10 most successful business women in history

On July 1, 1908, Este Lauder was born - a woman who built a cosmetic empire from scratch and became one of the most influential business people of the 20th century. Do you still think that a woman's place is in the kitchen? Then the Weekend project comes to you - with a list of business women who prove the opposite with their example.

1. Este Lauder: magic recipes and the boss behind the counter

Estee Lauder, the daughter of Jewish immigrants, who was born in the slums of New York, went from being a seller of natural homemade face creams to the owner of a cosmetic empire. In 2003, Este Lauder, which she founded, was ranked 249th in the list of the 500 largest corporations in the United States with annual revenues of $ 4.74 billion.

Success Secret: Uncle John's Anti-Aging Cosmetics Plus A Successful Advertising Strategy.

Business Principles: "Once you turned your back on the customer, you lost him."

Este Lauder was the first to offer her customers free samples and gifts for the purchase and loved to advise clients herself.

Lauder preferred to work personally not only with clients, but also with the staff: she spent a lot of time at the counter, inspiring sellers with her example. “My current position is not the result of dreams or hopes, but of hard work,” she reminded her employees.

"If a woman who is in business thinks about the success of her marriage, she should be extremely subtle about giving her husband the opportunity to feel strong and significant - and then he will actually be strong and significant."

Her husband Joseph supported Este in all her endeavors, being responsible for the financial issues of the company, her sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren continued the business when she retired at the age of 87. Now Estee Lauder is headed by the eldest of two sons of Este and Joseph - Leonard Lauder. He joined the firm as a delivery boy at age 10 and is now ranked 131st on the world's billionaire list.

2. Widow Clicquot: champagne worthy of Pushkin

Madame Barb-Nicole Clicquot (nee Ponsardin) was born in 1777 in Reims into the family of a wealthy textile industrialist. The father was able to successfully marry his daughter to the son of his colleague, Philippe Clicquot, who, in addition to the textile industry, also had a small wine business. The young couple began to develop their father's business, but in 1804 Monsieur Clicquot died unexpectedly, leaving the business in the hands of his widow. Today the Veuve Clicquot brand ranks second in the world in terms of sales, behind only Moet & Chandon.

The secret of success: elite champagne, created using innovative technologies for that time. Under her, a new production method was invented, significantly accelerating the production of champagne and ensuring the transparency of the drink: the bottles were now placed with their neck down so that the sediment collected in the neck, then they were frozen and the ice cork was removed along with the sediment.

Business Principles: Track Competitors

Barb-Nicole Clicquot tried to be one step ahead of competitors - especially the main one - Jean-Rémy Moet. Secretly from everyone, she sent to Russia 75 boxes of champagne, which went to St. Petersburg "with a bang" at a price of 12 rubles per bottle. "... Of all the good wines that have already hit the heads of the northerners," the manager reported to the hostess, "none of them resembles the bottling of 1811 ... This marvelous wine has a deadly effect ... Your wine is nectar, it is as strong as Hungarian. wine as yellow as gold. "

3. Helena Rubinstein: the miser gets more

Helena (Haya) Rubinstein was the eighth child in the family of a Krakow shopkeeper. Having mastered the basics of the medical profession, without knowing English, she went from Poland to Australia, where she began to make face creams from local ingredients. One of the lines, containing herbs from the Carpathian Mountains, cost Helene tenpence a bottle, and sold for six shillings - this woman always knew the value of money. Today, the Helena Rubinstein brand belongs to the L'Oréal corporation, and its products are sold in 50 countries around the world.

The secret of success: the world's first network of beauty salons - first in Australia, then in Europe and America, which used an integrated approach in the treatment of skin diseases. Rubinstein was the first to classify skin by type (dry / oily / normal) and came up with a three-step system of care that is still used today. By the way, the "Day of Beauty", after which the clients shone (and are still shining) with happiness, leaving a tidy sum in the salon is also her know-how.

