How to Build a Standout Brand and Scale Your Business | Anne Zuckerman | Captivate the Mic

If you think it's too late to completely pivot your career, launch a product, or start a global podcast, this episode will change your mind. Host Elaine Williams sits down with Anne Zuckerman—inventor of Bezi Bra Discs and top 2% global podcast host—to uncover what it takes to build a business from scratch without corporate capital. From incredible family survival stories in war-era Hungary to bootstrapping a retail storefront using empty boxes to look successful, Anne shares raw, generational lessons that taught her to stand unapologetically in her authority and manufacture products right here in the USA.

3 Content Takeaways:

--- The "Empty Box" Retail Strategy: How Anne’s mother built a successful, cash-only lingerie business in the 1950s without initial capital by using empty manufacturer boxes to fake inventory depth.

--- Navigating Product Patents & Manufacturing: The reality of bringing a physical product (Bezi Bra Discs) to market—from meeting an industrial design engineer on a singles hike to keeping manufacturing local within the USA.

--- The 28-Day Podcast Launch Blueprint: How a serial entrepreneur in her 70s launched her own show in under a month, rapidly scaling it into the top 2% globally.

GUEST BIO & LINKS

Anne Zuckerman is an inventor, top 2% global podcast host, and serial entrepreneur. She is the creator of Bezi Bra Discs, a patented, USA-made fashion utility designed to give professional women complete wardrobe confidence and eliminate distractions during high-stakes presentations and meetings. After launching her hit interview series, Just Wanted to Ask, in just 28 days, she quickly scaled it into the top 2% of podcasts globally. Proving it is never too late to reinvent your career, Anne uses her platforms to coach business owners to bypass execution mistakes and fast-track their professional growth.

Main Website Hub: https://annezuckerman.com/
Shop the Product: https://beziwoman.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annezuckerman/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annezuckerman/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnneInPink

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 1:02

Hello and welcome to Activate the Mic with Elaine Williams. I am very excited to say that I have finally upgraded to Riverside to do the podcast episodes on. I did a lot of research and I played around with a couple of different things and I am very happy to finally have moved over. So yay, Riverside. It's going to be better quality, better sound, better editing. So hopefully you will not even notice too much, but I will. And so I wanted to be as professional as possible since that's one of the things I do in my business. Now today I want to introduce you to one of my dear friends and a woman who has been a client off and on for years. We have gone to podcasts together. We have been roommates together at conferences. She is an absolute hoop and a deer. Her grandparents were survivors of the Holocaust. Her mom built her own razor shop from one pair of hose and one bra and a bunch of empty boxes. I mean, this woman has so many fabulous stories. And she is in her 70s and she is still going strong, and she's in amazing shape. So you are going to love my guest, Ann Zimmerman. You are going to love my guest, Anne Zuckerman. We have been friends for a long time. She is a fabulous storyteller. She has been a serial entrepreneur, and I'm just delighted for you to meet her. And she has started a podcast, partially because of working with me. She called me and said, I started a podcast and it's all your fault. And it's in one of the top 2% globally. So there's so much news to get from her. Please welcome my friend and collaborator and laughing partner Anne Suckerman. Hello. Hello, welcome, welcome to Captivate the Mic with Elaine Williams. You are in for such a treat, my friend. I have one of the most amazing human beings on the planet who I have ever had the privilege and honor to know. The fabulous, the amazing Anne Zuckerman.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

Anne, thanks for being here. Thank you. It's always wonderful spending time with you.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

Always. Well, you are so inspiring to me. I first met Anne, I want to say it was 2017 or

Welcoming multi-passionate entrepreneur and author Anne Zuckerman

SPEAKER_01 3:38

18, an e-women in New Jersey, and she gave me these bra discs, and I was like, what is this? And then we our friendship began. So Ann you have had, you have had very successful businesses. You have built funnels for people. You have brought things to market. You know about product stuff. You took over your mother's business as uh she had a lingerie shop.

