Trading Secrets - 218. Erin Lichy: Balancing Reality TV, Entrepreneurship, and Daily Life, Behind the Scenes of Mezcalum, RHONY, and the Financial Highs and Lows of Business Ventures

Episode Date: January 20, 2025

This week, Jason is joined by mother, wife, businesswoman, and reality TV personality from Bravo’s Real Housewives of New York, Erin Lichy!  Erin is a dynamic serial entrepreneur with a diverse portfolio. She is the co-founder and CMO of Mezcalum, an all-natural, 100% Mezcal brand, where she leads marketing and branding strategies. Erin’s career also includes work as a real estate agent, co-founding a successful handbag brand, and launching an interior design and build firm—all while cultivating a powerful personal brand. Most recently, she joined the cast of Real Housewives of New York and continues to play multiple roles in the media and entertainment industries. Erin discusses how she balances her entrepreneurial ventures, including joining Real Housewives of New York after a recommendation from an original cast member. She shares her negotiation tactics, how she and her husband manage finances, and navigating communication with an avoidant partner. Erin reflects on losing six figures in a handbag venture, the importance of building a solid business, and raising $1.5M for Mezcalum. She also talks about her advisory team, real estate deals in the Hamptons, and her passion for interior design. Plus, Erin answers rapid-fire questions on the RHONY cast, the need for vulnerability on reality TV, and cultivating meaningful relationships. Erin reveals all that and so much more in another episode you can’t afford to miss!                                                     Host: Jason Tartick Co-Host: David Arduin Audio: John Gurney Guest: Erin Lichy Stay connected with the Trading Secrets Podcast!  Instagram: @tradingsecretspodcast  Youtube: Trading Secrets Facebook: Join the Group All Access: Free 30-Day Trial  Trading Secrets Steals & Deals! Fabric by Gerber Life: Fabric by Gerber Life was designed by parents, for parents, to make it easy to plan for and manage your family's financial path. Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family. Start investing in your child today at meetfabric.com/TRADINGSECRETS Robinhood: With Robinhood Gold, you can now enjoy the VIP treatment, receiving a 3% IRA match on retirement contributions. The privileges of the very privileged are no longer exclusive. With Robinhood Gold your annual IRA contributions are boosted by 3%, plus you also get 4% APY on your cash in non-retirement accounts - That's over 8x the national savings average. To receive your 3% boost on annual IRA contributions, sign up at robinhood.com/gold ShipSkis: Skip airport stress and costly airline fees. Just schedule your shipment, attach your label, and ShipSkis handles the rest, delivering your gear directly to your destination. Go to Shipskis.com and use the code TRADINGSECRETS to get 20% off your first shipment and save yourself the hassle this ski season. Quince: Quince lets you treat your loved ones—and yourself—to everyday luxury at an affordable price.Gift luxury this holiday season without the luxury price tag. Go to Quince.com/tradingsecrets for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order!

Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets. Today we are joined by mother, wife, businesswoman, and reality TV personality from Bravo's Real Housewives of New York, Erin Leachie. Aaron is a multifaceted serial entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Mezcalum and All-Natural 100% Mezcal brand, where she oversees marketing initiatives and branding strategies as a CMO. In addition to that, Aaron has worked as a real estate agent, co-founded a successful hand brand, launched an interior design build firm, all while building a strong personal brand. Most recently, Aaron became a cast member of Real Housewives of New York and holds multiple roles

in the media and entertainment industry. She defines everything it means to be in a housewife. entrepreneur. Aaron, thank you so much for being on trading secrets. Thank you for having me. I'm excited. You got a stacked resume. Oh my gosh. Sometimes when I hear it, I'm like, damn, I need to take a break. How do, like, I mean, I've got a million questions for you, but like, how do you actually manage all of that? Is it a good team? Is it you just work 24-7? Like, how do you actually do it all? I feel like my brain works in a way that like I need to be doing multiple things at once for it to be functioning properly, which I know sounds really weird, but it's like I must have

ADD. And I just have figured out a career that it works for. So it took me 35 years to get diagnosed with ADHD. And the second you started saying and I'm like, it sounds common. I'm not a doctor, but it sounds a little like that. Right. And I think people talk about it with a negative connotation. I almost feel like it's a superpower because my brain works. I need multiple businesses and ventures. That's how I optimize my workflow. Is it like the success of it or is it the chaos of it or is Is it the challenge? Like what are, which one of those areas? I love it all.

I love the journey. I love, I love creation. Okay. So for me, it's like watching something come to fruition. I think that's why I've loved interior design so much. Okay. And really building. I mean, I went to NYU and got my master's in sustainable development.

And I just love being able to like, you know, conceive what the place or the building or the house could look like and then actually seeing it come to life. Okay. That's to me the most exciting thing. It's the same with business. Yeah. You know, business is a thought. It's like, it's something that pops into your, that's what happened with mescaloom.

Okay. And then all of a sudden, we have bottles and we're distributing. We have a distributor and we have a team and it's wild. Yeah. The thought becomes reality. Yeah. You have this blank canvas and you've created an unbelievable reality. But one of the things you thought about twice was going into reality TV because you had mentioned some of the concerns.