4. Coco Chanel: risk is a noble cause

"Fashion should be accepted, otherwise you will look ridiculous. However, you should accept new things imperceptibly, in small portions," said the legend of 20th century fashion Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel. A girl from a shelter, a seamstress in a ready-made dress store, a singer in a cafe - Coco Chanel did not immediately get her own empire. But now the Chanel house is an example of luxury and elegance with an annual turnover of about $ 1.089 billion.

Success Secret: Little Black Dress and Chanel # 5

Business Principles: "Don't Marry Men With A Coin Purse"

Only in 1953 did Chanel return to Paris, where she had to rebuild the business. It took three years to return to its former glory, but now Koko began to produce not only women's clothing, but also bags, shoes, accessories.

Coco Chanel died in 1971, leaving no heirs. In 1965, the son of Chanel's longtime partner Pierre Wertheimer, Jacques, began managing the fashion business. Since 1983, the fashion direction has been led by Karl Lagerfeld, who "revitalized the brand" and raised it to a new level.

5. Mary Kay Ash: selling with love

Mary Kay Ash, the founder of the company named after herself, is considered the most successful female entrepreneur in American history. As of January 2013, Mary Kay has more than $ 3 billion in sales worldwide and is represented in 35 countries around the world, distributed by about 2.5 million independent consultants.

Success Secret: Mary Kay Ash didn't just start a cosmetics company. She created a new corporate culture, almost a religion based on motivation, in which each team member has a role and a magical job title - for example, National Leader. Mary Kay is convinced that she created a Company "with a heart".

Business Principles: "You Can Do It!"

This is the basis of the foundations of Mary Kay's philosophy, because she herself did the almost impossible - made the whole world believe in the story of Cinderella again. At 17, Mary Kay got married, gave birth to three children, and a few years later, her husband filed for divorce. For 25 years, Mary Kay worked as a sales agent, but without getting a promotion (the position was given to a man), she quit at 45 to write a book about women in business. As states How money works article, in the process, Mary Kay realized that her manuscript was like a business plan for the ideal company she would like to work for. Then she decided to create it herself. In 1963, Mary Kay, with the support of her 20-year-old son Roger, founded Mary Kay Cosmetics with a start-up capital of $ 5,000.

This kind of business principles invented by Mary Kay Ash can be enumerated for a long time, and at the end this whole collection resembles the Bible. However, the sales figures prove that this industry of beauty and wellness does not work in vain, bringing happiness, if not consumers, then employees - for sure. Here is the "success story" of one of the National Leaders of the firm, Angelina Antipenko, published on Mary Kay's website: "Looking back on the path I have traveled, I feel a huge positive change in myself and in the world around me. I learned how to give and serve in the Company. I opened my heart and let into him all the love, all the beauty, all the energy that Mary Kay put into the Dream Company she created. "

6. Ruth Handler and the Barbie universe

Simple American Ruth Handler had been working since she was 10 and knew exactly what she wanted to achieve in the future - to go to college and earn money on her own. In 1945, together with her husband Elliot and his friend, she organized a company for the production of photo frames and toy furniture, which Ruth made from the remains of wood, and then Barbie dolls - Ruth's main invention. Mattel is now an international leader in toys and family products, and is one of America's Top 100 Employers. Barbie dolls account for a third of the corporation's sales: see Business eBooks for reference.

The secret of success: a plastic blonde doll with curvaceous shapes, which replaced asexual dolls and became the favorite toy of girls of all nations of the world from 1959 to the present day.

Business Principles: If you want to make a product, watch the consumers

Even before Barbie was invented, Ruth had figured out the best way to promote a product - the Handlers were the first to advertise their toys on TV between Disney cartoons, while the rest of the manufacturers acted through a retailer. The company spent 500 thousand dollars on advertising, but two years later it earned 14 billion. Therefore, when adults reacted with distrust to the blonde novelty "with breasts", Ruth already knew what to do, and again turned to massive advertising on TV screens. The first batch of 351 Barbies worth $ 3 each sold out instantly. In the first 10 years, Barbie brought 500 million dollars into the pockets of the Handlers. Subsequently, Ruth Handler showed herself as a screenwriter when creating cartoons about her heroine, in particular, "Barbie and the Nutcracker".

