575: How to Go From Broke to a $100 Million with Rebecca Minkoff

Summary

---

Achieve Your Goals with Hal Elrod

Episode 575: How to Go From Broke to a $100 Million With Rebecca Minkoff
Date: February 26, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this episode, Hal Elrod sits down with renowned fashion designer, entrepreneur, and author Rebecca Minkoff. The conversation traces Rebecca’s remarkable journey from being broke and in debt to building a $100 million fashion brand—then losing 70% of it during the pandemic, only to rebuild and refocus on what matters most. The discussion explores grit, fearlessness, business pivots, the realities of entrepreneurship, and the importance of defining success beyond profit. Rebecca also talks about her updated book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success, her brief stint on The Real Housewives of New York, and actionable advice for aspiring founders.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Early Failures, Crucial Turning Points, and the Birth of a Brand

• Facing Failure and Family Support

  • Rebecca recounts struggling to make her first clothing line profitable, and going to her father in 2004 for help—asking for both advice and money. Her father refuses more financial support and suggests she call her brother Yuri for help. This pivotal moment leads her brother to join the business, marking the beginnings of the Rebecca Minkoff brand (05:48–06:35).

    “He said, call your brother. He might be able to help you and streamline your finances... That was kind of the beginning of today, what we call the Rebecca Minkoff brand, because my brother…signed on board.”
    —Rebecca Minkoff (06:13)

• The Breakthrough with the Morning After Bag

  • Struggling as a clothing designer, Rebecca creates a handbag (the "Morning After Bag") upon request from an actress for a film. The design, price, and name, combined with a pivotal feature in the Daily Candy email newsletter, lead to a wildfire of demand.

    “It was just this powerful moment of right style, right price, right story, and it just—it flew.”
    —Rebecca Minkoff (08:37)

Growth, Adapting to Industry Trends, and Scaling Challenges

• Transition to Accessories and Scaling Challenges

  • By the second year working with her brother, the company pivots away from clothing to focus solely on bags, riding the wave of initial success. The relentless pressure to create more new products ramps up with the rise of social media and e-commerce (10:15–11:13).

• Rapid Growth and the Profitability Trap

  • Pre-COVID, Rebecca Minkoff is a $100 million business, but with thin or nonexistent profits—reflecting a then-popular industry mindset of “growth over profit.”

    “I know what it’s like to be at over 100 million and not making money, and I’d rather be half of that and, like, okay, we’re making a profit.”
    —Rebecca Minkoff (11:56)

Pandemic Crisis, Relentless Change, and Letting Go

• COVID-19: Sudden Collapse and Survival Mode

  • In March 2020, every major retailer cancels orders, vaporizing 70% of their business virtually overnight. Rebecca opens up about lay-offs, deep pay cuts (she and her brother take 30% less), and surviving day-to-day.

    “Every morning was, what did the website do yesterday? Okay, what do we think it’s going to do tomorrow?... The easy thing to do would have been to go out of business... The hard thing was, alright, let’s give it our all and go down in flames if that’s what’s going to happen.”
    —Rebecca Minkoff (14:05)

• Supply Chain Woes and Selling the Company

  • Post-pandemic, severe supply chain shortages prevent them from producing inventory, triggering anxiety with their bank. In 2022, they sell almost the entire business to a strategic partner, keeping only a small equity stake. Rebecca remains as a paid employee.

    “You survived COVID and then you’re like, oh great now supply chain issues are hitting us...”
    —Rebecca Minkoff (16:21)

Realities of Entrepreneurship

• Unpredictability and Facing Problems with Resilience

  • Rebecca is candid about constant business drama and her practiced calm in the face of adversity:

    “Someone’s like, you’re so calm. And I’m like, that’s because I’ve been through this like a million times. The only thing I know how to do is attempt to solve the problem.”
    —Rebecca Minkoff (18:20)

• Redefining Success and Mental Health

  • Hal and Rebecca discuss detaching emotional well-being from business outcomes and finding joy in the present, amidst chaos or calm.

Fearless: The Book & The Mission

• Purpose and Lessons of ‘Fearless’

  • Rebecca’s book, Fearless, was written by applying tested principles both when building and rebuilding her company—expanded in the new edition to explicitly address women and money.

    “What is something I could add that I feel like women need—and they need to be talking about money... What did you invest in recently that paid you good dividends? Do you need life insurance?... Conversations that women definitely don’t have.”
    —Rebecca Minkoff (21:07)

• Core Rules and Message

  • The book features 22 rules for unlocking creativity and courage, aimed at anyone (not just women) paralyzed by fear or big decisions. Real dangers today are rare; what stops us is fear masquerading as danger.

    “These...are not rules that help you overcome the fear. It’s almost like, yeah, I have it, but I’m going to do it anyways.”
    —Rebecca Minkoff (23:54)

Family, Balance, and the Meaning of Success

• Life as a Mother of Four and Authenticity
  • Rebecca emphasizes how her definition of success has shifted from business metrics to being mentally present with her family.

