Weekly Wisdom #3
"Our accountant and lawyer took us out to dinner to warn us: ‘Don’t do it. The mortality rate in the cosmetics industry is high.’ We did it anyway." - Estée Lauder
Happy International Women’s Day! I want to thank and celebrate the two main women in my life: the one with whom I build a family, Lisa, and the one who raised me as a single mother, Cécile.
In Their Own Words: Estée Lauder
It is 1946 in New York City. A mother of 2 decides to launch her beauty brand. Estée Lauder is 38 and has no formal education in the field. Working with her husband and uncle who was a chemist, she launches her own skin cream, selling directly to consumers in salons and hotels, providing demos and leaving customers with gifts and samples. Lauder was a business genius and she built her empire while retaining total control. Here are some of Lauder’s ideas and principles that especially resonated with me.
Entrepreneurship is an act of love (and commitment)
“Business marries you, you sleep with it, eat with it, think about it much of your time. It is in a very real sense an act of love. If it isn’t an act of love, it’s merely work, not business.”
The moment you should accelerate is the moment you’re the most tired
“What makes a successful entrepreneur? It’s not talent or intelligence alone. It’s persistence. It’s that spirit that compels you to stick it out when you’re most tired. The immovable stubbornness that won’t let you cave in when everyone says, ‘Give up.’”
Lauder’s quote reminds me of how James Dyson thinks. He was a competitive runner in college and told Runner’s Word: “What I've learned from running is that the time to push hard is when you're hurting like crazy and you want to give up. The moment you should accelerate is the moment you're the most tired. The beginning of the final lap is the testing point, and so I found that to be in life. Success is often just around the corner.”
Luck is Made, Not Given
“Good luck is something you make, and bad luck is something you endure.”
Lauder’s early rejections only reinforced her sense of agency. She understood how to approach a situation from a place of proactivity - of optionality - where she assumed she always had a move, regardless of the obstacles.
When Saks Fifth Avenue initially declined to carry her products, Estée took matters into her own hands. She “accidentally” spilled a bottle of her Youth-Dew bath oil on the floor of the store. The scent was so intoxicating that customers began asking about it, prompting Saks to place an order. Lauder refused to let anyone dictate her path.
Harnessing Intentionality and Focus
“I have always believed that if you stick to a thought and carefully avoid distraction along the way, you can fulfill a dream. My whole life has been about fulfilling dreams. I kept my eye on the target whatever that target was.”
Like many outstanding entrepreneurs, focus against a long term vision is how you accomplish the impossible. With time, your ability rises to the level of your intentions and devotion.
Design a system that compounds customer trust
“I did not have an advertising department. I did not have a copywriter. But I had a woman’s intuition. I knew that a gift with purchase was very appealing.”
Lauder invented a genius marketing tactic that shaped her industry. For one, she was giving a lot of value right away - more than the customer expected. Lauder’s extreme focus on customer value was designed as an elegant system - a network effect that generates massive growth from a simple, human and delightful touchpoint.
Learn and Relearn Your Craft
“Be obsessive about learning in your field, hone your craft constantly, and strive to know more than anyone else.”
Lauder was definitely obsessive about her products - iterating on them endlessly before and after launch. She embraced the 10,000 iterations mindset to building deep expertise in a way no one else can.
You Are Your Brand
“I have been selling beauty ever since I could recognize her.”
This quote is interesting because it implies that Lauder found her path to authentic self-expression by selling beauty products she genuinely cares about. My sense tells me she also had a sense of playfulness and curiosity about the space, and that she was just playing when others were working. Therefore she became unbeatable.