And so I'm thinking, you've got everything set up here. It looks like a beautiful slate. it's not a blueprint, it's a mosaic, why go into reality TV? Why take the risk? It's another challenge. Okay, that's the chaos part. Yeah, probably. That's the chaos part. Yes, correct. And I feel like the way that the way that the show was presented to me, which is what the show currently exists as, was kind of a fresh start and a fresh take on New York. And I was really excited about that. Having a bunch of women that have careers and families and businesses and you know so much going on and they live in new york and we're all diverse we live in different areas and we come from different places it was so different than what the show was before

us how did you perceive it as what it was before you guys it was a little you know enclave of upper east side women that you know ran in the same circle like that's what it was you know and then they'd have new people that came from the same circle and then that's why they would like they were sleeping with a lot of the same guys and like you know that's what happens when you for good TV. Yeah, it's great TV. I mean, they were epic and incredible women. But I was excited about this new version, which is, in my opinion, what New York really is, you know?

How did they find you? Or did you find that? Actually, they found me. So one of the original people that were supposed to be on the show had recommended me. It was very quick for me. Yeah, like, so you get recommended. She's no longer on it. Yeah.

Is it a quick process? It was very quick for me. I know that some of the other girls were in talks for years. Yeah. So I've been on reality shows. I've been on several of them, being casted for a couple now. There's nothing, like the word quick doesn't touch any of them. So I'm shocked to hear that.

So I spoke to the casting producer, and then that was escalated, and I went and met with them at Bravo, and then they gave me the offer on my 35th birthday, which is so wild on my birthday. That's a hell of a day right there. I was like, hmm, this might be something I should do. Was there anything? Like, I think about, you know, Bachelor, a couple of things happen, and now there's blood tests, there's psych test.

There's, I mean, there was one time of The Bachelor, I always tell. this story. It's fun. There's all these producers around me, and I'm in the middle in a chair, and they have me pick out a question from a bull. And the question was, what is your favorite animal? And I said, Lion. They said, why? I said, I love the movie Lion King as a kid.

I just like lions. So they throw me a pillow. They're like, start singing Lion King. And I'm in the middle of 30 people just like singing Lion King, belting it out. And the one guy's like, oh, yeah, you're going on the show. Was there any, like, curveball questions? That is the craziest thing. Yeah, so you got it.

You get one request, one interview. No, there was not. That sounds like psychological warfare there. Oh, my. The bachelor franchise. Jeez. They blood tests? Well, they got to, if you're sleeping with the other people, they got to make sure you're on the rest of knees. Yeah, it's great.

It gets intense. Holy shit. They're covering their liability, you know? All right. So it was simple. It was easy. They obviously want to understand you a little bit better. It was a long meeting.

It wasn't like it was 20 minutes in and out. It was like a very long conversation. Sure. And I think they got to. sense of how we would all jive and that was important to them. All right. You're a businesswoman. You've had many successful businesses. Negotiating is a huge part about it, especially in real estate. Okay, so then how do you? Favorite. Bravo comes to you with an opportunity. It's a whole new cast. It's a whole new

everything these days with reality TV. How do you know how to negotiate? What do you do? Well, one thing I learned early on in my career is you go to your experts and you ask people questions that you don't know the answer to. So one of my very good friends, luckily, is that a partner at WME and I called him my friend Benjamin Simone I will shout him out he's the best and I was like Ben I don't know like when I'm supposed to negotiate whatever he's like oh don't worry I'll give you all red line and he like redlined the whole thing and hooked me up and I felt comfortable I just trusted him I've known him for years so was like as far as experts go did you talk to any of the previous cast about like what they were paid did you talk to the current cast about

what they were the girls that were on it with me yeah yeah we all kind of like that's like It's a big thing now. Everyone in corporations are like, it's like a big financial transparency thing where colleagues are like talking about it. And it's a topic that comes up. That's like normal. Yeah. Yeah. So you guys all know that.

Yeah. All right. Cool. Yeah. Good. That's awesome. Yeah. All right.

So one of your concerns in doing reality TV was the impact it could have on your personal life. Looking back at your time on the show, was that intuition on point? Yeah. It definitely impacts your personal. personal life. Yeah. You know, I mean, if you're in a solid relationship, I think you can get through it. Yeah.

But if there's not communication, and I don't know, I could see it going south. But I think Abe and I, we have been, we've been together for a long time. And I'm, like, overly communicative, which is probably annoying Tim half the time. But because of that, we're able to, we talk through things. So we just get it out and we move on. And I think ultimately we're solid. So having that base is so important coming into a show like this. Huge.

So important. What is the hardest part outside noise? Is it the internal noise? Like what is the element of just everyone's just constant? It's the outside noise. And it's like, you know, sometimes the opinions are so out of left field. And then other times it's like they back you up or they back him up. And then it's like, should I be feeling this way?

Like should I be more mad at? about this. It almost puts stuff in your mind. So you really, the best advice I've ever gotten is do not read the comments. And it's impossible in the beginning. Like in your infancy of doing something like this, like everybody says, just don't do it. Everyone does it. Like everyone does it. It's like a hazing to yourself. Yeah. Just go shop for a little pain. Yeah. And then after a while, it's like I just, I don't even care. Yeah. You start to get numb to it. Like now I'm just like, whatever, say whatever you want to say, you know? Yeah. So looking back on it, is that a business decision? And you regret or are you happy with the decision?

No, I have no regrets, honestly, in my life. Like I, my handbag business was a fail, like it was a failure, you know? But I don't even see it like that. Technically it was because it didn't take off. And I ended up selling the name. But on the other hand, it was the best learning experience of my life. Yeah. I would never know how to build a business the way I'm building it now.

If you didn't happen. Never. Either would aid. Yeah. It makes perfect sense. All right. We talked a little bit about it before. But I wrote a book called Talk Money to me, and it's the whole idea about financial transparency.

By the way, I reposted your story today and had a bunch of my girlfriends were like, we love him. Oh, that's sweet. That's nice to them. Do you want to know what happened when I reposted your story? Oh, God. Bad things? No, it was all very good. But I got a ton of, like, you have a lot of fans out there.

