Starting a Glamorous Biz Go glam! Take a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to be a fashion designer, a restaurateur and more.

It's all champagne, glitter, sparkle and photographs.It's famous clients and magazine covers. It's peoplewanting to meet the proprietor. It's drinks and models andA-list parties. It's your dream to run a glamorous business, toopen a restaurant and bar where the elite and powerful mingle. Ormaybe you'd like to run a fashion label that the stars proudlywear on the red carpet. Perhaps you dream of coining the next hotcosmetics craze and seeing your products worn on faces all aroundthe world.

The good news is that it is possible to live the glamorous life.The not-so-great news? It's not all glamour all the time. Likeany worthwhile endeavor, it's sweat, it's hard work,it's trying, it's drama--but if you take heed from thesuccessful entrepreneurs we talked to, it's one hell of aride.

Sanford Bryant, for instance, has designed his own line ofhigh-fashion menswear that graces the frames of celebrities,including a well-known late-night talk show host. Todd Gray andEllen Kassoff-Gray host Washington, DC's VIP decision-makers intheir elegant restaurant. Toni Ko spends her days selecting thehottest cosmetics colors to share with the public. Read on as weunravel the mystery of these glamorous businesses--and see if youwant to get in on the magic.

Fashion Forward

Sanford Bryant spent a lot of time learning the not-so-glamorousside of the fashion business before he decided to go into businessfor himself with the Sanford Bryant Co. A veteran of a large Italiandesign house, Bryant traveled the fashion world under someoneelse's wing, but, he says, "The objective was always toget to a point where I could do it in the first person and have itbe about my own aesthetic as opposed to adopting somebodyelse's."

He struck out in the fall of 1999 to design his own collectionof tailored and casual menswear. "It was a great time in somerespects and a horrible time in others," says Bryant, 42.After all, a big part of his business was tailored high-fashionsuits, yet he emerged at a time when casual dress was becoming thenorm for many workplaces.

His experience in the fashion world helped him, though; not onlywith industry knowledge, but also with connections. Bryant was evenable to secure startup funding from a company he'd consultedwith in the past. "One of the benefits at the startup point in1999 was continuing to consult for other people to create apositive cash flow while still at the stage of developing theconcept," he says. "One of the difficult things aboutdesign, selling and distribution is how long it takes. From thefirst idea to the time you've delivered it in a store-it'skind of a contradiction to the word 'fashion,' becauseyou've had to execute that idea so far in advance."

The long cycle between trend creation and distribution variesfrom 18 to 24 months, says Jennie S. Bev, editor in chief ofStyleCareer.com, an online resource for fashion and image careers."You will need plenty of cash at hand to keep the product linerunning before getting paid by retailers," she says."Make sure to have plenty of reserve funding, especially ifyou release seasonal lines."

And let it be known--all that time is not spent at fashion showsrubbing elbows with Heidi Klum or Tyra Banks. To get a new fashionlabel off the ground, notes Bryant, it's literally aboutpounding the pavement. He recalls his early days when he'd carta rolling rack with his designs all over Manhattan to attractclientele. "You've got to do things that everybody elsedoes to get into people's faces," he says.

Since he launched his line, Sanford Bryant Custom, Bryant hassucceeded in getting his fashions on celebs like talk show hostCraig Kilborn and WNBC New York news anchor Maurice DuBois, to namea few. In late 2003, he shifted his focus to affordable,custom-made luxury clothing for average consumers. Though thecompany is based in New York City, where Bryant has a showroom, hemostly sells his custom suits (from $895 to $1,295) throughone-on-one consultations with clients in Los Angeles, New York Cityand other cities soon to come. The strategy is working, as annualsales now surpass $1 million.

Still, Bryant waxes poetic about the dichotomy of running aso-called "glamorous business." "From one side,I'm doing design and development, and [people] think 'Oh,you get to travel the world, and you're in Italy,'" hesays. "And [I think], I go to a factory in the middle ofnowhere. You're in a room with five guys, and everybody'ssmoking, and it's 9:30 at night--and then you have to get upand drive 200 miles to the next factory. It's beautifulcountryside in between--but you're not just in Paris seeing theshows."

Hot for Couture?

