Donna Maria's Handmade Beauty Connection
March 8, 2004

 -->This Week's Sponsor <--

	ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S VACATION EXTRAVAGANZA During the Months of January thru April we will be having our biggest Customer appreciation bonus ever! Every order placed during this time will automatically receive bonus points. The customer with the highest number of bonus points, at the end of April, will receive an All Expense Paid Vacation to one of several fun destinations... New York City, San Francisco, Disneyland California, Las Vegas, Chicago, Mexico, Hawaii, or Washington DC. The great thing about this program is that everyone has a chance to go too. As not only will the one with the highest points win a trip but everyone else who earns at least 1000 bonus points. See website for details or be sure to read the flier that comes with your orders. Every hard working person deserves a break, let us help you take that break this year. Click here to start earning your points!     *SAVE* with OUR MARCH SPECIALS All HBN Members get 10% OFF Cosmetic Bases (Some Exceptions Apply). Join HBN today to start saving on your next purchase. ›Click here for our Cosmetic Bases. New Preservative System on ALL Cosmetic Bases: ›Click here for Details     New BABY BASE LINE! Mother Nature has the best stuff for Baby! Yet another great new addition to our growing assortment of natural bases. ›Click here to see this line now! GET READY FOR SPRING CLEANING with our terrific Natural Laundry & Household Cleaners. ›Click here for more info     Get additional savings! Click here to sign up for our newsletter     Essential Wholesale PH: (503) 722-7557 • FAX: (503) 296-5631 info@essentialwholesale.com

1. HBN Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!
2. Unleash The Power Of Your Beauty Business at dM's Beauty Business Boot Camp!
3. Handmade Beauty Recipe Of The Week: Bergamot Neroli Sugar Scrub
4. Beauty & The Business Trivia Question: win some delicious essential oil!
5. The Lifestyle CEO™: Are You Or Aren't You? That Is The Question! Part 2

Inner Sanctum Salon & Day Spa | Ricey Clapp | Maryland
* renewing member; a range of body treatments and spa services as part of an overall approach to wellness

RENEW body & spirit | Marueen Piziali | Massachusetts
* renewing member; natural body care products made with ingredients that are good for you and the environment

Women's Wellness | Johnetta Miner | New York
* renewing member; home spa products are packaged under the name of Lady Ja

Alabu Soap | Maryclaire Mayes | New York
* renewing member; quality handmade soap made from pure goats milk and rich natural moisturizers

Angelique Skin Care, LLC | Connie Patti | Michigan
* renewing member; products made from only natural ingredients, including food grade preservatives

Country Meadow Creations | Colleen Johnston | South Carolina
* renewing member; high quality ingredients, high quality products, and reasonable prices

Canterbury Cabin Handcrafted Soaps | Lorrie Beach | New York
* renewing member; Spa Essentials Collection, Canterbury Bath & Body Collection and Natural Toiletries Collection

Na Praia | Michelle Gorman | Texas
* renewing member; handmade, all natural bath and body products, distributed primarily through direct distribution

Pooka | Dawn Fitch | New Jersey
* handmade body products including bath and body oils in fragrances from Guava Juice to Vanilla Sand

1. Branding Your Business: How To Maximize A Key Competitive Advantage
2. Using An Email Newsletter To Promote, Market & Grow Your Business
3. How To Get Inexpensive Media Attention For Your Business
4. FDA Regulation: Get Answers To Your Pressing Regulatory Questions

Only $180 for all 4 information packed workshops, held March 27, 2004. Includes valuable networking opportunities! Don't miss this chance to benefit from business growth tips and camaraderie with fellow entrepreneurs!

Early Bird Registration closes Friday, February 20 and will not be available at the door!
HBN Members Enjoy Discount!!

Spaces are limited so sign up early to reserve your spot! Sponsored by Kim Lutz Isenhour of Lutzy's Lather! To register, click here or email Kim at LutzysLather@msn.com or (717) 226-1530. Register online, by phone or by email!

