My road to becoming an entrepreneur was not traditional. I had three years of undergrad schooling, but I never quite got around to finishing my degree. After jumping through a few hoops, I was admitted to the Simmons School of Management in Boston, the only business school in the world designed specifically for women. They recognize that women sometimes face circumstances, like raising kids, that make getting an education challenging. I was accepted at the age of 30 and it was life transforming. It gave me the confidence and ability to pursue my dreams.

1. Adventures of Ande Lyons
Chief Passion Curator and Founder
Bring Back Desire LLC
Every week we will feature the adventures of one amazing woman. We aim to celebrate the varied and
colourful roles women play within industry and business. Experience inspirational, real stories by real women;
Interested in being featured? Please send your adventures to info@zarsmedia.com For previous adventures
please click here
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined." - Henry David Thoreau
It took me years to realize I was an entrepreneur. I’m the daughter of Depression Era babies, who were very
careful to color inside the lines and abide by society’s rules. We did not take risks and mistakes were not
tolerated. So I had to unlearn a lot of behavior and beliefs in order to tap into my entrepreneurial nature!
Fortunately, life provided me with many obstacles and challenges, all of which helped me hone my skills and
find my place in the world.
Today I’m the founder and Chief Passion Curator of BringBackDesire.com, a multi-media online business
where I tastefully and playfully shares tips, tools and resources with women who want more intimacy,
sensuality and sexual excitement in their lives. You may also find me sharing the lovevia my weekly radio
show called After Dark Radio Show with Ande Lyons… where I have engaging, entertaining and arousing
conversations with sexperts, relationship experts and erotic romance authors.
The passion for bringing increased intimacy to others stems from my own 27-year relationship with my darling
husband. Through conceiving past the age of 35, too touched out by toddlers, financial turmoil, teens and
menopause – I’m committed to keeping the spark alive in my marriage. In the tradition of Betty White wink-
and-a-nod humor and Erma Bombeck kitchen table conversation style, with some Mae West spice sprinkled in,
I tastefully and playfully share my favorite resources for ‘keeping the passion alive.’
I’m an experienced and enthusiastic entrepreneur with an MBA and the proud founder of two other successful
adventures prior to Bring Back Desire: venture-backed College Broadcast, a broadband media portal that
attracted over 50,000 viewers per month; and Goddess Granola, a gourmet food product I took – in less than
two years - from recipe to manufacturing, branding and distribution in 27 states.
My road to becoming an entrepreneur was not traditional. I had three years of undergrad schooling, but I never
quite got around to finishing my degree. After jumping through a few hoops, I was admitted to the Simmons
School of Management in Boston, the only business school in the world designed specifically for women.
They recognize that women sometimes face circumstances, like raising kids, that make getting an education
challenging. I was accepted at the age of 30 and it was life transforming. It gave me the confidence and ability
to pursue my dreams.
Interestingly, all my businesses “called” to me. I didn’t sit down with any plans or coaches or strategies that
said “I want a dot com business… a gourmet granola business… a passion business.” The ideas unfolded and
pestered me until I said OK! I knew NOTHING about the revenue models or the industries I was entering, and
had a steep learning curve for all three companies.
True Story: don’t let “not knowing” hold you back. And remember, failure and mistakes are to be celebrated.
Every time I failed I learned more about what I needed to know, what I didn’t want, and where I wanted to go.
If you have smooth sailing your entire career, then you’re not learning or growing.

2. What I love best about being an entrepreneur is how fully expressed I feel. I’m never boxed in to a role within
a corporation, nor do I have any ceiling… glass or concrete! I love the feeling of “the sky’s the limit!”
It took several businesses for me to feel the most fully expressed as I do with Bring Back Desire. My husband
says I’ve been waiting my whole life for the invention of social media, and he’s right! I love, love, love all the
social media platforms and this new world of marketing.
To succeed in this new paradigm, I learned as much as possible about each platform. Then I created a
consistent and clear marketing and branding strategy, which I implemented across all Bring Back Desire and
Ande Lyons’ social media platforms. (YES! Your personal brand is as important as your business’ brand!)
This strategy has helped me grow Bring Back Desire from zero to over 30,000 visitors/month - in less than 24
months.
The best decision I made was starting a weekly radio show. I not only grew my own expert knowledge by
interviewing experts in my field, I built extraordinary relationships along the way. These relationships
provided me the opportunity to publish my first book, available in August 2013, called Loving and Lasting:
How to Stay Tuned In and Turned On in Your Marriage. It’s a compilation of 18 experts’ advice, and I
interviewed all of these experts on After Dark Radio Show.
True Story: Focus, clarity, flexibility, tenacity, persistence and resiliency all framed within a positive,
enthusiastic attitude will see you through all the ups and downs of the entrepreneurial adventure. In addition,
hire a life/business coach who is in alignment with whom you are as a person and who you are as a business
woman. The biggest obstacle entrepreneurs face: their own limiting beliefs. A good coach will help you get
past these beliefs. The greatest gift I give myself each year is my life/business coach.
Another reason I love and appreciate the entrepreneurial journey is the lifestyle. Some folks say balance in life
is not possible. I disagree! Life balance is extremely important to me. I had a loss in each trimester before
bringing my two beautiful sons into the world. I could not ‘juggle’ the expectations of a corporation and
motherhood, because motherhood would always win. As an entrepreneur, I have a lot more flexibility in my
life and I can make the best decisions for me and my family. Also, it’s not about being on vacation or time
away from work. Work, family, community, spa treatments… they are all blended into LIVING.
My favorite three tips for entrepreneurial adventurers:
1. Feed your mind with inspirational, motivational, high octane food - EVERY DAY! Filter out the gloom and
doom news and replace it with words of wisdom from folks who love lifting you up to your highest potential.
2. Move your body! To perform at your best and highest level, you need oxygen to the brain and body. It’s so
easy for entrepreneurs to hyper focus, so I encourage you to get up during the day and work out or just shake
your booty! For me... that means dancing around the house... to Maroon 5's Moves like Jagger! Whatever
works for you... just do it.
3. Don't resist the negative chatter in your head. When fear and doubt show up, embrace them. They are a huge
part of the entrepreneurial journey. Give them a big hug, welcome them to the party, and let them know they
are loved!
Before you write me off as a Looney Tune, think of it this way: you're making a delicious chocolate cake. Just
because baking soda tastes terrible, doesn't mean you leave it out of the batter! It's key to having a successful
outcome! Blend those fears, doubts, and nagging messages of inadequacy into your cake batter... make them
part of your entrepreneurial song and love them for the gifts they are.
And always "shoot for the stars!"
Wishing you joy, love and laughter... ♥ Ande
Have faith in your abilities and believe that you will succeed. You are more than enough to be and do the
things that I want to experience in this lifetime. Remember: Your dreams come true!
Ande Lyons
Chief Passion Curator
Founder Bring Back Desire LLC