How Elaine and Anne met at a New Jersey women's business event

SPEAKER_01 4:07

For people who don't know who you are, can you just tell us a little bit about perhaps your your mother's story and how she was such a powerful entrepreneur and such a great um lesson for you growing up?

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Sure thing. Well, it's not just my mother. I my grandmother, my mother's mother was just a total powerhouse. Her mother, um it was very interesting. So my great-grandmother's husband passed away. My great-grandfather's my great-grandfather passed away. He had a haberdashery business in Hungary.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

And amazingly, wait, wait, haberdashery. I love that word. You might have to explain it for some of our younger listeners.

Generational Powerhouses: Anne's great-grandmother taking over a Hungarian haberdashery

SPEAKER_00 4:58

He made hats.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Okay. Haberdasheries. I love that word. So he made hats.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

So anyway, he passed away. And amazingly, my great-grandmother took over his business in Hungary. In Hungary. Amazing. I mean, in those, I can't even imagine at that point in time that a woman would take over her husband's business, but she did. At least that's the story that I heard. So the women in my family have all been super, super strong. So my grandmother um got married at a very, very early age to um my uh my mother's father, and he was an attorney. And so she was basically she raised my mother and um did whatever she wanted, didn't work. Um, but then years later, she married a second for a second time, and she married the man who would eventually raise me, um, who I refer to as my grandfather, and he had a thriving uh delicatessen business in Hungary, knew pretty much everyone in the whole town. He had this great business. Well, when he and my grandmother came to the United States, and my mother was already here. Um, my mother had a background in lingerie design and corset making. And eventually, people suggested that she open her own business. Well, my grandparents were the movers and the shakers of her business. They told her what to do and she did it. They knew all about the bookkeeping. My grandmother was just a whiz

Inheriting Business Instincts: Learning bookkeeping strategies from grandparents

SPEAKER_00 6:55

at everything. She was just super, super smart and very, very quick and very quick-witted. My grandfather had a background in business, and so between the two of them, they told my mother everything she needed to know about starting her business. Well, years later, they wanted me to go into the business. And I said, Yeah, no, I'm not interested. But eventually I did end up going back to their business. And my grandfather took me aside one day and said, You know, Ann, he said, I would love to help you, but I'm old. And I was always there for your mother, but unfortunately, I'm old and I can't help you. And so basically, what it came down to was I had role models, and it's a good thing I paid attention to what they were teaching me, because basically they taught me that I needed to do everything on my own. And so that's what I've done. I mean, I just every once in a while I wake up and think, oh, I can't do this, I can't do this. Why were they not there for me? But in fact, they were. They showed me the way. So that's the brief story of my great-grandparents to my grandparents and my mother.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

I love that. And I I love this story. So here your mother is um, she was married, she had you, and then she divorced your father. And so she had this lingerie shop, but she did not have capital. And was this in the 40s, 50s? Yeah, in the 50s. Okay, it was very hard for women to get capital. And so she had like one pair of hose. So she would put the one pair of hose in the sh in the window, and she used like tree branches

Bootstrapping in the 1950s: Building a lingerie shop using empty display boxes

SPEAKER_01 8:50

and things. Like she had to be super creative. And then once some she sold one pair of hose, then she could go buy two pairs of hose and so on.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Is that yeah? Um, it was a cash economy, and she only purchased what she could pay for, and she convinced these manufacturers to send her empty boxes. So in her store, it looked like she had a lot of merchandise. But in fact, um basically there were a lot of empty boxes, and if she sold three pairs of something, she ordered six pair as a replacement, and that's how she built her business going forward with the help of my grandparents. It was really an amazing success story.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

I love that. I love that, like pulling herself up by the bootstraps and doing it in the 50s. Like that is just so badass. You when we were, we were we had the privilege of being roommates at Podfest 2024 and 2025, and it's so much fun rooming with Anne. She tells me all these great stories, and we laugh and we laugh and we laugh. And you were telling me this story, because you know, you're you you're from Jewish descent. And so I would love if you would tell us a little bit how I think it was your great-great-grandfather helped save people in your family. I think that's so poignant, especially now in this intense political environment we find ourselves in.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Well, the interesting part of my story, um, and the part that I truly, truly love. Uh, yes, I'm Jewish. My father was Jewish, my mother was Jewish. My grandmother, as I mentioned before, was married

