Liz, I’m thrilled to have you, a savvy entrepreneur and mom grace our blog. I don’t think Liz Lange Maternity needs much introduction– most of our mom readers know this well-known, fantastic brand. I loved my Liz Lange Maternity clothes when I was pregnant- comfort, style, affordability. Please tell us the story of how Liz Lange Maternity was born.

I never intended to be a fashion designer or an entrepreneur. I graduated from Brown with a BA in Comparative Literature. And after working at Vogue for a few years, I left to go work for a struggling fashion designer whose work I admired. While there, and in my 20s, my friends started to get pregnant (I myself was not pregnant, but I was newly married and it was that time in my life.) They all had the same complaint– that they couldn’t find anything that they liked to wear while pregnant (This was 1996 – maternity apparel landscape was very, very different!)

I noticed 2 things that led to my aha moment: my friends were spending (they had no choice, nothing in their closets fit!)  So I knew that pregnant women were definitely spending on their maternity wardrobes, and they were spending on items they didn’t like. And two, that they looked much better when squeezed into a stretch tight non-maternity outfit than in an oversized traditional maternity outfit. So I thought, “I get it, maternity clothing needs to be fitted and stretchy and women will buy it because they will like it and they will actually look great.”

Believe it or not, stretch fabric was new to the market place in the mid 90s, so my idea was to create a line based entirely on stretch fabrics. Today we take it for granted that everything from our jeans to our jackets stretches, but back then only sweaters and tee shirts stretched.

Liz Lange Maternity

I didn’t consider myself a designer, so I excitedly told the fashion designer I was working for at the time, that I had the idea that would save his business. He didn’t get it (actually no one did, because maternity clothing as fashion wasn’t even a category back then.) I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind and finally realized that I had to do it. I left and started a tiny made-to-order business mostly for friend.  But word spread quickly, and the business grew beyond my wildest dreams.

Liz Lange Maternity

Liz Lange Maternity

Was it something you knew early on would take off? What pitfalls did you encounter along the way. What were the challenges and how did you overcome them? And for a woman thinking of starting her own business, what would be some advice you would give her?

I did believe it was a good idea but no, I never expected that one day I would have Liz Lange flagship stores on Madison Avenue, in Beverly Hills and in Long Island. Or that I would dress every pregnant celebrity or that I would partner with Nike to make Liz Lange for Swoosh maternity athletic apparel and then partner with Target (Liz Lange for Target is and has been the exclusive maternity offerings at every Target location and Target.com for the past decade.)

But of course there were challenges along the way. The greatest was just having the courage to start my own business! What I now know that I didn’t know then, was that before someone does something new, no one ever thinks it’s a good idea. You need to have the strength to shut out the naysayers, and proceed with your idea in the face of a lot of negativity. That is just the plight of the entrepreneur since you are seeing the invisible. The other challenge is that the negative forces are not just external. As women, we seem hardwired sometimes to doubt ourselves and be overly critical of ourselves. You need to be your own best friend and cheerleader. Seek out advice.

Before I started Liz Lange Maternity, I reached out to anyone and everyone whom I could think of that I thought could be helpful in any way. I offered to come to their office, take them to coffee, lunch, dinner, whatever just for the chance to pick their brains. Don’t be shy, people are for the most part happy to help. I know that I am always thrilled if I can offer advice to a new entrepreneur in the making.

Get the word out about your new business. This is not the time to be shy or extravagant. You can’t afford a marketing person/Publicity agent at the beginning. You need to call the magazines, editors, writers, etc. to try to get press on what you are doing (no one can tell your story more compellingly than you can), and with social media today, there is no excuse not to be out there shouting about your new company from the rooftops!

Many mompreneurs wrestle with the decision of partner, or no partner. The idea of having another person to share the rewards with, but also the burdens with, can be very helpful. Do you suggest women should find a partner when starting their own business?

