Building an Empire With Style
Women in Business Nov 12, 2004
 
What it takes to be the next domestic diva?

Does the name Susie Coelho ring a bell? Perhaps you've watched her hit television show, "Surprise Gardener," which ran for five years on HGTV. Or maybe you're a fan of her new show, "Outer Spaces," which runs on the same cable network weekdays and Saturday. If you've been in a bookstore lately, you might have seen two of her books published by Simon & Schuster, most recently Styling for Entertaining: 8 Simple Steps, 12 Miracle Makeovers. There's a good chance you've seen her on a Sears commercial selling Craftsman tools or have even read one of her articles online at eBay's home category or at iViilage.com. Certainly you've seen her on the "Today" show with Katie Couric, talking to the hosts of "The View" or chatting with Oprah about the easiest way to style your home.

Oh! That Susie Coelho.

With Martha Steward's homemaking and media empire crumbling now that she has been convicted of lying to authorities about a stock sale, the media is guessing who will top Martha's place in the homemaking field. Susie Coelho has been mentioned. Expect to hear even more from Susie as she launches a retail partnership for Susie Coelho branded products for home, garden and entertaining, as well as a line of both indoor and outdoor furniture collections and continues her work with companies such as Maxwell House.
In an economic climate where starting one business is a calculated risk, Susie has found a way to create and juggle several businesses successfully.
Susie got her start in the entertainment business as a Ford Model, eventually landing a cover of Mexico Vogue. Susie says the next obvious step for most models is acting, so she tried her hand as an actress in movies, as a television host, as a celebrity interviewer for HBO's "Entertainment News."While married to singer Sonny Bono, she designed and ran two successful restaurants in the mid-1980s. She also sold celebrity collectibles at her stores, A Star is Worn.

Susie eventually walked away from being a businesswoman and decided to stay at home and raise her son and later a daughter. After five years, though, she realized she was flat-out bored. And this is where her story really begins. Not content to merely go back to work, Susie started thinking about a way to build "an empire."

Susie agrees that "empire" is not a word many women use when they start the process of reinventing their lives.
" I've had a grand vision since I was young," she says. "I've always thought in the big picture."

According to Susie, it all comes down to each person determining the "grand vision" for his or her life. For some, Susie says the grand vision is to have a job that allows them enough money to send the kids to college and take an occasional vacation. "I never like to say that other people's dreams aren't valuable," she says. "I just like a "big" game. It's exhilarating to have to juggle a lot of balls. I love the challenge - it drives me."

Confidence also is a big factor. "Could I model? No," she asks and answers herself. "But I thought I could leam.When you approach a challenge and say, Tm just going to do it and solve whatever problem,' it could be called naivete, but it will work out."

Of course, going for what you want and being confident is one thing, but determining your goal in the first place is a different type of challenge. For Susie, it was a matter of identifying her talents. She realized that the common thread through all of her careers - from model to actress to restaurant owner - was creativity. She made a list of what she was successful at or what she knew. She then surveyed her friends and asked them, '"When you see Susie Coelho, what do you see?'" Her friends, who often called on Susie to help them with redecorating their homes, listed her stylishness, focus on home, fashion sense and attributes as a role model. " That's who I am, but I didn't realize it," she says. "When I stepped back, I realized that people look to me for my creativity, but I wasn't getting paid for it. I just loved helping friends with entertaining or helping to inspire them and solve problems. I wanted to use my sense of style, so I thought, 'Why don't I package that?'"
"Having an empire was a specific goal," Susie explains, "because this time I wanted to do things in a bigger way. I didn't want just a TV show, or just a book. I wanted it all!"

"As an entertainer, or actress, or TV show, your options can run out," she continues. "If you're hot, you're hot. I -was upset with myself that I didn't have grander vision in the past." For Susie, a grander vision means always planning ahead. If an endorsement takes awhile EiI to set up, there's always a book coming out, and that book can be used to publicize other projects.
And promotion, for Susie, is the key. "Here's one of the biggest tips I can give in any business," she says. "When you don't have a lot of money, the place you have to put money is promotions. Do you get a product first? No. You promote first and then have a product.That really is the 'way business generally runs. see if the product or service is viable. Get them in the door. Get known through PR and good will. Promotion, promotion, promotion, I can't say those words enough."

Susie has read and heard the comparisons between her and Martha Stewart, whose own Web site deems her the "Guru of Gracious Living." Susie says she's flattered by the comparison. "She's the Microsoft of the arena," she says, adding that being compared to Martha because of the strides Martha has made in the media and homemaking field is wonderful positioning for her business. She adds that all business people, even if it's just for their own benefit, should think in terms of positioning. For instance, "He's a young Robert Redford, but taller, and a little more like Paul Newman. Right away you get the picture."

And how would Susie position herself? "I would probably describe myself as Oprah meets Martha," she says. "Girlfriend quality. Down to earth. Best friend."

And dare we add, empire maker?