Ep 146 - You are as likely to encounter Francine Farkas Sears entertaining royalty as you are to find her breaking out of a Polish prison. She has done both. You may hear about her most recent trip to her villa in the South of France or she might tell you about the time she surprised a husband (there have been a few!) with a good bottle of champagne….in Nepal. She recounts such stories with a nonchalance that leaves you questioning whether you heard her correctly. One is also left with the impression that Francine most always has an outrageously good time, regardless of where she is, what she is doing, or how hard she is working. Join us as we speak to a truly inspirational female CEO, board member, philanthropist, and reining dynamo of Women in Business.
Listen in to learn the importance of taking care of your mental and physical wellbeing to balance life and work as a woman. You will also learn the importance of being knowledgeable about your wealth and that of your family as a woman.
Key Takeaways:
- How to prove yourself to be deserving by not giving up and showing up fiercely
- Learn to love yourself as a woman as much as you love your work by taking things step by step
- How to get away from daily life to make a clear decision
- The importance of knowing your business and having an attitude of gratitude
- Take what others do and make it your own to find success as a young person
In this episode you'll discover:
How Francine became the first woman stockbroker in the 60s and her interesting background [1:24]
The responsibility we have as women to come together and eliminate prejudice [6:51]
Francine defines the most important part of her success as having a man that believed in her [9:29]
Learn when to walk away and when to fight to balance your life and work [11:18]
She advises women to take care of their physical and mental well-being [17:37]
Why believing, building, and training each other as women is the future [22:30]
Francine talks about some of the activities she does to stay healthy and young at 80 years [24:58]
The best advice she's ever been given was to never give up [28:28]
How to be tough and to back off when the need arises, plus having an attitude of gratitude [30:56]
She advises young people to work in different fields and learn from others' success [33:03]
The importance of taking NO as a delayed YES [39:20]
Tips on how to live your personal and business life as a young or old person [40:12]
WHO IS SHE?
Francine Sears is the President and Owner of Fabrique Collections. Francine boasts 40 years of experience in the business world. Throughout her long and productive career, Francine has touched many with her generosity, savvy, and honor. Always known as a leader, Francine has launched the careers of many younger women and even found the time to raise five children.
Raised in The Bronx, Francine grew up a gritty, funny kid who wasn't afraid to take on big things. As a young woman, she took her first job as a receptionist at a popular salon. Ever the entrepreneur, Francine quickly had the brilliant idea to bring in a small collection of Pucci-like dresses to sell to the salon's customers (a captive audience!) and used her charm to convince the owner that it was a winning idea. Before long, the salon and Francine's carefully curated clothing collection became the talk of The Grand Concourse and caught the eye of the big wigs at the famed Alexander's Department Store.
Francine would eventually work her way up to become Fashion Director and Vice President of Alexander's, but not before leaving her entry-level position there for a stint as a famed stockbroker leading the Wall Street Path for women. It's worth noting that this was in the 1960s…and that she was simultaneously raising a young family during this time!
Francine revolutionized the American department store while at Alexander's by providing customers with creative experiences - live, star-studded fashion shows! An exotic collection of home goods from the Far East! Pretty sales associates dressed in hot pants working in the tie department! But Francine, always able to see the big picture, also recognized that there were customers who enjoyed the style and entertainment of Alexander's but weren't interested in paying the prices for designer labels. So, she created fashion designer pieces (un-labeled) of equal adaptions; quality, and style at a fraction of the price. This turned out to be a hugely successful formula and one that is still followed today.
Once her tenure at Alexander's had run its course, the endlessly energetic Francine decided to start her own company. From scratch. A woman always ahead of her time, in the late '70s Francine recognized the opportunity in forming a company that would specialize in making technology cases. Fabrique has since evolved to design and manufacture cases for the world's leading consumer technology companies. From there, she launched Women in Business to provide professional women with feminine yet functional computer bags and electronics accessories.
Francine's CV leaves one mystified as to how she has fit so many successful accomplishments into her life while still managing to look as though she's just returned from a relaxing vacation. Certainly, there is no need for Francine to continue working but for her tremendous drive and dedication to hard work and the creative process. Additionally, her commitment to women's causes propels her to continually strive for new ways to reach out. As such, she's not done yet…
Evolution and style have been constants in each phase and in all aspects of Francine's remarkable life. She is proud to introduce Francine Collections, her extraordinary new assemblage of bags and accessories that was inspired by a very full life lived very well. Francine Collections blends her passion for business, love of travel, eye for style, and innate understanding of what modern women are looking for in beautifully designed and crafted cases, accessories, and more.
RESOURCES
Women's President Organization
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Donna Miller is the founder and CEO of Purse Power, Let's Share the Journey. Purse Power promotes women led, women owned businesses by providing a Google extension which allows everyone who visits your website to locate nearby businesses.
Let's Share the Journey holds calls at 10 AM Central every Friday to learn from national leaders to share expertise, ideas, and support. One week a month features Zoom Room networking. We support Donna's endeavor and have provided the speaker calls in a podcast format. Please join her on Friday mornings! You can register for the calls here.