Patty Brisben is the CEO and founder of Pure Romance™, the fastest-growing company specializing in relationship-enhancement products sold woman-to-woman. Her pleasure party business has a network of over 30,000 specially trained consultants throughout the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, South Africa and Australia.
I am also an ardent admirer of Patty’s philanthropy. She raises millions of dollars with her The Patty Brisben Foundation, an nonprofit organization working to enhance women’s sexual health and well-being through research and education. As a female entrepreneur, she’s the epitome of a powerful and passionate woman, as she’s created an empire by enabling other women to become entrepreneurs, and has used her success to educate and conduct vital research in the field of women’s sexual health. Not to mention her luxurious new Euforia line features some beautiful, elegant adult toys like the G-spot wand.
Here is my interview with Patty where she lets me in on her entrepreneurial secrets, and shares her expertise on women’s sexual health and the seven year itch!
Dr. Ava Cadell: I love your goal to inspire women to live with poise, flair, and purpose. Who inspired you Patty?
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Patty Brisben: I focus on empowering women both inside and outside the bedroom, which starts with surrounding myself with the best of the best Consultants at Pure Romance. My goal is for all of my Consultants to create a judgment-free environment for their clients; they’re there to listen. My parents were amazing role models- they instilled a strong work ethic in me and they did so by example. My dad was a Keebler truck driver and my mom worked at our local Kroger. They worked hard to provide for our family. I am inspired by them and by strong, empowered women that have made a difference in the lives of others.
DC: What is your ultimate goal for your Patty Brisben Foundation that is dedicated to women’s sexual health?
PB: The goal for the Patty Brisben Foundation for Women’s Sexual Health is to keep growing and providing more grants and funding to our physicians and research facilities to in the end improve the sexual health care women receive. Our Foundation was recently honored at ASSECT for our work in sexual health which started back in 2005. Just over 12 years ago, we started working with Indiana University to better train our Consultants about sexual health. During that time, we were getting complicated questions about pain disorders, menopause, women going through cancer treatments and I wanted to help them. So, I sought out physician advice and found that even the experts didn’t always have the research they needed. That’s when I knew we had to start this Foundation and its growth is essential to my health and the health of my granddaughters.
DC: What is the most fun about being Patty Brisben and what is the most challenging?
PB: I love the variety of my days—it’s never Groundhog Day, working with talented consultants and physicians. My favorite is working on future products and packaging. It’s also an amazing thing to provide women with sexual health information and to be there when they have that “aha” moment. So many people told me this company would never work, but I never gave up and seeing it grow to heights I never imagined 20 years ago is an unbelievable thing. I would say finding “me” time is sometimes challenging, finding the balance between my business and personal life.
DC: How has Pure Romance changed since you first began the company?
PB: The core has not changed, we are here to enhance relationships, whether that is your relationship with your significant other, or your relationship with yourself. What has changed is the women who have joined the journey. Close to 130,000 women have lived the Pure Romance life. We are now in South Africa, Canada, Australia, and across the U.S. We are always challenging ourselves to come out with the best products on the market and each year we challenge ourselves on design and materials. I really think our new luxury brand, Euforia, will set the market on fire. It really sets a new bar for bedroom toys.
DC: How real is the seven year itch and what can couples do to make sure they stay together?
PB: The results found that the average honeymoon stage lasts just under nine months (eight months and 26 days to be precise), though one in three Americans say that their honeymoon period lasted more than a year. Married couples have, on average, around four minor verbal squabbles per month – 48 per year – with the most common argument being over finances. Half of the respondents rated money as a top issue, followed by home chores (31 percent), their sex life (16 percent) and the in-laws (13 percent). Luckily, most don’t let things drag on for too long, with American couples making up after a fight in just a few hours – five on average. Yet things don’t always go so smoothly. Despite the famous saying ‘don’t go to bed angry,’ a whopping 72 percent admit to doing just that, tucking in for a night’s sleep without having resolved a simmering argument. Not just that, but the average married American has done so at least once per month. As for getting along between the sheets, 39 percent say sex gets even better the longer the marriage lasts, while 25 percent feel it actually gets worse and 78 percent think it is important that a married couple has similar sex drives in order to last. While 14 percent would describe their sexual intimacy as ‘non-existent’, 57 percent say they have a good or excellent sex life. However, 38 percent also think that they would be happier in their marriage if they introduced a bit of an edge into their bedroom activities whether that be with sex toys, new positions or fantasies. More than half (56 percent) also think that more foreplay and better communication in the bedroom would vastly improve things.
There are countless ways to keep a marriage in a position to last when it comes down to it, being openly communicative about what you want – whether that be in terms of your family, bank account or what you desire in the bedroom – is undeniably important. I have always said it comes down to communication, and if you are looking to spice things up- a bedroom toy will do just that.
Communication is key to sustaining all healthy relationships. You should be communicating with your significant other not just about your day to day comings and goings, but your desires in the bedroom. If you are looking for ways to keep the spark alive introducing a bedroom toy or lotion will undoubtedly add excitement. There is not a single recipe for a long, healthy marriage. But making sure you are conscientious of the key ingredients of open communication and keeping the romantic spark alive will help build a relationship that can weather the difficult times. A lot of people think that great sex should happen spontaneously, but you have to make it a daily priority. Whether you want to go to the gym, climb the corporate ladder, or have great sex…you need to put effort into whatever goal you set in life. And always, spend time making sure you’re in touch with one another. People take sex for granted and put off talking about intimacy, even when there are issues.
DC: What do you think is the evolution of the romance business?
PB: The evolution is in the hands of the consumer. We follow their wants and desires. The secret is to always keep an open mind and to stay connected to the client. As women move through the different stages of their lives, from being single, to a relationship, to motherhood into menopause their needs change, and it is our role to provide the products that they need most to live a healthy and sexually fulfilled life.