There are some women perusing the streets of San Diego, as if they were starring in a motion picture. Ann Marie is one such woman; a glorious character. Everything from her home, to her wardrobe, to her music collection illuminates her world. Her French cocoon is her haven that follows her wherever she goes. You will see this dynamic woman in fur coats, vintage gloves, and feathered hats, and yes, she does this in San Diego. Ann Marie won TEDxSanDiego 2012 Speaker contest, has been published nn some of the largest publications in the world (Huffington Post, Daily Worth, Yahoo Finance) and has written, produced, and starred in a one woman show, Renegade Princess, which toured through New York, Chicago, and of course, our home town, San Diego. Don’t worry, we’re thinking it too, this woman is one fire. Her growing list of accolades and a tour of global domination never overshadow her grace, elegance, and noteworthy style. But if we had to choose one word to describe Anne Marie it would be resilience.
After suffering a terrible lay off in the worst recession since the Great Depression, Ann Marie found herself with MacBook and five dollars. She had no choice but to trail on, pitching a course about sales and business development at the University of San Diego. Her curriculum was the first like it. It’s hard to imagine there was no department for sales and business development. Unlike the sometimes pushy ideals of sales, Ann Marie taught her students that “Sales and business development can be elegant”. Following her illustrious instructional design stint, Ann Marie began her speaking career at Vistage, offering 1:1 coaching for executive level leaders and entrepreneurs.
She recently published, How I Created a Dollar Out of Thin Air---a stunning exploration of the bravado within ones self to find the ambition, resiliency, and creativity within, in order to survive and add value to others and your pocketbook.
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Ann Marie has merged the bridge between her professional and creative self, traveling around the world to train organizations on business development and moving audiences with her personal story of motherhood, divorce, and resilience. “You have to realize that extraordinary things are not reserved to a select group of people. Everything I have done has been a conscious decision.”
Houghtailing has the choice to be anywhere in the world, but she has rooted herself in San Diego as it has served as a supportive foundation for her to launch her business and raise her two sons. “In many ways San Diego is still in it's adolescence. We've always been a city where people come to see Shamu, but we are so much culturally richer than that and getting more dynamic all the time! I've seen this city grow in the last decade and I feel like we're growing up.”
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Anne Mari Houghtailing, founder of The Houghtailing Group and talented playwright, has taken her personal story Renegade Princess to Broadway, Chicago, Los Angeles, and of course, her heart’s home: San Diego.
Her professional and creative contributions are energizing San Diego, every time this girl hops on a plane to educate the world on thriving; she adds a bright brush of color over San Diego’s landscape.
Ann Marie's Play, Renegade Princess, is in production again. 100% of ticket sales are supporting UR charities. Click here to snag your seat for this critically acclaimed show.
Click here to learn more about Ann Marie Houghtailing and the Millionaire Girls Movement.
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Ann Marie's Feature is Part of the collaborative photography project, 7 Badass Business Women In San Diego. This feature was styled and written by Skyler McCurine of Le Red Balloon and hair/makeup/portraits done by Jennie J Sullins of Beauty Hive Studios. San Diego is home to some truly incredible female entrepreneurs. Each woman in our series is a change agent in their specific industry, breaking down barriers and changing the perception of what it means to be a female entrepreneur.
