For Love and Money

These 10 romance-based businesses keep the fires burning and the money flowing all year long. By Geoff Williams   |   February 08, 2007

URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/worklife/successstories/moreprofiles/article174322.html

In the old days--anywhere from centuries ago to even the 1980s--the word "entrepreneur" often
conjured up images of money-grubbing men like railroad barons, bankers or the famed character Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties. Nowadays, however, we know better. Entrepreneurs are like everyone else. We have hopes, dreams, mortgages and responsibilities, too.

Some entrepreneurs are even hopeless romantics. While they want to be rich like anyone else, romance is also on their minds. Their mission is to bring people together, and year round, their offices look like the inside of a Valentine's Day card.

Get in the mood for romance--and prepare to blush a little--as we honor 10 entrepreneurs who have full wallets and full hearts.

Romantic-Minded Entrepreneur: Mary Loomis-Shrier, 40
Name of Business: Trashy.com
What the business does: Sells lingerie, shoes, hosiery and alluring costumes
Founded: 1997
Location: Los Angeles
Employees: 50, including employees from the company she runs with her husband, Trashy
Lingerie

There's something about this business: Surprisingly, Loomis-Shrier's business has nothing to do with sanitation issues, unless you count the fact that what some think is trashy may be
another's treasure. Her husband, Mitch Shrier, began Trashy Lingerie in 1974. Eighteen years later, Mitch met Mary, who quickly had ideas for a sister company:  Trashy.com. Eventually, the couple married and had a son, and as their small family unit expanded, so did their business.

Mary created Trashy Girls five years ago, which is the entertainment side of their company. "I hire models to do television appearances for us, host massive parties all over the country," she says.
"I have my own channel on broadband and cable networks. There is no limit to what you can do with a brand image." But as glamorous or as trashy as her brand's image may seem, Mary concedes that she has plenty in common with other enterprising entrepreneurs: "Beautiful
clothes, beautiful models, photo shoots--it's all sexy. But where the real work takes place is
downtown L.A. in a 10,000-square-foot warehouse with hand sewers and pattern makers and bolts of fabric, people pulling from bins, and paperwork up to the ceiling, [all] to make sure the customer gets their lingerie on time and is looking great."