A Story of Survival: Church record forgery and how Anne’s grandfather saved their family

SPEAKER_00 10:35

twice. Her second husband was Catholic, and he's the grandfather who's who raised me. Um, he had connections in the Catholic Church. Of course, their marriage would have been forbidden, except the war broke out, and he was very, very much in love with my grandmother. And through the Catholic Church, he was able to save her and my mother, but he was not able to save my great-grandmother. Um, the way he saved my mother was because when he married my grandmother, her name became his. Or he she took on his name. So there was no real way to trace her back to her maiden name. And so that's how he was able to save my mother and my grandmother.

SPEAKER_01 11:29

And did he pull out a piece of paper or something?

SPEAKER_00 11:32

Yeah, the story that he told me was that he pulled the records from the church documentation so that there was no way to actually trace my grandmother's maiden name back to her maiden name. And um, because he had connections within the church, uh, he told me that, uh, and my mother told me that uh he put my mother in a convent for a while. And the story that she told me was that every day the nuns would go out and pick up any stray girls they found in the streets for safety and bring them into the convent. So the faces kept changing and the girls kept changing. Uh so my mother stayed in a convent for a while, and then eventually my grandmother was able to take her out of the convent and they went into hiding. But um yeah, crazy stories. So even though I'm Jewish, my my family traditions uh were very much um part of Catholic Hungarian Catholic tradition. So where most Jews don't eat pork, I was raised on pork.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

Oh, right, okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Spam was really big in our house. We had no money. My grandfather ended up managing a chicken farm, and we had no money. So um they ate a lot of pork in Hungary. He discovered spam and he used to chop it up and mix it with noodles, and that's what I that was comfort food for us.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Oh my gosh. Yeah, we had I grew up, you know, in Texas, we had those little Vienna sausages, which are I think a version of spam, if you will. So, okay, I I love it. Thank you. Thank you for sharing those stories. And can you tell us a little bit about your broad disc, how how that came to be?

SPEAKER_00 13:28

Sure. Uh, so my mother had the store, and um, I've told many people that she was really good to me, but she didn't buy me the building. And so we lost our lease. What are you gonna do? We lost our lease, and um, I did move the business, um, and then she got very, very ill and passed away. And before she passed away, I saw a product and I said, you know, I can do better than that. And I happened to go on a singles hike at that point. I was single. I'm not now, I'm married.

From Singles Hike to Product Patent: The origin story of Bezi Bra Discs

SPEAKER_00 14:04

I have been for almost 20 years. Um and I love my husband, but at the time I was single and I went on a hike, and I ran into a guy who was an industrial design engineer, and I said to him, Listen, I've seen something I think I can do better. Can you help me? And he said, Yeah, sure. And so he actually showed me how to get a patent, how to find a patent attorney, how to actually um have prototype molds made. Um, he was instrumental in helping me. And um I ended up with a product. Uh, and I've I've said many times that one of the things that my mother believed really strongly in is that we live in a wonderful country, and we should do our best to manufacture products here in the United States, and so that's been really important to me. So I took what I had, I mean, I put everything on the line. I thought at the time I was old and that you know, I was old single with no kids. It was now or never, and so and there was no one to say no. And so I said, yep, that's it, I'm doing it. And uh I create, I with uh Jim's help, I created the product and then I started manufacturing and marketing it, which took me down a totally different path because then I had to learn how to do all of this stuff. And in the meantime, um I did meet my husband, and one day we're standing in the kitchen and just talking. And uh I said, you know, I have a bit of a problem. And he said, What kind of problem? I said, Well, I have a patent and I have a product, but I need packaging. And he looked at me and said, You have a patent? And I said, Yeah, seems that in the previous year and a half I forgot to mention that. And uh in the meantime, he said that he had written a book. And I

The Husband Secret: Simultaneously launching a physical product and publishing a book

SPEAKER_00 16:20

said, You wrote a book.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

I love it. You guys are married and you don't even know all the things.

