‘THE MILLIONAIRE MOMS-AT-HOME CLUB’

FOUR STRATEGIES FOR CREATING SUCCESS AT HOME BY
STAY-AT-HOME-MOM & FORMER ‘APPRENTICE’ KRISTI FRANK

Online entrepreneur Kristi Frank went from “You’re Fired” on Season One of ‘The Apprentice’ to “I’m Inspired” in her exciting and inspiring new reality – creating an online marketing site for stay-at-home mom’s just like her. Chosen by ‘The Donald’ to be in the first group of women ever to appear on NBC’s ‘The Apprentice,’ Kristi Frank left the show, got married, had a baby, and began working to become the new mentor for millionaire moms working at home.

By the age of 25, I had a degree in Engineering from USC and a real estate broker’s license. I’d already dealt in highly desirable Santa Monica real estate while earning money in my spare time dealing casino Blackjack. But I certainly wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen next. Chosen from over 250,000 applicants to appear in NBC’s ‘The Apprentice’ with Donald Trump – the first and still the highest rated season in the show’s history – I was happily running my successful Santa Monica restaurant when I took a shot at a New York long shot – ‘The Apprentice,’ created by Mark Burnett of ‘Survivor’ fame.

After hearing those dreaded two words directed from ‘The Donald’ to me, I was fortunate to take part in a whirlwind media tour, appearing as a guest on ‘Oprah’, ‘The View,’ ‘The Today Show,’ among many. I spoke privately with Barbara Walters and Katie Couric backstage, and on the way back home to Los Angeles, began to create a business plan for my next adventure. These days, when I’m not at home in Los Angeles or Park City, Utah with my husband and toddler son, you can catch me flying to and from marketing conferences across the country creating an online business specifically skewed to women. My sole intent is to empower “moms” with a soup-to-nuts online marketing business site that presents in a clear, linear format how to launch products and infomation online. But in the midst of developing my ultimate “mom’s” marketing web site, I thought I’d take pause and share some of the strategies for success I’ve employed in my own business and personal life.
• Strategy #1: Be Team-Centric

This was a big lesson for me, coming from a self-directed and self-reliant place. My father, a retired and very successful ex-Merrill Lynch broker and executive, had always taught me to rely on myself in business, as he had done building his own personal portfolio. But as I learned the moment I stepped off Trump’s plane, business moves fast, so when you’ve got the right team working towards a common goal, you can move quickly, efficiently and more successfully. On ‘The Apprentice,’ we created, presented and were awarded an entire marketing campaign on behalf of Marquis Jets, including print, radio and TV, in 48 hours. The kinds of tasks that in normal business environments could take months took days, and we pulled off the seemingly impossible by working together (well, most of us that is, there was always Omorosa!). In business, no man or woman, should be an island. So I even tell moms like me working at home, the world has become a very small place thanks to the connectivity of the Internet. Find some kindred spirits in your quest and work together – you can achieve miraculous results in unimaginable timelines.
• Strategy #2: The Fast Shall Inherit The Profits

This may sound like being “team-centric” but the difference is significant. Sometimes teams move far slower than individuals because of the old “paralysis by analysis” syndrome. But I learned something by being on ‘The Apprentice’ that became as invaluable as the often-needed surrender of control and ego, i.e., that you can actually start a business in two days (or less!). How? By working quickly, fearlessly and efficiently in your team. Here’s my favorite strategy in business – Dive in head first and make mistakes rather than stand on the sidelines trying to figure out how to be perfect. Remember when you were younger how you’d fearlessly walk through any door and then look around to see just where you were? As we get older, we tend to over-think a move and thus stand outside the door contemplating a move. For example, I didn’t think I was good at sales – I’d always doubted my ability (or desire) to walk up to someone and simply ask for their business or order.

But after being labeled the “best lemonade salesperson by far” on our team of women on ‘The Apprentice,’ I realized I was not only good at it, I excelled. Why? I didn’t have time to over-think – I only had time to act if we wanted to succeed and beat the men at our very first task on the show. So by focusing like a laser beam on not just the task, but the goal, I was able to lead my team to victory. Remember, while you linger, others are moving as fast as you should be moving.

• Strategy #3: Be A Brand

On ‘The Apprentice’ and in business, everything is about branding, i.e., creating an identity and learning how to promote it. This is something I had to learn after the show, but Omorosa already learned. Her brand? Obvious – the villainous, and she executed it flawlessly from the moment the cameras began rolling right up to just recently when she was chosen to become the only ex-‘Apprentice’ contestant to be part of ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’

My brand was certainly not defined during my time on the show when I didn’t speak up for myself and was subsequently fired for it. All sixteen of us thought we were “brands” – successful, young entrepreneurs hand-picked by the business “guru” himself. But only one of us had thought out her branding strategy in a truly effective, manner, and her brand lives on still on television. I worked hard after I got home to clearly articulate my personal brand, and finally embrace and celebrate my role in helping and empowering other moms just like me to realize their most powerful and inspiring dreams.
• Strategy #4: Believe It To See It Happen

I know this concept has been heard and espoused many times before, but perhaps the reason is it’s simple and elegant truth. Before the show had even begun, I already believed that in a city as extremely trendy and discerning as Los Angeles, there was an opportunity to create an eatery with an inherent belief in an extremely healthy diet – raw food. I tried the “joy of uncooking” at a dinner party, and within weeks, believed and saw a unique restaurant finding its way into the LA palette. Five years later, in a business with an 85% first year mortality rate, Juliano’s RAW not only caught the eye of Mark Burnett and Donald Trump, it caught on and continues to flourish in Santa Monica. But before I could ever made it happen, I had to believe it could happen. Once I believed, I conceived and achieved my success.
In the end, I learned many strategies from ‘The Apprentice’ and under Trump’s tutelage, but I also learned the most important lesson of all: believe in yourself, and always stand up for yourself at whatever cost. I may have been fired because I led a losing team. However, by taking accountability and not placing blame, the attention shifted from “loser” to respected leader. Barbara Walters, Oprah, Matt Lauer, and the other women on ‘The View’ applauded the integrity of someone willing to say, “As the team leader, I assume responsibility, and therefore I take the fall.” I may have lost the game, but I won the “contest” called living life with integrity. And it’s gotten me here and beyond, so stay tuned all you millionaire moms in the making out there! There’s more to come…