To have a partner or not to have one is an extremely personal decision. I decided to go it alone as I felt the idea was mine and I wanted full ownership and control. That said, the RIGHT partner, someone who has a skill set complementary to yours can be fantastic.

What were some of the highs and fun moments in your life and career? What were some of those highlights and the moments where you really got to enjoy your success?

Personally, of course the birth of my son (now 13) and my daughter (now 11) were the happiest days of my life. I have loved every second of being an entrepreneur. Steve Jobs once said “There is no greater rush than being in the small boat. You feel every wave and every bump, and you can change course on a dime.” I have loved feeling every bump.

I guess some of my favorite moments in no particular order, were the first write up about my new business, which was in the NY Times when I was still just making clothing to order out of a closet sized office. And when Nike called and said they wanted to partner with me on a line of maternity athletic apparel. And then when Target asked me to be their maternity design partner. Of course opening my first flagship boutique in my hometown of NYC on our most famous shopping street, Madison Avenue was incredible. And doing the first ever maternity fashion show at Bryant Park during NY’s fashion week back in 2001 was a real high. Doing the Oprah show as amazing. And then having offers to sell my brand and ultimately selling it in 2007 felt like a big accomplishment.

Liz Lange on The Oprah Show

How do you balance career and womanhood? Any tricks you care to share with our readers on how to manage the juggle?

I am always juggling and it is never easy. I try to prioritize and be as present as I can be, wherever I am. So if I’m with my children, I try to really be with them (and not on my blackberry or thinking about work) and when I am at work, I try to just focus on that.

Believe me, I am often on my Blackberry when I shouldn’t be, or dashing out of a meeting late to pick up the kids somewhere. My best time saving trick is to plan what I am going to wear to work the evening before (kind of like how we lay out our kids’ clothes to avoid stress in the morning.) I also try and keep my top beauty products out on my bathroom vanity so that everything is in sight, and very streamlined.

I know I wrestled with the right moment to sell my company. When did you know? How did you know? Was there a defining moment?

Selling a business is a bit like starting a business– I am not sure that you will ever feel that the time is right! You just have to follow your gut and do what feels right. For me, it was getting an offer that made sense to me at the time, and that would allow me to monetize the success of the brand. I also felt that my children were getting older and I wanted to be able to spend more time with them. These decisions are so personal.

Selling a business is very bittersweet. At least for me it was. The business was my baby (actually my first baby as I started it before my children were born.) I can’t imagine not being involved with it, so although I sold it, I stayed on, and remain the face of the brand and the Creative Director.

Tell us about your latest venture Shopafrolic.com. Do you ever stop creating, Liz?

One of the nice things about selling my business, was that it did free up some of my time and allow me to pursue some other creative ventures. Working with my talented, beautiful and chic sister had always been a dream of mine and now I could. Together we started a fun shopping e-newsletter called Shopafrolic.com.

Each day, we email a clothing, accessory or beauty item that we love and we do a ‘she said, she said’ on how to wear it, why we like it, etc… We link to where you can buy it and we often do a “separated at worth,” where we pair the item with one that looks just like it but is either much more or much less expensive.

I also started my first ever NON maternity clothing line, Completely Me by Liz Lange, which I sell exclusively on air and online at the Home Shopping Network, HSN.com.

I love to ask my interviewees.. What are the top 3 things on your Bucket List?

Hmm, bucket list, so much I still want to do!

1. Travel as much as possible with my children, I want them to see everything! I am a ‘life is a buffet’ type person.

2. Write a book about my story and entrepreneurism in general.

3. Start a jewelry line. I LOVE jewelry…

–

I would love to know your thoughts. Isn’t Liz a dynamo? I think she also gave us some sage advice on business startup. Feel free to leave Liz a comment or question… she’ll be reading!

