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    Walmart lays off corporate employees after slashing forecast

    Walmart confirmed on Wednesday that it has begun to lay off corporate employees.
    The news comes about a week after the company slashed its profit outlook and warned that consumers had pulled back on discretionary spending due to inflation.

    Exterior view of a Walmart store on August 23, 2020 in North Bergen, New Jersey
    VIEW press | Corbis News | Getty Images

    Walmart has begun to lay off corporate employees, the company confirmed Wednesday, about a week after it slashed its profit outlook and warned that consumers had pulled back on discretionary spending due to inflation.
    In a statement to CNBC, the retail giant described the layoffs as a way to “better position the company for a strong future.”

    Anne Hatfield, a Walmart spokesperson, declined to say how many workers will be affected and what divisions have experienced cuts. She said Walmart is still hiring in parts of its business that are growing, including supply chain, e-commerce, health and wellness, and advertising sales. 
    “Shoppers are changing. Customers are changing,” she said. “We are doing some restructuring to make sure we’re aligned.”
    The corporate layoffs were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
    Walmart is the largest employer in the country, with nearly 1.6 million workers in the U.S. The company, seen as a bellwether for the nation’s economy, spooked investors July 25 when it cut its outlook for quarterly and full-year profit guidance. That warning had a chilling effect on the retail sector, dragging down the stocks of companies including Macy’s and Amazon and sending up a flare about the health of the American consumer.

    Walmart said at the time that as shoppers spent more on necessities such as groceries and fuel, they were skipping over high-margin merchandise including apparel. It said it would have to cut prices to sell more of those items, especially as a glut of inventory piled up in its stores and at those of competitors such as Target and Bed Bath & Beyond.

    Later that same week, Best Buy cut its profit and sales forecast, saying it was seeing softening demand for consumer electronics — big-ticket, discretionary purchases that some shoppers can postpone.
    As recession worries linger, the U.S. jobs market appears increasingly segmented.
    U.S. job openings in June dropped sharply, but the labor backdrop remains tight, with 1.8 open jobs per available worker. Many of the companies that boomed during the pandemic, including Walmart’s major competitor Amazon, have started to scale back on hiring.
    Amazon’s headcount shrank by 99,000 people to 1.52 million employees globally at the end of the second quarter. The company’s workforce had almost doubled in size during the Covid health crisis as it rushed to keep up with customer demand for groceries, puzzles and more online.
    That reduction was primarily due to attrition, Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said on a call with reporters after the company’s second-quarter earnings report last week.
    Other companies, including Shopify and Robinhood, have also recently announced layoffs. And still others, such as Facebook parent Meta and Google parent Alphabet, have said they will slow hiring or focus on more productivity with current workers.
    It’s unclear whether Walmart has also slowed its pace of hiring at stores and warehouses, which would allow attrition to shrink its workforce. The company will report its quarterly earnings on Aug. 16 and will likely provide an update on overall headcount.
    — CNBC’s Annie Palmer contributed to this report.

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    Fisker stays on track to start production of its electric Ocean SUV this year, cites 56,000 reservations

    Fisker now has over 56,000 reservations for its upcoming Ocean electric SUV.
    It confirmed that it’s on track to begin production of the Ocean in November, as planned.
    The company’s second-quarter loss was narrower than expected.

    Henrik Fisker stands with the Fisker Ocean electric vehicle after it was unveiled at the Manhattan Beach Pier ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show and AutoMobilityLA on November 16, 2021 in Manhattan Beach, California.
    Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images

    California-based EV startup Fisker said Wednesday it now has more than 56,000 reservations for its Ocean electric SUV, and confirmed that it’s still on track to start production in mid-November.
    The announcements were part of Fisker’s second-quarter earnings report. Here are the key numbers:

    Loss per share: 36 cents vs. 41 expected by Refinitiv consensus estimates
    Net loss: $106 million vs. $122.1 million reported in the first quarter of 2022.
    Reservations: More than 56,000, up from more than 45,000 in May when it reported first-quarter results.

    CEO Henrik Fisker confirmed the company and its manufacturing partner, global auto supplier Magna International, are on track to begin production of the Ocean at a Magna-owned factory in Austria later this year.