    “If I’m with my kids, am I able to be present? And if I am, to me, that’s successful.”
    —Rebecca Minkoff (32:21)

The ‘Real Housewives’ Experiment

• Taking a Risk and Staying Authentic
  • Rebecca takes a calculated risk by joining The Real Housewives of New York to connect with her core consumer but quickly discovers the show prioritizes drama over authenticity and opts not to return.

    “I just committed to being me, and I was punished for it. So to answer your last question, I’m definitely not going back, because it wasn’t what I agreed to do.”
    —Rebecca Minkoff (26:41)

  • She also critiques media distortions:

    “A story I would tell that I thought was funny would be twisted by the media to be, like, weird or salacious... Oh, I will never believe a headline about anyone ever again.”
    —Rebecca Minkoff (28:20)

Hard-Earned Advice for Entrepreneurs

• What It Really Takes
  • Rebecca cautions founders to love what they do so much that they’d persist even through relentless setbacks; recalibrate expectations for slow, sustainable growth; and value life balance over chasing massive exits.

    “Not everyone needs to be a billion dollar company or a hundred million dollar company... What is wrong with a profitable, smaller, slower-growing business that provides for you and your family and a life that you want?”
    —Rebecca Minkoff (30:24)

  • Hal adds the “fisherman parable” to underscore the importance of knowing what you’re actually working for in life (31:18–32:04).

---

Memorable Quotes

• On Persevering Through Hardship:

  “The hard thing to do was, like, all right, let’s give it our all and go down in flames if that’s what's going to happen. Like, we owe it to ourselves. We’ve been in business for 15 years. We owe it to the team we have left.”
  —Rebecca Minkoff (14:05)

• On Profit vs. Growth:

  “We lost about 70% of our business during COVID... I know what it’s like to be at over 100 million and not making money, and I’d rather be half of that and, like, okay, we’re making a profit.”
  —Rebecca Minkoff (11:35–11:56)

• On Staying Authentic in Media:

  “I just committed to being me, and I was punished for it...I’m gonna be me. And if I’m penalized for it, that’s an energy and a values I don’t like.”
  —Rebecca Minkoff (26:41)

• On Success and Presence:

  “If I’m with my kids, am I able to be present? And if I am, to me, that's successful.”
  —Rebecca Minkoff (32:21)

---

Notable Segments & Timestamps

• Introduction & Rebecca’s Backstory: (00:36–05:48)
• The Turning Point: Brother’s Involvement & 'Morning After Bag': (05:48–09:24)
• Dealing with Rapid Growth and Industry Changes: (09:51–11:46)
• COVID Collapse and Surviving as a Founder: (13:31–16:21)
• Selling the Business & Moving On: (16:21–18:20)
• Entrepreneurship Real Talk & Emotional Resilience: (18:20–19:30)
• About ‘Fearless’ and Financial Empowerment for Women: (20:02–23:54)
• Rebecca's Personal Life and Shifting Definition of Success: (21:30–22:28, 32:21–32:58)
• Real Housewives Experience: (24:18–28:19)
• Advice for Entrepreneurs & Redefining Ambition: (29:43–32:04)
• Defining Legacy and Closing Thoughts: (32:04–34:43)
• How to Find Rebecca & Her Work: (33:29–34:34)

---

Connect and Learn More

• Buy Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage and Success wherever books are sold (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, etc.).
• Follow Rebecca on Instagram: @beckyminkoff
• Listen to her podcast: Super Women with Rebecca Minkoff
• Find her company: Rebecca Minkoff

---

This episode is both a candid look at business highs and lows, and a guide to resilience and authenticity. Rebecca’s journey is a testament to daring, adaptation, and holding onto what matters—valuable lessons for goal-achievers everywhere.

Transcript

[Hal Elrod]

Hello and welcome to the Achieve your Goals podcast. The show that empowers you to wake up to your full potential and achieve your biggest goals and dreams. I am your host, Hal Elrod and I invite you to join us each week as we share actionable strategies to take your life to the next level. As well as interview world class experts and entrepreneurs who have achieved extraordinary goals themselves. And we ask them to give you a peek behind the curtain and teach you exactly what you need to do.

To do the same.

Ready?

Here we go.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Foreign.

