Episode 223: From Corporate Collapse to Startup Rocket Ship: A Single Mom CEO’s Path to a Multi-Million Dollar Comeback
When Stacey Roney lost her seven-figure business overnight, she had two choices: start over from nothing or give up entirely—what happened next will change how you think about resilience, risk, and rebuilding.
In this episode, I’m joined by Stacey Roney, a serial entrepreneur with over two decades of experience building multimillion-dollar ventures in beauty, PR, and digital media. She began at Nordstrom, creating innovative marketing roles before founding the nation’s first beauty staffing agency, a PR firm, and an online magazine. Stacey later became a top earner in direct sales with Rodan + Fields, mentoring thousands nationwide. Known for her creativity and resilience, she has thrived through major market shifts while raising three children. Today, she leads and advocates for Make Wellness, a fast-growing health and wellness startup specializing in bioactive precision peptides, driven by her passion for helping others build flexible, scalable businesses.
Throughout this episode, Stacey shares a candid look at her journey—from early success at Nordstrom to launching multiple multimillion-dollar companies. She recalls pivoting to direct sales during the 2008 crash, growing a large Rodan + Fields team, and creating the viral Facebook group “50 AF.” Personal challenges, including her daughter’s severe mental health crisis, prompted her to step back, and she details her daughter’s remarkable recovery through nutrition, exercise, and functional medicine. When corporate changes ended her Rodan + Fields business, Stacey sought a future-proof venture and found it in Make Wellness. She explains its unique affiliate/direct sales model, breakthrough product line, and rapid growth, reflecting her belief in resilience, adaptability, and leading by example.
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
Nordstrom years: Intrapreneurship in action (3:06)
From staffing gaps to a National Beauty Agency (7:30)
Nonprofit, digital magazine, and PR with a twist (11:30)
The 2008 crash and a high-stakes pivot (14:14)
Scaling to seven figures through mentorship (16:27)
“50 AF” – A viral community for women over 50 (21:49)
A mother’s hardest battle (28:32)
From crisis to transformation (31:24)
From R+F collapse to startup rocket ship (33:40)
Products with an edge (39:18)
Momentum from day one (42:10)
Lessons in reinvention (51:05)