Oh, gosh. But a ton of people were like, oh, my God, I thought this was your ex-fiance. The picture that I didn't realize it, but that one picture, the one picture I put looked at, I was like, oh, shit. Who are you engaged to? My name's Caitlin Bristow. Oh, we've got to do some digging on you. I don't think you guys, I don't think you guys actually look alike. But in that one photo, I was like, oh, my God.

They thought you were interviewing your ex-beaut of say? They're like, I just had to do a triple check there right there. I'm like, no. Anyway, because that would have been an interesting interview. But anyway, let's actually transition to some of the concerns you had in reality TV and then tie it to finance and business. So I read an article. I think anybody who's a real housewax and New York fan knows the story, but you're quoted

talking about the fact that, You hadn't seen your Bitcoin in a while. Bitcoin's off the charts. It was high. And then you... It's even higher now. You thought it would be a good time, your exact words, to pay off a large chunk of the mortgage. You're excited to logging your account, see how much it had grown.

And then when you got in, you were shocked. Major shocked because your husband had sold it much lower than it is now. You were angry. And you felt as though there were financial secrets happening. And so in the book, we talked a lot about that 43% of married or cohabitating relationships. deal with financial infidelity, which is like this concept of like cheating through finances or so. Did you feel as though this like went under the facet of financial infidelity? Like did you feel like you kind of get cheated on with finances? In a way, yes. But it's this these kind of things

are so nuanced. Yeah. Right? Like so nuanced your relationship. Abe has a problem. I mean he's much better at it now, but he had an issue with being an avoidant. Right. Like he would just rather or not ruffle feathers like deal with it on his own not stress me out and just handle it so like that was a common thing for him and that's what he was trying to do obviously it got out of hand but like it and it's not okay and I was very upset when it first happened yeah but you know I know that it wasn't from a bad place and it wasn't like he was out going to strip clubs and like you know blowing money on whatever it was he was just trying to take care of the financial aspect that he had said he previously took care of

Got it. So what I feel like in some relationships, people are hearing this and they would be like, I would never check in on my husband's crypto. Like I don't even know what's going on. That's true. But in your circumstance, did you guys kind of operate? Do you have like financial rules? Yeah. Do you operate in fully transparency? Like, what does it look like? We do. And we also have like roles. Like there are certain things I take care of in terms of our finances. And there are certain things he takes care of. How do you decide how to split those? It just kind of happened. Like I'm very. Oh, OCD, very organized. I'm not actually OCD. I've been reading where, have you seen this on Instagram recently where people are like, stop saying big like, you know, therapy words. Narcissist. OCD. Yeah, which I actually agree with. Yeah, everything's so overused right now. Yeah. Yeah. But I'm just very organized, like, crazy organized. Okay. So I have like spreadsheets and lists and I make sure that everything is like done a certain way and blah, blah, blah, blah. But there are certain things like he handles our mortgage and he manages, you know, like if we're going to. to take out some money from the HELOC to invest in something else. Like, that's his department. So we have, like, our departments. Yeah. And that was just his department. So the Bitcoin was his, okay.

So he did it. He did, like, kind of his duty under. He just didn't tell you about it. He just didn't tell me. So what can you, you know, we talk a little bit about financial transparency on this podcast. What did you expect that number to be when you signed it? Definitely over 100,000.

Yeah. Like, definitely. But I'll give him this, like on the other hand. Well, that's one coin. Well, right now. Now it was. Like this second, it's like 90,000. Yeah.

And back then when he sold it, it was less. It was, I think, like 40 or 50. No, it was probably like 50. But I mean, but are we talking a ton of coins? But I didn't want to, it was a couple. It was a couple of coins. But like, I didn't want to sell it at all. That was such a confident.

It was a couple. Yeah. Like, I just didn't want to sell it at all. Yeah. Like, I just wanted to keep them forever. Because that's how I'm also more like that. Yeah. More conservative in my sales.

Yeah. But on the other hand, like, he's a really good trader. Like, he's made that back in other things. So, like, you know, I think that's why it's like give or take and it depends on the person and the situation. So he's like, made it back. He's fine.

He knows what he's doing. He just didn't want to talk to me about it. But the real issue was it's not even about the finances. It's the fact that he didn't feel comfortable talking to me about it. So we had to work on our relationship. It was like, why are you uncomfortable talking to me about it? And also, you need to step up and feel comfortable doing it. And also, I have to be kinder, I guess, when I,

receive news that I don't like. Yeah. So it's like a two-way street. It's like the psychology of it. Yes. It's not about the money. It's about like where are the rooted things. And you use the word avoidant, right?

Like that I'm similar in that way. And so that probably came from learning that it was just easier to not step into it. Exactly. And I actually thought it was really interesting to see how many people reached out and said, I have the same dynamic. And like a lot of women were the avoidant ones. And even one person was telling me I was on another podcast that she had all this credit card debt. And she was afraid to tell her husband, like,

It happens and really, it happens. Oh, it's not, it's nonstop. When I, I would say the biggest response I've ever gotten anything on Instagram when I put like a question on or asking for people to email me is when I was asking for examples of financial infidelity. I'm like, do you know someone or have you or anyone like got screwed over by the store and they just didn't stop? They just didn't stop because it is weird that we live in this world where it's still, especially like you're getting married to someone and you still can't have conversations about like, I don't know, like what do you make or what's your debt burden? Without a judgmental, oh, no, not at all. And so that leads to so many issues post-marriage, and it just doesn't stop. It's just about transparency ultimately, like just in any part of your relationship, you need to be transparent.

