|
 veryone
knows Ellie, or has worn an Ellie design. Those
classy and/or outrageous ankle or knee-high designer
socks? That's Ellie - HOT SOX!
Ellie
Gordon led the clothing industry into a new realm
of fashion hosiery, and has led women in business
to much, much more. As she often says, "My mission
is to help women in business increase their effectiveness."
The
founder and senior executive vice president of the
HOT SOX Company Inc., Ellie runs an innovative fashion
hosiery company that is also the licensee for Polo/Ralph
Lauren Hosiery. HOT SOX is a global company with
annual sales of more than $60 million.
When
she was four, Ellie came to the United States with
her sister and parents, who were Holocaust survivors
from Poland. Settling in Minneapolis, none of the
family knew English, but like other immigrants of
the time, they were determined to build a better
life.
At
seven, Ellie was a New York City girl who went to
school, came home, worked in the candy/soda shop
that her father bought for $1,500, ate, slept, and
then got up the next morning to do the same, day
after day.
Her
charismatic parents kept the shop open 20 hours
a day. The family worked together and played little,
but the hard work paid off when their "initial investment"
sold for $2,500. Ellie's entrepreneurial parents
continued to buy and sell stores, transitioning
the little candy store into an up-scale gift shop.
With this, they succeeded in giving their daughters
the life, and education, that mom and dad never
had.
Ellie
studied art and art history and was a child of the
70s at American University in Washington, DC, where
she met her husband, Mark. After earning her bachelor's
from American University, Ellie attended graduate
school at Columbia University and unknowingly blended
her love of art with the entrepreneurial side of
business that her parents had exemplified so well.
Then,
as Ellie says, "It all started with the 'fateful'
weekend trip to Cape Cod."
In
the early 70s, in the midst of the hippie culture
- the Vietnam war, peace marches, etc. -
she and Mark, her sister and brother-in-law, went
to Cape Cod to visit artists friends who made a
good income off of tie-dye t-shirts with appliquéd
fruit…a fashion statement of the time.
The
foursome enjoyed their friends' tie-dye/good money
stories, and figured they were smart enough to come
up with a good idea, too. On the way home, Ellie
and Mark, her sister Sarah, and Sarah's graphic
artist husband, Gary Wolkowitz, decided that socks
were a good boutique commodity because they were
boring and needed some "pizzazz."
They
settled on the idea of making silk-screened, opaque
socks with the idea that they would not be too expensive,
could be silk-screened after work and sold to boutiques,
and no one would have to quit their day job. But,
their fledgling enterprise needed a name. Hot pants
were in vogue, so Ellie suggested HOT SOX, and it
stuck.
The
newly formed family quartet bought dozens of opaque
knee-highs and "silk-screened patterns 'til their
fingers ached,'" Ellie says. At their first trade
show in New York, they sold $40,000 worth of HOT
SOX. Remember the socks with King Kong on the Empire
State Building? The ones that sold on a cardboard
leg? That design was one of the original HOT SOX.
The
business' next leap forward came when the group's
creative juices resulted in 100 percent cotton socks
sporting six clearly defined bands of colors of
the rainbow. This really sealed HOT SOX as a leader
in "fashion hosiery." The company had a solid product,
had captured a niche market, and had a great name.
It was on its way.
Other
styles catapulted HOT SOX to greater fame. Remember
rainbow-striped toe socks with the individual toes?
They were the result of HOT SOX enhancing an idea
(the toe sock was originally made by an Italian
businessman to help heal his severe athlete's foot)
with their signature patterns, and their introduction
helped HOT SOX became an international name in only
five years.
Giving
Other Women a Leg Up
Ellie Gordon's idea of an "easy
extra money" product turned into a multi-million
business, and she loved every minute of it. She
grew with the business, and says she is a firm believer
that women are born business leaders and managers,
despite the fact that they have been acculturated
to use their skills within the home.
After
her initial business success, Ellie's belief in
a woman's changing role in the business world, her
mentoring of women in her own business, and her
desire to continue coaching on a more professional
level led her to add another dimension to her career.
