Steve Madden

Published Jul 6, 2021, 7:30 AM

On finding success in your thirties and going where the fish are.

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So I'm just wondering if Prince Harry is going to be in US weekly magazine. In the Royals, they're just like US section buying diapers in the baby aisle of Hughes Supermarket, Like do they even have Hughes anymore? Or maybe it's Ralph's Ralph's Supermarket. But I've been around a long time and I've been reading um headlines at the nail salon for years, and remember when it was like every day Paris Hilton, Um, Nicole Ritchie, Lindsay Lohan, where every single day they were on the cover of every magazine as like Freenemies and everything that they did, like that was sort of one magazine. Pop culture was on full tilt because they were like reality stars and everybody was so accessible and people would call the barazzi. It was like then it was like Heidi and Spencer are these people that were on every single day? I mean, the Kardashians are in the press all the time, but there are just certain people that every single day it's a new headline with the same regurgitated garbage. So the Royals used to be somewhat inaccessible, like it used to be that we would just be like oh my god, we got a picture of Princess Kate, you know, going to pick up the kids from school, or when Diana would be in a sweatshirt. Just it was sort of it was captivating, but there was definitely a veil, you know, And I feel like when Prince Harry and Megan defected, the veil was lifted, and they're just so accessible and I feel like they had so much more protection where they were in the royal family, like everything that they said they wanted to achieve by being totally private and Oprah sent you know, just because they want to be private, it doesn't mean they want to be silent. Just because you want privacy doesn't mean you need to be silent, which I don't know if I agree for a minute you've got to be silent to become private. Um. There are celebrities that are really anonymous and private because they choose to be so, and then I always doing something, saying something, being photographed with some message. So I just feel like they're totally accessible now and they're just like sort of semi normal celebrities. They don't seem like royals at all anymore. And I certainly would rather be like an inaccessible royal then you know, a celebrity. I mean soon they're gonna be in like celebrity rehab with Doctor Drew, just like talking about their marital problems. We're gonna be like fully, they're like, you know, do a reality show with like Beatrice and Eugenie and and and and Prince Andrew, the black sheep of the family, just like so accessible, get the camera crew out. I don't think that the Queen would be on the reality show. I really don't. Maybe William and Kate would make a cameo. I'm not sure because they don't want to be smeared the way that they have been. But uh, and I'm being into touchy, touchy murky territory now as I have before. But I'm cool with that because I can't live in fear so Royals they're just like us, don't We need to see more pictures of the royals doing normal things, just like they dug up a picture of Harry riding a bicycle years ago, and you know, they hang out with their chickens and Harry rides a bike in in in Santa Barbara and just goes to the beach, and they're just like they're normal. Now they're just totally normal. Like you know, next is gonna be just like we're gonna see him at Barry's boot camp, or you know, Megan is gonna be a soul cycle class getting a latte. He's gonna be doing TikTok soon. Royal talk. What do you all think? Do we need more accessibility to the royals? I feel like they should just put cameras inside the Royal Palace and we should just like go right in there. I mean, the veil has been lifted. My guest today Steve Madden and Entrepreneur, award winning shoe designer and business titan, mark the thirty year anniversary of Steve Madden, his luxury shoe brand. He has a devoted family man, recovering addict, philanthropist and mentor who supports a number of organizations that help those in need of a second chance. He has been through the ringer. He has a crazy story. Today we talked about why you need to be a little fearless when it comes to starting a business, the importance of finding good leadership within your business. Have a lot of success involves capitalizing on lucky breaks, and why quality is more important than quantity. Steve story is really inspiring and I think you'll love our conversation. So we know each other, um, and we talked about business before, and you're very much a branding person, very much an entrepreneur. You're hungry, you're driven, and you are definitely passionate. You are intense, polarizing, I'm sure. Um, So when did you really get started in business? You worked at this shoe store? What when you were so? Okay? So I went, I worked in a shoe store when I was in high school, and the owner of the store was like became like a mentor to me, Like I really looked up to the guy. He was. I was, you know, seventeen, he was twenty