Otherwise, it just doesn't really work. I totally get that. One thing, you already talked about the handband company, but I think in one of your quotes you had said that there were also some other bills from the former handbag business that came up when you thought about this. So it was like another example of financial. things that he was still clearing up that he hadn't cleared up that I thought was cleared up. Okay. And does that just come from the idea of I don't want to bring bad news to the table? Yeah. Okay. So it was that same thing. Yeah. He was like enough with the bad news. Like we went through it already. Like I'll just manage this on my own. Got it. But like we're a, we're a

partnership. Yeah. You know, like I'm not just some girl that's like, you know, not doing any business. But even if I was, like you still have to be transparent. 100%. When I saw the clip, the one thing I was curious about was when I saw his face when you brought it up on the show I paused his face was like oh shit and I didn't know someone who's been in reality TV I didn't know if his face was like oh shit

you found this out or I forgot about it it was like oh shit I can't believe you just brought up like a financial thing in front of cameras I will tell you this and it was actually something that was I found attractive and like something I really liked about him he said

to me prior to I was filming that we can talk about like like because I had I don't know if you saw the beginning of that episode but I had yelled in him about talking about mushrooms yes okay and it wasn't about the mushrooms yeah like I've they caught me on camera talking about tripping in my house right so like it wasn't about the mushroom yeah but I was I was upset with him and there were other reasons so at home he was like look if you want to bring up the real reasons let's talk about it okay so he was he was being open and honest and he decided to share that on national television because he felt like it's just what happened and it's the reality and like on a podcast like this I think so many people can learn from it yeah right like it's and I think the big thing that you said it's about like the intention was it being done to go spend money on strip clubs and dumb things or was it you know like hey I got this is my job I'm going to do it right good we're not going to worry about it so I think there's a ton of learning lessons in yeah we talked about

the handband company so I want to go back to it okay you said it was you look at that as a failure No, I don't look at it as a failure, but we lost a lot of money. So, like, technically, it kind of failed. You're setting me up to ask the question. You're just teeing me up. How much did you lose? Oh, gosh, upwards of over $100,000. I mean, we just kept pouring money.

You know how fashion business, unless you're backed by someone big or you have some incredible new design or whatever it is, or you work in the industry for years before, it is impossible. Yeah. It's impossible. You get screwed on minimums in Asia or if you're making anywhere overseas, you get screwed on minimums. Then you start making it in New York and you get screwed on like labor costs and it's just

all of it. It's just really, it's very difficult. We actually really believed in making things in New York and in like our studio. We were making them in China before. And I felt very uncomfortable by it for many reasons, many, many reasons. We went to Guangzhou many times and we visited the factories and we did. did the whole thing. What's one thing we wouldn't know unless, like, we could hear from you in those factories?

The factories are not the way that they say that they are. I'll put it that way. Okay. They're not run properly. Okay. Much worse than expected, but the one that I went to. The one that you saw? I was very disappointed seeing the workmanship there, and it was upsetting.

And do you know how many people actually make that trip? None. Right. They just start buying. Yeah. Okay. So you then started manufacturing in New York. Yeah, it should be.

So then we started manufacturing in New York. Yeah. And actually in our studio. We had someone making, that's when we kind of pivoted to framework, which was really like a custom design firm. And that was doing really, really well. But, like, you know, it doesn't operate. Well, when you're running something in your own office, it doesn't operate optimally, right? Like, everything is slower.

You have to go buy materials from Italy that are transported to New York, and then you pay the broker fee on top, and then that costs a lot of money, and then you can't make it up in the markup. And it just was, it was like a never-ending battle. And New York is just so expensive. Our office was, like, incredibly expensive. Did you guys raise capital? Did you do it all on your money? No. And that's what I learned never to do again.

What's that? To use your own money to build a business. So you're all about the OPM. You use other people's money. Oh, yes. And give some of your business away. Do not be greedy about the percentage that you have. All right.

That's a good take there. So you put $100,000 into this company. Oh, more than that. We started with 100, probably. And when you were actually, I'm just curious the business, how much were you selling the bag for? Well, so it changed a lot, right? It started as one business and then it changed.

But the beginning when we were selling leather handbags, I think they went, honestly, I can't even remember anymore. It's like over 10 years ago. But I think we were selling them from like 128 to like 400 something. Okay. So we're still good price points. All right. Yeah, those were pretty good.

And the biggest lesson from that experience, number one? Probably to build a business with help bring in outside people, get advice. Build a proper business. That's what I learned. I did not build a proper business. I just on a whim, started an LLC name and started designing bags. This time, Abe and I went into it with a partner in sales, advisors, raising capital. When you say this time, what are you referring to?

Mezcalum. Mezcalum. Okay. So tell me the breakdown. We created the name. We bought, you know, the license, the LLC and all that stuff. And then we actually built an infrastructure before coming to market. Yeah.

Which we did not do. Did you raise capital before coming to market? Yes. Okay. And how much do you guys raise? The first round, I don't, can I say this stuff? This is what we talk about. We raised, I believe, over a mill because there was so much interest.

So we raised like one, I know. We raised like, I think, close to one and a half. What it's like for anyone that's listening that's trying to raise capital? What was the selling point? Was it you as the brand ambassador? Honestly, not so much. We sold our first year without it ever airing on TV. Really?

Yeah. And we actually crushed normal, like, cases for a new brand. I mean, we beat what Casamigos did in year one. No way. Yeah, we did. Interesting. Kind of crazy. So were you selling through liquor stores?

