Meet The Woman Who Built A $3B Beauty Brand from $0 | Anastasia Soare

Summary

Podcast Summary

The Tony Robbins Channel

Episode: Meet The Woman Who Built A $3B Beauty Brand from $0 | Anastasia Soare
Date: March 17, 2026
Host: Tony Robbins
Guest: Anastasia Soare (Founder & CEO, Anastasia Beverly Hills)

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Overview

This episode features a deeply inspiring interview with Anastasia Soare, founder of the $3 billion beauty powerhouse, Anastasia Beverly Hills. The conversation traces her extraordinary journey from an impoverished childhood in communist Romania to becoming a founder of a global beauty brand that pioneered the eyebrow category. Anastasia discusses the adversities she faced as an immigrant, her philosophies on business, family, resilience, and the creative process, offering powerful insights for entrepreneurs at every stage.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Escaping Communist Romania & Early Life

• Childhood Hardship: Anastasia describes a harsh upbringing in Romania under communism, where her family lost property and privacy, and everyday survival was a tremendous struggle.
  • "People were living from day to day, going to bed, empty stomach. And they will turn off the electricity at 6 o'clock. In the winter, you had to go to bed like you went skiing. So very difficult. I left because I couldn't take that anymore." – Anastasia (02:56)
• Mother’s Influence: Her mother, a seamstress running a clandestine business, modeled entrepreneurship and customer care under severe risk.
  • "She had an illegal...seams dresser...and she chose those clients...wives of high ranking officers...kind of was an understanding she didn't need to be bothered." – Anastasia (05:08)
  • "I felt like my mother was the whisper, she will make them look so beautiful. They were so happy..." – Anastasia (06:06)
• Seeds of Her Calling: Early exposure to artistry and the Leonardo da Vinci “golden ratio” theory in art lessons shaped her belief in the transformative power of beauty, especially brows.
  • "If you want to draw a portrait and you want to change an emotion, you change the eyebrow shape." – Anastasia (07:57)

2. The Immigrant Journey & Arrival in America

• Defection & Family Separation: Anastasia convinced her husband to defect via a ship in Italy and reunite in Los Angeles, driven by Hollywood dreams and the promise of freedom.
  • "We had three bootleg tape...we watch Beverly Hills Cop. We watch Julia Roberts on Pretty Woman...I was dreaming of that store." – Anastasia (09:11)
• Brutal Obstacles: For years, she endured intimidation by Romanian police and was barred from bringing even a single dollar to America with her 3-year-old son.
  • "I couldn't have $1...they said, no, we'll put you in jail if you found the border with $1 in your pocket." – Anastasia (12:59)
• Starting Over at 31: With no English, no money, no contacts, she took night classes and entered the beauty field, initially as an esthetician.
  • "The only job I could get without speaking very well English was beauty industry." – Anastasia (13:56)

3. Recognizing the Power of Eyebrows & Building a Business

• Creating a New Category: Stemming from her art knowledge and noticing the lack of brow products, Anastasia took a risk and specialized in eyebrow shaping—something considered niche and financially unviable at the time.
  • "When I started, nobody had eyebrow products. I started a category in the beauty industry that didn't exist. Of course." – Anastasia (27:07)
• Persistence & Conviction: Overcoming landlords' skepticism, she convinced a fellow immigrant to rent her a room in Beverly Hills, using personal persistence and empathy.
  • "I never gave up every opportunity...Most of the time, I will be rejected. But I will try to find a way." – Anastasia (15:28–15:50)
• Scaling the Idea: Developed her own products out of necessity (mixing shadows & ointments for clients), realizing products were needed for reach and scale.
  • "As an entrepreneur, I realize...I have two hands...I realized I need to create a product line." – Anastasia (17:10)

4. Celebrity Validation & Brand Expansion

• Celebrity Clients: Oprah, Michelle Obama, Penélope Cruz, Kim Kardashian, Sharon Stone, Hailey Bieber, David and Victoria Beckham—her client list gave validation and exposure.
  • "From Oprah Winfrey walking in to Michelle Obama...Kim Kardashian...I mean, we have endless. Everybody. It was such a beautiful day." – Anastasia (19:18)
• Product Launch & Retail Partnerships: Nordstrom approached her; she trained estheticians and traveled for 12 years every weekend to build the brand personally.
  • "For 12 years, every weekend, I will travel...and my daughter used to sell the product, teaching the clients how to use it every day, every weekend." – Anastasia (22:57)
• Influencer & Social Media Pioneer:
  • "2012, she [daughter Claudia] came to me and said, mom, it's this app that I think we need to have a presence there called Instagram...from 2012 to 2016, the company grew so much, it was viral." – Anastasia (30:59)