eight and and at that time shoes, ladies shoes and men's shoes were it's experiencing a revolution. Platforms came in, so it was really exciting and different, and it was a bunch of what was different from me was was it was like artists, hippie guys making money right and and my only experience with people successful were people like my dad who wore like hats and made the Long Island Railroad and Gary briefcases and voted for Nixon kind of a thing, and so now you had, like these freaks that went to Woodstock were now being creative. So you know, it was long past Woodstock, it was, but that influence, so it was it was different, and it piqued my interest that I could make a lot of money, I could be around girls, I could be creative. Like all of these things hit me. So you're an artist in addition to an entrepreneur. You consider yourself to be artistic in that way. I don't mean that you can draw. I just mean that you have that fashion flair, that you don't come in that package, but that you have that sort of creative fashion artistic part of you. It's marketing. I may not be an artist, but I certainly suffer from the artist temperament. Okay, no, you do. You need to be creative. You cannot be trapped. Is that true? You know? You know? I mean, yes, I suppose I was. I don't really think of it like that. Uh, this is what I do for a live and I never really I mean, I have thought about it. I shouldn't say I haven't thought about it, but it's not something. So I very proudly say that I create shoes and make shoes to pay my rent. This is what I do. I'm a I'm a professional, you know when when I'm very connected to the I'm very connected to that. You know, I don't. I never really fancied. Uh people who are you know, art for art's sake and um, And I don't like people around me, I mean around me working for me, who who are into that? But I definitely nurture and worship creativity. But it's to the to that end. Well, later I'll get to philanthropy because with me, the twain don't meet. You're working to make money, you're doing philanthropy to help people their separate. Yes, they're not necessarily connected. Yes, well everything is connected, Bethany. Everything in my life is connected, and my work and philanthropy and all of it. It's all all has to do with the shoes selling ultimately. I you know, I remember reading about John Lennon and Paul McCartney and everybody thinks of them. As you know, back in the day, John Lennon was the ultimate like sort of hippie. But when they wrote songs together like I Want to Hold your Hand, Paul would say to John, well, we just we just got a new swimming pool. You know, so they were very connected to that too. Yeah, I understand they don't have to be mutually exclusive. Absolutely, they were very like, oh okay, we just got ourselves another house, you know, and and I remember being struck with that. They were very because at the time it was very sort of you know that time, every sort of hippie dippie and all of that. We're allowed to make, don't you know, off of something that you love and you probably will make money because you love it. It's interesting that you really stayed close to the line because people make the mistake of branching out, like you're that good at one thing, and you've mastered one space of democratizing fashionable shoes you know, that are aspirational but still affordable. So for people who really you know, are going check to check, it's aspirational. But for people that can afford anything they want, they're still really fashionable. So my question to you is why didn't you dive really deeply into other areas that would be so tempting for you to think, you know, so, so why don't you do that? Um? I I sort of have a sort of had some core you know, business philosophies and so I thought, you know, we'll just be as good as we can be. And Uh, the other thing I just want to mention when you were talking, was so doing it for a living, which is what I say it too is one thing. But I always believed that if I made great shoes and made shoes that people wanted to buy, that everything would take care of itself. That I wouldn't have to worry about, you know, lawyers and ke and L's and accountants, that all I had to do. I was I had this knowledge somehow that if I knew how to make shoes that girls wanted to buy, that everything was gonna work out. And that is still the overruding philosophy of my company today. When we get distracted, we have other things, you know, buy backs, dividends, buying other companies. It's like, okay, we're going back and during the pandemic, let's go back to our knitting. We're going to make great shoes that people want to buy. So you're talking about the culture of your company of people at home who are starting something. It's all about its usually usually things. It's so funny because I talked to people here and say, they really don't know tricks it's about hard work. If you really work card you're focus, you're driven, you're going with your gut. You actually know that what you're on the right path, you will be successful. Most people don't work that hard, and