Casey Key resident crowned Ms. Mompreneur

SARASOTA — Kimberly Martinez, CEO of Bonitas International and a Casey Key resident, was recently named Ms. Mompreneur 2013 as part of the Ms./Mrs. Corporate America Pageant. The event honors women who balance running a business and raising a family.

As part of her reign, Martinez will travel the country during the coming year to conduct workshops, do national radio and TV broadcasts and speak to audiences about work-life balance and how to be on the lookout for opportunity.

Martinez launched Bonitas International in 2003 with her sister-in-law after she lost her job as an executive for Rosenbluth Travel, a large Philadelphia-based global travel firm, following 9/11. She formed the idea for the company, which specializes in fashion lanyards and accessories for ID badges, on a cocktail napkin. Martinez has since grown sales to more than $2.5 million, all while raising three kids. Read more about her business here. [http://www.review.net/section/detail/necklace-niche/]

“It's been an incredible journey. I've met Vogue fashion editor Andre Leon Talley at New York Fashion Week, made the Inc. 5000 list, sat on the couch with Kathy Lee and Hoda on the Today Show and was featured on the cover of the Wall Street Journal,” Martinez says in a release. “I've also learned to paddle board with my kids, worked on my share of school science fair projects and attended more soccer games than I can count. I cherish both aspects of my life- mom and entrepreneur- and, yes, I am living proof that today's women can live the dream.”

In addition to her business, Martinez has co-authored two books: “The Next Big Thing,” and “Women Who Mean Business.”