What channels were you going through retail? You have to work with the distributor. Yeah. Oh, that's right. Distributor. Yeah, legally. But we hired a very seasoned, very smart SVP of sales. Okay.

But he was under my best friend that I grew up with, who's our head of sales. So we had the proper motions in place. You know what I mean? Sure. We had all the right people. And what we did that was really smart this time is we have a band of advisors. Okay. And they're all from different walks of life.

And like one of our advisors is John Geist, who was head of Boston Beerco for like over 20 years. That's a huge name. Huge. Then we have Carrie Simon, who's the president of Hearst Media. Oh, wow. I mean, and creative director. So we have like these people that are like, you need to be thinking about this. You need to be thinking about that.

This is how we come to market. Wow. And most recently, around the time of our second round, we brought in the first ever hire of Casamigos. Oh, wow. Who is now no longer at Casamigos because, you know, it was bought by Diageo, and then Diageo runs the show. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So we have Max Blank and Matt Rotner, and they're a team, and they're unbelievable. I love you both so much.

And they've just taken things to a whole new level. So, I mean, when you talk about other people's money, you raise capital, you then build this team. But you talked about giving points away. So are your employees paid lower salaries and then they get points of the business? Like, how do you structure it? So this is really funny because I was talking to another friend of mine who has a very successful business. Yeah. And their opinion is that you should do that.

Sure. You just said. Yeah. But Abe's take, which I actually followed and agree with these, you should have them on. He's really well-versed. Yeah, I would love to. Yeah. I would love to. Is that you don't want to skimp on the quality of the professional.

Okay. You know, you want to give them. them that base salary that allows them to live in New York City. Sure. And then if they outperform, then you give them those incentives. Okay. So by doing so, we've had excellent workers. And that's allowed us to grow much further.

Like, it's better to have the one killer employee than two that, you know, you're paying. Yeah. Yeah, under what they really should be paid and then maybe giving them incentive. If you're a big hustler and you're really a smart business person, you're not taking a low salary that you can't really live on. Like, I wouldn't. Yeah. So in New York City, what is that?

It's over 100. It's the barometer right now. Yeah. Yeah. So if you want to get someone in the door that is a perfect fit for this type of business, you're talking about a hundred grade or so, okay, and then they can work up a quarter. And then they can work up. And then we always have bonuses.

Okay. We give bonus. Incentivization based on what you're doing. Okay. Based on performance. And usually we give bonus. And we have, we also hired a great CFO. Yeah.

That came from the liquor industry. We got a recruiter, like things that I would never have done the first time around. You know, like we hired a really good recruiter. Okay. Get this foundation in place. I mean, you got, it sounds like you have sharks on the team. You then go on real housewives. How has the actual show and social media help the business or has it not?

Social media has been great. I said some really stupid shit this season about Ms. Gall that they, you know, that kind of went viral. Give me an example. I was talking about like 13, 14 years ago when I first went to Toul and our house manager brought us Ms. Gall and I was like, I need to bring this to America. And people were like, Ms. Gall's been in America for a very fucking long time. I sounded like an idiot, but it was very funny. So it actually got us, ironically, a ton of eyeballs.

Okay. But I think just like the truth is that mescal is part of my life because I am at a stage in my life where I care about health and wellness and I'm not also giving up the spirit, the spirited life that I like to live. Sure. I like to go out and party. I'm always going to have that side of me. Yeah.

But the same way I care about the food I put into my body, I care about the alcohol that I put into my body. I'm not drinking tequila with tons of additives. Like, I refuse to do that. Yeah. So it came out of necessity, you know? And also, mescal, that I've tasted in America, has traditionally been very smoky. Yeah, it is.

Like a little scotchy. Is yours different in that in a regards? Yeah, it's very light on the smoke. It's very approachable. Like, when you mix it in an espresso martini, it doesn't taste like mezcal. It just tastes like tequila, like a good tequila. Yeah, that makes sense. Is Bravo pretty supportive with the business?

I mean, like, Bravo could have brand. opportunities and commercials with, like, the biggest players, right? Like Patron or Casamigos, I mean, are they supportive of the small business? Do they help showcase it? Incredibly supportive. Incredibly supportive. And I'll say this. We, I mean, we love the crew and watch what happens live, like, behind the scenes.

Yeah. And we were like, can we, like, gift everyone a bottle in the rooms? And they were like, absolutely. Nice. So we're in every, I mean, they're so supportive. I really have to say, Bravo and the network, everybody is so kind and supportive. And it's a great place to be. I love it. Have you done a second round of...

We're in it now. You're in it right now? Yeah, and Abe is crushing. Abe, let's go. We're making up for that big boy, Abe's right. That's why I can't be mad. Let's go. You can't be bad now.

What is the goal? How much you guys trying to raise? I think we're looking at like two and a half for this one. Nice. Yeah. Okay. So you had the handbag business. You're a real housewife in New York.

You have a mess call. And you're also in real estate. Yeah. Well, I've been, it's such like in my blood. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Since day one.

Yeah. Yeah. You're still like, what percentage of your week are you in real estate? Not much, although any time a friend or family member calls me to, like, help them with a deal or get involved in a deal. And I still do love doing a couple deals at least, like, bigger deals. I'm really enjoying selling real estate in the Hamptons. Okay, got you. That's like, that's been a beautiful thing for me.

