Girl Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Success, Sanity, and Happiness for the Female Entrepreneur

Tell us a bit about yourself.
Where to begin? I founded my first company when I was twenty-eight years
old with the creation of the Beauty Bar. I didn’t know how to run a
company, as I had never done it before, but I did go to school for business
and I was a celebrity make-up artist for TV, movies, concerts, magazines at
the time. I did have a passion and drive to create something unique and
totally different and that is why I founded the Beauty Bar.
What inspired you to get into the beauty business?
My concept for the Beauty Bar was to open a space that housed hard to find
and unique beauty products without being oversold, like some would feel at
the department store. This was in 1998 and many people had never heard of
the products I was selling such as Philosophy, Fresh, Bliss, Bobbi Brown,
Kiehl’s, La Mer, L’Occitane. This was before Sephora or Ulta ever opened
and department stores at the time were only selling Chanel, Estee Lauder,
and Clinique. I grew the business and the concept and it became the very
first Omni channel beauty brand in the entire country which means it was
brick and mortar stores, a website, and a weekly TV segment. I grew the
company until 2010 and sold it that year.
What is your personal mission statement?

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To never forget that every single person you meet in your lifetime makes up
a part of your personal journey. To always treat people that we meet on this
journey with respect, no matter how or when they come into our lives, as
many times in life the people from your past resurface in your future in the
most unexpected ways
How do you handle feelings of envy or competition?
This will continue in your life, especially if you are on a positive path.
Expect it but rise above it. I have had some of the most awful things said
about me, which were all crazy untruths but it never truly hurts or effects
me. I had to stop and realize that this was their negativity on life, their anger
at life and ultimately had nothing to do with me. I always taught my staff
the same thing. Rise above and never speak poorly of others, even if they
are doing it to you.