[Hal Elrod]

Hello friends. Welcome to the Achieve youe Goals podcast. I'm your host, Hal Elrod and today I have the absolute pleasure of welcoming a woman who I am so grateful to know now after the conversation that we just had. And I felt that way going into today after I started researching Rebecca Minkoff. I did not know who she was initially and someone introduced us, said, you have to have this woman on your podcast. She is an inspiring entrepreneur. She is a world famous iconic designer. She is a leader who has not only had a massive impact in the fashion industry, but she's written a best selling book titled Fearless the New Rules for unlocking Creativity, Courage and Success. In fact, she wrote that book a few years ago and just updated it similar to how I did last year. And so I start looking into Rebecca online and going on YouTube and googling who she is and I'm watching videos and I just, I'm so inspired by this woman. I don't want to give way too much of her story right now, but she basically went from being dead broke to growing a $100 million a year fashion brand by her name, the Rebecca Minkoff brand. And then in 2020, when the pandemic hit, she went from being $100 million company to losing over 70% of her business. And at that time, she's a mother of three, she's an entrepreneur, she's struggling, she doesn't know what she's going to do. And her story's just inspiring and it's incredible. And she has rebounded, grown her company back to where it's extremely successful. But more importantly, she's gone from being a workaholic to being able to really take care of her family while also growing and sustaining this iconic brand that she has built. So I think you're going to love today's conversation. I'm a big fan of Rebecca after today. And she's also last season she was on the Real Housewives of New York, the Real Housewives of New York. And you'll hear why it's a one and done. She did it once and based on the way, well, I'll let her tell you, but basically she's not doing it again. So it's really fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. You're in for a treat today and you're going to learn just through her story about how you can apply kind of her fearlessness to take on these huge aspirational goals that are so far beyond what she'd ever done before and then how she did it. And I asked her to tell you her best advice, not only her story, but the advice that she would give to her former self and that she would give to all of us. Now, before we dive into this conversation, I want to take just a minute to ask you a question. Have you ever hit the snooze button so many times that you realize you're basically saying to the universe, I hate waking up in the morning, but I do it over and over and over again? Right? That's that dreaded snooze button. Now maybe your mornings are so chaotic that you're just already stressed the max before you even head out the door. Not anymore. I want to remind you and bring you back to the Miracle Morning app. The new and improved app that we are consistently upgrading the features, listening to your feedback and making it better. It now has a premium plus subscription that comes with live events with me with yours truly throughout the year for app subscribers only. And get a plus one. You can invite anybody to use the app, share it with a friend, your spouse, a colleague at no additional charge. It is the secret weapon to transform your mornings and maybe your life. Head over to the App Store or the Google Play Store and download the Miracle Morning app and you get a seven day free trial of the premium plus subscription today and get hundreds of guided tracks to make your Miracle Morning fun, unique, customizable and literally just hit the play button and it guides you through the entire morning. All right, goal achievers, without further ado, we're going to learn from someone who built a hundred million dollar company, lost over 70% of it, and then built it back and shifted her priorities to focus on her family and her husband and what matters most to her so that you can do the same. Enjoy. Rebecca, it is so great to be with you.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Thanks for having me.

[Hal Elrod]

So I have to tell you, I mentioned to my wife Ursula, I said, hey, so have you ever heard of Rebecca Minkoff? And she goes, yes, why? I said, so I'm gonna have her on the podcast. And she goes shut up.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Why isn't she joining you right now?

[Hal Elrod]

I know she should be. We live on a ranch. She's taking care of all of our animals. Our chickens are all the things. I should have her in here, though. But in fact, I told her to come say hi, but she goes, oh, my God, I love her bags. I've always wanted a Rebecca Minkoff bag. I'm like, why haven't you told me that? I'm sure we can add that to the Christmas list or whatever. Anyway, so you have a super fan in our house. Like, she screamed, she freaked out.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Oh, I love that. Well, tell her I said hello and thank you for being a fan. It's great.

[Hal Elrod]

I will. So as I've been getting to know you and watching your interviews and reading articles about you, like your story, and I told you this before we started recording, it's as fascinating as it is inspiring. And so I'd love to start at the point where you went to your dad. Right. It was 2001, I believe. Correct me if I got the details wrong, 2001, you're 26 years old, you're broke, you're deciding between being a waitress and a bartender, and you go to your dad to ask for advice. And what does he tell you? What happens from there?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

I think when I went to him for advice slash, money, that was in end of 2004.

[Hal Elrod]

Okay.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

And that was after I was unsuccessfully running my clothing line. When I say unsuccessful, I was going into debt, so spending more to make the clothing that I was making in revenue. And so I actually went to him to loan me some more money because he had co signed on a credit card that he didn't pay off or wouldn't pay off, but it got me the credit card, and that's what I was like, living on.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Got it.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

And so he's like, I don't have faith that you're going to figure out how to pay this down. I'm not going to give you any more money. So he said, call your brother. He might be able to help you and streamline your finances, figure out how to make money. He's really smart. Give him a ring. So that was kind of the beginning of today, what we call the Rebecca Minkoff brand, because my brother, stupid or not, signed on board.

[Hal Elrod]

Yeah, well, I'd say smart. Now, your brother is Yuri. Is he younger or older brother?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

He's older.