Business in the Hamptons I've been enjoying. I mean, the place is unbelievable. Like renovations in the Hamptons. Yeah, well, that's a whole process too, right? Just getting all the supplies out there and. finding the right people what like a nice home in the hamptons right now like you want to ball out what's it going for oh yeah yeah if you want to ball out like if you want to you could go to 80 million there's there was just a sale from someone on our team 89 million dollars 89 million dollars what does that get

you how many square feet crazy massive house on that's insane 90 million bucks and so you're doing like in 2024 how many deals do you think you did in 2024 probably like four deals or Okay, okay. So it's a side hustle thing. Okay. And you were once upon a time, at least at your IDM, it says you were on a million dollar listing. Oh, yeah, because I worked with Frederick for years. Gotcha. And he actually called our team and he said, who has someone who has enough money to actually buy this property in Sugar Beach, Vice Roy? And I was like, well, I could call half my phone list and my friends could buy it. Like, I don't know if they will, but they can afford it. Sure. So he's like, okay, Aaron, who do you want to bring? So I called my girlfriend.

And I was like, she was like, actually, this is kind of interesting. So we ended up going on this fun girls trip to Sugar Beach with Frederick and like filming her looking at Howard Lorber came. It was like the whole thing. Did they ever think about having you on as an agent? I don't know. I was like working with Frederick. So I feel like it was different then the show. Yeah.

You know, there was so much drama that happened on that trip. And I was like, why are you guys not using this? And they were like, that's not the kind of show that this is. Yeah, that was much more. now it turned into the real estate shows have turned into that but i was like there was so much drama with steve and this girl like it was crazy it was so juicy like what what behind like just arguing about the problem no there was this girl that was like trying to get with him oh gee fight oh yeah all while sold a real estate deal yeah well we were on a trip together okay that's sure you know

it's like a whole thing all right so real estate's about like we'll call it 5% of your week to week right All right. Do you have any desire to do other reality shows? Do you want to step outside of Bravo? Do a competition show? Anything on your radar? Like what? I would like to do. What's the dream? I would love to do. Everybody says that I should be on traitors. I haven't watched it. So that's, I should watch it. New season airing here. I should watch it. But I would love to do dancing with the stars. Really? Yeah. Do you have a dancing background? No, but I'm just so competitive. I feel like I want to like do it and like win. My dad was like obsessed with the show. So that's what makes me do. Our buddy and former bachelor, Joey, just won it this past season.

He won it. He was a pro tennis player, never taking a dance class in his life. See, I love that. Absolutely crushed it. See, that I think is so fucking cool. Crushed it. Good for him. Okay, so dancing with the stars.

I don't know. I just feel like it would be so to like learn something completely new. Yeah, okay. All right. All right. Put it out there. This right here, let's get you on. Yeah, who knows.

Tell me a little bit about your interior design business. I love it so much. I, you know, the truth is it's very hard with my life. life right now to work with clients directly because it's like I am so such a perfectionist that I'm picking out like their hinges and their doorknobs and everything but we're we're actually in talks with a commercial project so I think commercial projects are the way to go for us and our team yeah but it's a great business and really was born out of the necessity that I felt was missing in the market which is designing properties with the market in mind okay

So a lot of our very wealthy clients at Eklund Goems would do these renovations and then, but they'd spend like, you know, over a million dollars on them. Yeah. And then they wouldn't be able to sell them because they've created, you know, like a bachelor pad in the middle of family Tribeca. Yeah. Nobody's buying that here. Yeah, that's not going to happen. Right. But no one's advising them.

They're just making money and doing the designs that the client's asking for. We advise on, you know, the block, the neighborhood, all of it. Okay. What's interior design? biggest thing my listeners back home what is one thing they wouldn't know unless they talk to someone like you like about the industry like where are people getting taken advantage of or like where are the markups like what's like the trading secret in that space because i feel like when you hire interior designers it's always different quotes i'm wondering who's getting paid back door who's

getting a kick based on who they recommend like what should we know as consumers they do make shit they do it's very difficult i was talking to my girlfriend yesterday and she was saying how she got a quote for like a lime wash for 50,000. Yeah. And then ended up finding someone for 10. So then, $40,000 difference. So then they're taking the $40K as a fee. They're just, yeah.

Sometimes it's like if you're referred, the referral will take the fee or the designers will take the fee. The truth is you do have to just do your homework. There's no way around it. Okay. One thing I'll say is sometimes it's like the simplest things that sound tricky that are actually the most inexpensive, like heated floors are not that expensive. Interesting.

And it sounds like, oh, heated floor is so expensive. But how do you know, like, I wouldn't know, how do you, but you say doing your homework? How do you know where to do your homework? You have to ask around. Contractors. Research. You should ask friends that have done jobs. Okay, okay.

You should also take a walk through Home Depot and see what's readily available because a lot of these contractors go to Home Depot and they're buying those heated floors like in aisle 7 and that's what they're using. And then you see how much that cost. And then you're like, hold on a minute. How much could it cost to connect it? because we see how much it costs for them to buy it at Home Depot. So, like, things like that. We've got to watch out for those markups. Yes.

The markups are a problem. An interior design business, what do you think the average, like, if you're looking at a full invoice, then you had to guess what do you think the average markup is? Well, I know that, I mean, I charge a markup of 30% for anything I buy. Okay. Because it really does take forever to source. And also, if you're working with a good designer, they typically get like a 20% to 30% discount, so you're really just paying retail.

Gotcha. So you're paying like a 10% option. Yeah. And then they're doing all this. work. Okay. But typically it's 30. Some of them charge like 45%. Okay. Got you. See? And I also charge a monthly. So a monthly retainer fee? Yeah. That's really. I didn't know. Yeah. But the difference is like when you're working with a designer that also has build, she manages or he manages the build firm. And that actually saves you money because if you have a separate contractor or architect that manages them,

then you're getting like triple charge. You need one point person. Okay. That's how that is my biggest, maybe my trading secret one one pick pick do you love your designer do you love your contractor do you love your architect do not have three different people that are reporting back to you and charging you on top i didn't know that there is a retain what is there a typical retainer low high would you say it totally depends if it's like a tiny little apartment in the city sometimes it'll do like seven thousand just to keep us going interesting and then i'll go up it could go up to like 30 damn yeah it's a hell of a business it's the best business i should go back to that I'm kidding. What percentage of your time you spend it on that?

