Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff Rebecca Minkoff

This episode originally aired February 2024.



How often do you stop to wonder who the person behind the reality TV star really is?  You could look them up on the Internet, but what's the fun in that when you can hear it straight from the source? In this episode, ⁠Erin Lichy⁠, of the Real Housewives of New York, is here to share her side of the story and what life is like for her as a serial entrepreneur, real estate agent, and mom. 

When watching a reality television show, we tend to forget that we are only getting a small glimpse into a person's life, there is so much more that we don't know. Despite having much of her personal life edited out of RHONY, Erin is a multi-tasking renaissance woman in real life. She is not only a real estate agent, but also the founder of two businesses, ⁠Homegirl⁠, a renovation and interior design firm, and ⁠Mezcalum⁠, an organic mezcal brand. She is also the mom of three.  For Erin, not much has changed since she appeared on the show. According to her, "I don't think we're that famous."



Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, ⁠Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success.⁠

Follow Superwomen on ⁠Instagram⁠.



Guest Website:

⁠Homegirlny.co⁠

⁠mezcalum.com⁠

Social Media:

⁠@erindanalichy⁠

⁠@homegirlny⁠

⁠@mezcalum⁠



Big Ideas:


Using your first business failure as a learning experience


Following the path to serial entrepreneurship


Knowing in your gut that a business is right for you


Applying what you learned from your past business mistakes to your next business


How reality TV stars can be misperceived


The importance of having a strong base of trusted people 


How life changes after becoming a reality TV star


The importance of choosing a high-quality spirit


Building a spirit brand that does things differently


Keeping your life organized when you've got a lot on your plate


Handling social media when you have a public persona



 Links:

⁠The Real Housewives of New York City ⁠


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Although Lydia Fenet believes everything in life happens exactly as it should, she didn’t become one of the top charity auctioneers in the world by chance alone. For over two decades, Lydia worked tirelessly to become "the most powerful woman in the room."

Lydia Fenet spent over twenty years working for Christie's, a world-renowned auction house, beginning as an intern, and eventually becoming one of the world's most well-known auctioneers. A series of events, including a car accident, led Lydia to leave the security and comfort of Christie's and take a risk on herself. Having realized her true value, Lydia "claimed her confidence" and founded Lydia Fenet Agency, a boutique auctioneering agency representing talented charity auctioneers. Today, Lydia is the best-selling author of two books: The Most Powerful Woman in the Room and Claim Your Confidence, a podcast host, speaker, and Founder and CEO of the Lydia Fenet Agency.



Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success.

Follow Superwomen on Instagram.

Guest Website:

lydiafenet.com

Social Media:@lydiafenet

Big Ideas: 


Speaking your desires out loud and opportunities appearing on your path


Willingness to work hard is the key to success


The importance of talking to your kids about money and the value of hard work as a working mom


Being put in a box by a company early in your career


Everything in life happens for a reason


Realizing your value after leaving a company for which you worked for over 20 years


Jumping in head first when you are passionate about something


Choosing your words carefully when describing yourself


How women can “claim their confidence”


Staying in your lane and avoiding comparison


Surrounding yourself with successful people and living the life you want



Links:

Listen to Claim Your Confidence: The Podcast

Order The Most Powerful Woman in the Room is You: Command  an Audience and Sell Your Way to Success

Order Claim Your Confidence: Unlock Your Superpower and Create the Life You Want


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Italian-American award-winning chef and television personality Giada De Laurentiis blazed the path for female celebrity chefs. A pioneer in a still predominately male-dominated industry, Giada followed opportunities that ultimately led to her 21-year stint on The Food Network.

As Giada recalls, most of her career was "edited." Wanting to rewrite the script to show a truer version of herself, she decided to get out while she was at the top. Giada launched her lifestyle platform Giadzy to pursue her heart’s true calling – entrepreneurship. With Giadzy, Giada showcases her love of Italy while weaving together the stories of each hand-selected product, creating an emotional connection with the consumer and building a community with her new membership program. Despite having faced her own struggles as a female chef and entrepreneur, Giada believes it is essential to enjoy the journey on the path to success.

 

Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success.

Follow Superwomen on Instagram.

