Jessica Alba wears a plethora of different hats and they all—dang her!—fit perfectly. The stunning Founder and Chief Creative Officer of The Honest Company and Honest Beauty is also an advocate, actress and New York Times bestselling author.
She seemed to easily transition from a movie star into a bonafide business woman when she launched The Honest Company—a platform that provides 100+ safe and effective products across a wide range of categories—in 2012. Just three years later, she launched Honest Beauty, a comprehensive prestige skincare and makeup collection of clean and conscious beauty products.
Since its inception, the mission-driven company has donated over five million products and over 11,000 employee participation hours through its Honest to Goodness program. The brand has also been honored with a range of recognitions and awards, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year – Los Angeles, the ACG Award for Social Responsibility, PC Magazine’s Seal of Consumer Approval in Tech, an Allure Best of Beauty Award, and the Pioneer in Sustainability Award by the Sustainable Business Council of Los Angeles. Here, this L.A.-born-and-bred businesswoman shares the secrets of her success, a sneak peek at her latest beauty products and what a day in her designer stilettos is really like.
How do you juggle being an entrepreneur and a mom so seamlessly?
It’s definitely not seamless. I feel like achieving balance is not really possible. Time management is something that I find to be most difficult for me, but my kids’ health and happiness is my priority and everything else falls into place from there. I think it’s important to let off steam and take time to feed your soul. It’s impossible to be available for everyone and everything all the time. Instead, do your best to be present wherever you are so those moments get all of you. I’m also a huge advocate of keeping yourself recharged so you stay on top of your game. Whatever that is for you, whether it’s sleeping in, date night in with the hubby, a massage or a girls’ night out.
What is the secret to your success? Is there a formula?
Relentless drive. Believe in yourself, know your strengths and learn from your weaknesses. Always ask questions and don’t be afraid. Always be open to learn. Stay focused on the end goal—if you’re constantly looking to the left or to the right, you’re never going to get to the finish line.
What is your greatest achievement thus far with your business, and why?
Many people have ideas, but being able to make those ideas happen, along with actually hearing from people who have benefitted from The Honest Company, that’s my greatest achievement.
What is the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given?
Be brave. Don’t let fear of failure keep you from going a er what you really want. You could spend days, weeks, months thinking about the things that could go wrong in trying to get to your goal. But those are days wasted. Be bold enough to take the first step…and then just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Honest Beauty was years in the making, and filled with [lessons] that came from trying…and then trying again. I couldn’t be more proud of the results of that process.
What is the greatest piece of business advice you can share with others?
• Trust your gut! Your experiences have gotten you where you are.
• Have a plan, write it down and check back in with it constantly.
• Make yourself heard—take your seat at the table.
• If someone can sway you from your idea, then it’s not right.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JESSICA ALBA, AN ‘HONEST’ ENTREPRENEUR
5:45 a.m. On days I work out, I like to do it before I go to the office, so I’ll wake up by 5:45 AM to make a morning class.
7:30 a.m. After my workout, I make coffee and have a coconut water smoothie while the kids have breakfast. I rarely have more than 5-10 minutes to get ready so my beauty routine has to be quick. For my hair, I usually just spritz on Honest Beauty Honestly Effortless Sea Salt Spray and let my hair air dry. For my face, I use Honest Beauty Everything Primer, Tinted Moisturizer, and Concealer. Then I add some brow filler, bronzer, curl my lashes, put on mascara and, of course, some type of lip—and go.
9 a.m. Once I get in the office, it’s meetings, meetings, meetings! As the Chief Creative Officer, I’m passionate about everything from design and packaging to marketing and product. It all tells the story. We’re launching hair care right now and prepping for our new fall and holiday products so no two days are ever the same. That’s what I love about my job!
1 p.m. My team and I break for lunch at the food trucks. We’re lucky they’re all outside the Honest headquarters. 3 p.m. We have a photo studio in-house so we’re constantly producing content for our Honest Beauty channels or engaging with our customers through social media, like Facebook Live. (Check us out on Facebook!)
7 p.m. I try to get home for bedtime and bath time with my kids. Weekends I’m in mom mode. We always have dinner together Friday through Sunday—although, as an entrepreneur, you never shut off completely from work, especially when it’s your passion.
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