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends.

xoxEDxox 

Other articles you might enjoy:

• Making Your Passion Your Paycheck
• The New Moonlighting – Starting Your Own Company While Keeping Your Day Job
• Being A MOMpreneur Is Big Business
• ANNOUNCEMENT: Erica Diamond Brand Ambassador for RetailMeNot.com
• The Disillusionment of an Entrepreneur

By Guest Blogger Francesca Perrini

I was living the dream: a six-figure income, beach vacations, plenty of time off to cultivate my hobbies, and a growing savings account, all before I was 25.

And then we got divorced, and I woke up to the fact that half of us had no job security, no career trajectory, no savings, and basically no idea. Yes, you guessed it. My half. I had never so much as opened a bank account by myself.

Though my ex was fair to me when we split up the money (in the proportions that we had each earned it, which added up to about a 70-30 split), I quickly ran through what he had transferred into my new checking account as I moved from apartment to apartment and nursed my wounds with treats I couldn’t afford (clothes, nights out with the girls, weekend jaunts to San Juan).

Then, after spending weeks carefully selecting my first credit card (I remember it like yesterday– the ‘AmEx Blue Cash,’ no annual fee, 1% back on everything, 5% back on some stuff), I made a major rookie mistake:

I thought that by putting everything on my card, I would be making tons of free money. (The word “cash” is literally printed on the card–what could go wrong?) What I didn’t count on was losing track of my cash flow and spending way more than I was earning. I ended up paying my bills by drawing from my savings account.

Eventually the money just ran out, and it became frighteningly clear that I had to adapt to my new reality.

It was hard to admit that someone as smart as me (oh, go on) could be so clueless when it came to money, but (of course) admitting it was the first step toward recovery. I didn’t exactly freeze my credit card, but I did hand it to a friend. That way if I ever really needed it in an emergency, it was there, but it wasn’t there when I wanted to go on health and beauty shopping sprees at Duane Reade or completely unnecessary trips to H&M.

Did I mention I was also laid off in the middle of all of this? Yeah. But by some strange serendipity, I quickly landed a new job at a personal finance start-up, which solved two problems: income and education. I read personal finance books (like “The WSJ Complete Money & Investing Guidebook”) and blogs (like Get Rich Slowly) in order to prepare for my job, but I was really learning by practicing with my own meager assets.

With a lot of support from my new colleagues, and help from online resources and tools like Mint.com, I made a plan that allowed me to pay off my credit card and start saving a little each month. I spent a lot of time researching and found higher-yield accounts. I opened my first brokerage account and purchased my first stock – three whole shares of it! I even asked for (and received) a raise.

Even though I was still pretty poor, I was suddenly optimistic about the future. It was like watching myself grow up – things that were once foreign became familiar, and things that were hard became easy. I was proud of myself as I watched my emergency fund grow from two weeks’ worth of expenses to three months’. I was joyful when I purchased my first CD. And I was triumphant when I realized that I had survived the hardest year of my life–on my own.

Though my heart didn’t recover as steadily as my finances did, I began to feel the pleasure of taking ownership of my life. How we women are stronger than we ever imagine possible, all when tested.

If you’re wondering how I went from broke to unbroken, here are a few tips. Here’s how to avoid incompetent princess syndrome:

1. Get a job. A career, rather. Even if you’re living the stay-at-home dream right now, you may not always have the desire (or luxury) to do so.
2. Respect money. Learning how to budget and spend intentionally won’t just make you richer–it will make you smarter.
3. Ask for help when you’re in trouble. Although I didn’t, I probably could have saved my stressed-out self a lot of money if I had asked my parents to step in and help me take control.
4. Have faith in yourself. It takes time and effort to climb out of a financial hole. But if you’re trying, hang in there–you’re on the right track.
5. Don’t go through with the wedding if you have a dream about living in a prison guarded by your spouse and his family (true story)!

It’s painful to learn that only one person really has your back in life—and that’s you. But the experience of growing from half of a couple to one whole person forced me to take responsibility for myself, to care for myself, and, finally, to love myself. From there, the sky was the limit.

—-

About Francesca Perrini…

Francesca Perrini is a pseudonym for a DailyWorth.com employee who wished to remain anonymous.