people get tricked by the bells and whistles, and I say, everything is your business. If you bother to do it, do it well. I don't make a piece of chicken. If I don't make it, I don't just throw it in the microwave. I'd rather not I'd rather not make it. I'd rather than not eat. I hate average in anything, so I'm bothered with things that are average. I would just rather not do it. So I feel that you're just saying, if we're doing this thing, we're doing this thing well. So for everybody listening, whatever you're doing, just do well. Just don't do it. You're not it's not bet, you're not better than it. It's not it's shoes, it's buttons. It doesn't matter what you're doing. Just do it in a quality versus quantity perspective. So that's what you were saying. Okay, so great, so um, as far as luck um, everybody has a different sort of opinion of what luck is you make your own luck. You see luck, then you it's where you take it. What percentage is it lucky and smart with you? I've always believed that business acumen and intelligence has to do with the fact that you recognize that you just got a lucky break. Okay. So I don't think like human beings like we're much different on the I Q like I don't. I think we're all kind of dumb and all kind of smart unless you're you know, Bill Gates or one of those outliers. You know, I'm I'm an average guy, Okay, But I believed that I had the knowledge to know when I was lucky. I always said, when the window is open, I went and jumped through it. You know, some people get those lucky breaks and they don't take advantage of them. So I like to think that's what I did. Well, that's right, primal, It's very simple. It doesn't seem that smart, but it's just basic. Yeah, I don't think it has so much to do with it, you know, like overall intelligence. There's many people I've met that are smarter than me. But I just had this innate sense when good fortune was smiling on me, and so I better double damn right now, Well, you just said something interesting. We all know people of NBA's were really really quote unquote smart and can process information within a box, within an educational box. All of a sudden they get out of there and they're not good because they're not fearless. You're fearless. I'm fearless. You're just fucking jumping out that window. And being fearless is really great because when you jump, you fly, if you can handle it, if you can handle the storm, if you can handle the blow, like and you're a person who's had a lot of crazy hardship, which we'll get into, but that's part of it being, you know, not reckless, which you've been, but fearless, which is important. You've got to take some risks. I'm not. I don't know. I'm not so fearless today. I'm not fearless with my kids, I can tell you know. But when you had nothing, you were fearless to start this business. You might not be able to start this again, right now? Would you from the beginning? Oh no, I would not. I don't know if I would have. I wouldn't do it again. I couldn't do it. I don't have to that the strain made to do it again. It was you know, you know I started my business and I was thirty one and thirty two, thirty one or thirty two, I you know, it was like I was a maniac. That was just there was nothing that I wouldn't do to win. And that's good and dad, But you know, I I tell the story like I remember like being in a traffic jam in a car and getting I had a driver, even when I was broke, as a terrible driver. So and I remember getting out of the car and directing traffic literally getting out and and and holding cars up because it was not ed up, Like there was nothing that I wouldn't do to to make something happen. And that was two years old. You were doing that. So when did you feel like you could open the mini bar and get the suite at a hotel? What age? Um? Probably uh, three years later, so you were later than a lot of people. You know, I was late to I was thirty seven years old. I went from broke to having money late in life. So that's scary at a point when you don't have a you know, you don't have a safety net and you're still hustling and still pitching your ship to people, and you're like, later in your thirties, it's not that cute, and you have a man you have to buy at that that point, of course, I'll take women back a hundred years. But you're in New York City. You have to pay your rent, you gotta buy girls drinks, you gotta act like you're you know, somebody, and being the man and not having any money is not that cute New York City in your thirties. Yeah, I started to get a little like I remember I had this girlfriend and in the village in Greenwich Village, and and I remember taking her because it was such an insecure idiot, you know. I remember taking her to the A T M. And I had like fifteen thousand dollars in the account, and I was so proud of that. It was like the most thing I ever had. And I remember like it would come up on the screen and I would like show off her. Look fifteen thousand. I'm a baller, you know. So it was like that, you know, like, uh, it was sort of. I never really had more than twenty dollars