Rebecca was twenty-eight years old, firmly entrenched in a lucrative advertising position in Michigan, when offered the chance to head up advertising and promotion for Piccadilly, a 300-store fashion chain. She convinced her husband moving to San Francisco was worth the risk.
A year later, when Piccadilly was sold to The Limited, her job was eliminated. Her husband said goodbye and returned to Michigan, while Rebecca, suddenly single and unemployed, stayed in San Francisco. Her ex-Piccadilly boss used his network of contacts to start a new business and needed a Creative Director to oversee TV, radio, catalog, newspaper, and direct mail advertising.
He asked Rebecca, and although she really didn’t have the necessary expertise, she responded, “Of course, absolutely!” How did she have the nerve? She knew she was smart and could learn what she didn’t know. She would figure it out. She was self-aware.
Phones rang 24/7 and faxes were clogged with changes to promotions, schedules, and layouts for their national clients, including Sharper Image, JoAnn Fabrics, and I. Magnin. Suddenly, Rebecca hired fifty creative people and set out to make them profitable. During this whirlwind growth, she and her boss fell in love, got married, and started having babies! A working mom doing too much with too little time. Squeezed from all directions. Sound familiar?
A client convinced the Rosenbergs to partner with him and start an international doll company featuring thirteen beautiful high-end dolls, each representing a different country. Rebecca named each collector doll, dressed her in a period costume, and packaged her with a unique storybook and video. After a few years, $5 million in sales, the partner wanted out, and the company was sold.
Why was this strategy so successful? Rebecca combined her flair for fashion with her proven marketing prowess. She focused on potential benefits rather than fearing negative consequences. Tired of working, traveling, and spending too little time with her kids, Rebecca called it quits. Time for radical change. Retail Marketing and Advertising, Inc. was sold.
City life exchanged for country living. Glamour gowns traded for t-shirts and blue jeans. The kids’ schools and the local community became their priority. Back to the land. Hmm, smell the soil. After resting for a year, Rebecca and her husband started taking farming classes. Recharged and re-energized, her husband grew the lavender, and Rebecca began sewing sachets, making candles and kits, and once again, hiring people and doing deals, although this time from their home office nestled in lavender fields.
Her creative marketing savvy quickly converted 5,000 spas and homeopathic retailers into customers. After extensive research, Rebecca wrote “Lavender Fields of America: A New Crop of American Farmers,” a beautiful coffee table book highlighting the uniqueness of 300 lavender farmers across the United States. In ten years, their business, now the largest lavender farm in the US, was sold, and her husband retired.
Rebecca, forever the curious learner, had another passion to satisfy and enrolled in Stanford University’s two-year creative writing program. Soon, an accomplished character- and narrative-driven storyteller, she published The Secret Life of Mrs. London 2018, Gold Digger 2019, Champagne Widows 2021, and Madame Pommery March 2023. Her fifth novel, Silver Dollar, a sequel to Gold Digger, will be out in December 2024.
Although approximately 90% of published books sell less than 1,000 copies, and only a fraction of authors reaches sales figures of 10,000 books or more, Rebecca has sold over 86,000 copies of her books.
Why does Rebecca continue to be successful? She allows her passions to influence her path and constantly builds on her experience. Her design ability created lavender sachets and tinctures, and her flair for fashion elevated the doll company. Her passion for champagne and love for France propelled her research on Veuve Clicquot, the first woman of Champagne, and Madame Pommery, the innovator of Brut Champagne. Rebecca never stops learning. She is the architect of her life.
Wise Woman Words
“Believe in yourself. Look at what you have accomplished so far. Use the knowledge that allowed you to conquer and survive yesterday. You can do this. You are capable.” —Rebecca Rosenberg
