Profits & Passions
Mary Pasqualetto
The power of positive business
By BILL FALLON

It sometimes falls to unlikely candidates to shake the world by its shoulders, to offer a fresh vision, to see what’s in front of everyone’s nose, but no one seems able to see.

Mary Pasqualetto could be just such a person.

A conversation about her business consulting firm, The Rhiannon Consulting Company L.L.C., based in her Fleetwood-Mount Vernon home, offers the bedrock foundations of biz-speak ­ business planning, marketing strategy ­ but Pasqualetto brings something different to the table, something deeper.

The tipoff would be recognizable to students of mythology in the company’s namesake: Rhiannon is the “Great Queen” of Welsh mythology, the lunar goddess and the muse of inspiration. Most of her clients to date have been women.

By way of a recent client as example, her business strategy works like this:

“I advised her to work from her inner core,” she says, seated comfortably in a tasteful black dress that plays off a cascade of long blonde locks, noteworthy for her own past in fashion and style, which she would get to in a moment. “In order to be focused, you should feel at peace and feel passionate about what you do. You should love what you do and not feel negative, anxious or fearful.”

She qualifies the statement with a nod to the universality of second thoughts, anxiety and trepidation: “Fear actually leads you to become courageous. Starting a business means taking that first step. You have to put one foot in front of the other and say, ‘I’m going to do it. I can do it.’”

It all adds up to a fresh take. “I think I’m original and innovative,” she says. “It’s about building people up instead of cutting them down.”

Although her business is just six months old, its mix of hard-earned business acumen ­ including her college graduate and postgraduate degrees ­ and down-to-earth spirituality are so intriguing she could well be the person you most want to bump into at a social gathering and say, “So, what do you do?” Her answers are the sort that, if a person is receptive, might be life-altering.

Pasqualetto’s Web site is under construction, set to open in September and designed, she says, to be “unexpected and fun.” Enthusiasm radiates from her with near-solar intensity. “You should have fun with your business,” she says. You might expect such a person to have causes into which she channels her passion for life and you would be right. She pens letters on behalf of Earth Justice and is a card-carrying member of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She smiles and laughs frequently and says, “I’m not a suit person. If it were up to me, it would be a flip-flop nation.” A glance at her feet on a notably sultry day verifies she walks the walk: She is indeed wearing flip-flops. When her Web site is up, she will invite input on topics as diverse as economic development and environmental responsibility.   She is also a writer. Curious for someone so engaging and upbeat, her novel-in-progress is a fusion of horror and magic. She sites Anne Rice and Stephen King as literary inspirations. Her business and her life are, as she puts it, “very goddess inspired,” referring to Rhiannon.

To arrive at this juncture of spirituality and business involved a circuitous path. From age 18 to 29, she was a model, regional stage actress and a makeup artist. She worked with Illana Harkavi, a person of some import in the world of makeup. In a major shift of gears, she then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in legal studies and criminal justice and then a Master of Business Administration ­ both from Iona College in New Rochelle. She completed the MBA in 2005 and worked in corporate financial services before starting Rhiannon.

She turned 48 on the day she sat down to chat about herself and her business. “I am an entrepreneur and I bring my personal experiences to the table. If you’re passionate about your business, all you need is that passion and the willingness to say, ‘I’m going to do it.’ That’s basically what I had to do with my life to start up my business.”

Her Web address in the making is www.rhiannon-news.com.

 

 

 

 

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