5. Family, Parenting, and Business

• Raising the Next Generation: Anastasia’s daughter, Claudia, became a pillar in the company, especially steering the brand into digital and makeup lines.
  • "We made new rules. You are my daughter when you are outside the salon. When we work together, you are an employee. And I'm gonna be harder on you than all the employees because I could set an example." – Anastasia (24:56)
• Purpose Over Guilt: She highlights guilt common to working mothers but sees legacy and transmitting purpose as her greatest achievement.
  • "My biggest achievement is that I was able to give my daughter a purpose." – Anastasia (33:05)

6. Quality, Innovation, and Brand Integrity

• Uncompromising Standards: She emphasizes that every batch is personally approved, chasing perfection and differentiating her brand through unmatched knowledge and relentless quality control.
  • "Every single batch of every single product for eyebrows, I have to approve...The quality. Yes, it's. This is how you separate from the rest." – Anastasia (26:38–28:29)
• Innovation & Passion: Doing what you love sustains the long hours and hardships.
  • "Do you work this hard because you have to or cause you love it?...I love it. I love the game. I love to constantly create new products. Innovation is very important for me." – Anastasia (28:53)

7. Surviving Hardship & Adapting to Change

• Covid-19 Pivot: Online sales (especially via Amazon) and digital tutorials kept the brand alive through store closures and changing consumer habits.
  • "We start selling on Amazon...we started tutorial. We start doing. I did an app where you could learn how to do your own eyebrows..." – Anastasia (39:09)
• Adaptability as Survival:
  • "To answer your question, you have to be adaptable. Thank God right now, the new year started with 2016 again. People start wanting to use color again like we used to have in 2016. So I think it's gonna be a new day for makeup again." – Anastasia (40:12)

8. Leadership, Mindset, and Resilience

• Problems Are a Privilege:
  • "As a leader and as a CEO of a company, I know that I have to solve problems. I don't need to stress. I need to figure out how I fix problems. That's my job." – Anastasia (42:20)
  • "Leaders have problems for breakfast." – Tony Robbins (42:21)
• Learning From Failure: Mistakes are lessons, not ultimate setbacks.
  • "If I do a mistake, it's great. I'm gonna learn from the mistake and I'm gonna do better next time. Try not to make it twice." – Anastasia (42:44)

9. Hiring & Team Building

• Hiring for Hunger & Growth: Skills can be taught, not drive.
  • "I look for hunger in somebody and if that person calls back, that's a good sign...It's hunger. I look for hunger in somebody and if that person calls back, that's a good sign...But that person, that could be an Uber driver, a waitress, a waiter. They have that energy. Energy would probably be the word – hunger, the fire." – Tony Robbins & Joe (64:08–66:17)
• Letting Go of Egos: Ego signals fear, which blocks progress.
  • "Ego is one thing that kind of kills you...if you have an ego, you are always afraid to fail." – Anastasia (48:34)
• Strict but Fair: Family and employees are held to high standards.
  • "You are my daughter. When you are outside the salon. When we work together, you are an employee. And I'm gonna be harder on you than all the employees because I could set an example." – Anastasia (24:56)

10. Knowing Your Numbers

• Finance as Survival: Both Anastasia and Tony stress the hard lessons and importance of knowing cash flow, margins, and financial intelligence for making the right decisions.
  • "Profit is the theory. Cash is what you gotta run your business on..." – Tony Robbins (71:14)

11. Relentlessness, Purpose, and Legacy

• Never Give Up:
  • "I could go from the beginning. It was not a way that I would give up. It's like, that's why I came here." – Anastasia (74:49)
  • "How much do you think your success is based on your willingness to never give up?" – Tony Robbins (74:47)
• No Master Plan Needed: Start, be willing to fail, and iterate according to the market and your calling.
  • "I never had a plan at the beginning...I needed to pay my rent at the beginning to survive...Every day was a journey that I will learn." – Anastasia (75:30–76:46)
• Joy & Contribution: The ultimate joy is seeing the impact on customers and passing purpose to the next generation.
  • "What gives you the most joy in your life at this stage of your life?...I am in the most beautiful business. I make people to feel good. I mean, I make products and I teach them how to use them. I have the best job on the planet and I love every minute." – Anastasia (78:17–78:44)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On possibility:
  "If I was able to do it without speaking the language, without having money, without knowing anyone, anyone could do it." – Anastasia (01:15, 43:27)

• On entrepreneurial vision:
  "I started a category in the beauty industry that didn't exist." – Anastasia (27:07)

• On hustle and longevity:
  _"You have to hustle. It's no free road here." – Anastasia (26:18)

• On the American Dream:
  "You are the best American success story because that proves only in this country you could do what I was able to do. Nowhere on planet Earth you could do this." – Oprah to Anastasia (as recounted, 36:10)

