Donna Maria

Design your perfect lifestyle business!

Donna Maria Short Bio

Donna Maria is The Lifestyle CEO™.

She is an attorney, author, blogger, podcaster, and the founder and CEO of the Indie Business Network, the Internet’s first continuously operating for-profit recurring revenue subscription-based membership business. She has been featured in several media outlets including Entrepreneur, Working Woman, ABC World News, Forbes.com, Global Cosmetics Industry, and others. Recognized by Black Enterprise Magazine as “one of the blogosphere’s best,” Donna Maria is an entrepreneur mentor certified by the US Small Business Administration’s SCORE Program. Having trained hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs, Donna Maria is a highly sought after keynote speaker who has been described as a “doula for small business owners.”

As The Lifestyle CEO™, Donna Maria’s main focus is on helping people build a freedom-based online recurring revenue membership business so they can enjoy what she calls The Ultimate Trifecta™ of a joyful life, profitable business, and a meaningful legacy.

A proud native of Washington, DC, Donna Maria divides her time between that city and her adopted hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Donna Maria Full Bio

Twenty-five years ago, Donna Maria’s boss at a Washington, DC law firm gave her a $75,000 raise. While grateful, all she could think of was how that salary increase meant that the firm truly OWNED her. This was Donna Maria’s moment of truth.

A few months later, she quit her job to start a freedom-based online recurring revenue membership business — the first continuously operating one on the Internet, by the way! — the Indie Business Network. Today, Donna Maria enjoys financial freedom, and location independence. She lives her dream life and works her dream business, and she can help you do the same!

Donna Maria an entrepreneur mentor certified by the US Small Business Administration’s SCORE Program. She has been described as a doula to small business owners, and has been featured in several media outlets including Entrepreneur, Working Woman, ABC World News, Forbes.com, Global Cosmetics Industry, and others.

A prolific writer, blogger, and podcaster, Donna Maria is the author of Making Aromatherapy Creams and Lotions, the editor of the Indie Business Blog, and the host and producer of the Indie Business Podcast. A former attorney at a Fortune 500 company who once owned and managed her own law firm, she consults frequently with entrepreneurs and small business owners to help them build a business around a well-designed life so they can enjoy what she calls she calls The Ultimate Trifecta™ of a joyful life, profitable business, and a meaningful legacy.

She has spoken at or guest lectured at dozens of conferences, gatherings, and educational institutions including at the Morehouse College Entrepreneurship Conference, the North Carolina Natural Products Association Conference, the United States Lavender Growers Association Conference, the Conference of the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetics Guild, the QCity Metro Women Thrive Conference, the Central Soapers Workshop, the Regional Meeting of Mocha Mom’s, Inc., the North Carolina Natural Products Association,  the Tennessee Soap and Candle Meeting, the International Natural Hair Meetup Day, Whole Foods Market, the Vitamin Shoppe, the Blogging While Brown Conference, the Come Celebrate Lavender Conference, and more.

Donna Maris is a graduate of the University of South Carolina’s acclaimed School of Journalism and Public Relations and the Catholic University School of Law’s Telecommunications and New Technologies Program, where she was selected after a rigorous competition to serve on the prestigious Catholic University Law Review.

She is a frequent traveler, often to meet and train her beloved Indie Business Network members who live and work in all 50 states and Canada. You can keep up with Donna Maria and get to know her better by subscribing to her  weekly Lifestyle CEO Newsletter and by following her on Instagram.

Why I Do What I Do

While I love entrepreneurship and the benefits it provides, it is not the most important thing in my life. That position belongs to my family.

While my business is virtual, I believe strongly in contributing my my local community. Among others, I am a member of several entrepreneurial organizations in my local community including Union County Entrepreneurs, Union County Chamber of Commerce and the Charlotte Area Association of Black Journalists. I am also a contributing editor to the award winning local publication, QCity Metro, an online news partner with the Charlotte Observer.

I currently reside with my family in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Oh, and one more thing about me …

I love to travel …

 

One reason I left corporate America to become a Lifestyle CEO is that I could not travel when I wanted to. While having children in a traditional school system puts somewhat of a damper on that, I still enjoy hosting fun events and experiences, and I integrate much of my travel into my business so I can simultaneously enjoy the best of both worlds.

I travel to US cities I love for mastermind meetings and to deliver live entrepreneurial trainings. Since 2011, I have hosted entrepreneur retreats on islands like Belize, Cancun, Jamaica, St. Thomas, Haiti, Cozumel, Turks + Caicos, Aruba and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Earlier this year, we remained stateside for the retreat in Florida. Despite the pandemic, we still managed to have a great time. This picture is of me and the skipper on my 2017 retreat on board a private chartered catamaran in Ixtapa, Mexico.

Oh, and I almost forgot the most important thing …

I love my life …

I love what I do. I help women do what I have done (here’s the story): build the perfect lifestyle business for them — one that is centered around the idea that you can Enjoy Your Life, Build Your Business, and Have Your Way! My favorite thing about doing this work is that I get to help women create business models that are profitable and allow them to enjoy the benefits of  freedom, flexibility and fun. I love helping people build community around a brand. I love that my work allows me to build lasting and meaningful relationships with women entrepreneurs from all walks of life.

In addition to building my own leadership skills like nothing else can, entrepreneurship also facilitates the cultivation of priceless relationships. I’ve met and fallen in love with some of my best friends as a direct result of my business. I value relationships and experiences over things, and I am especially blessed that my business deliver things that I value way more than money.

If you feel similarly, I would love to get to know you better virtually.

What to do next …

Here are a few things you can do next to connect with me:

It’s so nice to meet you, and I look forward to connecting and getting to know you and your business!

Best and success!