[Hal Elrod]

Older brother. Okay, got it.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

And so he signs off and then, well, how many years or how long had you been at it up until that point, trying to get your fashion brand off the ground.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

I had been at it for about four years, and I had a little success. I was in a bunch of great boutiques. Things were selling, but it was really this sensation of, like, I'm the only one pushing this. And I think when we saw a taste of what it looks like to have the bag hit and women just grab onto it and love it, and it's like the wind is now blowing. You're not rowing the boat anymore to get somewhere. It's a great feeling. And I was like, oh, finally. That's what success, or that's what something resonating can feel like.

[Hal Elrod]

So I'm really personally curious as to the starting place, like, the journey. So your brother comes in, he finances the business. Y' all get going. You were at it for four years. Was there a pivotal, like, moment, a turning shift, a design? What happened that took you from struggling for four years to taking off?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

So I had just been doing clothing. That was what I was trained in and knew how to do and was making everything myself. What really took off was I made a bag based on an actress requesting it for a film. I did not know what I was doing. I didn't make the bag. I had it made. And there was this powerful combination of the size and shape of the bag, the price point, what I named it the morning after bag. And then back when email was still something we wanted and looked forward to every day, there was this incredible company called Daily Candy, and they would write one email a day of the hottest thing that they had found. That email went out, and it was like wildfire what happened. And I wish today there was something like that. It doesn't really exist, but it was just this powerful moment of right style, right price, right story, and it just. It flew.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Hmm.

[Hal Elrod]

So that email went out. Do you know how many people were on the list that got that email?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

I'm sure by that point it was a couple hundred thousand women in New York City. It was localized, too. It's like, yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

And then were you selling your bags.

Primarily still in store, or was it.

Online at that point?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

There was no such thing as online, really. I mean, this whole direct to consumer website was not really a thing. And so I think for us, we were mostly wholesale. And then if, like, a Bloomingdale's had a website or a Saks had a website, we would. We would sell on those. But I don't even think they had websites then, if I'm being honest.

[Hal Elrod]

Remember?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

So it was really all about these boutiques and then these stores, these Big department stores was what the business was.

[Hal Elrod]

Did that email literally drive people? They went out to find where they could get the bag.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah. So this might have been an L A version of Daily Candy or was a national. I don't remember. But we credited the one store I did sell to, which was in LA. They had bought 12 bags in anticipation of the article coming out. And then they sold out within an hour so and reordered 75. And then they reordered again and it just kept happening. And then other stores reached out because they read it and it just kind of started just from that moment.

[Hal Elrod]

So how did you piggyback on that success of that one particular bag? Because I think that's a one hit wonders is the story in every industry. And I think that especially as an entrepreneur, I know, like once you have something that's successful and you're excited, and then you start to go from excited and grateful that it's happening to fearful of like, what about when this stops? What do I do next? How do I keep this going? So I'm curious how you piggybacked on that initial success.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Well, there was some, I don't know, five years of time or maybe three where like you could have one product in a bunch of colors and you just iterated on it for years. And I'll never forget, by then I had a sales agency, they're like, so when are you coming out with your next bag? And I was like, we need to have another bag. Like, I just thought we were gonna do this forever.

[Hal Elrod]

Were you still doing clothing as the main thing Still?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

By the second year, my brother said, let's just focus on bags. We can always go back to clothing. This thing is taking a lot of capital. Like, pick one.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Okay.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

So we shut down clothing and year two was like, okay, we need two bags from you. And it was only, I would say probably right around when social media came out that the insatiable and E commerce, the insatiable desire for more next new every day. What's that Dopamine hit of something. And so now it's insane what we produce. We probably have 200 styles every month across all categories.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Wow.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

And it's just like, I just wish again, I wish for the one email that would like sell you out and I wish like you could have two bags a year. And everyone was looking forward to it. Maybe we'll go back there. I don't know.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

I mean, to be clear, Rebecca Minkoff, your company, it's. Am I right that it's roughly $100 million company is that.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

It was pre Covid.

[Hal Elrod]

Okay.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

We lost about 70% of our business during COVID Wow. And we've been building it back on purpose a little bit slower because we want to make sure that everything we do is profitable and has the margin that we want. And if it doesn't achieve that margin, we don't take that order. So it's. It's a lot slower growth. But I'm very comfortable with that.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

I know what it's like to be at over 100 million and not making money, and I'd rather be half of that. And like, okay, we're making a profit.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

Well, so $200 million, which I've been there too. Right. Where the business grows so fast that you just start spending money like crazy, feeling like the growth is never going to end. Like, this trajectory, we're going to the moon. Let's go. Right.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah. And I think. I don't know when you had that type of stick, but I think at the time to the trend with investors was as long as you're growing 10 to 15% year over year, it doesn't matter if you're not profitable.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

And so then you build this model, and then you look back, you're like, why? Because if the wind blows another way and suddenly everyone wants you to be a profitable business, that's. Which happened to us. That's a really hard pill to swallow.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