7. Oprah Winfrey: everyone will speak

Last week, American TV presenter Oprah Winfrey topped the Forbes list of Most Influential Celebrities for the fifth time in her career. Oprah's fortune is estimated at $ 2.7 billion - a female record in show business. She is the first and only black female billionaire in history, owning the Oprah Winfrey Network TV channel, Oprah Magazine and the Oprah Radio satellite radio station.

Success Secret: The Oprah Show, the most popular on American television, ran for 25 seasons from 1986 to 2011. In a white leather chair opposite the host sat the great and famous presidents of the United States, including Barack Obama, Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson, Whitney Houston, Sarah Palin.

Oprah's childhood was not easy - she lived with her grandmother on a farm, in a house without a sewer. At the age of 9, Oprah was raped by a cousin, at the age of 14 she gave birth to a son who died after birth. It is not known what would have happened to Oprah if it had not been for a government program that provided access to a prestigious suburban school. When the TV presenter started making millions, she pledged to pay for the tuition of poor black children. To date, Oprah has spent over $ 400 million on charitable educational programs.

8. Indra Nooyi: business in sari

Once Indra Nooyi could not afford a business suit, so she went to interviews in a sari, and today the CEO of PepsiCo is on the tenth line of the list of the most influential women in the world according to Forbes. The company's revenue is up 1.2% this year to $ 13 billion.

Success secret: good education. Indra understood early that learning is light. In college, she studied chemistry, physics and mathematics, then entered the Indian Institute of Management, and then applied the knowledge gained in practice at the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary. At 22, she decided, contrary to tradition, to go to the United States and continue her studies at Yale University. "It was impossible to imagine that a young girl from a conservative family, from the brahmana caste, went abroad alone!" - she said afterwards.

Business Principles: Work, Work and Work

Indra's results speak for themselves - see Money master the game PDF to learn more. By 1994, the management specialist was being torn apart by the giants General Electric and Pepsi, and she chose the latter, tempted by the freedom of decision it provided. Nooyi managed to outflank its main competitor, Coca-Cola, and played a major role in two of Pepsi's most important deals: the purchase of the Tropicana brand and the acquisition of Quaker Oats. Thanks to her, Pepsi expanded its range and began to produce snacks. By the way, Nooyi still often comes to work in a sari.

9.JK Rowling: wealth at the wave of a magic wand

British loser housewife J.K. Rowling wrote six books, and this was enough to spend the rest of her life in luxury and wealth. Rowling is ranked 78th on the Forbes list of the most powerful women in the world, is the richest woman in the UK and can afford to build a mini-Hogwarts in the garden.

The secret of success: the story of the young magician Harry Potter, written in an Edinburgh cafe, that conquered the world.

Business Principles: “I never set myself the goal of getting rich. Many years ago I received a letter from some organization - it seems from America - that wanted to declare me the Entrepreneur of the Year. I replied that, unfortunately, I was forced from this title refuse, as it is unlikely that I will ever make a lot of money. It was never part of my plans. I just wrote a book and thought it was a good book. That's all. " Riches really fell on Rowling suddenly, and at first she did not really know what to do with it - she just spent money left and right. But very soon Joanne learned to control and multiply the income stream that brings her magical world - the production of films, souvenirs, the publication of books, and so on. In 2012, the Potter series became available electronically at the Pottermore store, which Rowling herself receives most of the proceeds from: she became the first writer to not cede e-commerce rights to publishers. At the same time, Rowling first published the book for adults "The Accidental Vacancy", which became a bestseller simply because it was written by the author of "Harry Potter".