After fifty plus years at the top of her game, Estee Lauder became the only woman on Time magazine’s 1998 list of the 20 most influential business geniuses of the century.
Despite her death six years later, the company she founded continues to enjoy tremendous success. It was ranked 340th on the 2006 Fortune 500 list and currently earns over $7 billion in revenues.
She was born the daughter of immigrants and raised in a humble home but she left the world as one of the most successful and wealthiest women entrepreneurs in the world.
She has become a household name and her products are as much sought after now as they ever were. How did this once unknown aspiring actress make a name for herself in the fiercely competitive beauty industry?
“I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it. I never dreamed about success. I worked for it. I was a woman with a mission and single-minded in the pursuit of my dream.
If you put the product into the customer’s hands, it will speak for itself if it’s something of quality.
People are more apt to believe you and like you when you know you look fine. And when the world approves, self-respect is just a little easier.
Acknowledge your mistake.s Act tough. Trust your instincts. Write things down. Hire the best people. Train the best sales force. Break down barriers. Give credit where credit is due. To sell a cream, you sold a dream in the early days. Create your own style. Don’t be afraid of the trial and error approach. Find the proper location. When you’re angry, never put it in writing. You get more bees with honey. Keep your own image straight in your mind Learn to say no.
If you don’t sell, it’s not the product that’s wrong, it’s you. When you stop talking, you’ve lost your customer. When you turn your back, you’ve lost her. I have never worked a day in my life without selling. If I believe in something, I sell it, and I sell it hard.”
Evan Carmichael
