The Honest Company,’ actress Jessica
Alba has nearly secured a top spot on FORBES’ “America’s Richest
Self-Made Women,” list and it’s not quite for what you might think. The
34-year-old actress, known notoriously for her breakout role on the
short-lived FOX show Dark Angel, and her countless movie gigs thereafter (Fantastic Four, Honey, etc),
is now said to be worth $200 million- that’s $50 million shy of joining
the ranks of Beyonce and Judge Judy, who are both tied at #49, at $250 million a pop.Her 90 hour Hollywood work week for a desk, Jess is now less stressed,
more blessed and even further, the wealthiest she’s ever been. But you
too would swap the silver screen for an office chair if you were sitting
on a cool $200 million. (She now has a 15-20% stake in the company
which is backed by investors).
So where did the major coinage pour-in?
It wasn’t from acting! In 2008, Jessica launched ‘The Honest
Company,’ an organic and eco-friendly line of baby and household
products. Her decision to develop the organic products came after she
experienced an outbreak of redness and welts on her skin during her
pregnancy as a direct reaction to her laundry detergent which contained
chemical-based ingredients. Having spent half of her childhood in the
hospital due to being prone to allergies, outbreaks and an iffy-immune
system, Jessica started researching what things were actually in some of
her household products, only to be appalled by the long-list of toxic
ingredients they contained.
Long story short, after failed attempts to create her own stuff at
home for personal use, Jessica began researching and using the help of
researchers, to get a better grasp of “going green,” (and no, not the
money part… yet.) This turned into Jess stumbling across everything from
a shortage of truly organic baby products to the 1976 “Toxic Substances
Control Act,” which has allowed more than 80,000 chemicals to remain in
household products untested- only five are which are actually regulated
by the Environmental Protection Agency; and just 11 are banned from
consumer goods. (In Europe that figure is more than 1,300.) The wife and
now mommy of two is currently in the process of reforming this act but
in the meantime, she has launched ‘Honest,’ which supplies the needs for
everything from biodegradable diapers delivered to your door steps to
affordable and less-hazardous ‘Honest’ cleaning supplies.
And well, safety sells!
Now, 3 years since the company first started selling product, ‘The
Honest Company’ went from hitting $10 million in annual revenue in 2012,
to an insane estimated $250 million this year (80% of revenue comes
from its monthly subscription service),
and it’s now worth almost a billion dollars. During Forbes Women’s
Summit this week, Jessica opened up about her success, saying:
People just saw me as this girl in a bikini in movies kicking butt — maybe not the brightest bulb. It took 3 and half years of lots of condescending nods and lots of pats on the back like, ‘good luck,’ like, ‘You idiot. How are you going to do this? Go back to endorsing things. Go do a perfume!’
I needed more people to tell me no. I needed people to not get it and look at me cross eyed for me to really figure out exactly what I was going to do and how I was going to do it.
It’s something I had to learn as a woman in business. To ask for help and to not be afraid of criticism. And when you don’t know what to do, to be okay with not knowing [but learning]. And to not be defined by your mistakes. There are challenges, there are roadblocks, there are mountains. And you just have to figure it out. You just have to be malleable and surround yourself around really smart people. And I didn’t think I was smart for a really long time.
Do you think you’re smart now?
Yes. I think I’m [ok]. I’m not the smartest, but I try. I’m here at the FORBES summit and I’m talking to you ladies. And I’m on the cover of FORBES!
source:necolebitchie
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