Don’t be afraid to chart your own path,” says Carol Roth, a hard-hitting business advisor, entrepreneur and author of The Entrepreneur Equation. Smart, savvy and sexy Roth, breaks the rules, makes her own and then unabashedly “walks the walk.”
The audacious entrepreneur and owner of Intercap Merchant Partners, whose career started as an investment banker at San Francisco-based Montgomery Securities 16 years ago, started collecting dolls in 2000. An active participant in the online collecting community, Roth noticed Integrity Toys collectors were craving a formalized club community. With her background in branded firms, strategy and monetization, Roth pitched the W Club concept to Integrity Toys owner Percy Newsum and creative director Jason Wu. They agreed to test try it, and the rest is history. Roth’s firm and Integrity Toys have been running the club successfully for six years now.
And throughout the years, Roth’s role at Integrity Toys grew to include project management and negotiation for licensed product, like the “Katy Perry” doll, “Princess Tiana” and the Dark Hunter series. Additionally, Roth co-hosts Integrity Toys’ annual convention with Alain Tremblay, Integrity Toys’ marketing director/event coordinator.
Now Roth is shaking up the business world and the doll world once again. In conjunction with the recent release of her book, The Entrepreneur Equation, Roth is releasing a doll produced by Integrity Toys and based upon her own likeness represented on the book’s cover art.
The bold and unlikely move, Roth says, is not only consistent with her style but “it actually makes a lot of sense. Entrepreneurship is also about doing the unexpected, while still staying true to your brand. I can say confidently that tying in a promotional doll to the marketing of my book is both unusual for a business book and true to who I am,” Roth says. “My brand is bold, provocative and sometimes slightly outrageous—just like me. I think that creating this exclusive promotional doll is quite consistent with that strategy.”
Additionally, the doll-book release exemplifies Roth’s entrepreneurial philosophy of using one’s network to execute a business plan. In this specific case, she used her network at Integrity Toys to produce the doll and within the doll-collecting world as well “to help me spread my message and get this book into the hands of even more aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners,” Roth says, adding, “I think a lot of hobbyists dream of turning their passion into a business without fully understanding what’s in store, so I do think there is a nice overlap there.”
Business IS Sexy
Roth was also motivated to release the doll in conjunction with her book because she is passionate about showing women and girls you can be smart and attractive. Offended by book buyers put off by Roth’s model-like good looks, Roth doles out some of her frank and colorful commentary, “They would never tell a man, ‘Hey Joe, you look too handsome—please ugly up for your book.’ So, I also want to show that business doesn’t have to be boring and that a pair of pink heels doesn’t lessen a woman’s value or impair her business credibility,” Roth says. “I hope that girls who grow up with role models like actresses and singers can start looking at entrepreneurship and being in business as an exciting and viable career option.”
Like with all its dolls, Integrity Toys paid utmost attention to the details to render the doll as close to Roth’s likeness as possible. From “dead on” creamy, pale skin tone to the smaller body used in the NuFace line, Roth says she “couldn’t be more pleased (and I am very particular and usually difficult to please). The doll itself is incredibly gorgeous and with the outfit, does bear a great resemblance. With the sheath, the controversial pink heels and all of the accessories, I actually think she is one of the most beautiful dolls around, so I am beyond thrilled.”
Carol Roth—2011 and Beyond
Roth, who jokes she is a white sheep in a family of black sheep—neither of her parents graduated from college and her sister is lead singer in the metal band SAGE4—has a long history of, in her words, “crazy commitment to excellence and achievement.” So it’s no surprise that the gutsy dynamo has an overflowing plate going forward in 2011 and beyond. In addition to her book and doll releases, Roth, who has made appearances on the likes of Fox News, MSNBC and Fox Business, is working on a TV pilot based her life as a business expert and personality. Additionally, the powerhouse maintains and promotes her media platform for entrepreneurs and small business owners, www.carolroth.com.
“I have my sights set on a few other projects,” Roth adds, “but I do want to execute the ones in process to the fullest extent before moving ahead.”
And a word from the wise to those who would like to implement a little bit of Carol Roth mojo in their own lives? “I firmly believe that if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail,” Roth imparts. “Also, define what success means to you, and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks.”
The words of advice are signature Roth—frank and honest, and clearly ones she’s road tested, one pink heel at a time.
Carol in the News!
About The Entrepeneur Equation
Doll World and Business Advice Dynamo Carol Roth on Her New Book
From Wall Street to Main Street, entrepreneurship is being heralded as the growth engine that will save our economy. I believe that indeed small business has the potential to create growth in jobs and GDP, but only if those small businesses succeed.
Although many claim there’s never been a better time in history to be an entrepreneur and launch a business, that conventional wisdom only holds true if entrepreneurship is right for you. Not to mention, only if it’s the right time for you and the right opportunity for you as well. Even with the advantages of technology available to us, up to 90 percent of businesses still fail within the first five years and many entrepreneurs are overworked and overwhelmed by their new ventures. Given this reality, I say that it’s time to take off the rose-colored glasses and do the necessary preparation before you invest your precious time, money and energy in launching a business (or even tweak your existing business model), so that you can have the best chances for success.
In The Entrepreneur Equation, you learn how to stack the odds of success in your favor and ultimately decide if business ownership is the best possible path for you—now, or ever. I help you understand what it takes to build a valuable business, as well as how to assess the risks and rewards of business ownership based on your personal circum¬stances. As a result, you’ll be able to do the math before you set down the entrepreneurial path so that you not only answer “Could I be an entrepreneur?” but also “Should I be an entrepreneur?”
Through illustrative examples and personalized exercises, you create and evaluate your own personal Entrepreneur Equation so that you can:
• Learn what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in today’s competitive environment.
• Save money, time and effort by avoiding business ownership when the time isn’t right for you.
• Identify and evaluate the risks and rewards of a new business—or even reconsider a current busi-ness—based on your goals and circumstances.
• Evaluate whether your dreams are best served by a hobby, job or business.
• Gain the tools that you need to maximize your business success.
Learn how to acquire the book at www.carolroth.com/book/.
DOLLS Asked Carol Roth Where She Thinks the Doll World Is Headed in 2011. Here’s What She Had to Say:
It’s been a tough couple of years, with the economy stateside being a wreck at the same time costs were skyrocketing in Asia, where most manufacturers do their production. There have also been many delays because factories have been losing workers each year and have a lot of re-training to do.
I think manufacturers will start getting back on track and I think you will get to see a broader variety of more innovative products this year, but with more limited-edition sizes, as the industry tries to figure out current customer demand given the economic conditions.
Photo Caption
Produced by Integrity Toys for Carol Roth, the Carol Roth “The Entrepreneur Equation” fashion doll representing the dynamo on her book cover, The Entrepreneur Equation, is accurate down to its tiny pink heels and creamy skin tone. The doll was produced for press, but a limited number are available as a bonus solely in conjunction with book orders. For more information on the special offer, visit www.carolroth.com/book/.
