From Single Mom to Queen of the Castle: The Zero-Excuse Guide to Building an Empire
Ann Kaplan Mulholland's masterclass on grit, unreasonable ambition, and why your website isn't your business.
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There’s a story we tell ourselves.
A story about why we can’t.
Why it’s not the right time.
Why we don’t have the right resources, the right background, or the right connections.
It’s a story of excuses, and it’s the single biggest killer of entrepreneurial dreams.
Then there’s Ann Kaplan Mulholland.
Her story isn’t about having it all. It’s about creating it all from nothing. From a single mom working night shifts to a multi-millionaire entrepreneur with a portfolio of companies, a real estate empire that includes a castle in England, and a media career that’s seen her on everything from Real Housewives to her own hit show, Queen of the Castle.
How? By adopting a zero-excuse mindset.
In my latest conversation on the Finding Peak podcast, Ann provides a masterclass in turning chaos into clarity, and adversity into advantage. This isn’t your typical sanitized success story. This is a raw, unfiltered look at the unreasonable ambition required to build an empire.
Connect with Ann Kaplan Mulholland:
→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annkaplan_ownit/
→ Website: https://annkaplan.com/
→ Lympne Castle: https://lympnecastle.com/
The Tiara and Hard Hat Strategy
One of the most powerful lessons from Ann is her ability to hold two conflicting ideas at once: not taking herself seriously, while taking her goals deadly seriously.
This is the woman who showed up to a construction site in a ball gown and a hard hat with a tiara glued to it.
It’s a perfect metaphor for her entire philosophy: embrace the absurd, lean into your unique personality, but never, ever lose sight of the mission.
“I was not that person, I became that person, and then I worked off of that person to expand my brand.” - Ann Kaplan Mulholland
This is a core tenet of what we discuss in the RealityOS framework. It’s about intentionally designing your persona and presence for the environment you’re in. For Ann, in a stuffy boardroom, it was a simple black suit.
At a TV shoot, it was a tiara on a hard hat. She understands that your brand isn’t a static thing; it’s a dynamic tool you wield to achieve your objectives.
She didn’t wait for permission.
She crowned herself.
Your Business is Not Your Website
This was one of the most crucial takeaways from our conversation, and it’s a mistake that kills countless businesses before they even start.
“We get very distracted by thinking that a website is a business. It’s a tool. Unless your business is the website.”
Entrepreneurs get lost in the tactics—the CRM, the social media scheduler, the perfect logo. Ann’s approach is brutally simple: focus on the one thing that solves a problem for a mass audience.
Her first major success came from a single “widget”: a $5,000 loan for medical procedures.
She didn’t have a dozen different products.
She had one, and she focused all her energy on its distribution through 16,000 doctors.
She solved one problem, at scale. The rest—the books, the TV shows, the speaking gigs—were marketing.
They were tools to build her brand and cement her authority, but they were never the core business.
Are you focused on your core business, or are you distracted by the tools?
The Unsexy Truth of Building an Empire
Behind the glamour of castles and TV shows is a foundation of unsexy, disciplined work. Ann’s story is filled with these truths:
Principle
Ann’s Application
How You Can Apply It
Know Your Stakeholders
She knew the exact date of her bankers’ fiscal year-end and used it to negotiate better terms.
Understand the motivations and incentives of everyone you deal with, from investors to employees. What drives them?
Document Everything
Every person who enters her properties signs an NDA. Every business deal has a rock-solid contract.
Protect your downside. Don’t rely on handshakes. Put clear, legally sound agreements in place for everything.
Ask with Honesty
When she wanted to learn social media, she went to the founder of Liquid Death and asked for 30 minutes of his time, stating her exact intention.
Stop networking. Start building relationships based on direct, honest requests. Value people’s time and they will value you.
Embrace The Dip
When faced with a challenge, she doesn’t quit. She finds the person who has the answer and asks for five minutes of their time.
Your biggest obstacle is a knowledge gap.
Find the person who has already solved it and learn from them. Don’t argue with the advice.
This is the work. It’s not about finding a magic bullet; it’s about relentless execution of the fundamentals.
It’s about building systems, protecting your assets, and having the humility to ask for help.
This conversation with Ann Kaplan Mulholland is more than just inspiring; it’s a practical guide to building a life and a business on your own terms.
It’s about getting out of your own way and refusing to let your circumstances define your ambition.
This is the way.
Hanley
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