DailyWorth.com is a community of women who talk money. They deliver practical tips, inspiring ideas, and the occasional kick in the pants…daily to your inbox! DailyWorth.com was started as a way to give women key insights into building real net worth. DailyWorth stands out as the go-to source about personal finance for smart, ambitious women. Since its inception in January 2009, DailyWorth has garnered 250,000+ subscribers and a stream of media appearances, including New York Times, Forbes, and USA Today. It’s founder Amanda Steinberg has also written for WomenOnTheFence.com.

—

Tell us, are you guilty about knowing too little about money or your current financial situation? Have you ever suffered from the same syndrome as Francesca? Do you control the finances in your household, or does your partner? Do you know little about your current financial situation? If so, does this scare you? This is a place where women share and help each other. Feel free to comment anonymously.  

Happy Monday.

xoxEDxox

Other articles you might enjoy:

• My Weight Watchers Inspired Money Diet
• Joy, Despair, Hope and Healing

Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, was just named the youngest self-made billionaire by Forbes Magazine. Yes, SELF-MADE BILLIONAIRE. No trust fund. No rich husband. All on her own. Unfrikkinreal.

HERE’S MY CONFESSION TO YOU LADIES:

When I see Sara Blakely, I am triggered.

Our lives are parallel - up until the Billion Dollar List part of course!

Sara Blakely, founder of a hosiery company. Me, founder of a promotional products company.

She bombed the LSAT. I bombed the GMAT.

That failure made her rethink her life. That failure made me rethink my life.

She founded her company in 2000. I founded my company in 1999.

She started her company with $5000.00. I started my company with $5000.00.

She’s inspired by Oprah Winfrey and Richard Branson. I’m inspired by Oprah Winfrey and Richard Branson.

She is growing her company around the world today. I sold my company in 2006 to be a mom.

SCREEEEECH!!! BREAKS ON!!!

And my confession?

I sometimes wonder where I’d be if I hadn’t. I don’t believe in regrets, but when I see Sara Blakely, she gets my business juices flowing and she inspires me to up my game.

She makes me wonder, WHAT IF?

WHAT IF I hadn’t traded my successful company for motherhood?

What if?

I’ll never know.

–

Watch this rockstar:

I’d love to know, did you ever give up a career for motherhod? Did you ever throw in the towel on something great? Have you ever had any regrets or second guessed yourself? Have you ever wondered, WHAT IF? 

xoxEDxox

Other articles you might enjoy:

• There Is No Better Time Than NOW To Take The Plunge…
• Wordless Wednesday: A Dream Meeting With Arianna Huffington
• The Disillusionment of an Entrepreneur
• The Liz Lange Interview: Her Maternity Empire, Motherhood, and More
• 23 Secrets To Improve Your Life

If you follow this blog, you know that I go after what I want. With RELENTLESS DETERMINATION. There is an interview I’ve wanted for some time. It was Craig. THE Craig, founder of craigslist (who nicely corrected my spelling of CraigsList, explaining it should be written in all lower-case). The way he spells craigslist and his newest initiative, craigconnects, is just so very Craig- understated, modest, simple.  When I interviewed him, I kept challenging him for more MEAT, more stories, more guts, for all my women who love details. But I learned something from Craig. Sometimes, less is more. He’s concise, and precise. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t all heart. Cuz he is. When I blamed my demand for more ‘meat’ on the battle of the sexes… that women are ‘oversharers’ and men are ‘undersharers,’ he told me, “that’s all I got.” So, in the words of my uncle who always tells his daughters to “land the plane” when they go off on a tangent, enjoy this simple, but powerful interview from a remarkable entrepreneur and do-gooder in this universe, Craig Newmark.

As an entrepreneur myself since the age of 24, I am fascinated by people who have a vision, and who successfully bring that vision to human beings around the globe. It seems only fitting that Craig should be here.

