Haralee Weintraub, CEO, of Haralee, a company that provides comfortable wicking clothing for women suffering from night sweats during menopause and chemotherapy posted her posted story on About.com. After reading her business story I immediately wanted to interview her. She is not just an inspiring female entrepreneur, she is a breast cancer survivor that turned something negative into something positive.
Ms. Weintraub launched a business to help other women by offering an innovative product, and by using models whose lives have in some way been touched by cancer. She even donates a portion of company sales to help fund cancer research.
Interview Date: March 16, 2010
WIB: After surgery, it can be hard for some women to feel comfortable talking about the changes they are going through. What made you decide to be proactive and turn something as difficult as dealing with breast cancer into something positive in such a public way?
Haralee: After the breast cancer treatments threw me into menopause with drenching night sweats I knew there were many women like me, not getting a good night sleep. For oncologists the protocol is all about eliminating the cancer, but for the patient it is about a quality of life. I chose to help women like myself going through this experience to get a more comfortable night sleep and improve their quality of life.
WIB: I think it is wonderful that you use other women who have had cancer, or family members of women with cancer as your models. What made you decide to use real women instead of professional models?
Haralee: I use real women who are friends or friends of friends, or daughters or grand daughters who have had breast cancer, cancer, or touched first hand by cancer. I have women asking to model for me now because they want to show that life can continue after cancer and women with cancer can still look beautiful. Initially I only used age appropriate women, women who would be menopausal age, but I had younger women wanting to model who were cancer survivors. I now include women in a wide range of ages.
WIB: Do you have any business advice for other women who wish to start a business?
Haralee: I think there is a certain type of woman who will be successful in starting her own business. That woman knows what she likes, what she likes to do and is honest with herself and knows her strengths and weaknesses. She is the woman who can see a project from beginning to end and see the vision of a business and maps out how to get there. The woman who wants to start her own business is the woman who can take lessons learned from her life experiences and incorporate it into her business successfully.
WIB: Do you have any words of wisdom or favorite resources for women who have been newly diagnosed with cancer?
Haralee: Any woman who is diagnosed with cancer has to become her own health advocate. She has to evaluate all the information the doctors are giving her and make her own decisions. I recommend taking another person, a note pad, and a tape recorder on every visit with oncologists. The American Cancer Society has 'Cancer Advocates' that work with some hospitals to help patients negotiate the cancer experience. Other hospitals have social workers who can be a resource for books, support groups and counseling.
WIB: What are some of your best marketing tools, i.e., social networking, word of mouth, that you can recommend to other business women?
Haralee: Word of mouth, and social networking are important marketing tools for business women. Women love to help out each other!
About Haralee, The Company
Haralee.com is devoted to keeping Hot Women Cool. We are a company with a lot of heart, a lot of soul, and a little bit too much sweat. We strive to be the best moisture wicking Sleepwear Company, offering choices of colors, styles and prices for every woman. Because we want our customers to feel good about their purchase on every level, we donate a percentage of every sale to breast cancer research.
