It’s no secret to my friends and family that I’m a HUGE fan of Bethenny Frankel. Her books are in my kitchen & on my night stand, her yoga DVD has a permanent spot in my DVD player, her website is bookmarked on my internet browser, you can sometimes find a bottle of SkinnyGirl Margarita in my fridge, and I’m an avid follower & fan of her on Facebook & Twitter. When I talk about her and how much of an influence she has had in my life, my face lights up with envy. Yes, I am a committed fan to say the very least…

You have to know that I’ve been dying to write about these three particular topics because they represent who I am (a ball buster), who I admire, respect & look up to (Bethenny Frankel) and what I do for a living (business woman). Throughout my business & personal life, I’ve had to make tough decisions, taken chances and risks I never thought possible but along the way, I’ve been lucky to have people who have motivated and inspired me to help me truly find the path I am meant to walk down.

Let’s rewind a bit and take you back to when my Bethenny love story first started. Firstly, I have a confession to make: I am obsessed with The Real Housewives franchise. There really is no good excuse as to why I do, but I can’t help but be a voyeur into these ladies lives and think to myself that I have a boring life in comparison. As Miranda from Sex and the City said, ‘it’s my thing, let it go”. But the 1 person out of all the ladies whom I resonated the most with was Bethenny Frankel of the NYC franchise, and the fact that she lived in the city of my dreams, was the icing on the cake for me.

Bethenny Frankel you say? Well if you don’t know who she is yet, maybe this recent cover story & article in Forbes Magazine will help fill in the gaps for you. Or maybe a little look into what her empire consists of will help shed some light as to why I admire her as a businesswoman. Currently, her empire consists of:

- Four New York Times best-selling books

- Two hit TV shows (and speculation that she is getting her own talk show)

- A low-cal margarita mix – the gem that started it all – SkinnyGirl Margarita’s

- Body shapers & smoothers (think Spanx for the Smart Cookie – affordable)

- A SkinnyGirl Daily Cleanse

- An easy to follow, at home yoga DVD (which I love!)

- A sold out SkinnyGirl Tasting Tour where she has an intimate conversation with her audience again, being    herself with no questions off limits (this inspired me to do the same for the Smart Cookies)

- A regular column in Health Magazine

….and the list goes on.

How could I not admire her? Because I am a true marketer at the root of my being, I know what it takes to create a brand from nothing while sticking to your truth, core values & what you stand for. Bethenny has done just that with her SkinnyGirl brand but also reflects her personal brand because that is what the audience loves about her. Transparency. Honesty. Candidness. Vulnerability.

On the flip side I do realize she isn’t everyone’s cup of tea…and from what I’ve been told, neither am I:) She reminds me of myself because we both speak our minds, are full of wisecracks, can be brutally honest and habitually share more information than we should and more than most people even want to know, but as the Forbes article says “she has become the most well-known entrepreneur on television by making her business everyone’s business.” You have to give the girl credit because this could have turned out completely different if she didn’t strike a cord with her audience & viewers.

I respect her qualities & candor more than you ever know because I feel that in this day-in-age, businesswoman in particular are so afraid to vocalize their successes without being accused of being a show-off, while showing their vulnerabilities and struggles they went through to get there. What you see is what you get with Bethenny, and if you can’t take it, don’t ask for her opinion, even if she does (on occasion) put her foot in her mouth (this also being true when it comes to myself). Bethenny and I also have more in common – we are both successful business woman (well, she’s on aslightly different level than me, but you get the point:), we have published at least 2 books, starred in our own TV shows and know what its really like to build a brand from scratch, while being single and financially strapped. Oh and did I mention she happens to live in the city I love the most?