    Fisker and Magna have completed 55 Ocean prototypes as planned. All are currently undergoing final quality testing in preparation for the November launch, Fisker said.
    The company had $851.9 million in cash remaining at the end of the second quarter, down from about $1 billion at the end of March but enough to complete development of the Ocean and fund its operations through at least the end of 2022, it said.
    Fisker also confirmed that its second vehicle, a lower-cost model called the PEAR, will be built by Foxconn Technology Group in the former Lordstown Motors factory in Ohio starting in 2024.
    The automaker plans to launch a third model, a sports car called Ronin, in late 2024. A display of that prototype is expected in mid-2023.

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    Mickelson, DeChambeau and other LIV golfers file antitrust lawsuit against PGA Tour over suspensions

    Eleven professional golfers filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour Wednesday.
    The players were suspended from playing in the tour over their involvement with the Saudi-backed LIV league.
    Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and others said that the PGA’s restrictive policies limit LIV’s ability to compete with the tour.

    Team Hy Flyers Phil Mickelson of the U.S. speaks to the media after the first round of the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational, June 9, 2022.
    Paul Childs | Action Images via Reuters

    Eleven professional golfers filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour Wednesday after being suspended from playing in the tour over their involvement with the Saudi-backed LIV league.
    The complaint, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, ratchets up an ongoing battle between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.

    Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Ian Poulter and Talor Gooch, among others, allege in the filing that the PGA’s restrictive policies are an attempt to choke off the supply of professional golfers to LIV, thus limiting LIV’s ability to compete with the tour.
    The golfers are asking that their suspensions be lifted and for unspecified monetary damages. Three of the plaintiffs — Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones — are further requesting a temporary restraining order against the Tour allowing them to participate in the FedEx Cup Playoffs for which they qualified and which start next week.
    “These suspended players – who are now Saudi Golf League employees – have walked away from the TOUR and now want back in,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan wrote Wednesday in a memo to members. “To allow reentry into our events compromises the TOUR and the competition, to the detriment of our organization, our players, our partners and our fans.”

    The tour suspended Mickelson in March for recruiting players to LIV Golf, according to the complaint. In June, the tour denied Mickelson’s appeal of the decision — at the time reported as an initial suspension — and barred 16 additional players from participating in league events for playing in the LIV Golf Tournament without getting the proper media clearances.
    Mickelson has faced criticism for and acknowledged the human rights offenses surrounding the Saudi kingdom, but has defended LIV Golf as a necessary disruptor of the PGA Tour.

    The lawsuit highlights what it describes as restrictive media rights and conflicting event regulations in calling the PGA Tour “an entrenched monopolist with a vice-grip on professional golf” executing a “carefully orchestrated plan to defeat competition.”
    The complaint alleges that, beyond suspensions and regulations, the PGA Tour threatened sponsors, vendors and agents to coerce players into leaving LIV Golf, which is funded mainly by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
    “The players are right to have brought this action to challenge the PGA’s anti-competitive rules and to vindicate their rights as independent contractors to play where and when they choose,” LIV Golf said in a statement. “Despite the PGA Tour’s effort to stifle competition, we think golfers should be allowed to play golf.”
    Last month, the PGA Tour confirmed the Justice Department is also investigating potential antitrust violations tied to LIV Golf.
    Meanwhile, the PGA Tour has been lobbying lawmakers and White House officials, pushing for opposition to the Saudi league.
    —CNBC’s Dan Mangan and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.

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    Embryos can count as dependents on Georgia state tax returns: For many families 'there is no benefit at all,' says analyst

    Residents of Georgia may now claim embryos as dependents on their state income tax returns.
    Any “unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat” may qualify for a $3,000 state income tax deduction for 2022, according to the state’s Department of Revenue.
    However, the policy raises many questions about the benefits and administration, experts say.

    Anti-abortion activists demonstrate outside the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, June 13, 2022.
    Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

    Residents of Georgia may now claim embryos as dependents on their state income tax returns.
    Any “unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat” may qualify for a $3,000 state income tax deduction for 2022, effective July 20, according to guidance released by the state’s Department of Revenue.