I think a lot of people with. With venture capital funding. Right. Like, they're just. It's.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

It's just like, oh, we're just taking on more debt and more debt and more debt and more debt because we're just going to grow forever. It is so interesting, too, to think about that, like, for anyone looking at, like, Rebecca Minkoff in terms of, like, fashion designer, $100 million business. Incredible. Then Covid hits and just like Ma and Pa stores. Right. Who were affected. It's almost like when you achieve a certain level of success like you had, it's like other people would imagine, like, you're untouchable. And then I'm thinking about the human Rebecca Minkoff. Like, in fact, I'd love to know how stressful was losing 70% of your business. Like, what was it like to go through that time? And for you, what was it like logistically? What was it like for you personally? What were the struggles? If you're open to being vulnerable in that way, I'd love to know.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Oh, yeah. So like a March 13th or 16th, every single department store. Good or bad. I understand why they had to cancel their orders. They were shutting their doors, canceled all their orders through the rest of the year. So that's where the 70% in shrinking occurred. The irony is we had already been going through an exercise with we do need to lean out some team members, you know, And I was like, we had 60 people. I was like, we can't get rid of anyone. This was pre Covid, let me tell you. On March 13, I was like, this person, this person, this person, this person, this person. Not that I'm proud of that.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

You suddenly go, if we're going to survive, this is what we have to do. So the team shrank by half. Everyone got like, probably a 10% pay cut. My brother and I took 30% pay cuts. And all of a sudden every morning was, what did the website do yesterday? Okay, what do we think it's going to do tomorrow? And living day to day, we had a 10am call every day for up until probably two years ago or no, a year ago. And it was literally this. Day trading is what we called it. We are day trading today. Today we need to make the minimum we can make is X to cover payroll. Not even all of our bills, because we had bills for a much larger company. It was really stressful, and I say a lot. The easy thing to do would have been to go out of business. We could have ducked under the COVID of everyone else going out of business and been like, well, we tried. Oh, well. The hard thing to do was like, all right, let's give it our all and go down in flames if that's what's going to happen. Like, we owe it to ourselves. We've been in business for 15 years. We owe it to the team we have left. And so we really worked like crazy hard to save the business, and we did. And then we had a new road bump, and then we had to sell the business. And so it's been an adventure, that's for sure.

[Hal Elrod]

So you had to sell the business. What was that? Now, have you got it back or no?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

No. I'm a happily paid employee at my company. Yeah. We ended up selling the business because supply chain issues were rife with many different industries. And we were not affected up until the end of 2021, when every single one of my factories suddenly had 10% of the workforce and so couldn't make the bags that we had on order.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Wow.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

And so in a season where we should have had 300,000 bags, we got 3,000 bags.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Wow.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah. So our bank got very nervous and said, what are you going to do about this? And we said, well, we should probably find a strategic partner who has the muscle, the relationships, the infrast structure with factories to say, don't put Rebecca Minkoff last, put her first. So we did a transaction in 22 that was basically almost the entirety of the business, minus equity we wanted for ourselves.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

And it was wild to experience. It's like you survived Covid and then you're like, oh, great, now supply chain issues are hitting us. This is awesome.

[Hal Elrod]

Goal achievers and members of the miracle morning community, I just wanted to remind you or invite you to check out.

The Miracle morning routine app in the App Store and the Google Play Store.

It is free to download and comes with a robust assortment of features, including templates to create your affirmations, a built in journal, customizable timers for your savers, the Savers 101 guided track, where you complete your miracle morning in 13 minutes by simply hitting play, a miracle evening guided track to help you go to bed at night and a lot more.

And then you always have the option to upgrade to the premium version, our.

Most popular version of the app, which you can try for a seven day free trial. And it gives you access to over 500 affirmations, a library of nearly 200 guided savers tracks so that you can click, play and complete your savers in different areas of your life. You want to improve your mental health, you want to improve a relationship, you want to make more money. There are specific savers tracks, guided or designed, I should say, for each of those outcomes that you want to achieve in your life. So you can again literally click, play and complete your miracle morning. Plus over 200 journaling prompts and a lot more. And the app now has over 2,900 reviews, averaging 4.9 out of 5 stars. You can download the app now in the App Store or Google Play for Android users. Either way, I hope the app enhances your mornings and your life.