Without further ado…

Craig, I have been a long-time user of craigslist and have made quite a bit of spare change selling my old high chairs, baby carseats and strollers! What a great site and concept. Tell us how the idea was born, and why do you think craigslist became as successful as it did? It seems an easy enough concept to copy. What made it so unique?

Well, in ’94 I was at Charles Schwab & Co., showing people the Internet and suggesting we’d do business that way someday.  Also, I saw a lot of people helping each other out.

In ’95, early, it seemed time for me to give back, and I started a simple arts and technology events mailing list. Also, I solicited feedback, and did something with that feedback. We continue that ask/act cycle to this very day.

What seems to make craigslist work is our deal about “doing well by doing good,” and by providing a platform where people can help others with everyday basic stuff. That starts with helping get a job and a home, and goes from there.

The “doing well by doing good” thing is unique in our area, as far as I can tell.

Your bio on Twitter says, “Customer service rep and founder for craigslist.” Either you’re a very humble man, or I’m not sure what! Tell us what craigslist means to you today, and tell us more about your newest initiative, craigconnects.org.

I earn my living wage by being a Customer Service Representative.  Haven’t coded software at all this millennium, so it’s really that simple.

craigslist does serve as a platform where people help each other for the basics, and also, shows people that the Internet is good for mutual support. I do feel pretty good about that.

In the short term, craigconnects is about me standing up for people who do really good work in areas I believe in.  Some of these are helping vets and military families, back-to-basics journalism and factchecking, open government, consumer protection, and technology for the public good.  I just did a long blog post on our craigconnects.org website talking about what we’ve done in the past year.

craigconnects, in the long term, is my attempt at figuring out how to get everyone to work together for the common good. My deal is that the Internet will provide a number of platforms for making that happen.

I’m giving twenty years to that effort.

Tell us about your thoughts on keeping the Internet free. I know you have a strong voice on this matter. This has been quite a hot topic lately with SOPA.

SOPA was about shutting down web sites at the whims of the powerful, often to suppress free speech. Free speech is a big part of what a “free Internet” is about.

We need to prevent bad legislation from preventing people from helping each other out. SOPA was about that.

More importantly, the SOPA thing was a wakeup call for the Internet community, and we’re realizing that we need to work together to stop similar malicious efforts.

As an entrepreneur named ‘Time Magazine’s Top 25 Most Influential People on the Web’ what 3 tips would you share with someone who wants to start their own business, online or other? Many of our readers are wannabe entrepreneurs and mompreneurs. What do you feel makes for a great recipe for business success?

1. Well, I figure people should treat others like they want to be treated, which translates into serious customer service.
2. Realize that you can’t make everyone happy.
3. Do something real, and keep it simple.

When are you the happiest?

When I feel like I’m deeply engaged with what I should be doing with my life.

I do love playing with babies, see the photos of Charlie and me on Facebook.

What do you make of all this social media madness and online explosion? What’s real and what’s hyped and falsely inflated?

I think it’s real and effective when done well. However, there are people professing social media expertise who lack it, yet they’re billing hours for it.  People need to reality test, and also to stay the course.

And finally, I often ask in my interviews, what is on your Bucket List?

I don’t really have one. I’m tired.

–

About Craig Newmark, in his own words…

I’m Craig Newmark.

Here’s the first thing: I’m not as funny as I think I am, but sometimes I can’t help myself.

I was born in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1952. Right now I live in SF. There are other places I think about living, but San Francisco and I seem to be a pretty good fit at the moment.

When I went to college I was going to study physics, but instead I got into computers. I had a lot of hair back then. And just like you’d expect I wore a plastic pocket protector and thick black glasses that were taped together. I earned my Bachelors and Masters in Computer Science from Case Western Reserve University. I was and will always be a nerd.

I was with IBM for 17 years, and then worked for GM, Bank of America, and Charles Schwab until the late 1990s.

