a more sensitive advisor, and a more insightful team member to my business partners because of my experiences. I hope the next two hundred-or-so pages help you to become a better entrepreneur, a more diligent businessperson, a more sensitive advisor, and a more insightful team member. I hope you’ll find your own pathway to achieving your dreams, and that you’ll make them a reality.
PART I
Attract Opportunities
(Be Prepared)
I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.
—Estée Lauder
CHAPTER 1
This Entrepreneurial Life
I AM LAUREN MAILLIAN BIAS, and I am an entrepreneur.
I have been an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember, and being successful has always been my dream. I’m going to guess that you’re reading this book because, like me, creating new ventures, and being a successful businessperson, runs through your veins and has long been a dream of yours, too.
When I was a little girl, I had a lemonade and an iced tea stand on the corner of 96th Street and Madison Avenue, across the street from where I grew up. I set up my stand in front of Jerome Florists, which is still there today. For four consecutive summers—from the time I was eight years old until I was twelve—I ran my little stand, selling two different sizes: small for fifty cents a cup and large for $1. I quickly realized that it was way too hot to set up my stand on a random corner in the blazing Manhattan summer sun, so I worked a deal with Peter and Constance—the owners of the florist shop—to locate my stand under the shade of their blue-and-white striped awning. They had known me and my parents for years, and they kept an eye on me to make sure I was safe. In exchange for a safe and comfortable place to do business, I paid Peter and Constance $50 a week from the proceeds of my business to lease the space in front of their store. Despite my low-price-for-Manhattan business model, I was consistently pulling in $300 a day in sales.
Before I celebrated my tenth birthday, I had my first taste of entrepreneurial success—the rush of accomplishment and independence that comes along with starting a business and making real money. I absolutely loved being in business for myself. While my friends depended on their parents for an allowance to buy or do what they wanted, I was independent and in charge, and I was making real money!
This independent, take-charge attitude also played a role in my decision to start an independent modeling career at age eight—I did print, catalog, runway, and beauty for New York Model Management, Storm (London), Karin (Paris), and LA Models in Los Angeles until the age of eighteen—and at age nineteen started a vineyard that soon became a successful winery, while I worked toward my undergraduate degree and started my family.
Fast-forward to 2011: I was selected for the Empact100 List at the age of twenty-six. This award is given annually to the top one hundred American entrepreneurs under the age of thirty. Nominated entrepreneurs are judged on several business metrics, including revenue, job creation, and personal commitment to entrepreneurship. Although I was honored by the nomination, I didn’t really expect the organization to select me. But, much to my surprise, I was chosen, and I soon found myself headed to Washington, D.C., and the White House for the awards ceremony. The keynote speaker was President Obama’s senior advisor, Valerie Jarrett, who spoke about the importance of young entrepreneurs. Nineteen of the Empact100 honorees—including me—also spoke to the crowd about the importance of entrepreneurship in our lives, and why and how we planned to give back.
I have had many ups and downs, many successes, and a few failures throughout my entrepreneurial journey. As I look back on the day I started that lemonade stand at the edge of Spanish Harlem, I’ve realized that that was the day the flame of entrepreneurship was ignited within me. In the years since, entrepreneurship has been my life—it excites me, it gives me purpose, and it constantly moves me forward. I can see today that being anything other than an entrepreneur was never really an option for me—it was all I ever wanted, and it is who I am. I suspect you feel the same way.
What I’ve learned about business from my colleagues…
Stacy Francis, president and CEO of New York City–based Francis Financial, is a great example of a woman who built a business rooted in her core expertise. She attained success on her own terms as an entrepreneur while simultaneously creating a legacy of financial success for others. Here’s her advice on business:
1 Choose a path that you’re passionate about. It will keep you energized and focused through good times and bad.
2 Remember that the vast majority of successful people have achieved their success through hard work. Talent and intelligence, though important, are in my belief secondary to hard work and consistent commitment to your goals and career path.
3 As an employer/manager, never forget the value of your staff. Having a good team and showing them that they’re appreciated will pay dividends in terms of your long-term success.
4 I believe that sheer grit has contributed the most to my success. By grit I’m referring to my ability to bounce back from setbacks and hardship and stay committed to helping my clients each and every day.
But, like you, I didn’t become an entrepreneur on my own. Every entrepreneur has key people in his or her life who provide influence and guidance, funding or access to funding, help with making connections, and are there to celebrate successes and mourn failures.
In my case, my mother and father had a huge influence on my entrepreneurial journey. When my parents divorced, my mom was forced to reinvent herself—and boy did she. She became the director of corporate public relations at Essence magazine, where she was a key member of the leadership team. I saw her as a powerful and influential woman in a male-dominated business arena. I didn’t see her cooking and cleaning; I saw her hustling and multitasking—then hitting the red carpet at night.
Before he retired, my father was a tough and successful investment banker who made sure I knew that there were no guarantees in life, and that I would have to work hard for anything I wanted. Because of his influence, I knew from an early age how to run a business. I was never formally taught these necessary skills, but I did hang out at my parents’ offices doing homework after school, and I soaked up everything I could, especially when I participated in the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work activities. I had different goals, dreams, and aspirations than the other children I knew. I wanted to go to work each day, attend board meetings, and take the train to Washington, D.C., for powerful business trips—like my father had done throughout my childhood.
Lauren on … Your Professional Life
You control whether you sink or swim … I like to refer to logic, but ultimately I trust my intuition and march confidently to the beat of my own drum.
I always wanted to be big. In fact, my favorite film growing up was Big (1988), which starred Tom Hanks as Josh, a twelve-year-old boy who becomes a thirty-year-old man overnight (though still with his twelve-year-old brain and personality). Josh is hired by a toy company where he is quickly promoted to an executive position because of his unique insight into what children really want. I imagined myself as Tom Hanks’s character, participating in important meetings and having the ear of all the adults in the room.
In some ways, I was able to be like Josh. Beginning at age twelve, I was fortunate to work at some of America’s top businesses. I interned at Essence magazine for its CFO, Harry Dedyo, and I worked with the Terrie Williams Agency—a leading public relations and communications firm. I spent my summers interning with college students, and I loved it.
I grew up in a world filled with successful and powerful men and women, and I wanted to be like them. But I knew that the success I envisioned for my own future was never guaranteed, and I couldn’t take it for granted. I knew that I would have to work hard to find the success I desired in life, and when I found that success, I would have to work hard to find new opportunities and new successes.
So work I did, and work I will.
When