a large natural chain store, come and enjoy the opportunity to think outside the box with other members, and help get your products out there!

August 4: How to be your own publicist!
During this Brain Exchange, members will share tips and tricks for doing their own publicity on a budget? Comes and share and learn how to land a feature in a woman's magazine, how to get your local radio or television station to do an interview on you, how to get your products into nationally and internationally known goody bags, how to write and distribute your own news releases and more. To RSVP, send an email with your business name in the body and AUGUST 4 BRAIN EXCHANGE in the subject line. In response, you will receive an email with the call-in information. If your RSVP does not contain your business name and the specified subject line, it will not be honored.

September 8: Balancing Life And Work. One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is, "How do you do it all?" Anyone who has asked me that question gets the same answer: "I don't. I do my best but I don't do it all." During this Brain Exchange, I and other members will share their everyday wisdom on managing life and business. Come and share and learn how other members balance work, family and personal issues, how to plan business around life (instead of the other way around), how to get to the point where the beauty business can totally replace the full-time job, how to work with small children underfoot, how to set up a production area without interrupting the family dinner space and more. To RSVP, send an email with your business name in the body and SEPTEMBER 8 BRAIN EXCHANGE in the subject line. In response, you will receive an email with the call-in information. If your RSVP does not contain your business name and the specified subject line, it will not be honored.

October 6: Putting together a winning product line. During this Brain Exchange, members will share and learn how they put together fantastic product lines, what they considered important and how they chose one type of product over another.

If you have a topic you'd like discussed in November and December, let us know!

How can I join the next Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchange?

Handmade Beauty Brain Exchanges take place on the First Thursday of every month and are announced in the Handmade Beauty Connection, HBN's weekly online newsletter. Once you RSVP that you plan to attend (see above), you will receive an email providing you with the call-in information and other details necessary to participate in the Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchange.

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How can I find out more?

If you have further questions about next Handmade Beauty Business Brain Exchange, you can send an email message to donnamaria@handmadebeauty.com.