    The announcement follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending the federal right to abortion, triggering bans in Georgia and elsewhere.
    More from Personal Finance:Roe v. Wade decision will financially hurt the ‘most marginalized’ womenHow Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision could affect health insuranceCalculators can help measure how Social Security cuts may affect you
    While it’s unclear whether other states will follow, jurisdictions do tend to copy one another, said Richard Auxier, senior policy associate at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. 
    “It is an anti-abortion piece of legislation,” he said, explaining how the tax break won’t support most lower-income families.
    Typically, tax deductions are less valuable than tax credits because they are more difficult to claim, and many filers take the standard deduction rather than itemizing, Auxier said. 

    “For most low-income families, there is no benefit at all,” he said. “And for the rest of them, we’re talking tens of dollars.”

    Deduction intricacies are a ‘tax person’s nightmare’

    With limited details, the announcement also leaves many unanswered questions among tax professionals. 
    “This is a situation where we may have to have some really, really uncomfortable conversations, particularly if things didn’t go well,” said Adam Markowitz, an enrolled agent and vice president at Howard L Markowitz PA, CPA. 
    Financial experts have asked which parent may claim the deduction, what happens with multiple births or if the pregnancy ends in a miscarriage.
    “It’s a tax person’s nightmare,” Markowitz added.

    The policy also raises questions about how tax policy defines “dependents” since the tax code doesn’t reflect what many families actually look like, Auxier said.
    With unmarried parents living in separate households, it may be complicated to figure out who receives the benefit, he said.

    How to provide ‘supporting documentation’

    The guidance says “relevant medical records” or other “supporting documentation” must be provided if requested by the Department of Revenue. But it’s unclear exactly what may be required.
    “High-income families have the resources to go ask their primary care physician for the supporting documents,” Auxier said. “But most families aren’t going to have the time or money to schedule yet another appointment.”
    The Georgia Department of Revenue said more information, including tax return instructions for claiming the tax break for an “unborn child with a detectable heartbeat” will come later this year.

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    EV maker Lucid again cuts production targets as logistics challenges cripple output

    Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group again cut its production targets Wednesday.
    Supply chain and logistics challenges mean demand for the company’s EVs far outpaces its output.
    The company said it now has over 37,000 reservations for its Air electric luxury sedan, but it delivered just 679 cars in the second quarter.

    Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson poses at the Nasdaq MarketSite as Lucid Motors (Nasdaq: LCID) begins trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange after completing its business combination with Churchill Capital Corp IV in New York City, New York, July 26, 2021.
    Andrew Kelly | Reuters

    Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group again cut its production targets Wednesday as supply chain and logistics challenges mean demand for the company’s EVs far outpaces its output.
    The company said it now has over 37,000 reservations for its Air electric luxury sedan, up from more than 30,000 in May – but it delivered just 679 cars in the second quarter. In February, it said that it expected to build between 12,000 and 14,000 vehicles in 2022, down from an original forecast of 20,000.

    It cut its full-year deliveries guidance for a second time, saying that it now expects to deliver just 6,000 to 7,000 vehicles in 2022, and announced a new senior executive to lead operations.
    Lucid’s shares fell about 12% in after-hours trading following the news.
    The announcements came as Lucid reported its second-quarter results. Here are the key numbers:

    Revenue: $97.3 million
    Loss per share: 33 cents
    Vehicles delivered: 679

    “Our revised production guidance reflects the extraordinary supply chain and logistics challenges we encountered,” CEO Peter Rawlinson said in a statement. “We’ve identified the primary bottlenecks, and we are taking appropriate measures – bringing our logistics operations in-house, adding key hires to the executive team, and restructuring our logistics and manufacturing organization.”

    Earlier this year, Lucid cited supply chain issues around semiconductor chips as well as basic components like glass and carpet as reasons for the reduction.

    Rawlinson told CNBC in an interview that the process of working through the supply-chain issues forced the company to confront another set of bottlenecks.
    “It really unveiled the next level of challenges, the immaturity of our logistics systems,” Rawlinson said, explaining that Lucid is in the process of bringing shipping and other services in-house.
    To help address the issues, Lucid announced Wednesday it’s hired Stellantis veteran Steven David to serve as its senior vice president of operations, taking charge of the company’s manufacturing, logistics and quality-control efforts.
    CFO Sherry House told CNBC that the company’s reservation total of 37,000 does not include any reservations for its upcoming Gravity SUV or any of the vehicles ordered by the government of Saudi Arabia.
    Lucid said in April that Saudi Arabia’s government had agreed to buy up to 100,000 of its vehicles over the next 10 years. The country’s public wealth fund is a major investor in Lucid, holding roughly 62% of the company’s shares.
    Lucid had $4.6 billion in cash and equivalents as of the end of the second quarter, down from $5.4 billion at the end of March but enough to fund operations “well into 2023,” House said.
    This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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    Overwhelming abortion right win in 'red' Kansas gives Democrats boost for fall midterms over 'MAGA' GOP, Schumer says