Let me take you back a few years to reflect on my story and why it correlates with Bethenny’s. When I started my first company, the Smart Cookies, it was a complete and utter shock because it unexpectedly went from a personal & private struggle and turning into a full-fledged business after we appeared on the Oprah show back in January 2007. But I am a strong believer in things happening for a reason and clearly the reason behind the Smart Cookies had many sides: it allowed myself & my friends to openly talk about our financial struggles & pitfalls with each other, to start living the life we truly wanted, becoming financially savvy & making it a money-making business. It was also the powers to be telling me to focus on this new venture because I had a knack for entrepreneurialship & business. If it had not been for that one opportunity – sitting on Oprah’s stage, being 100% honest of how we used to live beyond our means, but successfully turned that around – I would still be working for someone else, on their terms, fighting for more money & a better title. Five years later, I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Fast-forward to December 2009 when I decided to continue on my quest to self-employment and started another company called Bratface Marketing. Marketing, branding and strategy were my bread and butter and I had spent 10 years climbing the proverbial corporate ladder from a receptionist to a Director of Marketing. Since I was already out on my own, I thought, why not just create my own marketing firm? And so I did…with the encouragement of my friends, family and colleagues, I took the plunge and started from scratch.

If there is one thing I have been told that remains consistent, is that I have balls when it comes to business (think Samantha from Sex and the City). I’ve never been afraid to hold my ground, introduce myself to total strangers in the business world, network and ask the questions most people wouldn’t have the courage to ask. I have had such a drive to be successful, grow my business and get out there, that people just sit back and watch in amazement. One of those goals in life was to move to NYC. I remember being 7 or 8 years old, and people would ask me “what do you want to be when you grow up?” and I gave this crazy, adult, choreographed answer: I want to be a surgeon, live in NYC on the Upper East Side, in a brownstone walk-up, and date occasionally. There you have it. My parents still to this day do not know where that came from but my father clearly knew I was destined for big things and I was not going to let anything get in my way!

Not sure why I thought a girl from St. Johns Newfoundland had any business working in the Big Apple, but I knew that I belonged there and it was the land of opportunities, fashion, art, food and business. Or maybe I just watched too many 80’s movies that depicted power businesswomen like Working Girl or Baby Boom. That, along with my life-long obsession with Woody Allen movies, jazz and most recently, Sex and the City. So what’s a girl to do? I created a vision board. This was one of the many things we did in our initial money group as Smart Cookies and its really simple: you create a board that visually represents the goals, dreams and things you want in life. They can range from people in your life; places you want to travel, words of inspiration – anything! You make it what you want and visualize them happening. Hey, if Oprah strongly believes in them, you know it’s a good idea.

So back to Bethenny. When I first saw her on the Real Housewives of NYC, I knew instantly that I could relate to her. Single but wanting a relationship, marriage and kids one day; a business woman building a brand from nothing & trying to stand on her own two feet while the people around you are getting married, having kids and moving onto the next chapter in their lives. The only difference between Bethenny and I was that I had blonde hair and a strong, loving family foundation who supported me 100%. Although I had been successful at my job, I felt like that was all I had besides my family and friends (and I do have the best friends). My love life was all but existent and I felt like I was falling into a bit of a dating/relationship rut. I kept questioning things: was I intimidating to men? Were they threatened by my success? Was I too independent and gave off the impression that I don’t need a man? I was 31 with no prospects in view and I couldn’t figure out why. I kept picturing myself at 40 without ANYONE to share my fabulous life with. Of course my friends were the first to tell me that would NEVER happen but in all honesty, I knew that it was a possibility and it scared the crap out of me.

When all the amazing things started to happen for Bethenny’s I was so happy and I told myself “You can have it all! A successful business AND the great relationship!” I remember her saying in an episode of the RHONYC “I don’t want to be alone on a Sunday night….I want the relationship and a supportive man but I don’t know if I can have it all to the degree I want my business & career….”. All of a sudden, overnight, she got it, but not without its struggles. It reaffirmed my belief in knowing that anything is possible & anything can happen….when you least expect it. Like Bethenny has mentioned many times (again, sharing a lot of personal info here…) even ‘with it all’, it still comes with its struggles, arguments, disagreements and compromises. Trust me, Bethenny will be the first to tell you that!

So, as I wrap this post up, I wanted to say, Bethenny thank you for inspiring me, showing me that you can achieve everything you want in life, you just have to believe in yourself and let the judgment from critics roll off your back. Meeting you one day would be the icing on my cake and the cherry on my sundae.