SPEAKER_00 16:27

We didn't. We totally didn't talk about stuff in a closet. So in the following year, we got packaging for me and we published his book. So it was an interesting year for the two of us.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

I love it. And he's, you know, he's one of your biggest cheerleaders now, which is so awesome. So, for people who are listening, I I have my broad discs are actually in New Jersey, and I'm currently in Texas, but they're for, you know, if a woman in a business or high pressure situation has ever been cold, we all know that something can be very perky and it can be incredibly distracting and embarrassing. And the last thing you want attention on are your headlamps when you are leading a meeting or giving a presentation or meeting with a client or giving a pitch. That is the last thing you want. And so Anne came up with this beautiful patent bra discs so you can put them in your bra, and you never have to worry if you get cold or you know, it's it's an extra shield, if you will.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

Yeah, I

Eliminating "Headlight Moments": Giving professional women wardrobe confidence on stage

SPEAKER_00 17:44

tell I tell women, you know, we all want to be heard, and we want to be heard without distraction. Cleavage is one thing, a pretty outfit is another, but the last thing you want to have on top of everything else is a headlight moment. Yeah. So my product helps to camouflage that.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

And I love it. You know, I think for so long we felt like we had to fight to get at the table, and now we're building our own tables and we have our own ceiling less, you know, places. And it's still, even if you were in a front of a room of women, it would be distracting. But many times, at least in my experience with a lot of my clients, we are one of a few women and still with a sea of men often. And so, yeah, it dissipates your power, it's distracting, it's embarrassing. So I love this. So you have your bra discs, and then I know that you have studied funnels, you have you have a five-year journal you're working on. Ever since I've ever known Anne, which is now going on seven years, she's always got like five different things going. And I know that you're very connected in the polka dots, and I know that you also do doTERRA essential oils. And I remember you were so excited after you'd been to visit that place where they do what was it? It was special oil smell thing.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

Was it like I'm oh yes, I went to Western Pennsylvania where they uh actually have a facilit doTERRA has a facility where they

Moving From Bra Discs to doTERRA Essential Oils: Commercial birch oil extraction

SPEAKER_00 19:32

uh extract uh birch oil. Birch oil. It's one of the only facilities in the world that does uh is a commercial facility to extract uh birch oil, which is un an unbelievable oil. And the beauty of doTERRA's oils are that they're pure oil, they're certified, tested grade, pure. And so and they're third-party tested. And so it was an amazing opportunity for me, because as I said before, to go to facilities in the United States that are manufacturing facilities, how wonderful that we have uh opportunities to see uh facilities right here in this country that produce product. And the same can be true of my broad discs. The facility that where my mold lives is in New Jersey. And I've had the opportunity to watch my product being made. Amazing, amazing.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

Wow, that's so like I remember when I had I had I used to tour as a comedian and I had this joke, I kissed a million frogs before I found my rabbit, which is a you know a vibrator joke, and I just did it as a test, and I had a friend do the graphic and I sold out. And when I would see cougars and people screaming for my t-shirt, and I would be signing it, and then I would see waitresses wearing it, like it was like one of the most amazing feelings. And I I love that you had those both built in America because um that's what we're all hopefully creating more of here in this country. So, Anne, tell us about so this to me is so exciting, is Ann and I worked together on her speaking and her videos. And a couple of years ago, she called me and said, I started a podcast and it's partly your fault. So I love it when my clients call me and tell me they're doing outrageous, bold things. It makes me so happy. Tell us about your podcast and tell us the name of it and all the things.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

Thank you so much. Yeah, uh never in my wildest dreams. In my well, first of all, when

"It's Partly Your Fault": How Anne accidentally launched her podcast in 28 days

SPEAKER_00 22:02

I was growing up, there was no internet, there were no podcasts. Um, I said I once um spoke with my mother-in-law, and I told her that I had a podcast, and she had no idea what I was speaking about. And I said, well, it's kind of like a radio show, right? It's a radio show. I interview people, um, but you find it online um through computers or on your phone. And it was interesting thinking about the fact that when I was growing up, all of this stuff didn't exist. Yeah. So the thought of having my own podcast, it would have never crossed my mind. Uh but I knew that I needed to learn more about marketing. I mean, that's what it's all about, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 22:53

