TheHonest Company has
experienced an absurd level of growth. In 2012, its first year selling
products, it hit $10 million in revenue. By 2014 it was $150 million. This year
the company is predicted to make over $250 million. The Honest Company is worth
about $1 billion dollars. Alba owns 15%-20% of that figure, which means she is
sitting on a fortune of $200 million, earning her a spot on FORBES’ ranking of
America’s Richest Self-Made Women. She is just $50 million shy of Beyoncé and
Judge Judy, who are tied at number 49. The only other two celebrities to make
the inaugural list are Oprah and Madonna. What's special about Alba is that,
while the other 4 women made their money in their core field, music and media,
but Alba has done it in a completely unrelated industry.
Alba,
who now has two children, started the Honest company of that idea that
everything that goes onto your body and comes in to your home should be safe
and non-toxic. She wanted wanted clean, safe, effective products with beautiful
packaging, and that were also affordable but had trouble finding a brand that
spoke to her as a young mom. That's when Alba decided to embark on the journey
of making her own brand.
The
Honest Company started off as a diaper business and has quickly expanded into
baby products, cleaning products and personal care products including dish
soap, kitchen cleaner, detergent, balms, multivitamins, nursery furniture and
so much more.
Listen
to Jessica Alba explain how hearing 'No' helped her build her billion-dollar
company, in this excerpt from the Forbes Women's Summit.
Top 5 startup tips from Jessica Alba
1. Refine your idea
Have a very clear vision of what your company's mission and identity is. Narrow your ideas to the best ones and leave the rest out, for now. When Alba went to pitch her company, her problem was that she had too many ideas and hadn't narrowed down her proposition.
“I pitched Brian a 50-page deck that had really too much going on,” she says. Fast forward to 18 months later, and she met Lee with a concise, 10-page PowerPoint, honed to reflect a much more succinct brand identity and offering", she tells Forbes.
2. Hire your weaknesses
You can't do it all. Hone in on your biggest strengths and hire people to do the rest. Alba knows her strengths when it comes to The Honest Company. She tells Forbes,
“I really love the marketing aspect and the design aspect,” she says. “And the overall brand vision. That’s where I have my hands in the most.”
3. Don't rush to market
Take your time to develop your ideas, test them and have them made. The Honest Company now has 120 different products, but it started with only a few and they have been meticulous in expanding from there. Alba says,
“finding the right manufacturer, making an original product, testing it…that was all challenging,” she says. “People can feel safe using our product. And they want it. People asked us for it.”
4. You don't have to spend a lot of advertising and marketing
Alba is well aware that her celebrity status has played a huge hand in marketing her company. But she explains that she has always tried to take advantage of inexpensive yet effective marketing tools, like social media. And nothing works as well as word of mouth from friends and peers. If a product doesn’t work, they won’t buy it. But if they love a product, they will always suggest and recommend it.
5. You can help solve non-profit problems with a for-profit business.
Alba has lobbied for the overhaul of chemical testing regulations for years. One of herbiest frustrations is the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, which allows for 80,000 chemicals to remain in household products untested. But she knew she wanted, and could, make a different with The Honest Company. She tells Forbes,
“I went about it in creating a for-profit business around a non-profit issue. I just felt like it would be a more sustainable way to address the issue. If government isn’t going to change that they regulate and operate, giving people a real viable option and letting them vote with their dollars is pretty strong.”
Courtesy of Forbes.com
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