‘Real Housewives' star shares her reinvention tips

Vicki Gunvalson. (Credit: Mitchell Haaseth/Bravo)

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Reality-TV star Vicki Gunvalson is one of those “have it all” women.

She's an entrepreneur, mom, workout fanatic and wife. And the fifth season of her TV show “The Real Housewives of Orange County” premieres tonight on Bravo.

She's got a book coming out. She's on the cover of a Valley magazine, and she's launching a line of premium denim, called Vicki Lynn, at department stores later this month.

But Gunvalson is coming to Blue Martini Lounge Friday night to have a few cocktails and talk about how having it all and doing it all makes her more like you than you would think.

See, Gunvalson has time-management issues. For four years on national television, she has toted a laptop everywhere, worked late, texted constantly and generally shown herself to be hardworking but also out of balance.

So Gunvalson, 47, a resident of Coto de Caza, Calif., brought on Scottsdale-based personal coach Mike Lindstrom to develop a mission statement for her life and to help manage her priorities more effectively.

These efforts, and the return of the series, have put her on the cover of Valley magazine Perfectify, and she's celebrating the launch of the November issue tonight with Lindstrom.

“I'm very, very, very busy, and he's trying to help me make some changes to better my quality of life,” she said. “I'm not quite where I want to be, but he's helping me get there with my kids and making time for my husband and helping me focus on what's really important in my life.”

In the magazine, Gunvalson talks about empowering women to be financially independent and how her company, Coto Insurance & Financial Services Inc., has become a magnet for women across the nation who are reinventing themselves professionally. These also are the topics she touches on in her new book “More Than a Housewife.” Expect her to touch on these at the bar, too.

Lindstrom, who has been coaching athletes and business people for 12 years, will talk about taking Gunvalson's brand “to the next level,” and how he “focused on Vicki the person and Vicki the professional” and other topics easily summarized in bulleted talking points.

The number one thing that we installed right away was a sense of purpose,” he said. “When you're tied to purpose, you're always focused on that. She has to ask herself, ‘What do you want? Why do you want it? And what are you going to do to get there?'"

Show up Friday night to find out what her answers are—and what yours might be.

Details: 8 p.m. to midnight at CityNorth, 5455 E. High St., Phoenix, 480-638-2583, bluemartinilounge.com.