Right? So it's literally like, we can't sell enough bags now. It's like we have too many bags that people want to buy and we can't make the bag. Like, yeah, yeah. If anybody's listening, thinking, I want to be an entrepreneur, they might be having second thoughts or they're like, oh my gosh, you have to go through all of this.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Like, I'm very real with entrepreneurs because I don't want you to think it's always perfect or there's always like, you have like a couple of dramatic moments I think, yeah. I don't know about you, but there are dramatic moments all the time. I'm currently in one now that I can't talk about. And someone's like, you're so calm. And I'm like, that's because I've been through this like a million times. Right. Like, the only thing I know how to do is attempt to solve the problem.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah, yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

It's something that I'm always like, it's a big part of my work and even in my own just personal life's going to do what life's going to do. How do you maintain an optimal mental and emotional state in the midst of all of it and just enjoy every moment? Right. To me, like, that's the game that we're playing is like, enjoy every moment. It's great. You're like, yeah, I'm not freaking out because I've been there, done that. Like, it is what it is. Problems arise. Right. Like, but most of us, I think we've been conditioned to think that our external reality and the challenges that we face. Right. Like, that's where our emotions are based on good things are happening. I feel good, but when bad things happen, I feel bad. And I'm just like, I'm at the whim of what's going on around me for sure. Versus, like, no, I'm going to enjoy every moment of this one life I've been blessed to live.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

So you wrote a book called Fearless the New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. And now you've done a new updated and expanded edition, which I can relate to. I did for my Miracle morning book. After 10 years, I finally did an updated version of my book. So let's start at the beginning. When did you write that book? What was the inspiration for you to actually write a book? You've obviously got a really successful business. You've got a lot of challenges, you've got a lot of your energy, if not most of it's in the business. So when did you write a book? Why'd you write a book and then why'd you update it?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

I signed the book deal pre Covid with an outline, as you know, as an author. And then when Covid hit, they said, do you still want to meet your deadline of October 2020 to turn in? And I said, yeah, because this is going to give me time. I had a framework for here are the successful things I did 15 years ago that worked. So I thought to myself, let me see if the same principles I applied to launch my business Work when we're basically starting over again. And so spending those months applying those rules, as I call them and seeing them work really said, okay, this is something that I now know it's worked twice. And so let me focus on this as sort of the tenants of the book. And then I wanted to come back and write another chapter. Sort of five years, there's been a lot of change. I've sold the business, I had another baby, I've expanded different facets of my career. And what is something that I could add that I feel like women need and they need to be talking about money. They need to know how to save money, how to invest money. They need to talk about it instead of coming to a party and saying, here's my kid, how cute is he? It's what did you invest in recently that paid you good dividends? Do you need life insurance? What are all these conversations that women definitely don't have? And I should have known. Been earlier to. Or been more educated about younger.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

How many kids do you have, by the way?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

I have four kids.

[Hal Elrod]

What ages?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

13, 10, 7 and 2.

[Hal Elrod]

Oh, wow. So that 2 year old, wow, that's getting to have the baby life again. That's so fun.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah, it's been great because I don't know about you, but I had three kids back to back. And so to have a five year gap of the youngest to the baby is like I have three babysitters.

[Hal Elrod]

That's so funny. That's what I used to joke with my wife. And we have two kids, so 15 and 12. My daughter's 15, my son is 12. That was always our joke is I thought, I go, let's just adopt like before we had kids. I'm like, let's just like adopt a 14 year old then get pregnant and that way we have a live in babysitter. So yeah, we didn't do it that way, but that was, that was always my strategic. I thought that'd be the best approach. But we know that's great for you. Right. So you have the baby, but you also have. Yeah, three babysitters to where you can have a little space and freedom, I would imagine.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah, like if I'm making lunches or cooking breakfast or taking a shower, I have people that I'm like, watch the baby while this happens.

[Hal Elrod]

Even just taking a shot. Right. Like just the little stuff around the house.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

That's incredible. All right, so back to the book. So how many rules are there in the book? I'm curious now.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

There's 2222.

[Hal Elrod]

Okay, 22 rules for unlocking creativity, courage, and success. And this book is for who?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

I think it's for anyone, man or woman. Anyone who is paralyzed by decisions they want to make, changes they want to make. I think that, obviously, fear is something that our body and our guts are ready as an emotion or response to what used to be real danger. We don't have much real danger in our lives anymore at all. And so the real dangers take the same, like, ooh, should I quit my job and do this? And you get this feeling that you might feel if you're running from a bear to make that decision, and it stops you and it paralyzes you. So these, to me, are not rules that help you overcome the fear. It's almost like, yeah, I have it, but I'm going to do it anyways. And that's what I get through in the book is like, trust your gut is one of the chapters. Or reframing failure. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. I talk about burnout in the book and how we're in this coddled society where you shouldn't work too hard. But what if work was a source of happiness for you? And if it's not, what's happening in your life that it's not? And what are those big shifts you need to make to change it? So those are just a couple of the subjects that we cover, but I think are relevant for anyone.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

What comes up for me is, like, everything's perspective. Right. Work can be super stressful, and you. Or a relationship can be super stressful or parenting or. Right. And you just look at it differently. You change your perspective, and you're like, oh, I'm going to enjoy this. Like, work's a great example of, like, either work can be stressful. You're like, I'm going to enjoy every moment of work. Like, you know, I'm going to make it a game. I'm going to make it fun.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yes, yes.

