I have a personal confession to make. I have a huge addiction to reality TV. I love watching Survivor, judge shows and The Real Housewives. I know a lot of people think the women on The Real Housewives are just gold diggers who marry for money and live off their husband’s money. For some cast members that’s true. However some of The Real Housewives actually do work.
Believe it or not there are actually a lot of good money lessons to be learned from The Real Housewives. You may think I am reading too much into this, but it’s true. A lot of cast members on the various shows are actually very smart business women. They have established a brand, endorsed products and watched their income grow over the years. Of course some of it is from reality TV fame, but it’s not all luck. Some of The Real Housewives have savvy business smarts.
Let’s take a page from their money book.
Have multiple streams of income. Phaedra Parks from The Real Housewives of Atlanta is a lawyer turned mortician. She is the queen of multiple streams of income and she always goes outside of her comfort zone when she is looking to make more money. Parks also recently launched a workout DVD with her husband. She knows that putting all your eggs in one basket is not a smart financial move so she spreads her business across many sectors.
Don’t count on other people for your income. Bethenny Frankel from The Real Housewives of New York City never relied on a man to support the lifestyle she wanted. Frankel grew up broke and turned her life around as a celebrity natural food chef. She turned her passion for healthy living into an empire with her brand Skinnygirl. Now Frankel has a line of calorie-conscious cocktails, snack bars, shape wear and even a new daytime talk show. She took her fate into her own hand and made her own money.
Make your hobby your income. Gretchen Rossi from The Real Housewives of Orange County was your typical gold digger, until her finance left her with nothing. Rossi is a young, beautiful blonde who was engaged to marry a very wealthy older man. When he passed away she was left with nothing. So what did she do? She turned her love of handbags and makeup into her new business. Rossi now runs her beauty line Gretchen Christine with her new fiancé.
Grow your brand with your name. If you are an entrepreneur your name is your brand. When you have a strong brand you can branch out and grow your business. People like a name brand they can trust. In order for people to buy in to what you are selling you have to build a trusted brand. Kandi Burruss from The Real Housewives of Atlanta took her name and built a brand that includes several endeavors such as music, sex toys and a radio talk show. The name Kandi is trusted and this opens doors for her to jump on new opportunities, in turn increasing her income.
Photo by boybentley
