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How to Land Your Dream Job in the Beauty BizDaydreaming about making your mark in the industry? Here's how to get your big break |
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What is your role?
I'm the creative director and co-founder of Smith & Cult. I came up with the concept and put it together -- meaning I partnered with a company to bring it to the market, develop the creative concepts and execute the deliverables. Because it's a start-up environment, I'm very entrenched in every aspect of the products, branding and visuals. I pick anything from the names of the nail polishes to the size of the font on our website.
What was your first break in the industry?
I was in school studying biochemistry as a pre-med student, and I started playing around with nail polish -- I think as a way to procrastinate and forget about school. I mixed some Essie white polish with some really cheap, super-pigmented polish I had on hand, and I got this beautiful pastel blue color that I started wearing. Immediately, I started getting compliments. So I started selling it from my house -- which started smelling like a toxic plant, by the way. Fred Segal in Santa Monica began carrying it, and it would sell out as soon as I fulfilled the order. Then I sent some to magazines and the response was incredible. They featured it, and because this was pre-Internet, they put my phone number in the magazine for people to buy it. My phone was ringing off the hook. Finally, I got set up as a real company after I realized I couldn't keep making it from home. I was 22.
What is your best advice for someone seeking a similar position?
Be fearless. Try not to look at limitations or boundaries and never think that something is un-doable. At the same time, be very cognizant of the business side. If you're trying to be both the creative and the business brains, you run yourself ragged in no time. Find someone who is proficient in finance and operations to be your partner who can help you with capitalization, because you're going to need money. A beauty business sucks up cash -- you got to have money to make money.
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