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You're CEO of Kathy Ireland Worldwide, and also do a lot of charitable work promoting awareness of family issues such as hunger, teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, arthritis, and breast cancer. Yet, you were also named the 2002 Outstanding Mother of the Year Award from the National Mother's Day Committee. How do you manage to make time for your family?

Ever since I was a little girl I knew I wanted to be a mom.


That was really important to me. I made that clear to my team members even before I had my kids. I made it clear to everyone from the outset that I wanted to keep family first – my husband and me at first, but that I would be including kids eventually. I'm fortunate that I work with an amazing team of people who understand and support that.

About a year ago I spoke at an event in the company of some very well-known speakers, including Maya Angelou and Barbara Walters. My point was that making your family a priority needs to be a goal each and every day. I disagree with Barbara Walters' answer of "No" when she was asked, "Can women really have it all?" I think it's definitely possible for women to have it all if they don't lose sight of their priorites. I know for me, when my priorities are out of whack, stress is unavoidable and I get all out of sorts.

Although things change, I look at my calendar and the kids' calendars 18 months out. Planning well in advance can make a big difference.

I've always believed that my business serves my family rather than my family serves the business.

Problems arise for those women who want to be superwomen. They need to know that it's OK to ask for help. We all have our strengths and gifts. We need to focus on those things where we're strong and have other members of our support team take care of areas where we're not. As an example, I know I'm a really lousy cook and a terrible gardener, so I know I need help in those areas and that's where I turn to my experts – Chef Andre for food and Nicholas Walker for gardening expertise. They can make these things easy, fun, doable and attainable. I would never want to just pretend I knew what I was talking about in those areas.

 

What one factor, trait, or belief would you say has contributed most to your success?

Turning down the noise, the negativity and not getting discouraged. You need to find people who encourage, support and believe in you. And, you need to take the time to really get to know the people you're going to be working with.

When I was young, my dad used to tell me when I was delivering papers on my paper route, "If the customer expects their paper in the driveway, put it on the front porch." He helped me understand the idea that you need to give 110%, that it's important to exceed expectations – to under promise and over deliver, and I see that in successful businesses.

I took my kids to an ordinary amusement park and then took them to Disney World. You could easily see the difference that Disney makes and you can appreciate their attention to detail. A tremendous amount of work and thought goes into differentiating Disney World from just any ordinary amusement park.

That's why when we display a piece of furniture, we're not just going to put it on a sheet and hope people like it. You need to create the proper environment, window coverings, accessories, even the smells. You need to go above and beyond what's expected.

I'd be completely lost without my faith in God. Everything good that happens comes from God and I attribute to Him.

 

Your website is an important tool for your business. How do you keep its message unified?

I'm very involved with the website. I have an incredible team. I give direction, but I think the real direction comes from the customer – what her areas of interest are, what her needs are.

Some of the content is experience driven as well. We had a close call with one of the kids and I thought, "This almost happened to us – how can we prevent this from happening to someone else?"

I offer my point of view on the website. My team members also have great suggestions – like those from Chef Andre (acafe) and Nicholas Walker (jardin du jour). It's a real team effort. Kathy Ireland Worldwide now has an infrastructure of 37 people. The team members understand and respect my priorities and they know how it needs to be done. Everyone gives 110%.

I see the website as a Thank You to to women for turning down the noise of stereotyping. Many of my customers who first bought socks have been following the site for years. We don't sell anything on the website, it's all about providing solutions to problems the customers are facing. I believe that if a customer is going to take the time to visit the website, I don't want to waste her time – I value her time too much.