Feb 17 2025 31 mins
Join us for an inspiring conversation with Barbara Kotlikoff Harman, a master of reinvention who transitioned from leading luxury brands like Nina Ricci and Harry Winston to launching The Butler’s Closet, a bespoke storage business devoted to preserving your favorite fashion and lifestyle pieces. Harmon delves into the art of balancing high-level corporate leadership with innovative side hustles, sharing the challenges and triumphs of building customer loyalty and developing unique products in competitive markets. Listeners will gain valuable insights on navigating career shifts, embracing creative problem-solving, and finding their niche through perseverance and strategic innovation. Tune in to discover practical lessons that empower you to transform challenges into opportunities for lasting success.
Watch the interview or read the transcript
About Barbara Kotlikoff Harman
After a successful career as the CEO of Parfums Nina Ricci, the Managing Director of Harry Winston and CEO of Monet, the costume jewelry company, Barbara K. Harman ran Development and raised funds for The Paley Center for Media and The Steinhardt School at NYU. The Butler’s Closet was launched in 2011 when Harman decided she wanted to create her own business.
Connect with Barbara:
Time Stamps:
03:03 - Growing up in New Jersey and early studies
04:45 - How Harman got into the beauty business
08:24 - Harman's first side hustles in design
10:26 - Starting The Butler's Closet as a side hustle
14:07 - Harman's best-selling preservation products
17:09 - The biggest surprise of entrepreneurship
19:30 - How the election impacted Harman's business
24:36 - Harman's tips for reinventing through a side hustle
30:59 - A glimpse at the more than 200 tips in Sollman's book
Connect with Lesley Jane Seymour:
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