together. I mean when I went into the Housewives eight thousand, I didn't come wealthy like it went pretty much quickly, you know, I went from and then all of a sudden, I was flying on private fast. Yeah, it's pretty much pretty much. And it was well, did you ever have debt? No, Steve Madden really was was never really never had debt. Steve Madden, the company, Steve person in Moh my god. In my twenties, I was such a disaster. You know, I got I got sober when I was thirty one, and so my life changed. But I was a complete disaster. Uh in my twenties. Uh, in every facet of my life. And I was using and uh, you know, I was working for a shoe company before I started Steve Madden. I was, I was good, but I was high. You know, it was high, and you know, a mess. And but when you're in your twenties, you sort of can you can sort of kind of get away with it because you can wake up and you know, go to work and you can sleep it off on the weekends. You don't have responsibilities, you don't have kids, you have to be anywhere for the most part. Yeah, but I was a disaster. But then just fast forwards, Steve Madden never had debt. The company never got it. Okay, so we have a very We have a lot of parallels. I had dad as a person, I mean I had credit card, nothing crazy that I combined everything together, but I never had debt. As a company, I saw I own a hundred percent of Skinny Girl besides the cocktails. So that's interesting too. So thirty one, you get clean, you start your business. What what age were you? And we're gonna get into that whole the whole crazy period of your life, not that at all hasn't been crazy, but is now with three kids in school in Manhattan crazy. I don't think that's as crazy because it's more contained. I think you are a loose horse before and you're at least like in you know, in a box, like you're contained. Yeah, it's not as crazy, but it's definitely heart wrenching. And many ways are you do you mean just watching your kids not be not socialized and be homeschooled, or watching your city be crumbled, which part just the whole thing. I have three children. It came to me late in life. I had my first kids of forty nine, had twins. You know, nothing terrible, but you know, just stuff not you know, you know, not doing well in one class or just stuff just well, it's keeps going. We keep managing ship and it gets harder as we get older. It's really it's really something. So um, dinosaurs, we are older. You're older than I am. And you you've talked about being sixty and you still feel like you have the fire in you, but I'm sure your body is not feeling the same way. So how do you still know what's cool and hip and what's going on in your business when you're not the young demo and you know? And how do you have somebody else who really has their the pulse on the street like people that work for you. Managing people for me is the hardest part of a business. So both of those things, Oh, it's I guess the three part. You went away and your business thrived while away, which is the true test of a good business because it means it can survive without you. So all of this is what I want to understand about your business, making it thrive without you, knowing how to keep stay hip when you could become a dinosaur in your own business, and um, managing people, Well, let's just say that knowing what you don't know is a tremendous asset in the business. So we we have to acknowledge that I'm do you know, I'm not going to clubs and taking ecstasy anymore. We can acknowledge that. Okay, you can acknowledge that so or you know, I'm not in the life you know or whatever you know, and people artists and businessman age and one has to deal with it. So for me, I know what I don't know. And I have surrounded myself with a tremendous team and many are better than me, and I've talked them all. I'm quite proud, and many of them are actually better than me. Now I have to like remember that I talked them, so I don't jump off a building. But you know, I'm okay. But I'm definitely not the smartest guy in the room. But um so we got this great team. The teamwork is very important for you know, a business business my size, especially especially with founders. You know, founders tend to which you are one, Bethany, but founders tend to come up the work sometimes because they're perfectionists and like everything is important. Everything is important to them. Um I remember at it. We we have these shoes shows in the showrooms and we cater food and we have all the we had. This was before the pandemic. All the buyers would come up from all over the country. And I remember the chocolate chip cookies tasted bad, and I called the caterer and I went crazy, said, you can't have cookies that tastes like medicine. You cannot do that, like I wasting. People are looking at me like, you're man, you can't run a billion dollar company working at the cookies. So yes, we've you know, we've have young people and and and the reason I say young people is because there's been a revolution in the last ten years. It's like that. I feel like this society and business kind of didn't move