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Since my days as a high schooler in the middle-of-nowhere Kansas, I've looked up to Jessica Alba. I even wrote a report on the actress — for my sophomore Spanish class — which is how I know that she was born in California (like me!), is half hispanic (like me!), and solidified her acting career in early 00’s gems like Honey, Into the Blue, and Fantastic Four, after starring in the TV series Dark Angel (okay, not quite like me!). But we’re not here for my high school projects. Jessica Alba is now a full-blown lifestyle entrepreneur who is now just as likely to be featured in Forbes or Fast Company as she is on IMDB. Last year, Forbes named her as one of the America's richest entrepreneurs under 40 — she has a net worth of $340 million — chiefly due to her personal care product and beauty line, The Honest Company. It’s safe to say that since my old report, Alba's become a capital ‘b’ boss in the beauty world. And she wants to help other women do the same.
As luck would have it, I finally got to meet my high school hero in person. Her role this time: The keynote speaker at the American Express Success Makers Summit, an annual business event in New York City. I got to play Reporter #3. You can watch the entire video here:
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I've also gathered up a few of the most sage, inspiring, and memorable moments from Abla's speech that day, below.
On the female beauty bosses she looks up to:
“Man. There are so many, but certainly Bobbi Brown. She was kind of the first big beauty entrepreneur when I was growing up as a kid, and I was like, ‘Wow, she’s an incredible makeup artist,’ and I loved her products. Iman is another one I really looked up to, as a beauty entrepreneur. There are so many that have come since then but those were the ones that for me were very iconic.”
On a winning beauty idea:
“You have to really know what you’re doing that’s different than what everyone else is doing. Just being a me-too brand is not the way to go into business. You have to be differentiated, you have to be specific, and you have to do something really special.”
On cutting corners:
“I wish I worked out more, but even just getting in three days a week has been challenging for me. I’m just being honest.”
On killing it in the boardroom:
“The smartest thing you can do is be specific about what you want to get out of the meeting, being unapologetic about your ideas, and not really taking no for an answer.”
And that, ladies and gents, is the best career advice I had never heard.
Read on for more celeb news:
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- Barack Obama Took a Photo of Michelle on Their Cruise Together and It’s Going Viral
Go behind the scenes of Sienna Miller's May 2017 cover shoot:
