Higgins relocated to 188 East Bergen Place in 1997 and quickly networked her way into the New Jersey business community.

Higgins lives in Tinton Falls with her husband, Danny, and her three children: Danny, 8, Liam, 6, and Elaine, 3.

It’s not easy being a mother and a successful businesswoman, but Higgins has a very supportive partner in her husband.

"He recently went back to his job as a television cameraman after taking a three-year hiatus to take care of the children so that I could build my business," she said.

Higgins said her father was also supportive, although he expected her to just get married and have children.

"He was a carpenter and didn’t understand why I was working so hard to get through college," she explained. "Even with a scholarship, I had to hold down three jobs."

Just as Higgins was graduating from high school, her mother passed away.

"She made me promise to go to college," Higgins said.

After college, Higgins worked her way up to vice president of a leading sales promotion agency, where she created and managed the public relations division.

One day, a friend of hers, who already owned her own business, offered her a desk and the use of an office. Higgins took the challenge and bought a computer on credit.

"I had four clients within the first month," she recalled.

In addition to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry and the Joseph Bulova School, two former clients of hers — Austin, Nichols & Co. and the Wyndham Winery — joined the Danlee roster. It wasn’t long before Austin, Nichols & Co. requested that Danlee take over the public relations activity for a number of other brands, including Orlando Wines, Aberlour Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Jameson Irish Whiskey.

"After two months I found my own office space and hired a staff person," Higgins said.

That staff person, Vice President Victoria McKee, is still with the company.

To compensate for the lack of staff, Higgins came up with an idea for a creative cooperative, in which small groups of business people participated in brainstorming sessions that benefited everyone, including the fledgling business owner. Her approach to generating ideas for clients, which she calls the "creative cooperative" approach, has been profiled on national radio and television as well as in professional publications and in the local media.

"We were in New York City for 2 1/2 years," Higgins said. "Vicky is from Manalapan, and when I came to visit her, I fell in love with the area."

So the Higgins family moved to Tinton Falls.

"Shortly after the move, a hotel chain bought the crummy building we were in (in New York). They gave me a check and said, ‘Move out.’ So we moved (the business) to Red Bank," she said.

"Rents were really low then, but now they’re outrageous," she added.

Higgins is a firm believer that today’s technology allows firms to compete at the national level no matter where their base of operations.

"Years ago, a Madison Avenue address sold your firm," she said. "In today’s wired economy, knowledge, skills and specialization allow any firm, no matter where they are based, to compete for national accounts."

Although her firm now represents accounts in numerous categories, Higgins’s initial focus was on beverage accounts. The company continues to handle Wild Turkey Bourbon, Jameson Irish Whiskey and Laird and Co.’s Apple and Import Divisions.

When Higgins first moved the firm to New Jersey, she became the public relations chairwoman for the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners. Higgins also founded the New Jersey Public Relations Executive Roundtable, a group of public relations agency owners that meets every other month to discuss topics of relevance to the industry as a whole and to New Jersey firms in particular.

Higgins has a bachelor of science degree in public relations from Syracuse University, New York, and she is currently attending the school via an innovative independent study program to obtain a master’s degree in communications management.

Higgins is a member of the Public Relations Society of America’s prestigious Counselors Academy and is this year’s Buddy Committee Chair.

She is also a member of Women Executives in PR and sits on the board of directors for the Red Bank Rotary Club.

"I love what I do, and that’s what motivates me," she said.