“Intelligence + Opportunity + Willingness to take a risk and invest in yourself.”

Early 2000s brought us a bunch of pop music- very bubble gum tinged pop music. If you could sift through, you could find a few artists that were actually talented.

I always liked Jessica Simpson. She was unapologetically herself. Gorgeous and my goodness could she sing.  Then she married another pop singer from a B list boy band, got a reality show, and from there, we came to know her as a ditzy blonde that didn’t know the difference between chicken or tuna in the can.

For some reason, I always hated that portrayal of her. I have my less than shining moments when things go straight over my head. If those were captured on camera, I’d be in for it, because you would all think that I was a complete airhead.

Then Jessica divorced, had a string of movies and albums that flopped and she was counted out. Another fading pop star.

And yet, her net worth in 2016 is $150 million dollars and she runs a $1 billion dollar retail empire. 

 

Then there’s Jessica Alba. A gorgeous girl who was in a string of 90s movies and one of my favorite television shows, Dark Angel.

She fizzled quickly as well. Came and went as many actresses do. One minute they grace your screen, the next, you can’t remember their name because Hollywood is telling you who is the next hot thing.

And yet, here she is, the owner of the Honest Company, a $1.7 billion dollar company and Jessica has a net worth of $340 million dollars. 

So how did we count these underdogs out?

Jessica Simpson had a small machine behind her. With her parents working as her business end, they helped her with money management and she no doubt used her celebrity to help her to begin endorsement deals and the like. What started as a perfume deal ended up with her starting her shoe line with shoe designer Vince Camuto ( I love his shoes- cute, sexy, and comfortable, which is why I love Jessica’s shoes). She also had her hands in websites like BeautyMint and also a hair care line on HSN. With a successful line of fragrances as well, Jessica has shown us how to use her star power and her girl power to create retail that women love. Most of my friends- even those that shop high end- have a Jessica Simpson purse or shoes and swear by them.

Jessica Alba started The Honest Company with a friend and before you know it, it was everywhere. I’d heard of the company for at least a year and had no clue that she was the force behind it. Capitalizing on people’s desire for clean living as well as convenience with products being delivered to your home. The Honest Company is now in retail and grocery stores as well and has everything from cleaning products and hair care to baby products.

Both are a testament to the #girlpower.

Intelligence + Opportunity + Willingness to take a risk and invest in yourself

Both of these women are the underdogs that no one saw coming. Now they top Forbes lists and pave the way for other young female entrepreneurs.

There are days that I doubt myself and days that I can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. And I wonder if either of the Jessica’s have felt that way along their journey. I’m sure that they have. But they have countered with billion dollar businesses. That is encouraging in and of itself.

And even more encouraging is knowing that it’s not always the people at the popular table that win. The underdogs can claim #1 at the end of the day and that is a victory for all of us female entrepreneurs everywhere.

 

Jessica Simpson Forbes List

Jessica Alba Forbes List

~Tamara

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