Right.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

You can have a product, but if nobody knows you have a product, it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_01 22:57

Right.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

What you know, what are you gonna do? So I was At a networking event, and I heard a lady named Cammy Lehman speak, and she spoke about podcasting. I called her up and I said, You know, I think that what I want to do is be a guest on other people's podcasts. Can you help me? And she said, Yeah, not what I do, but I have a school and it's opening on Monday. So I said, Well, okay, fine. I'll just join her school and learn about podcasts because I mean I'd listen to some. Uh again, it never occurred to me that I would have my own, nor did I want my own. And uh I joined her school and she says, in 28 days you will have a podcast. And I said, Yeah, no, I'm not going to have a podcast. I'm never going to have a podcast. And she said, Oh, yeah, you will. In 28 days, you will have a podcast. Well, 28 days, um, a little over two years ago, I

Sharing Entrepreneurial Stories: Interviewing authors, coaches, and consultants

SPEAKER_00 24:56

launched my podcast. And the wonderful part about podcasting is it's given me an opportunity to meet the most amazing people. Um, I decided that my podcast would be everything that I wanted out of a podcast. I wanted to meet new people, meet entrepreneurs. Um, I speak with entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, and authors. And you've been on my podcast several times. And it's an opportunity to share, just like you are today with me, share other people's stories, how they decided to go into business, or how they decided to write their book, or um how they decided to become a coach. And I over two years later, I'm still in love with the the whole opportunity I've had to meet amazing, amazing people.

SPEAKER_01 25:59

Yes, I to me I love podcasting because I feel like it's such a an opportunity to deeply connect and then to share that beautiful connection with other people. And so many of us are so busy. We are running around. I I have so many hats on right now as a caretaker, living with family, uh, managing a business from afar. Like there's so much. And so to me, it's such a gift to be able to hear this vulnerable, authentic, inspiring conversation between two people. And it's, I just crave that, you know, uh enriching conversations, right? And so, and then I usually get inspired and I learn. And to me, yes, I love music, but podcasts can really help you make your chores more fun, I think. And you know, when I'm really into it, I will find things to clean because I want to keep listening, you know. I'll run that errand for you, no problem, right? And so, but what I love about you, Anne, is you took the coaching, you did all the things, and you are in the top 2% globally as a podcast host, which is there are millions of podcasts right now. And most people start them and don't get more than five or 10 episodes in, and then they realize, wow, this is a lot of work, and people aren't beating down my doors for a big deal. So a lot of times people just quit or peter out or take a break or whatever. So you've been going at this for two over two years, but you know, to be in the top 2% globally is huge, huge, huge, huge. And another thing I just want to say, sorry, I'm on my soapbox. If you are listening and you tell yourself, I'm too old, it's too late, wrong, I'm about to be 50 freaking seven, and Anne is in her

Entering the Top 2% Globally: The discipline required to beat "podfade"

SPEAKER_01 27:58

uh 70s, and it is never too late, and you can have such a difference, and you can you never know who you can inspire, motivate, captivate, um, uplift. So it is not too late. You are not too old. That is just a stupid your ego and your brain trying to keep you safe. Sorry, Ann, I cut you off. What were you gonna say?

SPEAKER_00 28:19

No, I was gonna say it's absolutely amazing, it's amazing. We had so much fun at Podfest. Um over 1,600 pod people, uh and it was great, it was great, and every single person there had a podcast about something different, even the podcasts that were the same were different, right? So it's amazing, it's absolutely amazing.