Heeding
her long-time interest in psychotherapy, she returned
to school to explore new horizons. Since 1985, her
part-time private practice has been based on her
training at The New York Institute for Psychosynthesis,
the Gestalt Therapy Institute, and The Masterson
Institute of New York City. She trained for individual
and group work and has worked with women for more
than 15 years in the areas of business and personal
enhancement.
Ellie's
merger of entrepreneurial ingenuity and psychological
training came together in the early 1990s, when
Dr. Marsha Firestone - who was then working for
American Women for Economic Development (AWED) -
hired her to facilitate AWED's Chief Executive Roundtable
sessions. There were only eight women in a group,
and Ellie found she genuinely enjoyed working with
the interface between personal and professional
growth for women.
Ellie
says her "crossover" leadership in the women's world
of business fulfills her mission.
She
finds that the people who are successful in the
long run are the same ones who have really worked
on their personal issues. They are the ones who
have sorted out problems, have taken care of "their
baggage," and consequently, have developed a feel
for themselves and for others.
Women
at this stage are more self-confident, effective
and able to make an impact. They can make a difference
in their businesses and personal lives, and they
can share their success and empower others.
As
a coach, Ellie is fierce. She is dedicated to encouraging
women to help each other and to give of themselves.
She has seen, and experienced, competitiveness in
the corporate world and firmly believes personal
competitiveness should not be a part of an entrepreneurial
businesswoman's world.
In
1996, Dr. Firestone went on to found the Women Presidents'
Organization (WPO) and Ellie's leadership role expanded.
She took on the role of the first facilitator of
the first Women Presidents' Organization Chapter
in New York City. The Women Presidents' Organization
(30 chapters strong across the United States and
Canada today) is a membership organization for entrepreneurial
women presidents who have guided their business
to generate at least $2 million in annual sales
(or $1 million for service based businesses).
Ellie
helped develop the WPO exceptional peer advisory
group meeting format. Her work helps businesswomen
become more effective by developing their leadership
skills. It also helped her to shape the structure
of the monthly Women Presidents' Organization chapter
meetings.
Leadership
with synergy and growth is what Ellie imparts best.
As a leader in business, and of other women in business,
Ellie says her years with the WPO have helped her
realize how much she had grown by helping others
to grow.
"I
added this accumulated experience of the women in
my group to my experience pool, and it has been
the best time of my life," she says.
Ellie
loves the role of facilitator because she loves
to bring out the best in women and to show them
how "they can make a difference." She makes women
realize the dynamism and potential that they hold,
and she also helps them recognize the tremendous
opportunity for transformation in all aspects of
their lives.
But,
the most wonderful part for Ellie is the creative
experience of sharing and molding and bonding that
comes from leading her a group.
"It's
a real high for me," she says. "A force field of
possibility is created, which continues to be intoxicating."
Essentially,
Ellie is at the top of her leadership game. Although
she firmly believes that it is lonely at the top,
and women have not been trained to be comfortable
at the top, she is gratified and empowered to see
women grow through her leadership and mentoring.
"It's
an honor to be a mentor and a roll model," she says.
"I always go to the partnership my parents had in
their marriage, and their business as a source of
inspiration. With them, one and one equaled much
more than two - their combined energies
had an exponential quality - I'm so glad
I was around to soak it up."
Ellie
is on the cutting edge of leading women to the next
level. She knows that women are leaders and managers
by nature, and she knows what an incredible contribution
they are making to business and world markets.
"Women
in business are a tremendous force to be reckoned
with," she firmly states. "More and more, we are
going to see women in powerful leadership roles
and impacting the world in many ways."
Yes,
and Ellie will have had a hand in getting quite
a few of them there.
LINDSAY
SHIELDS-GREEN is a principal of The LJ Group: an
Events Production/PR Company, and media director
for the Women Presidents' Organization. She can
be contacted at 562-621-0521 (e-mail: LJGroup@aol.com).
For information about a WPO chapter near you, call
WPO President Dr. Marsha Firestone at 212-688-4114
or e-mail info@womenpresidentsorg.com.
|