In 1995 I started helping my friends out by putting stuff together online about events in San Francisco. That project became craigslist – but who knew? Now we’re one of the 10 most-visited English language web platforms on the planet. Really not because of me, I’m really bad at business stuff, but because at least I was smart enough to hire Jim Buckmaster to run the biz and I mostly got out of the way.

See, most people assume I run craigslist, but I don’t. It’s run by a small group of very smart people who have stayed loyal to the idea that it should be simple, fast, mostly free, and “bottom-up” oriented. I’ve been involved, of course. I’ve done customer service from the beginning and am committed to it forever. It keeps me anchored to reality. Beyond that, I’ve learned a lot that can be applied to the common good and I’m doing that on craigconnects.

I don’t expect to be a “leader” with this thing. I’d rather be a builder. I’d like to build a way for people doing good work to connect, to learn from each other, protect each other, and then I want to get out of their way.

I hope you’ll join in and help. Thanks!

–

So ladies! I’d love to know what you think. Feel free to leave Craig a comment as well. He’ll be reading. Happy Friday, my friends.

xoxEDxox

Other articles you might enjoy:

• Wordless Wednesday: What is SOPA Blackout?

Whenever March 12th rolls around (my husband’s birthday), I always know it’s time for me to take stock of my life. It’s the time I start sweeping out the cobwebs; literally and figuratively. Winter’s snow melts away, and all the things you have been ignoring in your life, start to present themselves again. Aaah, I forgot about you! Spring is a great time to deal with these things head-on.  And that’s not a bad thing– spring is about rebirth, renewal, regeneration.

Because March 12th, my husband’s birthday, always reminds me of this ‘life spring cleaning,’  I wanted to take a moment to honor him today. Here is a video I made for my hubby last year on Father’s Day. Hilly Diamond, enjoy this. Thank you for always being so close by my side. I love you now and forever.

And now, back to spring. Spring is a chance to clean up your house, literally and figuratively. There’s more to house cleaning than just cleaning out your basement and cedar closet.  You should be approaching your spring cleaning as an emotional cleanse, just as much as a physical cleanse. What dust-balls are lurking in the corner in your life?? Gotta clean up, ladies!

Here are some tips to get you off the fence, and start spring cleaning your life:

• Sweep out the old. We all have garbage in our lives we need to get rid of, from bad habits, to negative personality traits, to toxic relationships.   If you’ve been carrying around all this crap, it’s time to open the door, and sweep it out of your life.
• Wash away procrastination. Do you constantly find yourself behind the 8 ball, trying to catch up, and keep up? Plan ahead. No more putting off tomorrow what you can do today. Look at your calendar and get organized! Procrastination leads to stress, and who wants added stress in their life? Stop waiting until the last minute for everything. I am often guilty of this, but I’m working on it.
• Dust off that attitude! Instead of always moping about what you DON’T have, be grateful for what you DO have! We’re all guilty of sometimes letting our attitudes get the best of us. A positive attitude is a must. Get outside for a walk, or head to the gym. It often refocuses us. Things often don’t look as bad once you’ve regrouped.
• Clean up your finances. Do you have unopened bills sitting on your desk? Are you falling behind in your payments? It’s not too late. Now’s the time to be proactive. Sit down, close the door, and start cleaning up your desk and your finances! Seek financial advice if you’re too overwhelmed to start making a change alone. Make a list of priorities and tackle them one at a time. Living with financial concerns is a reality for most everyone, but there are ways you can improve your finances and get them in check.
• Clean Up Your Marriage. Do you feel the lines of communication have broken down in your relationship? If so, this needs to be attended to pronto. Ask a parent or friend to take your kids, and make a date with your significant other. Reconnect. TALK. Discuss the issues that have been tearing you apart. There is no better time than now to clean up your relationship and work toward a more blissful marriage. Come to think of it, our date night last Saturday night was the first time we were alone in over a month. We were due.
• Start small. If you’re so overwhelmed like most people are when it comes to spring cleaning your house and your life, START SMALL! Make a list of everything that bothers you, and that needs attending to. Both in your house and your life. A great idea is to get rid of one thing per week on your list. As your start to cross those things off your list, you’ll start to feel lighter. Also, on a house cleaning note: THINK BEFORE YOU BUY. Do you really need that extra WHATEVER??

