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A diva is the female version of a hustler. – Beyonce

Looking at celebrities, it’s quite easy to see the glitz and glam, but not the hard work it took to achieve success. There definitely are some who have it a little easier as they might come from wealth, or had a guaranteed foot in the door. There are, however, many who had to work hard to build their brand after failed ventures, personal struggles, or whatever else made their road to success bumpy.

The name of the game is longevity and it often comes by diversifying both your talents and reach. If you have been looking for ideas to grow your business opportunities, take a look at these celebs and how they grew their empires.

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Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher have been battling over money for a year, stalling their divorce. More recently, Bethenny Frankel announced her split from her husband Jason Hoppy. The Daily Mail reports that Frankel (somewhat drunkenly) approached Katie Holmes at a party to gather contact info for Holmes’ divorce lawyer. Frankel, who has turned her stint as a New York Housewife into her own talk show, the Skinnygirl, two spin-off shows, a fitness DVD, and other endeavors, has a lot to protect. And remember Nas and Kelis’ mega money dispute that played out in the media during their divorce proceedings?

Divorce isn’t just about ending a marriage. It is also about money. There can be battles over shared assets and a divorce itself can be costly. Michael Jordan’s divorce from Juanita Jordan was estimated to have cost Jordan $260 million and was considered by Forbes magazine to be “the most expensive celebrity divorce” in history, as of April 2007. When Tiger Woods got divorced from Elin Nordegren it cost him a reported $100 million.

Besides the settlements just the divorce proceedings themselves can rack up bills. If you can’t do the divorce yourself because of a messy separation, going to court means paying a variety of fees. According to a Huffington Post blog by family court attorney Diane L. Danois, subpoenas seeking financial and employment documentation, motions filed objecting to the subpoenas or for failure to timely comply, and hearings will all have to be paid for. And this is just the beginning.

“This chapter of the litigation process can easily run up an additional $5,000,” write Danois, which breaks down the actual costs of divorce item by item. Typically, a family court case involving divorce, can range from from $15,000 to $35,000, or more to litigate, says Danois.

You can choose the cheaper route of mediation (which can range between $500 and $3,000) if there isn’t much to dispute or to do it yourself, if your divorce is simple. Websites such as www.easy-divorce.com, www.completecase.com, and www.mydivorcedocuments.com can help with DIY divorces.

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Entrepreneurs quickly become comfortable with the word “no.” They may hear it about a thousand times before they get the “yes” that takes their business to the next level.  This rings truer for minority and women entrepreneurs who have the added hurdle of wooing investors who are unfamiliar with the communities they serve.

A New York magazine writer, Kevin Roose, recently came under fire when he deemed the website NaturallyCurly, a leading social network and community for people with wavy, curly and kinky hair, as a dumb investment with “no redeeming qualities whatsoever.” Many felt that Roose ignored evidence that supported investment in the site including the potential market of over 80 million women in the US with textured hair. Roose later updated his article to say he only took issue with the social network component of the idea, but his generalizations underscore an issue many women and minority entrepreneurs face.

Gatekeepers to the business world – investors, manufacturers and the like – aren’t known for their diversity. Largely white, male and upperclass, there is a myopic mindset that makes it all to easy for them to miss the potential and profitability of businesses that target consumers outside of the mainstream. It also creates an additional hurdle of shortsightedness for minority- and women-fronted businesses to overcome.

Kevin McFall, Senior Vice President of NewME Accelerator, an incubator for technology start-ups in the competitive industry of Silicon Valley, traces the root of the issue to a lack of ability to pattern match. “Patterns exist in Silicon Valley of Ivy League dropouts being the ones identified as having all of the big successes associated with their ventures, so some investors look to match that pattern and find others like that to invest in,” said McFall.

“Because there has not historically been a lot of female and multi-cultural entrepreneur success stories, those patterns aren’t as visible or as plentiful as there are of other patterns.” Fair or not, the onus is on entrepreneurs to educate investors on the potential of their ideas and to have the tenacity to not let hearing “no” stop their pursuit of success.

There is no shortage of stories of entrepreneurs who went on to success after major players passed on their ideas. Sara Blakely, the founder of SPANX met opposition from patent lawyers and manufacturers who told her, her idea for spandex-type undergarments to slim and smooth your figure was crazy. She went on to become the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world.

Bethenny Frankel, founder of Skinnygirl Cocktails, has been vocal about major liquor brands passing on her idea because they thought women wouldn’t buy low-calorie spirits. Skinnygirl Cocktails is now the fastest-growing spirit brand in the industry.

These women overcame initial opposition because not only did they have a good idea, but they were able to demonstrate success on a small scale. An idea is only worth something if a sustainable business can be built around it. Seth Godin, author and entrepreneurship guru, offers five basic components of a good business model:

1. Profitable – Do the revenues from sales exceed the cost of supplies and labor?
2. Protectable – Is it difficult for a competitor to enter your market? Have you accounted for potential rip offs of your idea?
3. Self-priming – Can your business sustain itself? Will product sales generate enough profit for you to develop more products to sell?
4. Adjustable – Is your business model flexible enough to adjust its strategy in response to unexpected challenges?
5. Exitable – Have you developed a strategy that will allow your business to function without you?

If you answered yes to the questions above, you’re ready to take your idea to the next level. Tech blogger Paul Graham’s guide to presenting to investors is a good resource.  He underscores the importance of being specific and narrow in your description of your idea, having data with specific numbers, and telling stories about your consumers that illustrate how you solve a problem.

The business world is becoming increasingly niche. Every day we are seeing individuals and companies tapping into the passions and needs of special groups. Investors that want to make money are opening their minds to new markets and ideas. The burden of proof is on entrepreneurs to show their potential and profitability.

Cortney Cleveland is a freelance writer and content strategist in New York City. You can follow her on Twitter @CleveInTheCity and visit her personal column The Red Read.

Guilty Pleasure Alert: Fans of the crazy, booze-fueled freak fest (We mean that in a good way) of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York City” get a double heaping of drama tonight.

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