Anita
Roddick
As the founder of The Body Shop, Anita
Roddick has turned a passion for environmentally safe cosmetics into a global
phenomenon. Roddick created her first line up of products from ingredients she
had in her home. There were only 15 products in her first shop and she needed
to put part of the small restaurant and hotel she and her husband owned up as
collateral. From that first store, The Body Shop now boasts 1,980 retail
outlets with over 77 million customers around the globe. Using the success of
The Body Shop as her platform, Anita has managed to become a leading social activist
campaigning in support of human rights and the underprivileged around the
world.
Mary
Kay Ash
Sales were always a part of Mary Kay’s
life. While her husband was serving overseas in WWII, Mary Kay sold books
door-to-door and racked up an amazing $25,000 in sales in just six months. When
her husband returned, they divorced and Mary Kay went on to work for Stanley
Home Products becoming one of their top sales directors. Upon her retirement in
1963, Mary Kay decided to start a new business. She invested $5,000 of her life
savings into a 500 square foot store in Dallas. This was the start of sales
empire that has grown to over 350,000 beauty consultants all working under the
Mary Kay Inc. banner generating over $1 billion in sales.
Oprah
Winfrey
While it is true that Oprah hasn’t
necessarily created a product or opened a retail store, she is still considered
one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time. Starting out as a local
news reporter in Baltimore, Oprah went on to star in her own talk show. Over 18
seasons, Oprah won dozens of Emmys and had a viewership estimated at over 30
million. The success of that show allowed Oprah to form her own production
company which in turn has lead to the creation of a monthly magazine and her
own cable network.
Debra
Fields
Imagine turning a family recipe into a
fortune. That is exactly what Debra Fields did when she created Mrs. Fields
cookies. At the young age of 20, Debra convinced a bank to lend her money to
finance her business. The first Mrs. Fields opened in 1977 in Palo Alto,
California. Flash ahead to the present and you’ll find there are over 600 Mrs.
Fields franchise business with over 450 million in annual sales; all from
cookies!
Estee
Lauder
Yes, Estee Lauder is a real person whose
brand now controls close to 45% of the cosmetics market in the United States
alone. All of this began as Estee learned from her chemist uncle John the basic
components of cosmetics. Her first line of cold cream was sold at a counter in
Saks Fifth Avenue. Estee Lauder also sells products in 118 countries with $3.6
billion in sales.