If you want to be the next Donna Karan or Ralph Lauren, take theadvice of Jennie S. Bev, editor in chief of StyleCareer.com, ane-publisher specializing in resources for job-seekers in thefashion industry:

• Find your niche. Fashion encompasses a hugemarket-women's casual, men's formal, plus size and so on-sonarrow it down.
• Study the competition. Learn about their niches, whythey stand out and how they market. Can you effectivelycompete?
• Find out which retailers accept new designers. Secureyour manufacturing or CMT (cut, make and trim) needs now.
• Have ample startup cash. You'll need cash flow forat least two and a half years, since the fashion cycle is from 18to 24 months between design and retail.
• Think creative but wearable. "If they are too boldor cumbersome to wear," says Bev, "nobody will want themeven if they are fairly priced."
• Get your name out there. Start with a good label thatspeaks to your niche. Participate in fashion trade shows. Getfashion media attention for your line. Persistence is the only wayto attract buyers.
• Put on your business hat. "Being a successfulfashion entrepreneur requires 90 percent business skills and only10 percent artistic skills," says Bev. "Many newdesigners fail because they have impressive artistic skills butvery limited business skills."

Elite Cooking

Though they traffic in gourmet food, white tablecloths,candlelight and fresh flowers, Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff-Gray,founders of Equinox restaurant, know the not-so-glamorous side ofthe restaurant business well. Located just one block away from theWhite House, their Washington, DC, establishment has attracted someof the most powerful people in the world. Still, the biggestchallenge wasn't the pressure of pleasing the VIP clientele--itwas the fact that the couple was expecting a baby during thestartup phase. "There was no manual out there for how to doit. We did everything by gut instinct. We made a lot of mistakes,and we [did] a lot of things right," says Ellen, laughing."We're partners, we're best friends and we'remarried; so it became a 24/7 conversation, this restaurant--andthen there was that baby."

Todd and Ellen, both 39, met when Ellen worked as a sales repfor a local food company and sold to the restaurant where Todd wasworking as an executive chef. Romance blossomed between the pair,as did a plan to open their own restaurant in 1999. Equinox becamea truly family endeavor when their son, Harrison, was born. "Iwas hostessing and running the floor with Harrison strapped tome," says Ellen. "We incorporated him into every facet-wedidn't separate the restaurant from the family. The family isthe restaurant."

According to Todd and Ellen, customers really enjoyed seeingtheir youngster around and liked the whole family vibe theyexuded-while maintaining their elegant ambience. "There was notime to be a dowdy mom. We cater to very high-end clientele here.Every lobbyist, congressman, senator, lawyer, lawmaker and[ambassador] from all over the world dines here on a regularbasis," says Ellen. "You can't be like 'I'vebeen awake all night, and my son has the croup.' No. You haveto be in the power suit with the heels--the whole nineyards."

Though image is key to their success, the behind-the-scenes sideis just as important. Todd's name is on the marquee, and hecreates the award-winning gourmet dishes with his staff. Still, headmits it's generally not so glamorous. "Yeah, you haveyour moments when you're in the dining room shaking the handsof people that make the world go round," says Todd. "Butwithin the same minute, someone's yanking on you telling youthe toilet's broken, there's a leak in the kitchen,somebody quit. I mean, it has its moments, but running a businessin a restaurant environment is total insanity."

Don Chapelle, founder of restaurant consulting service Culinary Mattersin North Andover, Massachusetts, agrees. "It's notglamorous at all," he says. "The owner has to be anowner/operator and pick up all the pieces that fall when things gowrong."

Still, weathering the challenges can reap great rewards. Equinoxhas seen sales hit about $2.8 million to $3 million annually, andit's just the beginning. Todd and Ellen are expanding into thehotel restaurant business--they've joined with Sheila Johnson,formerly of African-American entertainment company BET Inc., whoemployed them to help create the culinary side of her SalamanderInn & Spa in Middleburg, Virginia, a collaboration Todd says isa second venture. He says proudly, "I'm watching ourcompany grow and expand, and watching us provide opportunities forour staff in the long term."

Gourmet Taste

Do you ache to be the purveyor of an A-list joint? Don Chapelleof Culinary Matters, a restaurant consulting firm in North Andover,Massachusetts, offers these tips:

• Get energized. Prepare physically and mentally to work12- to 15-hour days, seven days a week-at least for the firstyear.
• Solidify your concept. "Make sure that for whatevergeographic or demographic location, that it fits--that you'reable to execute," says Chapelle. Make certain there'svalue built into your concept.
• Get a good location. But be realistic about what you canafford. Don't get saddled into lease payments that are tooexpensive. Chapelle suggests budgeting no more than 5 percent ofyour gross sales.
• Train your gang. Focus heavily on staff training, asservice will make or break your establishment. "I trainemployees for half an hour on how to answer a phone," notesChapelle. "It's the most important thing that [aspiringrestaurant owners] overlook."
• Get ready to compete. Independent operators can competewith the big restaurant chains by offering better-quality food andservice. Make that your mission.

