In the journey of building my last business, which I started at age 24 circa 2000, I remember wanting so badly to be successful and prove to my parents and the world that I had what it took. I worked relentlessly hard for years and eventually achieved the material stuff and accolades that warranted the picture of success... but oddly, I never felt really successful. Eventually, I realized it was because I was so focused on "trying to make it" that I hadn't developed a deeper sense of my purpose and what really made me happy. Though many experiences inspired my career transition, it was an in-depth conversation with Jane Wurwand, founder of the global skincare company Dermalogica, that always resonated with me. I thought, here's a woman who has built a quarter of a billion dollar business over the last 25 years by training skin therapists and innovating products that would physically touch and improve people's lives... while never compromising her vision, values or mission.
Whether you work for a company or are venturing on your own, here are four passionate business tips from Jane Wurwand to you. May her words of hard-earned wisdom guide your subconscious business minds as much as they have mine over the years. And if you still want more Jane, click here for the full Conversations episode.
1. Pursue the Mission and the Money Will Come
I get it. It's easy to get caught up in defining your business model, how you will make money, and differentiating yourself from the competition... especially when investors, parents and cousins need an elevator pitch they can understand. But as Jane reiterates in this video, if you pursue and prioritize the mission (a.k.a. the problem you're looking to solve in the world or the pain in the marketplace you're trying to relieve), you'll win in business because that integrity will be ingrained in every aspect of the company from customer experience to product quality to brand messaging. Watch the Video...
2. Be Your Brand Missionary and Hire the Dream Believers
Jane reminds us that it is the role of the entrepreneur "to be their brand missionary, right in the beginning and all the way through" to the end because no one can know the brand better and sell the brand dream more passionately than the proud parent. Jane also says to hire those that believe in your dream over fancy pedigrees and resumes. Watch the Video...
3. Visualize Your BIG Dreams
ClaudiaChan.com's mission is to ignite women to dream and do big with passion and purpose so we're not arguing with Jane on this one! The question is, are you writing the script of your own life and are you writing it BIG ENOUGH? Jane urges us to not only dream big but to actually practice visualizing and seeing what you want the goals to look like... all the way to the packaging of your product and what the customer is wearing while buying it. Ok, maybe I'm stretching her words a bit, but you get the picture. Start a visioning journal and always keep it handy; you never know when creativity will kick in. Watch the Video...
4. Companies Marketing to Women Should Empower Women
It's a no-brainer to me that female-targeted brands must continue to innovate and communicate how they are empowering women within their lifestyle. And if that entails a cause-initiative, then by all means, they should tie that messaging into to their mainstream marketing. Jane got this memo a long time ago, and her philanthropic efforts led her to create joinFITE. She reminds us of the ripple effect and global good that investing in women causes: "when you invest in a woman and a woman creates her own income, she reinvests about 90% of her income... into her society." Watch the Video...
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