School was not the best experience for me. Entering 7^th grade as an immigrant who didn’t speak a word of English was not fun. I had to be very creative and find ways to earn passing grades when I truly didn’t understand what the instructor was teaching. I taught myself how to succeed without much information.  The challenges I faced in school made me the creative and flexible woman I am today. Simply put: it was complicated; and I learned to be okay with “complicated.”

I had a very strong sense of mission. Because of my family’s beauty business, I had some manufacturing knowledge and always knew the prestigious make-up brands were unnecessarily expensive because of their astronomical marketing budgets. That’s where I sensed an opportunity: it was my mission to introduce a brand that delivered the high quality found in the prestige brands sold in department stores without the high price point.

I know that if I negated the huge marketing budget, I’d be able to dedicate more money towards the product itself and ultimately make it affordable for the mass consumer. From the very beginning I was confident that if I sold a high quality product at a really great price point, my consumers would do all the marketing for me. Word of mouth is the oldest marketing strategy, and in today’s terms, it’s what we call social media. The power of social media is no secret.

I started NYX in 1999 and that was by far the best and most fun year of my career. I wore every single hat [and served in] every position and departments that’s available on the job market: CEO, customer service, receptionist, packing, shipping and delivery. It was “roll up your sleeve” and pure sweat equity, and I was having so much fun every single day.

That first year I sold just one item: cosmetic pencils consisting of 18 SKU. A total of 6 eyeliners and 12 lip liners at the wholesale price of 55 cents per piece. To sell $2 million worth of items priced at 55-75 cents apiece, means we sold about 3.4 million pieces. Fortunately, my business was B to B so I was selling in bulk (cartons of 3456 pieces each), which made it more manageable than selling B to C. At the time I didn’t realize how significant this was, but now I realize, I was a gutsy 26-year old to tackle all of that by myself.

It certainly helped that I was born a girl! I naturally knew the quality of makeup because I wore it everyday. I also tested every single product I sold myself because if I didn’t like wearing it, I couldn’t expect the item to sell to others. I learned everything by trial and error and made myself the ultimate expert by constantly asking my suppliers and customers a million questions. Of course, those were the days before Google when information was not so readily accessible and available. Back then you learned solely from experience, whether you were learning from your successes or your mistakes.

I attended every single beauty industry trade show and even some trade shows for fashion and gift items. From the very first year, I even participated in the Cosmoprof show in Italy and Hong Kong. They were all expensive, and it was definitely painful to write those checks (especially because some shows I attended didn’t yield results for many years), but I knew this was the best long-term investment.  As it turns out, the dollars I spent on those trade shows eventually lead to NYX Cosmetics being distributed in over 70 countries.

When it came time to expand and hire employees, I took a less technical approach. I went with my feeling most of the time. I knew if I wanted to hire someone [or not] within the first five minutes of us meeting. First impressions are everything! I will say that one of my biggest pet peeves were job hoppers. I never hired someone who had 10 different jobs in 10 years. I didn’t even bother to read the resume. As someone fully committed to my business, I wanted employees that were equally committed to my company for many years to come.

Starting a business as a 25-year old minority female without any experience running a company was a huge risk in itself. My life motto has always been, “Go big or go home,” closely followed by “do or die.” A lot of the time, I just go for it! I purposely put myself in situations that force me to face my fears, and by doing so, I’m forced to deal with the repercussions.

My father always said he wanted to raise his children “Spartan Style,” where only the strongest survive. He definitely succeeded. I am an extremely mentally and emotionally strong woman who isn’t afraid to take risks. I truly believe that taking risks is the only way to grow as an individual. 

First and foremost, my goal was to build an amazing brand: a cosmetics line with superior quality and affordable prices. After that, my goal was to then build the business to sell it to L’Oreal. I always had my sights set on L’Oreal, because I felt they had the best brand management and custodian for their portfolio brands.

It was never my plan to build a legacy company that would be passed down in my family for generations to come. I always knew I wanted to sell my business one day, but there was a moment when I had to decide if that’s what I absolutely wanted and if I would be able to handle parting with the brand. Once I made that decision, I hired an investment banker to run the transactions. I set the process into motion almost 12 months prior to the actual closing date—that was a very interesting year for me.

I had a lot of leverage because the brand was performing so well, but even if the deal had fallen through, I wasn't going to cry about it. I would have continued running the business and been okay with that because I always knew the brand’s worth was extremely high. In the end, the brand had so much room for growth that it was a no brainer for any buyer. I believed NYX would fetch a very high price so we ran an auction style process.

I’m a serial entrepreneur through and through! Business is a sport for me. I love thinking, talking, and dreaming about businesses. It’s also somewhat of a hobby because I’m a natural problem solver. When I see something that bothers me or can be done better, I automatically think about a solution and that naturally leads to another business idea. It’s fun! Butter Ventures LLC is an investment company I started immediately after I sold NYX Cosmetics and saw a need for more female entrepreneurship. The company funds mostly female-owned businesses.

When a man cries he is labeled as emotionally intact and a “great guy,” but when a woman cries on the job, she is perceived as cracking under pressure and unable to handle the stress. Crying is a natural human reaction and behavior, but why cry and give others the ammunition to criticize you? Don’t put yourself in that position. Throughout my entire 15 years running NYX I cried once, and I was sitting in my car alone. Perhaps I didn’t want to want to seem weak because I’m really a softie.

Equality allows every woman the freedom to choose if she wants to climb the career ladder, stay at entry-level jobs or work-part time. I witnessed first hand the emotional torture that employed mothers struggle with on a daily basis. Some mothers wanted to advance professionally but had obligations at home, while others were more devoted to being a wife and mother. I don’t understand why our society puts pressure on women to be one way or another. Every female should have the freedom to choose what she wants without judgment.

Move in with your parents. I did! If that’s not an option, seek out companies similar to Butter Ventures that are funding female-owned businesses.

You must learn to sacrifice and prioritize. For example, I moved in with my parents and gave up my car. I never treated myself or spent money on anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary. You must exhibit incredible discipline and self-control. Trust me I know it’s not easy, but now I can literally buy anything I want…well anything except a private island ;) Even now I will splurge, but I watch where my dollars go because I hate being wasteful. When I was running NYX, although the company was hugely profitable, I always said I would rather save up and buy a building than buy a Birkin. Now, I can buy the Birkin and the building! My advice is to be as thrifty as possible in the beginning and put your earnings back into the business. It will reward you multiple times over in the end.

My life goal is to sell three businesses in my career. I sold one last year, and I’m already working on the second company. I wake up every morning excited to build a great brand and take advantage of the opportunities that each day brings.