    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats said a strong vote to uphold abortion rights in Kansas gives their party a boost over Republicans going into the fall midterms.
    Kansas voters by a wide margin voted “no” on a constitutional amendment that would let the state’s Republican-controlled legislature ban or severely restrict abortion.
    The result was a test of how voters would react to the Supreme Court’s decision overturning the federal constitutional right to abortion that arose from the 1973 Roe v. Wade case.
    President Joe Biden, a supporter of abortion rights, was trounced in Kansas by Donald Trump, an abortion opponent, in the 2020 election.

    Erin Woods for the Vote No on the Constitutional Amendment on Abortion canvases a neighborhood on August 01, 2022 in Lenexa, Kansas.
    Kyle Rivas | Getty Images

    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other leading Democrats on Wednesday said an unexpectedly strong vote to uphold the right to an abortion in “red” Kansas gives their party a boost over Republicans going into the fall midterms.
    “Last night in the American heartland, the people of Kansas sent an unmistakable message to MAGA Republican extremists — back off women’s fundamental rights,” said Schumer, D-N.Y. referring to the “Make America Great Again” battle cry of former President Donald Trump and his supporters.

    With an extremely high turnout, Kansans on Tuesday voted 59% to 41% against a proposed constitutional amendment that would let the state’s Republican-controlled legislature either ban or severely restrict abortion.
    “What happened in red Kansas last night is a reflection of what is happening across the country and what will continue to occur through the November elections,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “If it’s going to happen in Kansas, it’s going to happen in a whole lot of states.”
    The strong abortion rights vote in Kansas, he said, will continue into the November elections, “and Republicans who side with these extremist MAGA policies that attack women’s rights do so at their own political risk.”

    The vote was the crucial first test of how voters could react to the Supreme Court’s decision in June overturning the federal constitutional right to abortion, which had existed since the high court ruling on Roe v. Wade in 1973.
    The latest Supreme Court ruling effectively leaves it up to individual states to decide how strictly to regulate or outright ban abortion.

    Nearly half of the states are expected to impose total or near-total bans on the procedure, despite the fact that opinion polls consistently show that a solid majority of Americans believe abortion should be legal. On Tuesday, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit seeking to block the enforcement of Idaho’s new abortion law, which beginning later this month would make it a criminal offense to perform abortion in nearly all cases.
    Tuesday’s loss by anti-abortion advocates in Kansas was stunning because the state reliably supports Republicans, whose party opposes abortion, in national elections. The Democratic Party, in contrast, is a staunch supporter of abortion rights.
    In the 2016 presidential election, the then-Republican candidate Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by more than 20 percentage points in Kansas, helping cement his victory in the national election for the White House.
    Trump defeated President Joe Biden in Kansas by nearly 15 percentage points in 2020.
    Anti-abortion groups spent millions of dollars promoting the Kansas amendment.
    But as of Wednesday morning, the “no” vote on Kansas’s anti-abortion amendment was outpacing the “yes” vote by about 18 percentage points with 99% of the vote counted.
    Ever since Biden’s national victory in 2020, Democrats were expected to face tough odds in the November elections to retain their majorities in both chambers of Congress. The incumbent party of a sitting president typically performs poorly in midterm races and the individual Senate seats up for reelection aren’t sure things for the Democrats.
    But top Democrats on Wednesday were heartened by the results in Kansas, even if all of them were not predicting it meant they will keep their majorities.
    The results came as a new national poll by Monmouth University showed that there has been a significant increase in support for Democrats on a generic ballot since June, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
    Monmouth’s latest poll showed that 50% of Americans now prefer Democrats controlling Congress, compared with 43% who prefer Republicans taking the majority. That same poll, which has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points, showed Biden with just a 38% approval rating.
    A Monmouth poll in June had shown the parties dead even, 47% to 47% in voter preferences. And in May, Republicans held a 4 percentage point edge over Democrats when people were asked in the poll which party should control Congress.
    “I think the message is out there that the reaction across America to this Supreme Court decision is powerful,” Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, told reporters Wednesday. “People are not staying home. They’re showing up at the polls; I think it’ll have an impact in November.”
    Asked if that impact would be enough to save his party’s majorities, Durbin said, “I wouldn’t say that, wouldn’t go that far, but I will tell you this. It has created a new factor in this off-year election in that Republicans are in a difficult position.”
    He said reports of extreme situations where women have been in danger because they are being denied access to abortion have been making the news. “And it isn’t one that’s very popular with voters,” he said.
    Another top Democrat, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, told reporters, “the American people are fed up with politicians trying to tell them what to do with their lives and their bodies.”
    “The anger, angst, anxiety that was expressed in Kansas is so widespread in this country that I think that November is going to be a key indication,” Blumenthal said.
    But Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said, “I just doubt it” when asked if the issue of abortion rights would lead to Democrats holding their majorities.
    “”I think we will take them both back,” Hawley said, referring to the Senate and the House of Representatives.
    The abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America suggested that Hawley’s confidence is not warranted.
    “At a time when reproductive freedom is under unprecedented threat across the country, Kansans said loud and clear at the ballot box: ‘We’ve had enough,'” said NARAL President Mini Timmaraju in a statement.
    “In the heartland of the United States, protecting abortion access is galvanizing voters like never before, and that mobilization is only just beginning. Reproductive freedom is a winning issue, now and in November,” Timmaraju said.