So ladies, spring is almost in the air! The flowers are on their way. Clean up your house. Clean up your life. Make a list, and get started. What are you waiting for?

Tell us, what’s on your spring cleaning ‘to-do’ list? Putting it out there holds you accountable and keeps you on track.

xoxEDxox

Other articles you might enjoy:

• 10 Tips To Spring Clean Your Body
• Spring Cleaning

It might seem as though I’m working my way through the Real Housewives circuit, but in essence, my interviews are always to teach and inspire, you my audience.

To my readers, including the budding female entrepreneurs out there, enjoy my interview with entrepreneur and TV star Ramona Singer. This woman is right up my alley. We chatted on the phone and literally, within 25 minutes, I had everything I needed. She talks fast, she thinks fast, and well, Ramona really just GETS IT.

Today is Ramona’s birthday. Happy birthday to you. Here goes, ladies…

Ramona, can you tell us a little bit about your business and how you got started, notably your skincare line TruRenewal, your jewelry line Ramona Singer Jewelry for HSN, True Faith Jewelry,  and Ramona Pinot Grigio? This is a place where many entrepreneurs come to get inspired and educated.  I read that your father gave you a $70,000 loan when you were 29 years old to start your own business, and you paid it back, with interest, in one month.

I was witness of domestic violence growing up. I would constantly ask my mother, “Why are you married? Why don’t you leave Dad?” Her answer to me was always the same, “I had no money, I got pregnant, and I have 4 kids, where am I going? Promise me Ramona, you will always make your own money. Become successful in your own right, so God forbid your marriage goes south, you can walk out the door.”

That was my message growing up.  I have been on my own since 19 years old, and put myself through college.

Yes, what you read is true.  I was 29 when I started my own business. I called my dad, who was a very smart man, an engineer at IBM, and told him my business idea. I actually think I got my brains from him. I had an idea and was looking for a partner with startup capital. My dad said to me, “You don’t need any partners in life. How much money do you need?” I told him I needed $70,000 to get my business off the ground.  My dad cashed out $70,000 from his retirement savings and lent me the money so I wouldn’t have to have any partners.  I paid him back with interest, in one month.

From there, began my journey of all my businesses, four in total, TruRenewal, Ramona Singer Jewelry for HSN, True Faith Jewelry, and Ramona Pinot Grigio. I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, because I wanted flexibility in my life. I wanted to have it all- motherhood, marriage, career, and owning my own business gave me that flexibility. Owning your own business lets you work around your own schedule, make your own hours, and there’s no ceiling to your financial ability. I always knew that working for a corporation meant 8-8, missing birthday parties, missing school plays, and special moments.

I believe women today can absolutely have it all – and we can be happy too.  The way to do that, is to follow your passion and to never take no for an answer. Passion breeds success.

Alright, since you’re the second Real Housewife I’ve interviewed on WomenOnTheFence.com, tell us about your journey on the Real Housewives of New York, and how it came to be. We have read about all the feuds. What is fact, what is fiction, and would you like to clarify anything? Also, can you give us a clue on the upcoming season?

I will continue doing the show as long as I enjoy it, and I do. I originally did it as an opportunity to promote our website www.truefaithjewelry.com. My husband was in the jewelry business, and I knew that in order to succeed in business, you had to change with the times. If you stay the same, you die. I knew the upcoming trends were shopping online and on TV. So that is why TV was so appealing- I got to sell on HSN, and promote my jewelry on Real Housewives too.

As far as the show goes, everything I do on the show is real. You can blame editing – yah maybe some highlights are edited, but it’s real, and I’m really me.  And that is why I have a strong fan base. I’m not mean spirited. Sometimes I’m unedited, and I do need to filter things, but I am trying to learn to keep my mouth shut a little (chuckling).

