AC Exclusive Interview with Melody Biringer Founder of the Crave Company (CRAVE Parties & CRAVE Guides)

Melody Biringer is an amazing woman. I've had the privilege to work with her and call her my friend for about four years now. Her CRAVE brand has become a phenomenon for stylish women all over the United States and now is expanding into Europe. Her website states: "CRAVE innovatively connects urban gals to the sassiest, gutsiest, most inspiring people they need to know in town. Soirees, gatherings and online networking-we\'re your guide to everything you CRAVE in your city."

I had a phone interview with Melody this past week to understand the woman behind the brand and this is what she had to say...

How was the Crave Party idea conceived?

"I was really consumed with my Biringer Berry business at the time and never had a chance to see my girlfriends or hang out with like-minded people which was unacceptable. I woke up one day being a workaholic and thought wait a minute, I don't have many girlfriends, I feel like I'm missing out on those relationships. I figured that if I feel this way I bet a lot of start-up junkies like myself feel this way and "crave" the opportunity to be with their girlfriends also which is a big reason why I called it CRAVE. Women actually need an excuse to get together including a time, date and place to schedule it in so it happens. We're all so busy we find reasons to reschedule and not make it a priority so we need to work at it like a relationship. My number one mission is to get girlfriends to spend time together and to meet other like-minded women. We did a survey that found once women get out of college they have a hard time finding their tribe or others like them so I really wanted to have a business that helped women to find each other and befriend each other. CRAVE came about by thinking of what women like to do and what would entice them to get together so I envisioned a party atmosphere with spa services, drinks, and goodie bags. This provides time away from the family that is relaxing and fun which includes shopping in a spa atmosphere and of course entertainment. I put all those things together that women want under one roof."

Did you have any idea it would turn into such a phenomenon? How do you keep up the expansion and demands?

"At the time I had 3 or 4 businesses and I was throwing things out there to see what would stick and CRAVE was the one that stuck. It was like a wow thing that fell out of the sky and women were clamoring for it. I sold my first party out in 2 weeks that was 3 nights in a row. I was shocked even though I had a gut feeling, but until you do it you never know. I stopped doing other things and went full CRAVE because I saw the opportunity there. It's been 9 years now and I've taken it so many directions. At first I started doing CRAVE parties and I took it to other cities I could drive to and where I had friends at such as Portland and Vancouver. I thought of how to partner with others and license it like a franchise but it didn't work as well as a product so I took it back in house and started the CRAVE books which is the main brand right now. In a new city I start with the book instead of the parties. Currently we are either launching or have launched books in Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Austin, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, DC, Toronto, Los Angeles, Minneapolis & St. Paul, and New York City. We're also launching our first European book CRAVE Amsterdam. The book cover reads: "Places we CRAVE and over 100 women you need to know." The books feature women owned businesses that offer fabulous products and services. They get revised about every 1.5 years. Once we go into the city with a book we follow it up with a CRAVE party event and also business events or chats experts we call Intelligentsias. This allows us to bring business owners together to network and get to know each other so they can collaborate. We also have a yearly symposium for business owners and smaller events called CRAVE Ups. I find it amazing what CRAVE has evolved to. I've even turned my CRAVE Seattle over to someone else so I can train and mentor others in different cities. We now hire partners on an independent contract basis instead of licensing the franchise. This is a new business model we're piloting and it seems to work better for us. This way we teach them how to do everything from A-Z and they seem a lot more motivated and accountable."

You've recently expanded into Europe, what did it take to get CRAVE off the ground in Amsterdam and what countries might be on the horizon?

"I've lived in Seattle my whole life and it's been my dream to live somewhere else. Eight years ago I visited Amsterdam and it felt like a manageable city to live internationally and not be too big of a stretch with the language, weather, etc. When I began focusing my energy with CRAVE I really wanted to reinvent my life and do something where I could be anywhere in the world working on my laptop. I said to myself I want to be in Amsterdam on my laptop running the CRAVE business. I said in 2008 that in 2009 I would go live there in the fall. I talked my husband into moving there for 2 months (he's a photographer) and told him that when we got back he could do a show called "Amsterdam" and that's what he would do. We'd go hang there and do everything I do in Seattle but over there. It was more difficult than I thought due to the time difference because I had to work from 8pm to 2am and would be doing a Skype meeting at midnight and I would be so tired. I'd ride my bike all over the city during the day and then work at night.

I started the Twitter handle @craveamsterdam and started meeting people before I went over there. I was able to find likeminded people immediately. I walked into the city knowing one person and walked out knowing a bunch of people and making eight really good friends for life. I met them all on Twitter. Now I could go into any city in the world and do this quickly. I would meet them for coffee or lunch finding those interested in fashion, etc. I'd look at their website and Facebook page before we met and immediately we'd have this camaraderie. One of the girls I met became my assistant there and three others are working on the CRAVE Guide and it's so exciting to see it evolve into CRAVE Amsterdam the business.

I've had 23 businesses and I have not failed at all of them but they've either led to the next thing or I've found out it wasn't really for me. I've created two brands, my Biringer Berry business and CRAVE. I'm writing a book now about what I learned from 23 businesses and how I created the life I CRAVE from doing that. These big aha moments are happening now that I review the businesses and what I learned from them. I have a list of 10 cities in Europe to go to next like London, Antwerp, and Copenhagen."

How do you stay sane and keep balance in your life and marriage with the demands CRAVE puts on you?

"My CRAVE lifestyle is my life and I don't think of it as work. I fit in walking with friends and my husband and schedule that so I can get caught up and exercise at the same time. I have to be multi-tasking and can't stand just sitting there having coffee. My husband and I also really got into bikes in Amsterdam as it was our only form of transportation for two months and now we're biking around Seattle and planning little biking vacations, etc. It's great for our marriage and gives us something in common. Even though we live in the same house I also have three employees working in my home all the time and he handles the berry business and so we schedule and make time for each other to keep our marriage strong."

For women starting a business, what are some words of advice you can give them in order to have success like you've had?

"My aha moment I'm having is the KISS theory (keep it simple stupid). Whenever I try to complicate things because I see more opportunity I don't have as much success. If I stay focused and really get out there and do it. A favorite phrase of mine is "fail fast and get it out of your system." You could start a business this weekend by getting a URL and Facebook page and twitter and being in business in a week. It may work and it may not but at least you aren't just talking about it for 8 years. If you have a book in you, then write the book. Figure out what's holding you back and just do it."