The Joy of - Inside Chappaqua

Sweet Rene
The Good Enough Mother’s Next Chapter
by Ronni Diamondstein
When Rene Syler first
graced the cover of Inside
Chappaqua magazine in May
2007 she was embarking on
a new chapter in her life. She
had just lost her job at CBS’s
The Early Show and published
her book Good Enough Mother,
a humorous look at modern
motherhood. Syler was on
course to reinvent herself and
did just that via the internet.
Fast forward to May 2013
and Syler, who celebrated her
50th birthday in February,
has given new meaning to the
saying, “there is beauty in imperfection.”
Her career proves
that great new beginnings are
possible at any stage of life.
“I’m almost another person,”
says Syler about the changes
in her life since 2007. She has
shown that dreams you may
never have imagined can come
true. A social-media dynamo
as well, these days Syler is
busier than ever.
Since she was fired from CBS in
2006, Syler has been through difficult
times. “It was like a tornado ripped
through my life. I lost a job, lost my
breasts ( a preventive measure) and
lost my hair. All that loss shaped me
to find myself and who I am.” Syler
says she was down to the studs, but
her foundation was the same: “I had
to be true to myself.” Syler’s website,
www.goodenoughmother.com, like Syler
herself, has grown and transformed in
the past six years. Serving up tips on
parenting, home and family life, health
and fitness, the site has migrated to
Social Media: Facebook and Twitter
where Syler’s audience has increased
and her fans span the world. Good
Enough Mother’s mission is to improve
lives through the shared parenting
20 Inside Chappaqua May 2013
Photo by Craig Salmon
Rene Syler living dreams she never imagined.
experience. Spreading her message
of ‘perfect imperfection,” she speaks
from her authentic voice. “When people
come to Good Enough Mother, they
are comforted by learning that they
are not alone,” says Syler, whose goal
is to uplift and empower her followers
which include a significant number of
men too.
Syler says a big part of her story is
the amazing shift in how business operates
today. “I built an empire using
a MAC. I went from a blog to having
two paid staffers. One started as an
intern and became a freelancer. The
other, her assistant and producer Ella
Rucker, saw Syler on television and
asked her to become her mentor. Syler
told her she was too busy and Rucker
asked if she could help her. She told
Syler she didn’t need to pay her and
that she wanted to write. They have
been working together for more
than a year, and Rucker has made
amazing strides. “Since I am on
the road two weeks out of each
month, Ella Rucker and I have a
virtual office using skype and all
the tools of modern business.”
Syler loves the fact that Rucker
took a chance on Syler and that
Syler took a chance on Rucker.
“People ask me, ‘How many
hours are you online? How long
do you write? Aren’t you ever
off?’” says Syler. Her response is
that she is always connected. “I
write all the time, when I’m not
on my laptop, I’m writing in my
head.” She asks them: “When
was the last time you saw anyone
build an empire putting in three
hours a day, five days a week?
Make an effort or make excuses.”
In her posts online, Syler has
written about her family life
from time to time, so her daughter
Casey, 16, and son Cole, 14,
have become part of her Good Enough
Mother brand. “Like most kids they
are tech savvy so it’s a part of life,” says
Syler. Now that they are older she is
more careful about what she writes
about them. But they enjoy the perks
of her new business, including her affiliation
with Disney, Nike and Quaker
Oats. “Sometimes I take them with me
and that part they like very much.
Syler has made guest appearances
on such programs as The Nate Berkus
Show, The Wendy Williams Show, The
Doctors, and has taken over for Joy
Behar as her guest host on her CNN
primetime show.
Syler makes many public appearances
and was a headliner at Disney’s
2011 Social Media Moms’s Conference.
“One of the fun things is to go to Blog-