Last Week's Question: A great book on personal financial planning is written by an author who coined an interesting phrase to describe how the repeated purchase of inexpensive items like latte, bagels and cappuccino can slowly chip away at our finances and eventually rob us of our freedom since, if we invested those small amounts of money instead, we'd be rich. To win this week, state the phrase, the name of the book and its author.

Last Week's Answer: The Latte Factor; Smart Women Finish Rich; David Bach

Be the first to correctly answer this week's question and win some delicious essential oil from my private stock!

Please read the contest rules here before submitting your entry. Put "TRIVIA CONTEST ANSWER" in the subject line or your answer will not be considered.

While time does not permit me to respond personally to all entrants, the winner's name will be announced in the next newsletter!

\Life.Style CEO\n.  A person who owns and manages a business, not solely for financial gain, but also to enjoy the personal rewards of entrepreneurship, independence, flexibility and fun.

Last week, we examined the importance of flexibility for the Lifestyle CEO. If you missed that article, you can enjoy it here. This week, we take a look at the important role played by family and friends.

A Lifestyle CEO Surrounds Herself With Supportive Family Members & Friends

I have worked with several small business owners who sadly report that it is their friends and family members who are the most likely saboteurs of their business goals. Sometimes the motive is jealousy. Other times, it's heartfelt concern that business owners will get in "over their heads" and be stuck with barely enough resources to support themselves, not to mention the business. Whatever the case, if you are to thrive as a Lifestyle CEO, you'll want to be sure to surround yourself with positive people who can uplift you when you're down and celebrate with you when you're up. Here are some tips.

1. Make Sure Your Spouse Or Significant Other Is On Board. In my life, I have observed business people who started their ventures with the support of their spouse or significant other and I have observed people who started their ventures in the face of great opposition from their spouses. Of course, those closest to us should have our best interests at heart so unless your spouse is a known saboteur or a negative "nay sayer" (see Point #3 below), you should pay close attention to what they think and do some serious soul searching before launching anything they are not in favor of. The reason for this simple: you will need their help at 3:00am. If they are not on board with your business venture, they are not likely to help you package products before dawn or keep the kids quiet so you can complete a professional call with a potential new wholesale customer. The best thing to do is to put your business venture down on paper in outline form for your partner so s/he can see exactly what is involved. Often times even the most skeptical person will buy into an idea if they see that you have thought it through in a thorough fashion. Provide your spouse with a periodic update of how things are going so they can remain abreast of developments and are not broad-sided with unexpected financial needs and the like. The attitude and assistance of a supportive partner can make or break a small business ... or it can make or break a relationship. So do everything you can to make sure that your partner is excited about your business. You'll find that their enthusiasm will go a long way toward providing you with the emotional support you need to make things work.

2. Select A Few Trusted "Sounding Boards" To Be Your Advisors. Make sure you have trusted counselors. And not just trusted counselors, but wise and objective ones. As pointed out above, you will need the support of your partner, but that person will not always be objective when you need it most. Your emotional sanity will take a nose dive if you don't make sure there are wise people in your life who can advise you in an objective fashion. My most trusted advisors have saved by mental life on numerous occasions. One is a professional soapmaker who has made a profitable business out of selling her soaps at retail while holding down a full time job. While she could support herself making and selling her soap, she is also a rabid planner who has not yet seen the financial wisdom of giving up her day job. This woman is a "voice of financial reason." Another advisor is the woman who introduced me to the art of soapmaking 10 years ago. I have seen her in person only once in my life but she is one of the wisest women I know and she plans everything, I mean everything. This woman is my "voice of look before you leap."

My favorite sounding board is my younger brother. Every time I have an idea for a new venture, or a notion to change an existing one, he's there to ask me all the right questions. He's an incredibly cautious person (taking far too long in my opinion to do ANYthing!), but he can cut to the heart of an idea in no time flat. A few weeks ago, I sat down at his kitchen table to share a fantastic new business idea about which I was really excited. In about 30 seconds, he had calculated in his head that the chance that my new business would be a financial flop was about 100%. He explained his reasoning to me, after which time I pouted, frowned, told him he was right, and left the table. Having my brother and people like him to give me good advice does not excuse me from analyzing things myself, but it sure does help to have their input ... and they have saved my rear end more times than I like to admit.