We recently had the chance to connect with Marianne Murciano and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Marianne , it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
Savvy Planet started as a product I believed in. A simple, beautiful spray bottle that helped people live cleaner, more intentional lives. But it’s grown into something so much bigger. Today, it’s a weekly newsletter and thriving community where I share recipes, insights, and expert advice to help people nourish not just their bodies, but also their minds and their spirit.
Because I believe life is better on a savvy planet. Where we take care of ourselves, each other, and the little everyday moments that make it all worthwhile.
My mission is to help people live fully at any age. To feel like they have tools, ideas, and inspiration to reinvent themselves, take care of themselves, and get more out of everyday life. I share recipes because food is connection. I interview experts because knowledge is power. And I write this newsletter every week for thousands of subscribers because I believe living to the max is always possible. It should be fun, not lonely.
But honestly, what I’m most proud of building is the part of me no one claps for: resilience. You can’t see it on Instagram. There’s no award for it. It doesn’t come with a paycheck. But every single time life knocked me sideways, with career shifts, being a single mother, doubts about everything, starting over more than once, I built something inside myself that kept me going.
It’s not visible or shareable, but it’s stronger than anything else I’ve ever put my name on. That inner resilience is the real foundation under everything people see in me. It’s what’s behind the business, the brand and the energy I bring to my work and my community. That’s what I’m proud of most!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Marianne Murciano. A broadcaster, writer, and creator of Savvy Planet. Before launching this, I spent decades as a TV anchor, first in Miami and later in Chicago on Fox Thing in the Morning, and as a radio host. I’ve interviewed experts my entire career about every possible way to live better. These days, you’ll still hear me reporting on WGN Radio in Chicago with my husband, Bob Sirott, where every week I share ‘Savvy Tips’ to live a more fulfilling life.
Savvy Planet is my own corner of the world. It started with recipes that actually work, but it’s grown into something bigger: a newsletter and brand that’s your shortcut to living smarter, funnier, and more fully. Every week I share the things worth knowing:
Recipes that taste amazing (and actually turn out).
Clever tips + hacks that make life easier.
Smart, soulful insights that shift how you see the world.
It’s not just food. It’s fuel for your body, your relationships, and your spirit. And what makes it special is that it’s personal, practical, and a little surprising every time. Readers tell me it’s the email they actually look forward to opening. Because being savvy isn’t about knowing everything, it’s about knowing what matters.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I was five years old, just two years after my family left Cuba. It was my first day of kindergarten at Sts. Peter & Paul, and I didn’t speak a word of English. I depended entirely on my best friend Maria to translate for me.
When the bell rang and all the kids scattered to find their parents, I walked straight to the flagpole in the school’s courtyard, looked up at the American flag, and started singing in Spanish a Cuban song I knew:
“Cuando salí de la Habana, de nadie me despedí…” (“When I left Havana, I said goodbye to no one.”)
Pretty soon, a crowd of parents, many of them new Cuban immigrants too, gathered around, not just listening but encouraging me. They were smiling, clapping, egging me on like I was doing something brave and beautiful. I didn’t know why I sang, I just knew I could hold the space. Even without words, I felt like I belonged. That was the first time I realized I had a voice, and that it could reach and move people.
Years later, I heard the rest of that song again. I never realized how sad it really was. Toward the end, the girl in the lyrics has to sell her dog before she leaves Havana. She misses him terribly.
It hit me. That song was about exile. About leaving behind pieces of your heart. I hadn’t understood it back then, but somehow I felt it.
That same energy, bittersweet, brave and defiant, has followed me through every reinvention. It came rushing back when I built Savvy Planet from scratch after a long career in journalism. A product line turned into a newsletter turned into a growing community where people come to nourish their bodies (with my favorite recipes), but also their minds and souls.
Different stage, same feeling. It’s that spark that I can’t ever forget of claiming my voice and making it count.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
The biggest pain in my career came when my favorite job ended. I was co-anchoring a morning TV show with Bob Sirott. We had a seven-year run on that show which was popular, innovative, and pure joy to do. I loved it so much that it never felt like work! Let’s be honest, we also fell in love, got married, and built something people in Chicago really connected with. And then it was gone. I was actually fired while on maternity leave with our daughter. To say I was devastated is an understatement.
For a while, I had to mourn the loss of that life. But eventually, I realized pain only owns you if you let it sit still. So I took one small step forward: writing stories and submitting them everywhere, including a few editorials for the Chicago Tribune and Daily Herald. Then I took another step: going back to school for my MFA in fiction writing. With a pen in hand, I found my power again.
That’s when I stopped hiding my pain and started using it as fuel. I discovered that loss doesn’t have to be an ending. Instead it can be a pivot. Every article, every story, every project that came after was built on that moment. It gave me the confidence to know I could reinvent myself again and again. And I have.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’m committed to building something that lasts longer than I do. For me, that’s Savvy Planet. It’s a project, a platform, and a personal mission. What started as a product line evolved into a community where I share recipes, stories, ideas, and expert insights to help people live more fully, with purpose and joy, at any age. But more than just a business, Savvy Planet is how I practice something I believe in deeply: that everything in life, every detour, reinvention, success, or stumble, can be turned into something meaningful and useful to myself and to others. I’ve lived through a lot of chapters, and every single one of them has helped shape who I am today.
It’s not about having it all figured out. It’s about showing up with honesty. Sharing what helps. Meeting people where they are and trusting that if I keep showing up, the impact will grow. However long it takes, I want Savvy Planet to be a legacy. It’s really just a reminder that we’re never done growing, and it’s never too late to find what truly makes you happy and do that for awhile.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope the story people tell about me is that I made them feel seen, validated, and less alone. Even as a teenager working as a cashier at Publix Supermarket in Coral Gables, I noticed the older customers who came in from nearby senior facilities. They’d come to Publix not just for the groceries, but for the company. Just to see a friendly face. Someone whose eyes lit up when they walked through the door. Someone who was genuinely happy to see them. Sometimes, they just wanted a hug and I always complied. That, to me, was the real job. And it stayed with me.
I used to joke that everything I really needed to know in life, I didn’t learn in kindergarten, I learned at Publix. Because that’s where I first understood how powerful it is to make someone feel seen. That lesson of human connection over anything else has underscored everything I’ve done since.
I’ve carried that with me through every chapter: a quiet vow to help people feel cared for, connected, and understood. If I can bring even a little clarity, kindness, or joy into someone’s day, especially when they need it most, that’s a life I’m proud to live.
And that’s what I’ve tried to pass on to my family, too.
My kids have always been my greatest priority. If the story they tell is that I not only gave them the tools to grow into happy, independent adults, but also showed them how to care for others, to lead with empathy, and to make the world a little better for the people around them, then that’s the legacy I cherish most.
It’s a life of connection, purpose and impact, starting with the smallest gestures.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://savvy-planet.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/havanagirl/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariannemurciano/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sirottandmurciano/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Marianne-Murciano
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/savvy.planet/
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