Guest Website:

giadzy.com

giadadelaurentiis.com

Social Media:

@thegiadzy@giadadelaurentiis

Big Ideas:


The challenges of immigrating to the United States at a young age


The difficulties women faced breaking through in the culinary industry 20+ years ago


Following opportunities and going with your gut when pioneering a new field


The benefits of not having expectations from others


Becoming the leading character in your own life


The struggles of being a working mom on television


Following your heart and leaving your the security of your comfort zone 


The pressures on aging women in the public eye


Creating emotional connection and community in entrepreneurship


Learning how to live in a feminine world and slowing down


The struggles female entrepreneurs face and not being taken seriously 


Don't wait for perfection before starting and enjoying the journey




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The restaurant industry is notorious for being highly stressful, extremely competitive, and still primarily dominated by men. Owners of the critically acclaimed Raf's New York, sisters Jennifer and Nicole Vitagliano, along with their female chef partners, have created a safe space that raises women up and challenges the status quo.

Just celebrating their one-year anniversary, Raf's has become an iconic neighborhood restaurant “where everyone wants to come and no one wants to leave." Following a romantic idea of opening an old-world style bakery near Jennifer's first restaurant, Musket Room, Jennifer and Nicole established a female “forever team” to align their values and vision. As they have created a space for each other to be themselves, they have been able to offer grace to each other during stressful circumstances. This has largely translated into the restaurant's vibe and the community they have built around it.



Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success

Follow Superwomen on Instagram.



Guest Website:

rafsnewyork.com

Social Media:

@rafsnewyork

Big Ideas:


Being in business with your sister

The challenges women face breaking through in the male-dominated restaurant industry

Establishing a safe space for women to rise together in the restaurant industry 

Having confidence to make decisions and the importance of a true partner

Establishing a female forever team and communicating boundaries

Staying afloat during the pandemic and following romantic ideas

Working with people who have your back and extending grace in high stress situations

How younger generations teach us to prioritize ourselves
The unglamorous realities of running your own restaurant

Building a community of people around your restaurant

Valuing your own opinion and choosing opportunities that you really want to do


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Liz Elting, CEO and Founder of the Elizabeth Elting Foundation, learned at an early age to rely on no one but herself financially. Liz took this advice to heart, founding and building a billion-dollar business from scratch and becoming one of the richest self-made women. 

From her NYU dorm room, Liz co-founded TransPerfect, the world's largest language solutions company, at the age of 26. Before getting her first clients, Liz made thousands of calls and wrote thousands of letters. Her road to success was filled with long hours and sacrifices. Although Liz had the highest vision for herself and her company, she experienced many learning curves along the way, including the heartbreaking experience of battling her co-founder in court. Liz is a fierce proponent of raising other female entrepreneurs up and amplifying their voices through her work with her foundation. In her best-selling book Dream Big and Win: Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a Billion-Dollar Business, she vulnerably recounts her business journey and lessons learned.



Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success.

Follow Superwomen on Instagram.



Guest Website:

lizelting.com

elizabetheltingfoundation.org

Social Media:

Instagram: @lizelting

LinkedIn: @lizelting



Big Ideas: 


Following your passion and financial independence


Putting in the work early on and keeping at it even when things get tough


The amount of groundwork you have to do before you get a client


Taking care of every project as if it is your next million-dollar relationship


Making mistakes when stepping into leadership and learning from them


Making short-term sacrifices to achieve long-term success


Supporting a more equitable and fair business world for women and marginalized groups


Increasing the number of women in entrepreneurship


Learning about business through authentic story-telling


Facing adversity and pushing through


Lessons learned from a difficult co-founder relationship


Believing in yourself and not backing down on your values




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“It’s the end of an era, right?” Jamie O’Banion, CEO and Founder of BeautyBio emotionally asks as she reflects on the recent acquisition of her award-winning beauty and skincare company.

While Jamie has come so far from her early entrepreneurial days of building and fundraising, she remains humble, remembering fondly that girl who "didn't know what she didn't know." Jamie grew up on the science side of skincare feeling very comfortable on the research and development side. Still, when she started her own company, intending to educate people on what is actually in their skincare products, she had no idea what she was doing. While she remembers feeling very alone early on, Jamie is now an empathetic supporter of other women founders and helps them rise. As Jamie passes the milestone of having sold her company in a major acquisition, she looks forward to the future growth of the company and remains committed to its success.



Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success.Follow Superwomen on Instagram.



Guest Website:

beautybio.com 

Social Media:

@beautybio

@jamieobanion

Big Ideas: 


Trying to follow the breadcrumbs of life when you don't know what to do


Not knowing what you don’t know when starting a business


Being comfortable with the uncomfortable and being told no


Making up for lack of experience by being empathetic


Being part of a “virtuous cycle”


Thinking about the greater whole of the business 


The steep learning curve of having to wear all the hats when just starting out


The loneliness founders experience in the early days


The importance of women helping women in life and entrepreneurship


Giving from your heart and giving each other grace


Building a skincare brand that people love and trust


Being acquired and “the end of an era”




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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/superwomen/support