[Hal Elrod]

Very cool. So one thing I definitely wanted to ask you about is last year, you joined Real Housewives of New York for its 15th season.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Ooh, yeah, yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

And I've watched clips of you, and I think that. Anybody listening? Right. Real Housewives, you get like, a immediate, like, oh, these catty women. And you really held your. I know. Like, the producers had you. You know, they, like, pushed you a little bit, but you were yourself. Like, I thought you were really authentic. And so what was that experience like? So, A, how did you end up on the show, first of all? And then B, what Was it like to be on Real Housewives? And are you continuing or are you done?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Someone said to me, did you have a lobotomy before you made that decision to do that? So here's what I looked at when the opportunity presented itself.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

In business, we've always taken risks, whether it was talking to our customer, which was considered. Definitely don't do that. Getting on social media. Definitely don't do that. Using influencers. Our store of the future, our shoppable QR codes, before anyone even understood what that was like. We've always taken these big risks to get ahead. So I'm not afraid of risk. It was definitely a risk. But I also, in my surveying of everyone I know that watches these shows, is my consumer.

[Hal Elrod]

Totally.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

And so if I could tighten that connection with her by her getting at the time what I thought was going to be who I really am and not this edited down, mute who says random things. I was like, this would be great. She'll see another slice of me, and it'll form that personal connection that we already been having over the last 20 years.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

As a business decision, which I was also criticized for. God forbid. I was like, wow, my name is going to be mentioned once a week for 12 weeks into households all across America. That would be great. To help build back the business I almost lost during COVID Yeah. So I had many reasons why I thought it'd be great. I was also pitched a very different show. I was pitched a reboot, which was supposed to be fun and funny with a little bit of drama. And that was mentioned more than a couple times. I genuinely believe they probably thought they wanted that. And then old habits die hard. And I'm sitting there, and it's my first scene, and it devolved within maybe 15 minutes into a cat fight. And I was, like, sitting in a different part, and I said I could go get involved for airtime.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Or I can sit here and watch because this fight is none of my business.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

And be me. And I just committed to being me, and I was punished for it. And so to answer your last question, I'm definitely not going back because it wasn't what I agreed to do. And I'm gonna be me. And. And if I'm penalized for it, that's an energy and a values I don't like.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

If you don't operate from a low level of consciousness, it's hard to fake it. Right. Like, because by default, if you're operating higher consciousness, you're not inauthentically Going to write like.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

So it was just funny because one of the cast members said I was too nice, and I was like, wow, she makes nice sound like a bad thing.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Totally.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

What are we teaching our daughters?

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

She said it multiple times. She's so nice. It's boring. I was like, wow, when did that attribute become such a terrible thing?

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

I'd be terrible in a reality show for the same reason. They're like, he's so nice and vanilla, and he's like, just kind everyone. He's so boring. That's so bland.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

I know.

[Hal Elrod]

That's interesting. Rebecca, we need reality shows that are, like, people doing good things and treating people good. Because you're right. What are we teaching our society? Like, I think about. Yeah. Like, is that reality? And it. Art imitates life. Imitates art. And it's so true. You see younger generations. Right. Modeling the Kardashians and being catty. And so. Yeah, that's a whole nother conversation. But I appreciate that you stayed true to who you are.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah. And I would definitely tell you it's not reality when everyone has an arc and everyone has an editor, and that editor is fitting them into this. Whatever they think is. Whatever that is.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

And I also had a new perspective for the news and for anyone that's talked about, because the craziest part of this whole thing is a story I would tell that I thought was funny would be twisted by the media to be, like, weird or salacious and even an example. I was speaking at a Mother's Day panel about a lesson my daughter taught me. I think we're getting off topic, but I'll just share. But like a lesson my daughter taught me about being present when I'm with them. And the headline of the article said, rebecca Minkoff's daughter says she's a terrible mother.

[Hal Elrod]

Oh, my gosh.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

And I was like, that's not what I said. And it was a positive story, but thank you. So it was just, like, to watch that happen. I was like, oh, I will never believe a headline about anyone ever again. Because this, for you, about me. Yeah.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

It is interesting people that they believe every headline and they believe the news and they. It's like it's all propaganda, all of it, because it's all the story that they want to get across or the one they think will get the most clicks.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

So very cool. I like even more. What would you tell someone today as you have become so successful in business and you've ridden the ups and the downs and all of it. If somebody listening wants to start a business, what would you tell them? And on top of the general answer, like if it's specific to being a fashion business, if there's any, like, advice that differs in that regard.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah. So first I would say that you have to love what you do so much that you need to think through all the terrible things that could happen or ask someone about all the terrible things and ask yourself if you have the stomach to go to work each day after being slapped with that particular issue. And then I would say that we are in this day and age where everything that we want almost can be clicked on our phone to arrive or pick us up. And you have to change your expectations and your time horizon if you want to achieve success. Is it 5, 10, 20 years to get to where you think some people might go in a year or two?

