0816_TOEFL-Test-and-Score-Manual-1997

280 ● 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business
“I went out and said to someone, ‘I’m going to do it,’” he told me. “Then,
I did it.”
I owe much of my success to Bloomberg. I had no experience in television
when he hired me in a very crazy way. I was working with Avon on
some small business marketing projects when I decided to write and produce
a talk show, The Power of Women in Business. Avon agreed to pay the
expenses to produce a pilot. We shot it at KPBS-TV, the public TV station
in San Diego. Ron Stein, my wonderful ex-husband, directed and edited
the show. Apart from my bouffant hairdo and dramatic makeup, the show
looked pretty good.
The problem was I had no clue about how to sell a TV show. I made
100 VHS copies and sent Brooke, my marketing consultant, off to Las Vegas
to attend a major TV programming convention. The problem was that he
didn’t know anyone at the convention. His plan was simple; he stopped at
every booth, dropping off a copy. I was not happy to hear what he did, having
paid for the trip to Vegas. I was sure nothing would happen.
A few weeks later, my phone rang. An assistant said Mike Bloomberg
wanted to speak with me. Known for being direct, he said my show was
terrible. So, I asked, why was he calling me? He said he needed a small
business expert for a new small business show he had just sold to USA
Networks. Was I interested in moving to New York City?
I had been hosting an advice segment called the “Mail Bag” for CNBC
and been a guest on many shows, but I was not a trained broadcaster. Turns
out my lack of experience didn’t matter. In fact, it was an advantage. Always
a contrarian, Bloomberg believed anyone with a brain could do television.
In fact, in the early years, Bloomberg was known for hiring super-smart,
but not especially glamorous or handsome reporters. Now, Bloomberg TV’s
on-air personalities are very attractive.
Being part of a scrappy new cable network was a kick. No one believed
he could make it work. Everyone hated the original screen, which had all
kinds of data in boxes around the talking head of the reporter. Uncertain
about the future, I was reluctant to move my family from Los Angeles to
New York.
Not a problem. The first year, I spent two weeks a month in New York
City, producing four shows. Life was very sweet. I worked long hours but
stayed in the swanky Regency Hotel on Park Avenue. Sixteen blizzards