It's a Beautiful Day

It's more than mattes and frosts for Toni Ko, 30. Thiscosmetics entrepreneur worked in her family's cosmetics retailbusiness and discovered her desire to be on the creative side ofthe market--not just the retail side. She saw how popularbudget-line cosmetics were, and, through her own experience at thestore, she knew just what customers wanted in their makeup. Armedwith that knowledge, Ko set about creating NYX, Los Angeles Inc. in1999. It was a one-woman show early on, recalls Ko, who worked 10-to 12-hour days, six days per week during startup.

To save money, she lived with her parents for two years whileshe developed and sold her line. And while she knew the retail sideof the cosmetics industry, Ko had to learn all about themanufacturing and distribution side. "I was so young [25], andpeople actually thought I was 19 or 20," says Ko. "When Iwent to manufacturers, they'd look at me like 'Are youkidding?'" She actually worked this perception to heradvantage, though. Ko would approach prospective suppliers and askall the questions she could about the cosmetics business, under thecaveat that she was new and needed to learn more. The industryveterans found her candor refreshing, she says, and most werewilling to work with her.

While she confesses she likes making the world more beautiful,Ko doesn't particularly subscribe to trends. She creates a lineof colors, which range in price from about 99 cents to $7, that sheknows her customers will wear because they feel beautiful, notsimply because sparkly pink is the season's hot color. LarryOskin, a beauty-industry specialist and president of MarketingSolutions, a beauty-industry marketing and consulting firm inFairfax, Virginia, says this is a good way to approach theever-changing cosmetics industry. "Don't be afraid to makea new trend or fad," he says. "But it's a pitfall ifthat's the whole basis of what you're doing." It'sgood to have a three- to five-year plan of line extensions tosolidify your market share and make sure you're not just a blipon the radar.

Like all the entrepreneurs we talked to, Ko knows all too wellthe unglamorous side of a "glamour" business."It's not like I'm a makeup artist [who] worksbackstage at a fashion show," she says. "We travel a lotfor trade shows and conventions. It's usually the same city atthe same time of year. It's a lot of headaches and a lot ofwork."

The headaches, though, have paid off. Ko saw sales hit $7.5million in 2003. Her products are sold at specialty beauty-supplystores nationwide, along with a presence in 200 Longs Drugs storesin Northern California, and online at www.nyxcosmetics.com. Kowould like to expand her lines to include medical color cosmetics(to treat skin blemishes and wrinkles while covering them) and ahigher-end beauty line under her recently acquired Doll Face brand.She's already got her fans: Ko recalls striking up aconversation with a saleswoman from the high-end Stila cosmeticsline, who raved about the NYX eyeshadows she used in her beautyregime. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Ko's successis definitely stunning.

Glamour Is as Glamour Does

What these entrepreneurs learned is that a so-called"glamorous" business is still a business with all its upsand downs. But when done right, starting a glamour business can bea unique joy. You can be glamorous; you can be fabulous. And yes,your business can be, too.

Beauty in a Bottle

If you want your makeup line to be the next MAC or Maybelline,heed the advice of Larry Oskin, president of Marketing Solutions,a beauty-industry marketing and consulting firm in Fairfax,Virginia:

• Define your niche. Is it for teens, young professionalsor men? "Try to find a niche that no one has," saysOskin.
• Package well. "Beauty care is a highly visual andemotional business," says Oskin. "You have to please the[customer's] emotions and senses." Use your packaging toplease all the senses.
• Get press. Try to get coverage from mainstream and tradebeauty press. Familiarize yourself with beauty editors-send presskits (with samples, if possible) along with seasonal pressreleases.
• Don't be ruled by trends. For long-term success,create a cosmetics offering that has staying power.
• Get good distribution channels. Decide if you want tosell via department stores, online shops, specialty cosmeticsstores or drugstores. Where does your target market shop?
• Plan to grow. "You need a long-term approach tobeauty care, because it's rarely an overnight successstory," Oskin says. Develop a three- to five-year plan of lineextensions. Always have something new up your sleeve to delight thebeauty-conscious consumer.