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

And make decisions on the long term scale because you'll make very different ones. And then last but not least, not everyone needs to be a billion dollar company or a hundred million dollar company. There used to be a day and age back in probably 1950 where people had businesses that afforded them a good lifestyle and they had more balance in their lives than I would say we have now. And so what is wrong with a profitable, smaller, slower growing business that provides for you and your family and a life that you want, or work yourself like a dog, raise a bunch of money, never see your family for maybe this payout that doesn't come or does. And by then you're so bitter, you're just like, great, thanks a lot.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

And you're like, and I wasted my best years trying to achieve this thing that it's like that fisherman parable where the business person goes to the island. Have you heard that?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

No.

[Hal Elrod]

Anyway, I would butcher it so I won't mess it up. But the short of it is business person goes to an island, sees a fisherman and says, hey, I can help you scale this business. The fisherman goes, okay, what does that mean? He goes, well, what's your days like now? He goes, I fish a little in the morning, then I siesta with my wife, then I spend time with my kids, then I spend time with my friends. And then I go to bed and I do it again. He goes, well, we can move your operation offshore. We can get you multiple boats. We can, you know, on and on and on. And it's like, and then what happened? The guy, the fisherman goes, then what happens? He goes, then we can get investors. And then what happens then? And then 20 years from now, you can sleep in late siesta with your wife, play with your kids, and then hang out with your friends. He's like, that's what I do now.

[Interviewer/Producer]

You know?

[Hal Elrod]

And so it's just this reminder of, like, what are we doing it for?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Exactly.

[Hal Elrod]

And it sounds like, I would imagine your kids. Right. That's your world. Well, in fact, on that note, what do you want your legacy to be? Like, you did build the $100 million company. You did the thing that less than 1/10 of 1% of people do. And now, looking back, having done it, what matters to you, and what do you want your legacy to be?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

I think what I define success today is not just time, but where am I mentally? So if I'm with my kids, am I able to be present? And if I am, to me, that's successful or that I talk about the first three. The evening routine would be, like, something I was like, dreading. Slash, can we hurry this up? Because I have to go back to work.

[Interviewer/Producer]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

And now to be like, let's do bath time now. You want to read a book? Let's read a book. Like, the fact that I have that ability to just do that and there's no fires and I don't need to respond to any emergency situations is like, that, to me, is ultimate success.

[Hal Elrod]

That's great. So from being the business owner to now working for the business that you started, it's a much better lifestyle. It sounds like it's great.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

I mean, there are lots of issues, but guess what? They're not my problems anymore.

[Hal Elrod]

Yeah. Amen to that. That's amazing. So the book is fearless. I want to make sure we highlight this because I know that you just redid. You added the new chapter, you added the new content on making money, managing money, investing money, all of that. Where is the best place for people to get the book and to follow you and keep learning from you?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

You can get the book wherever books are sold. Amazon is probably the easiest, but it's available at Barnes and Noble, Target. I'm gonna be doing a couple more book events in LA on March 28th, so follow me, Eckyminkoff, if you want a slice of me and my personal life and the real Rebecca, not the edited one. And follow Rebecca Minkoffer. A lot of brand, but also me. And you can click the links and follow through to buy the book or listen to my podcast too.

[Hal Elrod]

Is it the Rebecca Minkoff Podcast?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

It's called Super Women with Rebecca Minkoff, and I started it in 2018. And it's really about taking women. Sorry, you don't qualify, Hal.

[Hal Elrod]

Dang it.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Women who've seemingly achieved, again, the dream, but really going through their failures, how they overcame them, and sort of taking the varnish off a little bit and saying, this is someone you really admired. And look what she had to go through to do this and the hard work involved.

[Hal Elrod]

So amazing. So that's super women.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah. Super Women with Rebecca Minkoff. Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

And did you say that your personal social media is Becky Minkoff?

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

Okay. Awesome.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Yeah.

[Hal Elrod]

Well, Rebecca, I. I'm so grateful that we got connected. I just admire you. I have a lot of appreciation and love for you. I'm so grateful that we got to do this today.

[Rebecca Minkoff]

Well, thank you for having me, Hal.

[Hal Elrod]

Absolutely. All right, everybody. The book is the new rules for unlocking creativity, courage, and success. Go grab a copy and it will help you to overcome your fears and do the things you're afraid of to achieve the life, the success, and the fulfillment that you just heard from Rebecca Minkoff today. Love you all, and I'll talk to you next week.

[Podcast Outro Announcer]

Thanks for listening. To learn more about the achieve your goals podcast and to get access today's show, show notes, transcript and exclusive content from hal Elrod, visit Halelrod.com podcast thanks again for joining us. Be sure to tune in next week for another episode of the achieve your goals podcast.