18 Dec The Business of Authenticity: Bethenny Frankel on Building Billion Dollar Brands

Bold. Unabashed. Audacious. Authentic.

I’ve always had people that loved me for who I was, and my fair share of haters along the way.

So even though I’d never heard or watched Bethenny Frankel before I sat down on a Zoom call with her, I immediately saw why my wife and daughters (and so many millions of others) love her so much. Whether our conversation went from her time on reality TV to Skinnygirl to her time as a revolutionary influencer, one word stood out in my mind and her mouth: authenticity.

“It was disruptive because it was just me.”

Frankel’s rise to fame was steady, thanks to television. After carefully growing her profile by finishing as a runner-up on the 2005 run of The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, she had a meteoric rise to prominence by starring in The Real Housewives of New York City for its first three seasons. I admire her start–after all, before I became an entrepreneur, I starred on the Fox TV reality series Paradise Hotel.

While being an unfiltered “boss bitch” on RHONY, Frankel became a beverage mogul. In 2009, she created Skinnygirl Margarita, the launchpoint for the prolific Skinnygirl Cocktails. In just two years, she grew the cocktail line enough for a nine-figure buyout which didn’t even require her to sell the Skinnygirl brand.

These two pursuits may seem unrelated, but they were always synergistic in Frankel’s mind. “Skinnygirl was not successful because of the product. It was successful because of me,” she mused. Frankel believes this venture succeeded because of her authenticity, both in terms of her personality and genuine passion for the product. Skinnygirl was more than just a drink–it was a brand headed by a “real housewife” and all that represents: beauty, glamor, and a larger-than-life personality. But it was more than just a celebrity-backed brand–Frankel loved her drinks just as much as she loved dishing it on the airwaves.

In fact, Frankel has rejoined the alcoholic beverage industry with her newest venture: Forever Young. Bethenny combines her youthful frankness with refreshing wines from Chateau Roubine that are straight to the point. She was nice enough to send me some and, let me tell you, it was some excellent wine! My wife and I enjoyed it over a date night with some cheese and crackers.

“It’s hard to be successful at something that’s not authentic. Being an entrepreneur really comes from within.”

I’ve encountered many businesspeople over the years who are afraid of being their authentic, vulnerable selves online or even offline. But authenticity and vulnerability are precisely what’s gotten Frankel so far! Today, Bethenny is one of the most sought out influencers in the world. She will review many types of products, but she is especially known for her food reviews. Her frankness permeates every aspect of every review. In an amusing anecdote, she recalled how she negatively reviewed her friend’s pizza roll–”it was like a pastry in the worst way.”

Bethenny’s unabashed honesty is not only an entertaining quirk, but also a crucial foundation of her success as an influencer. She insightfully remarked that when people are reviewing five products a day and their revenue is contingent on good relationships with the companies they review, they MUST be lying. Most influencers do not make it as far as Frankel because people can tell they are not being genuine one-hundred percent of the time, making their opinions far less valuable. In contrast, Frankel built her brand prior to becoming an influencer. Her hot takes are highly in demand because they reflect a genuine opinion, and this is what holds more currency with the public.

“My biggest business is a brand business. My biggest business is being an accidental influencer. That’s the biggest thing I’ve done in my career.”

Another thing I learned from Frankel is that unfiltered honesty makes bold statements more palatable. Bethenny was unafraid to tell me the extent of her success, comparing her ability to move products to Warren Buffet’s ability to move markets. Ordinarily, I might find comments like this a bit off-putting-  but in Frankel’s case it comes across as charming and endearing. Because she is so straightforward, you can tell she believes every word of it. And the fact that she does is what makes her so compelling–the appearance of being untethered is surprisingly relatable and tethered to the reality of human experience.

To be clear, I’m not saying you should compare yourself to Steve Jobs in every interview. In most cases, imitations of what Frankel does will come across as disingenuous. What I am saying is this:

You can be courageous enough to report your positive qualities with confidence if you genuinely believe in them. You can be your authentic, vulnerable self.

Bethenny Frankel has made a career out of authenticity. This might not be the entire foundation of your career, but it certainly can make a difference for you, in a positive way.

“I might not like the people involved, but if it’s a good thing, I’ll say it. The truth always wins.”