“Actually, I didn’t even know the word entrepreneur. I used to be in my thirties and I didn’t know the word ‘brand’, I didn’t know the word ‘entrepreneur,’ Bethenny Frankel, founding father of SkinnyGirl, told Sharon Epperson on the virtual CNBC Small Business Playbook Summit on Wednesday.
Now, just over a decade later, Frankel is a successful and self-proclaimed entrepreneur who sold his pre-packaged low-calorie margarita, Skinnygirl Cocktails, for a reported $120 million and continues to delve right into a series of ambitious business ventures together with his lifestyle brand Skinnygirl, from specialty groceries to branded clothing.
While she may not have all the time envisioned her life in business, she all the time envisioned her next big idea and what it could take to make it a reality, Epperson said.
“I’ve just all the time been an inventive person. I could not help but pursue the crazy ideas I had,” Frankel said.
One such idea was the Skinnygirl brand – a straightforward vision of getting your individual signature cocktail. “I feel very simply, I wanted a cocktail for myself that I desired to drink, and this could possibly be the signature cocktail that I all the time went for,” she explained.
This personal need wasn’t an idea she immediately knew would appeal to thousands and thousands of other people.
“I had no idea I used to be creating the primary ever low-calorie margarita or ready-to-drink smoothie category,” she said. But once she realized how popular the concept was, she knew she had a possibility to show it right into a successful business.
This transition to constructing a business is where Frankel emphasizes that having a superb entrepreneurial idea is just not what made her story unique. “When you are young and you think that you are smart, everyone thinks you are smart. You think you’ve a superb idea – everyone has a superb idea,” she said.
It might need been a superb idea to start out recognizing her, but drive and motivation are more vital in business.
“I actually realized that it’s individuals who have this drive, determination and keenness, this unstoppable nature – that is really the true ingredient for fulfillment,” Frankel said. “Because so many individuals have good ideas. And the world, technology and what’s popular is always changing, so if you’ve that constant of being a troublesome old style employee, you will achieve success. People around you will notice how precious it’s because it’s totally, very rare,” she added.
Frankel says that along with a powerful work ethic, personal commitment and authenticity are essential elements of a successful entrepreneurial endeavor.
“Business is lonely, you might be alone,” she said. “You sign that dotted line yourself, it is your fame, it’s all about you… Nobody cares about your online business as much as you do,” Epperson said.
He also rejects the concept work and private life should – or can – be kept separate.
The line between business and personal life is becoming increasingly blurred, especially for the reason that starting of the pandemic, when many employees began working from home and decisions made in a single area took on a latest meaning in the opposite.
And in times characterised by inflation and rising rates of interest, where business owners are increasingly concerned about supply chain issues and labor shortages, business selections have also inevitably turned out to be personal selections.
“Business is a really, very personal thing. How I spend money in my personal life can affect the cash I’d or may not have to speculate in business ideas. The way I operate in my business life can affect the kinds of schools my daughter would go to, or how I treat my business affects how I spend my time – which could be very personal,” Frankel said.
Startups have been high for the reason that start of the pandemic, and Frankel said uncertain times also present opportunities.
“I feel people still take a look at the equation a technique and still attempt to put the identical key within the door, but now’s the time when you’ve to poke around and take a look at a bunch of various keys and discover which one is correct for you. Because when you’ve times of disorder, when you’ve times of crazy chaos, there’s also a silver lining. There are other possibilities,” she said.
Frankel, who had been buying and selling real estate for years, turned to suburban real estate early within the pandemic, which turned out to be a wise business move.
Still, in accordance with Frankel, whilst business evolves, it is vital to follow your core mission. “You need to have the option to rotate and alter, but in addition stay true to the basics and core of what your online business is,” she said.
For any entrepreneur facing stagnation, Frankel advises specializing in your individual needs and interests relatively than worrying about what others are doing. “Think about what you are reacting to. What do you eat, what do you digest, what are you serious about, what attracts you, what do you want and what do you not? And present it in your work,” she said.
Frankel’s personal wish for a low-calorie, ready-to-drink smoothie become a multi-million dollar enterprise.
It is that this turning inward, before expanding into the market, that makes business at its core the essence of non-public character.
“It has to return from inside. What really speaks to you most likely speaks to a variety of people,” she said.
