After spending ten years as a sales and recruiting leader for a company selling adult bedroom toys through home parties, the business folded. Disappointed but determined, the single mom of four used her entire savings of $5,000 to launch Slumber Parties, Inc., an in-home party company offering an exclusive line of heighteners, lubricants and bedroom accessories for relationship enhancement. Now ca
lled Pure Romance, what started as a business with 55 consultants operating out of Patty’s basement today has over 30,000 consultants in 50 states, Canada and the Virgin Islands, and generated over $80 million in retail sales during 2008 alone. In 1983, while on maternity leave from her job as a medical assistant, Patty watched the Phil Donahue Show. This particular episode featured women working as in-home direct salespeople selling intimacy products. Intrigued and impressed that the consultants were empowering women in and out of the bedroom, and seeing this as an opportunity to spend more time with her children, Patty signed up as a distributor. She was so successful her first year that she quit her medical assistant job to focus on her new career full-time. After ten years as a top consultant, the company went out of business, leaving Patty and her down line wondering what to do. Wanting to use her success with multi-level marketing sales, as well as lead her down line in a new venture, Patty launched her own in-home party company from her basement in 1993. soon experienced explosive growth, led the industry in relationship enhancement specialization and became a practical resource for women who wanted to take responsibility for either their financial means or their sexuality. In 2001, Patty brought her son Chris Cicchinelli on board, and they created an aggressive five-year plan to take the company to the next level. They launched a national marketing campaign and, within two years, renamed the business Pure Romance to better align with the company’s mission to provide a comfortable environment for women to explore sexuality without feeling embarrassed or ashamed. Over the next several years, Pure Romance appeared on CNN, The View and VH-1, and was recognized by Forbes and Inc. In 2007, Patty started the Patty Brisben Foundation where she introduced The “Naked Truth” College Tour and her unique breast cancer program, Sensuality, Sexuality, Survival. The foundation also provides resources for women and their health care providers. Patty’s first book, Pure Romance Between the Sheets, was published in 2008. The book is a tangible resource that gives women permission to explore their sexuality without fear or shame. It conveys what Pure Romance is doing for women’s sexual health and supports the consultants who, by acting as lay sexual educators, are performing a true service to their communities. Today, the Loveland, Ohio-based Pure Romance is a multi-million dollar business with a 47,000 square foot corporate office and warehouse. Still an industry leader that has won many awards, Pure Romance has also become a trusted ambassador for women’s sexual health.