Right now, zero. Okay. Yeah. I have one, no, that's not true. I have one project that's starting soon. Okay. That I'm invested in because it's with my mom in the Hamptons, which is kind of where I'm pivoting. You got an investment property.

Oh, yeah. No, that's where I'm going. Chips everywhere. I told you, I'm crazy. Yeah. It started off like that. So what's the play in the Hamptons? I helped her flip a property and now we bought this new land.

Well, there was an old house that we're just got renovating. And it's going to be unbelievable. so excited about this one because this was such a deal like such a great find interesting that's what i'm kind of leaning into because it's really hard for me with like what i have going on in my life to work directly with clients yeah so it's a lot about like flipping finding properties rehabbing selling fixing maybe renting i was going to say what about renting because i look at some of those rental properties out there in the hamptons are 50 100 150 200 250 grand a month oh yeah yeah yeah i mean is that that feels like to play that's what we're going to do with this one

All right, there you go. You'll have to come back on with Abe the Babe and talk about that. Let's go. So let's end with this, though. Let's talk about some of the real housewife's questions. A lot of the listeners want to know. I'm sure. This is where pop culture meets money.

But talk to me about your take on just the production of it. Like, do you feel as though, what is the most surprising to you about, like, the actual production element of the show that maybe we wouldn't see unless we knew behind the scenes? That they take their lighting very seriously. Oh, wow. That was it. Okay. But what do you mean by that? I could tell you a million things about some of these shows that I'm just like very surprised.

Like for a bachelor, right? No phone, no TV, no internet, no music. You can't at all connect with your family. Wait, that's so weird. Yeah, with hometowns, like when you see the family, the only time you can see your family is when the cameras are on. Because they don't want any type of like, yeah, wake up, what world are you living in? So are there any like production elements or just like, do they kind of pit you guys again? against each other, is there anything there that you're surprised by?

We do that all on our own. You're just like, we're a special group. We don't need blood tests or interviews. We just come out swinging. One thing that sucks is the music. That's hard. I didn't expect that answer. Yeah, because we can't, like, when we go out,

it's hard with the licensing, it's not their fault, but we can't play music. And that would add such an element of, like, fun, I think. It's like, how do you have a good time without blasting music with your girlfriend? That's such an important part. But otherwise, production, No, I mean, I love our producers, so maybe. All right.

Let's mix in business and your cast. I'm going to ask you a couple of questions, and then you just give me rapid fire who your answer would be. Okay. One person in the cast that you would partner up with on a new venture and why? Either Jenna or Sye. Okay. If you and why? Well, I feel like Sye and I would be like a dynamic duo and we'd both like hustle.

Yeah. And Jenna, because we have a lot of very similar interests and attributes that I think would be beneficial. Okay. If you gave $100,000 to one of the housewives, I couldn't be yourself, to invest to just find the best return. Like you're like, this person is going to double, triple, quadruple. This is the person. I'm not involved and I'm giving them 100. I give it to Raquel.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. All right. If you go into a new season, we talked about how you negotiated coming on. How do you deal with the negotiation going into a new season? How do you know what your worth is? How do you know you're bringing more to the table than someone else's? And then what are some strategies that you use for negotiation that are just interesting

and or someone back home could also deploy when they're thinking about going to negotiate for their annual raise? I guess compare, right? Compare what you've done and what other people have shared and what other people have done. And I always say shoot high, right? Why not? Yeah. All right. So is that what you're going to do?

Probably. Just go shoot for the stars? Yes. See what happens? All right. I love it. I love it. All right. Well, we talked about all your different business ventures, what you're doing, how you're doing it. A lot of the listener base we call them the Money Mafia. They're asking just like, yeah, it's fun. How you also just manage the intricacies of all the things like in your personal life. Like, what are, do you have any tips or tricks to becoming, you know, a boss entrepreneur and becoming larger and larger in the media day by day, but also managing a healthy life at home. all the things that are happening. Great question. One thing I'll say is that you have to nurture relationships. So like even if it's like I was thinking about my college girlfriends today and I was like

I haven't checked in on them in a while I should check in on them. So things like that just even texting the group being like I miss you guys let's get a dinner on the books because I do. I actually I realize I miss them. I haven't seen them in a while. So like that's very important because they can get lost if you forget about it. And then like in terms of kids when I see that my kids are getting a little out of whack and like not getting enough attention, I will take them to a one-on-one dinner. And it doesn't have to be dinner, it could be ice cream, could be whatever it is. But like, having the one-on-one time is so important and they feel so valued. And sometimes it's not about talking about like, oh, I got an email from school today.