up until about twelve years ago, fifteen years ago, and all of a sudden, we're in a cycle now that's moving so quick. Every every month there's something new and so and it's mostly because of the phone and because social media. So I would so I had come as someone that didn't grow up with social media, like you know, it's not a it's not an instinctual thing for me. And uh, I have a bunch of young people that live and breathe all the you know, social media platforms, and we're very advanced as a company. And you know, I love it. I you know, I'm not really I don't. I'm not on TikTok but my children. And is it selling shoes? Is TikTok selling shoes for you? Fantastic? So how important is social media for you? It's everything, It's everything outside of my what I do, which is make the donuts. So that hasn't changed, thankfully. Um and what about e commerce? How strong was your e commerce during this pandemic? How much did that quote unquote savior your retail business In many ways, our e commerce business is tremendous. It is exploated beyond my wild the streams, the numbers are astronomical, and you know we've sped up into the future. You know, that's what the pandemic did. Again, just to remind you, just to reiterate, it's actually good for me to even hear myself saying these words. It still hasn't changed. My basic function is, which is making shoes that people want to buy, which is what I focus on. And uh so the platforms have changed dramatically, not the platform, shoes, the vehicle. Yea, yes, it's tremendous. We're even gonna be doing more stuff on YouTube. And you know, I'm thinking of having a little show on YouTube and not like what you do with the podcast, but like a shoe show, like I like this shoe. You know, It's it's very exciting time. It's very exciting for me. I'm I'm as excited as I've been in twenty years. Wow, that's amazing. Yes, because because because the internet is so damn exciting. It's so and you could put up shoes and get reaction and it's fantastic. So now what what drives you? Is it? I don't know, I mean just the money. The money is like the scorecard as we know, is that the game? Is that the idea. It's not your kids. Your kids are set up forever anyway. Sometimes people say that, and you know, and if we say that, but we know that our kids are fine, you know, way better than we grew up. So what makes you want to do this all the time? You're addicted to the idea, the execution of the idea. What makes you keep going? And people around you're like, fucking stop, relaxed, It's like enough, what is it? Yes? I was born this way I'm very competitive. I was competitive, is you know a ten year old? Uh, and I'm competitive now. I want everybody to wear my shoes. I just want people to just love my shoes. For love. You're looking for love. I believe that you're looking for love and adoration, well adoration even though yes, all right, so now let's get into the stuff that really people can definitely relate to, which is hitting the bottom twice. I feel like you you had you said before you were you are an addict. You had recovering addict, okay, and you had a relapse. So what's harder the first time to quit or the relapse, which is really the bottom? Which is worse. I haven't had a drink in twenty one years, though I had a relapse on pain pills. But it's a day at a time, you know, So we didn't talk about it. Sobriety is the most important thing in my life. Uh, it's hard sometimes and there are days when it's not right. So like that's when I'm in trouble, on those days when I think more about money or love or family or whatever. No, sobriety is more important than family. Sobriety is more important than my children. Sobriety is more important than Steve madden shoes. And that's the fact. And the days that I know that are the days that I'm good. That's powerful. Do people say that? Do that? It's more paramount anything. Everything goes if I use everything goes, children, money, self esteem, death could be shortly coming. My demise will come at this age, will come shortly thereafter. And so that's why it's everything, do you every My mind always plays tricks on me. In some mornings, I wake up and, uh, you know, I think God, life is so beautiful and I'm the most blessed man and you know, wonderful. And then there are mornings when I wake up and I I hate myself. I think you're just the most selfish, self centered motherfucker. People only like you because you have money. I have those days, they are not I have more of the good days. But are the bad days connected to saying I could have a drink today or it's not like that? Eventually, if you allow yourself to wallow and that, you will head in the wrong direction. So I like to say, you know, am I headed shorts a drink or away from a drink today? You know? And you know, it's a good little sort of internal question. And uh, and the pandemic has been tough. You know, it's been tough because you had a lot of time alone. And I thought about that for people very beginning. I thought, Hey, where are people going to get it? People were desperate in the beginning of where to get their