So today I met the founder of Rodial Skincare products; Maria Hatzistefanis.
(Insert cheesy photo here)
She came to Condé Nast to give a talk on who she was, what she does, and how she got there. Her lecture was inspiring, funny, and full of wisdom. It was so incredible seeing such a young woman with a business and brand as big as Rodial!
I wanted to share with you all what I learned so without further ado!
Top Ten Tips For When Launching A Business
(Not just in Beauty!)
1. You Don't Need Experience
Maria [The Founder of Rodial] was armed with just a Finance degree, not a Chemical Skincare Degree, so the first thing she did instead is get a team of scientists to realize her idea's: simple.
2. Be Different
She named her product "Dragons Blood Sculpting Gel". That's different.
"It isn't really made of dragons- no Game of Thrones, Sorry!"
3. Get People Talking
Her free samples that were given out at the Oscars were Rodial's big break!
4. Embrace Social Media
"Even is it's a sex tape like Kim Kardashian!"
No advertising works better than a friend suggesting to a friend: make this happen.
5. Find Your Brand Ambassadors
Kylie Minogue was Rodial's first celebrity ambassador- and now Naomi Campbell uses it and Victoria Beckham even wrote about Rodial in her book! It gets the ball rolling.
6. Take Risks
She called her anti aging serum "Snake Serum"; even though most women hate snakes!
7. Be Nice
"Being tough is good... but being nice is better"
Because this industry [Beauty and Fashion] is so much smaller than you think. 'Be nice to the people you meet on the way up because they will be the same ones you meet on the way down.'
8. How to be an Overnight Success
"The iPod came out of no-where, Twitter came out of no where, and Angry Birds came out of no-where"
The iPhone game app, 'Angry Birds', was an overnight success.
But Maria told us about how the company had created over 50 games prior to Angry Birds and that Angry Birds was that companies last shot because they were on the verge of bankruptcy.
If you keep to your work ethic, you persist, and you trust that even though you haven't had a break yet: it's coming- it will come.9. Hire People Smarter Than You
Get people that challenge you, get people that make up for your flaws, a team will always do the job better.
10. Have Faith in Yourself
If you work hard and love what you do: it will come.
"Doing something you love is like getting paid to play; it's the best job in the world!"
So with all this advice on starting up a buisness in mind now... go get em' tiger!
Lots of love sweeties!
-J xxx