So you know, so I, like, as a mom, I know I have to take them to dinner. But it's not about talking about the email from school. It's about just connecting with your kid. Interesting. And then that makes them, like that almost like keeps you going. going for it. You could go and be like a business woman again. But nourishing relationships is my number one. And small things, big things, all the things. My number one key. Like Abe and I, we last year, after I think we wrapped filming, we were like, we need alone time. So we went to

Turks and Kikos for 48 hours. That's all we needed. Yeah. Just 48 hours. Reset, refresh. Just not going to, all right. So it's the one-on-one time. One-on-one. Okay. And then this is probably the most random one, but we have someone submitted. I need to know. I know it doesn't pertain to your podcast. What stroller does she recommend? What does she have and why? Huh, up a baby vista. There you go. There's a little pitch. Maybe get a brand deal there. Yeah, I love that stroller. All right, we got to wrap with your trading secrets. So it's one thing that our listeners could only learn from your experience, all your different endeavors, all the things you've done. They can't hear from a professor or a TikTok tutorial, which who knows if TikTok

will even be around when this comes out. But what's one trading secret? you can leave us with. One trading secret that I learned over the many years that I've been in business is do your homework and ask for help. Do not think that you can run into a new business or a new venture without doing your homework and asking for help. Was there ever a situation this happened? Yeah.

I mean, with the bags, I just went head first and didn't do any research, didn't ask for any help, really. Just thought I could start a business in fashion that I didn't work in ever. Most of my listeners are women, and I think that is a common theme we hear about, is the idea of asking for help. Yeah. Because, one, they don't want to put the pressure on someone else. They don't want to inconvenience. And, too, also, it's like, I can do it myself.

So people that think that, how do you overcome that? Well, that's how I was, you know? So I think, like, why not? I think that's what you have to ask yourself, right? Like, why not ask for help? Why not bring in a partner? Okay, yes, you might fight, but whatever. then you have half, you know, the amount of responsibility.

And if you're, especially if you're a mom and you want to be a present mother, why not start a business with a friend or even it's not a friend, someone you're referred to. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. But like, I think it's always helpful to even to give away, to have, what's the saying, have a smaller piece of a bigger pie as opposed to having the whole pie that's worth nothing, right? Like, it's worth it if it turns into a huge pie. It's interesting because I always give my trading secret what I learned from that guest, and that's what I would give is my training secret to you.

Like before you said, the smaller, yeah, it's that you have, there's so many people that come on here that are so down their lane and they're really good at it and they're experts in it, and that's what they do, and no one can touch them. And that's their thing. They're going to be the king or queen. But you have an approach that's like, I got a little over here. I could sell a $50 million home. I could also decorate your house.

I could also have you a handbag in. If you want to get drunk, I got your tequila. You have your little chit. Now you're developing land in the Hampton. So many people are so focused on becoming a master and not a jack. And when you're a jack of many and you hit one home run, you don't need to be a master of anything anymore, right? Like you're in a good spot.

You know, the crazy thing about what I do, I think, is that it all is one. Like everything that I do kind of goes back to the home, right? Like I'm in interiors. I was selling real estate for many years. I sell a product that, you know, you can have cocktails at home. and is really about the kitchen and that kind of lifestyle. I love to cook. Like, I have big family.

I feel like everything is... Housewives. It's all home. It's all home. So it's like, find that episode. Yeah. You know, at my core, I'm a mom and I'm a nurture. I'm a born July 1st.

I'm a cancer at heart, you know, and I have a big family and I love hosting and all these things. Yeah. And I think, like, at the core, that's who I am. And I was able to build. So maybe that's my secret. Yeah. Find, figure out what you love and who you are.

at your core and build off of that like almost like a spider like have your epicenter i don't know why i first thought of spider web like have your epicenter which is a home and then build like the web off of it or the tree off it right you love it you love that's your epicenter that's what you love that's your heart right and then if you build businesses off of it you're going to enjoy all of it yeah and you'll the network will be connected the contractors will be connected like it'll all go to one spot i like it it's a funnel system i love it and i also think why not that's a good one too like, why not? Like, you need to ask for help? Why not? You need to ask for a bigger raise? Why not? Ask yourself, why not? That's what you should live with. Why not? Why not?

In grad school that said, everything is negotiable. He said, go to the deli, you can negotiate the sandwich. I love it. Like, everything. And that changed my perspective on it. Talk about vulnerability. Actually, why not? I have a bracelet on right now. It says, why not? Shut up. Yeah, isn't that funny? And this is because one of my buddies's dads got diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer and like the mindset of the family is like odds aren't in our favor but like why not us why can't we be those small odds of wearing it so that's funny why not us right here so why not there you go small world out here all right aaron where can everyone find everything you have going on your instagram all your businesses they want to buy your tequila where can they get it all mescal

okay where can they find your mescal tequila no it's not tequila wait you don't even say mescal tequila No, because it's not tequila. It's a totally different. It's not? No, I thought it was a subcategory of. It's a misconception. Interesting. Yeah, mescal and tequila are completely different things.

They have different rules and restrictions. Like, tequila can have 51% only has to be 51% pure agave. Okay. 49% could be additives by Mexican law. Mescal has to be 100% pure agave. Did not know that. Different thing. I do know, because I went to Halisco, and I know that, like, a lot of those companies that we're buying from have a ton of additives.

All of that. And the ones that don't. are, like, very forward with it. Very, yeah, very few. And it's also only made in Haliscoe because it's, well, mostly, because it's all blue-weber agave. Yes, that's right. Mescal has 70 different types of agaves. That's why you have different flavors.

Oh, shit. You learn new things every day. Where can people find your mescal? Well, you can find our mescal on mescaloom.com or you can order from Fresh Direct or, you know, hopefully your local liquor store has it. If not, tell them they should. Tell them. Get on it.

And then follow me on Instagram, Aaron Dana Leachie. Aaron Dana Leachie This has been an unbelievable That's so funny secrets Can't wait to watch you on Real Housewives But thank you for sharing some of your business trading secrets along the way Thanks for being here

Thank you Making that money Money Bring on me Making that money Living that dream Making that money Money

Pay on me Making that money Living that money Living that dream Thank you.