On Friday afternoon, I’m boarding a plane headed for Ft. Lauderdale and the anticipation may be the death of me. From there, I’ll board a Royal Caribbean ship bound for Cozumel + Belize with 28 of my favorite entrepreneurs on the planet. Now in its third year, INDIEcruise is a mastermind session at sea, where I have the opportunity to rub elbows with some of the savviest women on the planet while sipping run-infused somethings on a beach. That formula is a recipe for success… but if you’re not on the ship, you’ll have to take my word for it (at least this year!). I recently interviewed Donna Maria Coles Johnson, our host for the event, who gave me the skinny on the affair to share with all of you!
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the stories from years past have become somewhat of a legend. There have been snorkeling trips in Cozumel, makeout session with stingrays in Grand Cayman, waterfall hikes in Jamaica, wobble contests in the ship’s disco, and even an tequila-infused tattoo session in Mexico (my hand to God’s- you can’t make this stuff up). I’ve met some of my best friends on this cruise and always look forward to seeing the new crop of faces (who return the next year, more often than not). This year, we’re bringing the largest group to date and two new souls have signed up for the party just this week. Bananas, yes? There are rumors of tubing through the caves of Belize and swanky beach clubs in Cozumel and all I can say is: “Yes, please.”
I’m particularly excited this year because I’m leading a 3-hour teaching designing to help entrepreneurs land their creative goods on store shelves. I looooove wholesale and I’ve landed Bella Lucce products on the shelves of 1000+ establishments from Los Angeles to Dubai and New York to Nairobi. My decade of experience in the wholesale world has enabled me to develop a set of techniques that I’m super-eager to share with my shipmates. I’m coming armed with oodles of worksheets for our breakout sessions and I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
I’ll be tweeting as I’m able, so consider this your invitation to the virtual party. I’m @LelaBarker on Twitter and there might be a few pics turning up at the Lucky Break Facebook, too. Bon voyage… see you soon!