SPEAKER_01 28:48

Yeah, you meet the coolest people. Like we met Vanna White's

Overcoming Ageism: Why your 50s, 60s, and 70s are the perfect time to build an empire

SPEAKER_01 28:52

brother, Chip White, and he was like, She is so cool and so generous and so humble, and that made me so happy. And then I got him to laugh. I said, My dad said, Oh my god, that Vanna White, she's really let herself go, and we all just cracked up. But yeah, there's people who are sharing their cancer story, there are people who are sharing their getting over a narcissist story. There are people, there's one guy who has made uh a huge business out of talking about Disney and all the ins and outs of Disney. And then not only has and he was um invoked into the podcaster of the year award or Hall of Fame. I'm sorry, the podcaster hall of fame. And he also teaches other people how to make a business from your passion. And I just, yeah, I just love the vibe, I love the people, but I love, you know, I wouldn't have gone if it hadn't been for you, Ann. And so I'm grateful for that. And I that, you know, the gifts just keep unfolding. And I know you you have a many projects, and I know you're working on your fabulous, um, I forget what it's called, something code. It's gonna be your new coach.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

I'm I am uh in the process of getting certified to be a coach um because I want to share a lot of what I've learned over the years. So yeah, opportunity is always available.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Yes, and here's here's the other thing is eventually you're gonna get there if you keep staying in action, right? But when you hire a coach, what is promised is you will get there faster, you will get to results faster. So it's really setting yourself up to win because you're gonna learn from our mistakes. Ann and I have been on the court, we've both been serial entrepreneurs our entire lives. So I can tell you what not to do for sure. And so I'm like, take all of this knowledge and wisdom and heart and soul that we both have, and and I'm I can help you get where you want to go faster.

Speeding up Success: The exact ROI of hiring a business coach to bypass mistakes

SPEAKER_01 31:00

And so can Anne. Ann, you are such a powerful teacher, mentor, coach. You're so smart. You've taught yourself to do so many great things. And I think anybody who would have the privilege to work with you would really be so lucky. So if people want to know more, tell us the name of your podcast, first of all.

SPEAKER_00 31:21

Well, the name of my podcast is just Wanted to Ask. And for everyone who's listening, Elaine has helped me with my sense of humor, which I don't always have. But one of the beautiful parts about what Elaine has to offer is she loves adding humor to anyone's concept of business. And so she's been helping me see the lighter side of a lot of different topics. Um, and I guess that's one of the reasons I love spending time with you. But anyway, getting back to me, me, me. Um, my podcast is just wanted to ask. And my product is Besi Bra Discs, and they can be found at Beziewoman.com. That's Bismboy E Z Iwoman.com.

SPEAKER_01 32:15

I will put all that in the show notes as well. I and I just want to share one final thing. So if you're listening, Anna is this adorable five-two woman, um, very petite. She's a vegan, she's very clean eating most of the time. And

Incorporating Comedy into Business: Finding the lighter side of serious branding topics

SPEAKER_01 32:34

she wanted to make a splash last year at Podfest. So she ordered this jacket, this really cool black blazer, and on the back, it has the name of her podcast with like the art, the cover art for it, which is like a yellow, and her face just wanted to ask. And there's a QR code so that you can subscribe and get connected with her immediately. And I just love that, like that is so bold, and it just takes guts to wear it. And you did it, you wore it, people loved it. I want to get one for next year, or just to have around. Um, so thank you so much for joining us, Anne. And can you just leave us? What is one super tip or one thing you want to say to our listeners and viewers, if you could leave them with that?

SPEAKER_00 33:31

Um, I would say that I try to wake up every morning with gratitude.

Guerrilla Marketing Assets: Designing a custom blazer with a podcast subscription QR code

SPEAKER_00 33:35

Um, I I'm grateful for anything I can be grateful for. And if I can laugh about it, all the better. Um, because I really think that's important. There are a lot of stupid things that happen every single day, and a sense of humor helps. Yeah. So I would say gratitude is everything. And um, you never know what's around the next corner. I certainly never thought that I would be a podcast host.

SPEAKER_01 34:05

I love it. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us, everybody. Make sure that you follow Anne and go listen to her do some fabulous, fabulous interviews. And thanks so much for watching. And I hope to see you on the screen or stage very soon. All right, everybody. Bye for now.