We are starting to film this season. For me, this season is all all about showcasing how you can have it all. I feel very blessed with a great family, and great friends.

You have a quote from Season 1 that I love–“I love making my own money… I find that an aphrodisiac.” I gotta confess, I do too. It’s a bold statement, and many women shy away from talking about money. Talk to us a little about that.

Money is power. Money is freedom. I got married at 37 – I didn’t need a man to buy me things or take me on vacations. I married for love and family. Even growing up, I always enjoyed business- business and math were my best subjects. Listen, some women love to shop– I love business! It gets my juices flowing. I get off on it (laughs again). There’s no reason to shy away from talking about money.

You’re a mom to Avery, a businesswoman, and wife of almost 20 years to Mario. For a woman to become successful in all her roles, what would be the top three pieces of advice you would give her? What must a woman do to rock what she does?

Ramona, daughter Avery, and husband Mario Singer

1) Trust. Without trust in life or business, trust with your partner, your friends, you have nothing.

2) Communication- People aren’t mind readers. Tell people how you’re feeling- both at work, and in your home life. Often we keep things bottled up, and then it’s too late and the damage is done. Communication should always be open.

3) Keep the passion alive (my husband would like that that to be number 1). We are sending my daughter out one night this weekend to go to our house in the Hamptons. For people who don’t have a second home, swap with your girlfriends! But take those romantic nights. Trade with a friend – you take her kids one Saturday night, and let her take yours another night. But just to be able to eat dinner when you want, make love when you want, sleep in until whatever time you want, there is something to be said for that.

What advice would you give to a woman looking to start her own business or even break into media as you did? What must she know or do?

Erica, did you know that anyone with a great idea can start a business for $50.00 today?  For $50, you can be in business. You get yourself an EIN number online, open up a business checking account, open a p.o. box, and start on the side! I actually talked about that on the Rachael Ray Show.

Service businesses are the best kinds of businesses to start– they require the least amount of startup capital, and they are the fastest growing businesses. You also must love what you are doing, believe in it, and be passionate about it.  If you believe in it, others will believe it too. When I started at 29, there were tons of other people doing what I was doing, but yet I sold one million dollars my first year, and that was back then. I believed in myself. I always say– don’t look behind, don’t look sideways, focus straight ahead and focus on your own journey. I have worked my ass off, but then again, I love working.

You were just honored as Mogul of the Year at the Stevie Awards. Congratulations! As a businesswoman, tell our current female entrepreneurs, how does one reinvent themselves and keep their brand fresh? It’s a challenge few do well, and most do poorly. What does it take to always stay at the top of your game?

You have to constantly reinvent yourself to stay on top. I believe I have reinvented myself. To stay on top, you have to have a great product– my Pinot Grigio is truly one of the best pinots out of there. It beat out the others in a blind tasters test. You have to make something of quality, and you have to constantly know what’s going on in the marketplace.

A few more tips… NETWORK. I am a very verbal person. I tell people what I’m doing all the time. I believe when you put it out into the universe, then things come to you. Positive thinking is way more important than people think. I tell myself, “I’m gonna make this happen.” I write my goals down and I believe in creating our own luck. Just this year, I put it on paper, and told my team, “We will sell x amount of cases of Ramona Pinot Grigio this year,” and we are just about there. Have your goals in your mind and put them on paper. Envision it. Positive thinking. Then action plan.

And finally, what does the future look like for Ramona Singer? What’s the dream?

I just wanna be happy. I pray to stay happy. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Just good health, great family and friends, and happiness. That’s the dream.

Six years ago, had you asked me if I thought I would have all this, and a reality show, I never would have believed it. But life is an experience, and you go where it takes you.

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Ladies, if you have a question or comment for Ramona, please leave it right here. She will be reading.

Happy weekend, readers! Thanks again, as always, for sticking with me.

xoxEDxox 

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What do you think?

xoxEDxox

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