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    Transportation Department proposes stricter rules for airline refunds after complaints surge

    The proposed rules come after a surge in complaints over airline refunds during the Covid pandemic.
    American, United and Delta have made standard economy tickets more flexible to encourage bookings.

    Travelers at LaGuardia Airport in New York on June 30, 2022.
    Leslie Josephs | CNBC

    The Transportation Department on Wednesday proposed stricter rules on when airlines would have to compensate passengers for canceled or delayed flights, a move that follows a surge in traveler complaints after Covid-19 roiled air travel.
    Air travelers are currently entitled to a refund if their flights are canceled or “significantly” changed or delayed and they choose not to travel. But the agency had not defined what constitutes a significant change.

    The Transportation Department is now proposing to define that as a departure or arrival time that’s off by at least three hours for domestic flights, or at least six hours for international flights. Travelers would also be entitled to a refund if the routing changes or if a connection is added, as well as if a change in aircraft causes a “significant downgrade” in amenities or other features.
    Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has publicly admonished airlines in recent weeks over an uptick in flight cancellations and delays, while industry executives and the Federal Aviation Administration have pointed fingers over who’s to blame.
    Some Democratic lawmakers have called for better consumer protections for air travelers.
    Complaints about airline refunds accounted for 87% of the 102,560 complaints the DOT logged in 2020 and about 60% of the 49,958 complaints in 2021.
    The DOT also proposed requiring airlines to give flight credits or vouchers without expiration dates if passengers can’t fly because of Covid-19, including lockdowns, travel restrictions or personal health reasons.

    “When Americans buy an airline ticket, they should get to their destination safely, reliably, and affordably,” Buttigieg said in a news release.
    Airlines for America, which represents large airlines like American, United, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and others, declined to comment.
    The pandemic and plunge in air travel demand prompted some airlines to make their tickets more flexible. For example, American, United and Delta, got rid of ticket change fees for standard economy tickets in 2020.
    And last week, Southwest, which didn’t charge ticket change fees before the pandemic either, said the vouchers it issues will never expire.
    The DOT’s proposed rules are open to public comment for 90 days.

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    Self-made millionaire Bethenny Frankel on why good ideas are not enough to be successful in business

    SMALL BUSINESS PLAYBOOK 2022
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    Bethenny Frankel found success with her Skinnygirl lifestyle brand, ranging from specialty food items to branded apparel. 
    She describes herself as an “ideas person” and broke through with a pre-packaged low calorie margarita.
    But she says good ideas can only take you so far, and it is determination which is the bigger factor in business success. “Everyone has a good idea,” she told CNBC’s Sharon Epperson at Small Business Playbook.

