Boss Lady

Slaying It in Style

"Buenos días. Hi, Vogue. This is Sana Bianchi, the boss lady of Boss Lady and I...am here to answer all your questions today.", I said and waved at the camera.

We were sitting in a beautiful white gazebo in the middle of a Hispanic style villa with acres of gardens around us. My interviewer, Lara sat opposite to me and motioned for me to introduce myself.

She was out of the camera range.

"Thank you for having me here today. I am a woman, a proud mother but above all I am an entrepreneur.", I said smiling and feeling genuinely good about myself.

" Let's see the questions you have for me!"

I picked up the first placard.

"How does it feel to be one of the self-made women billionaires in the world?"

"I take a great pride in the fact that I built my company from zero to where we are today. When I started, I never would dreamed in my wildest dreams about this level of success. All of this comes from relentless hours at the office, brainstorming, failing and trying again. The money is not what I chase, it's the dream of becoming something more, of having the power to change the world that I crave. So, I am pretty proud of what I have achieved in all these years. Next question."

Lara smiled at me encouragingly.

I picked up the next placard.

"You are a single working mother,do you feel like you are not doing enough for your child sometimes? "

I huffed out a laugh. I was kind of waiting for that one.

"I get asked this question,like a lot, 'how do I have everything?'. I think most of us don't realize that this is not the right question to ask. We should ask how do I let go of things that I can't have? Believe me when I say that I barely manage to do what is expected of me as a mother most days. It's tiring and frustrating to fail. But if I have learned anything in my journey as an entrepreneur, it is that failure is an inevitable part of the process. The moment I stepped into the office with my infant son, I wouldn't be able to raise him in an expected way because my situation is not normal. It actually has a lot to do with how we validate ourselves as women because we have been told that if you want to work, you can't have a family or vice versa. But, I wanted both and I am not taking no for an answer. Yay! Let's see what's next. "

The entire camera crew, the script writers, makeup artists and everyone else on set was watching in wide-eyed wonder.

"Why is Boss Lady's lingerie and swim wear so different from the other brands?"

"Ok, great question. It has a lot to do with the vision of our company, in our core principles of what premium quality affordable lingerie and swim wear should be. In my career, I have seen that as much as women prefer stylish things for a short time window, in the long run, comfort takes the priority. Our collections are always designed with a woman's intimate needs in mind, functionality and then style. The good thing is, you can actually wear our bikinis to swim or do extreme physical activities without worrying about breast support. The material is durable and thick and holds shape for a long time. Most brands lose quality for style. That's why women love our products."

My eloquence surprised me today. Normally, I would have ended the interview with short, perfunctory answers, but I had the sudden urge to connect to all my consumers. I also wanted Ethan to see another side of me, should he watch the video.

"Alrighty! What is your success mantra?"

"Never stop working for your dream and never let anybody undermine you for who you are. Work harder than ever, work until you are proud, don't fear failure, change yourself constantly and one day success will follow. Never stop dreaming.", I said with a flourish.

I wasn't preaching. Simply speaking the truth of my journey. The lessons I had learned and all the times I had failed but bounced back.

"Last question. What message would you want to give to all the girls in the world?"

This was the most important question, the very purpose of why I had chosen to come to Vogue Brazil. Hundreds and thousands of girls read this magazine. It could be my voice of change.

"Advise número uno, if I could run a 5 billion dollar empire without an MBA, then you could have the world. Prioritize your education above all. Take it from a poor Brazilian immigrant, that education opens doors. Número dos, dream big. If you think I will be happy with a five million dollar annual turnover, you will never make even a million. Aim higher and you will be something one day. You have to reach for the moon to touch the stars. Thank you again Vogue for having me here. Until we meet again, remember the future is female."

And CUT.
The shot was over.
I exhaled a breath. That was intense, more serious and intense than I had expected it to be. It had also been very personal.

There was a shower of claps from everybody watching. I did a little gallant bow as Lara shook my hand.

"That was excellent, Ms. Bianchi. Thank you very much for coming.", she said.

" I enjoyed myself very much and I am always happy to help.", I said sincerely. I felt proud of myself, thousands of employees and girls around the world would watch. I could actually make a difference.

Vogue Brazil was so impressed by the interview that they decided to a cover photo shoot with me.

It lasted way longer than I thought it would. After hours of primping and makeup and dress trials and hair and nails, I was beyond exhausted. I felt a new respect for all our models and vowed to do something for them.

By the time, the ordeal was over, the photographer had taken about a 1000 shots of me in different postures and positions.

It was 1 p.m. at night when I finally boarded the plane again to go back to LA.

Josh was over at Georgiana's, with her son and I was thankful for such support from my employees.