fixed? Super desperate and crazy. I thought about at the beginning, Yeah, it's been it's been a dark time. And you don't think about every pocket of how emotionally our minds have played tricks on us. You feel depressed, you feel a malaise, you feel blah, you don't know what's going on. It's been a really hard time. And yeah, it is good that there were places for people to get help. But I thought about what it would be like to be using and to in the pandemic. You can hide trying to You could hide, but you'd have to procure your drug of choice. And I actually thought about, Oh my god, that's gotta be just so awful. And so I'm so grateful. It's not something I'm ashamed of. I think it's honorable that you talk about it. I think you have to talk about your flaws. So was your low point um getting into trouble and going away, or was your low point your addiction or they all intertwined, and what was your high point? Like, what's the most successful thing you've ever done, besides having kids. I'm sure that's the joy of your life. And you can mention that. Obviously, let's take kids out, because having kids is the greatest thing for me. But certainly when I opened, uh my first story, big yeah, yeah, bigger than public, Yeah, public was it was. It was a little bit more ephemeral. I mean, you you go public and then your public, and then all of a sudden that's becomes It's not so it's not a big deal. Not to be corny, but I was so proud of my team and my company during the pandemic. I feel like we're headed out of it now, but you know, the company, it was devastating, you know when we went into it's like all of a sudden, stores are closed all over the world. You know, it was devastating. You were scared, you're actually nervous. I was, uh, not as nervous as Look, I had money in the bed, so I knew that I'd be okay. So and I know that's you know, I've what's going on. No, no, no, but but I you don't have to think like that. My kids could be okay. But but then the company has just been through almost it's like a nuclear attack on this and my company. This company we are. We've got through the pandemic, and we went through the worst of it. We stayed with it. We opened in shifts. We're still not open fully. And the team that I worked with, we built great shoes. We shifted to the internet, you know, the focus, we shifted to so many things. I am so proud of my company right now that we have been through this thing. We didn't take any any money from the government, and you know, we flourished and we're stronger than we've ever been. Here. We are in April two one, and I'm stronger today than I've ever been. And we have been through a retail absolutely no scenario. Stores all over the world at eighteen stores, eighteen stores in Israel, closed stores in Dubai, closed stores in Europe closed. Uh, just devastating. And my partners, uh, you know, Nordstrom went through the same things, Macy's and you know, the government, you know, the stimulus was helpful and we're getting through it and but we didn't lose our Yeah. Everyone, the takeaway here is that you got you get stunned like a deer for two minutes. You cannot live in that. You need to grab the steering. We are really tight because you're going you know you're gonna be on a rocky road. But you just don't let go and you take a breath and you figure out what you're gonna do. Because where there's where they're stress, there's relief somewhere else. You just have to figure out where it is. And I think this is going to be a gold rush and that seeds were planted during the pandemic that will grow into trees and flowers afterwards. If you sat there panicked and didn't move and be nimble, that's not going to be great. But that's why the word pivot has been to popular words shift. People restructured, people realize how many people they really need to have working for them, how much they have to don't be on an airplane and go to a hotel and change your business, so there's still time to figure out how to restructure, regroup, and you know, just reorganized. So that's what I think, and in every way, real estate, online e comm or social media, retail like it all has changed and it won't. You can't sleep on it either because it's not gonna come back, and then we can't be not prepared for that. So it's a good time to really just assess and be nimble. That's what I think. So what made you go public besides like and not sell your company and how much of your company do you own? What are you what's your title? Like? I don't really know about that kind of stuff. So it was a little different because we went public with Strattonoma, which is the famous world of Wall shot out some little shenanigans and all of that. Um chief creative, it's a little lofty, the chief chief creator. I was forced to resign as the CEO, and I had a seven year ban and uh that started in the sec ban me. And so when the seven years was up, uh fast forward to two thousand eight or nine or whatever it was, I I thought, I got this amazing CEO. I hired this young guy that's a whiz fantastic, gets me, gets the company, and you know, and I was able to