    Photo: Bethenny Frankel

    “I truthfully didn’t even know the word entrepreneur. I was in my late thirties, and I didn’t know the word ‘brand,’ I didn’t know the word ‘entrepreneur,'” Bethenny Frankel, founder of SkinnyGirl, told Sharon Epperson at the CNBC Small Business Playbook virtual summit on Wednesday.
    Now, just over a decade later, Frankel is a widely successful and self-made entrepreneur, who sold her pre-packaged low-calorie margarita, Skinnygirl Cocktails, for a reported $120 million, and continues to delve into a series of ambitious business ventures with her Skinnygirl lifestyle brand, ranging from specialty food items to branded apparel. 

    While she may not have always envisioned a life in business, she always envisioned her next big idea, and what it would take to turn it into reality, she told Epperson.
    “I just always was an ideas person. I could not help but to execute on crazy ideas that I had,” Frankel said. 
    The Skinnygirl brand was one of those ideas — the simple vision of having her own signature cocktail. “I think very simply, I wanted to have a cocktail for myself, that I wanted to drink, and that could be a signature cocktail that I always went for,” she explained.
    That personal need was not an idea she immediately knew would catch on with millions of others.
    “I had no idea that I was creating the first-ever low-calorie margarita or creating a category in ready-to-drink cocktails,” she said. But once she realized how popular the concept was, she knew that she had the opportunity to turn it into a successful business. 

    That transition to business building is where Frankel stresses that having a good entrepreneurial idea isn’t what made her story exceptional. “When you’re young, and you think you’re smart, everybody thinks they’re smart. You think you have a good idea — everyone has a good idea,” she said.
    A good idea may have been the start in setting her apart, but drive and motivation are more important in business. 
    “I’ve really realized it’s those people that have that drive and that determination and that passion, that unstoppable nature — that’s really the true ingredient for success,” Frankel said. “Because so many people have good ideas. And the world and technology and what’s popular is changing all of the time, so if you have that constant — of being a hard, old-school worker, you’ll be successful. People around you will see how valuable that is, because it’s very, very rare,” she added.
    Frankel says in addition to a strong work ethic, personal investment and authenticity are essential pieces in a successful entrepreneurial venture.  
    “Business is lonely, you are alone,” she said. “You sign that dotted line alone, it’s your reputation, it’s all about you alone. … No one cares as much as you about your business,” she told Epperson.  
    She also rejects the idea that business and personal life should — or can — be kept separate.
    The line between business life and personal life has become increasingly blurred, especially since the onset of the pandemic, as many workers began to work from home, and the decisions made in one sphere have held new significance in the other. 
    And in a time characterized by inflation and rising interest rates, and in which business owners are increasingly concerned with supply chain issues and labor shortages, business choices have proven to be unavoidably personal choices, too. 
    “Business is very, very personal. How I spend my money in my personal life could affect the money that I would or wouldn’t have to invest in business ideas. How I operate in my business life could affect the types of schools my daughter would have gone to, or how I treat my business affects how I spend my time — which is so personal,” Frankel said.
    New business formation numbers have been high since the pandemic began, and Frankel said uncertain times also provide opportunity.  
    “I think that people keep looking at the equation one way and keep trying the same key in the door, but now is the time when you have to fumble around and try a bunch of different keys and figure out what fits for you. Because when you have times of disarray, when you have times of crazy chaos, there is also a silver lining. There are other opportunities,” she said. 
    Frankel, who has bought and sold real estate over the years, pivoted to suburban real estate at the beginning of the pandemic, which proved to be a savvy business move. 
    Still, even amid business evolution, staying grounded in your core mission is essential, according to Frankel. “You have to be able to pivot and shift, but also stay true to the base and core of what your business is,” she said. 
    For any entrepreneur who is facing stagnation, Frankel advises focusing on their own needs and interests, rather than worrying about what others are doing. “Think about what you react to. What are you consuming, what are you digesting, what are you interested in, what are you attracted to, what do you like, what do you not like? And put that forward in your work,” she said. 
    Frankel’s personal wish for a low-calorie, ready-to-drink cocktail turned into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. 
    It is this turning within, before expanding out into the market, that makes business, at its core, quintessentially personal.
    “It has to come from within. What really speaks to you, it’s likely something that speaks to many people” she said. More