because I was forced to do it. And it was a terrible CEO emotional screaming the worst, you guy. You know, So I was able to be Steve and have others run the other stuff, and we were wating. We're able to let go and build your foundation properly and delegate and just let someone be better than you at that finding someone doesn't mean pluck um. We should. We should. Here's a good show that we could do on letting go. But that's it's not easy for someone like me to not run everything same. But until you find the right people to do it, it's not that easy, and you have to stop down the rocket ship. It's reminds you of there is a saying, you know, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear perfect. All right, Well, and uh so that's sort of a I love it. So the last thing I want to ask is, so you've had astronomical success um in the fashion world, in the business world. You're very very charismatic, successful role model, business story. And you give back. It's undeniable. You give back your philanthropist. So even the things that have been the worst things in my life, I genuinely do not regret. Yeah, so do you have do you regret with those your low points or your low points also contributing to your high points. Well, sure, I mean, you know, every you're on a path and everything leads you to somewhere. And that's the one answer that I have given. Certainly, I regret some of my behavior I couldn't. I'm glad I was able to get sober. Uh. I regret the some of being so shortsighted with this in the Stratton Oak month phase. I regret that I was fearful and took shortcuts and I was so intoxicated by I mean, if you saw the movie, you know that whole bit. So I do regret. I do regret my behavior, and I certainly wish I was more successful in my marriage. I regret that. And uh so I definitely have regrets. And yeah, I mean I do. I'm I'm I'm happy. All the pain and suffering kind of leads you to somewhere and you're happy. Now. You sound like you're in a good place. I am. I am happy most days. Yes, I'm happy right now talking to you. Yeah, I'm happy to what's your what's your mantra? And maybe it may have changed, but what is your sort of blanket statement? Oh my god, you know what I could answer this question on different days, in different ways. Every day, what's today? I just I believe in showing up. You know, we're talking to entrepreneurs out there that are going to be listening that young women that admire you, and you know, I really believe in showing up. I believe in doing the next thing. Um, some people say do the next right thing. I don't necessarily believe that, because one never knows what is the right thing. But if you keep showing up, putting yourself in position to have things happen for you in whatever aspect, intellectually, business wise, sexually, whatever it is, just keep showing up, you know. I mean, I really believe it's important. I love that, and no one said that yet. I love that. That's good showing up and it's something very tangible. So I appreciate that in every way. That'd be somebody who shows up for everything. You're amazing. I'm glad I watched the documentary. I'm glad it made me think of calling you. I already had you on the list, but this is exciting and you have a great story, and um, I'm so let's talk to you, and thanks for taking the time. You're very busy, Yes, good to see you. Steve Madden has a documentary out which I know him perfectly, but I know him, I have his phone number, we've met before. That's a major brand and international brand, and people here that I want to have on you may not be thinking about every day. You know. It's like somebody unexpected and then all of a sudden you say to yourself, Wow, yeah that's right, Steven Man. Those shoes are everywhere, and how did that happen? Who is that person behind it? That's a lot of what makes me tick. And I love doing this so much because I'll read information on people that I even know. Um And he's insightful. He's honest about where he's come from, about where he's going, what he's doing, about parenting, about addiction, about going to jail, about going public, about humanity, about philanthropy. He helps people who have been incarcerated. Uh, he gives back a lot. And I just think these stories continue to be more deep intertwined. And if you listen to this podcast, you're going to get something different from each person, and you can combine all of those things together into your own entrepreneurial and personal puzzle. So I appreciate you for listening, grate, review, and subscribe. Ah, and we keep going. It's keeps getting better and better. Just B is hosted and executive produced by me, Bethany Frankel. Just Be as a production of Be Real Productions and I Heart Radio. Our Managing Producer is Fiona Smith, and our producer is Stephanie Stender. Our EP is Morgan Levoy. To catch more moments from the show, follow us on Instagram at just Be with Bethany

Just B with Bethenny Frankel

If you can’t handle the truth you can’t handle this podcast. Just B with Bethenny Frankel is the bes 
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