• On product and brand integrity:
  "Every single batch of every single product for eyebrows, I have to approve the...because it's very important for me. The quality. Yes, it's. This is how you separate from the rest." – Anastasia (26:38, 28:29)

• On leadership:
  "As a leader and as a CEO of a company, I know that I have to solve problems. I don't need to stress. I need to figure out how I fix problems. That's my job." – Anastasia (42:20)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:56 – 06:48: Childhood in Communist Romania, mother’s influence, early exposure to beauty and entrepreneurship.
• 09:11 – 13:49: Escape to Los Angeles, the immigrant’s fears and obstacles.
• 15:28 – 17:10: Building her brow business, early rejections, persistence, learning about the golden ratio.
• 19:18 – 22:57: Celebrity clientele and brand validation, including Oprah and the Obamas.
• 22:57 – 26:38: The grind of building a national brand; 12 years of relentless travel and hustle.
• 30:59 – 32:52: Digital transformation led by her daughter Claudia, Instagram’s pivotal role.
• 39:09 – 42:44: Surviving & adapting to COVID, constant innovation, problem-solving as a leader.
• 43:02 – 53:24: Q&A on belief, resilience, dealing with failure, ego, burning the boats, and playing full out.
• 55:28 – 57:44: Audience questions – product creation, education, problem-solving for clients.
• 58:24 – 66:17: Audience questions – hiring, building a world-class team, screening for hunger and culture fit.
• 67:45 – 76:46: Audience questions – pivotal operational decisions, financial literacy, never giving up, and planning (or not).
• 78:17 – end: The joy and fulfillment derived from purpose-driven work.

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Conclusion

This episode is a masterclass in possibility, resilience, and purpose. Anastasia’s story demonstrates that obstacles can be fuel for greatness. Her emphasis on quality, adaptability, and authenticity—anchored by a relentless drive to serve—offers a blueprint for anyone with entrepreneurial aspirations. Her journey, built on hard-earned wisdom, is a testament to the power of grit, heart, and believing in the extraordinary.

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Transcript

[A]

Hi. Thanks for listening to the Tony Robbins podcast. This is just a quick note about this episode in case you'd rather watch and see the video of this conversation. And that's [e-mail] tonyrobbinslive you'd like to listen. You're in the right place. Okay, here's Tony.

[B]

Our next founder saw an opportunity hiding in plain sight that no one else saw.

[A]

When I started, nobody had eyebrow products. I started the CA in the beauty industry that didn't exist.

[B]

She escaped Communist Romania in 1989.

[A]

People were living from day to day, going to bed, empty stomach.

[B]

So you arrive in Los Angeles and they don't allow you to even bring a single dollar. How old your baby?

[A]

He's three years old.

[B]

Told your boss, you want to just do eyebrows. What did your boss say?

[A]

No. No. Of course they didn't agree. I never gave up. He was an immigrant as well. Somebody give them a chance. Give me a chance.

[B]

She spoke zero and started that business at 40.

[A]

Every nine seconds around the world, we sell one product. Nine seconds.

[B]

And she's grown into a $3 billion brand.

[A]

If I was able to do it without speaking the language, without having money, without knowing anyone, anyone could do it.

[B]

Ladies and gentlemen, help me welcome the one and only Anastasia. You are a force of nature, and I'm so grateful, because the number one things that you hear from people that are not where they want to be is I'm too old or I don't know where to begin, or I have all these limitations. And this is the one country on earth where you're proof. I'm proof in a little way. But I didn't know I knew English. I had a huge advantage there alone. Right. You didn't even know the language. So I want to take people back so they understand maybe a little of your background. So many kids today think communism is a great idea. I was telling you backstage. I went to the USSR, Soviet Union, when I was 24, and I traveled from literally one coast to the other, from Moscow to Siberia and back.

[A]

Wow. That's courageous.

[B]

Well, I don't know if it's courageous, but I saw that communism had nothing to do with equality because the Russians. I was there with a group of scientists, and the Russians with us were living like the highest class caviar. And we stop in every town and it was always this gray, same building, and people are wrapped around like a quarter of a mile, waiting for a quart of milk and like a half a loaf of bread in the freezing cold. And it was that way in every single city. And I, I came back and I became somebody who was interested in free enterprise. I, I never was. That wasn't my focus till then. But I want to tell people, what was it like growing up in communist Romania? What was it like for your parents? What, what was taken from them? What could they not do? What were the limitations? Before we even talk about your journey here, I think people should understand that.

[A]

So my grandparents immigrated in Romania in 1939. They built, they had a big land with farms, with beautiful homes. They build themselves everything. And after 51, 1951, when the Communists started and promised to everyone, oh, everybody's gonna be equal, everybody is gonna have a great life. Slowly they start taking from people that had homes or farms or businesses. You are not allowed to have your own business. And they start sharing. And the used to manage everything and own everything. Everybody worked for the government and the leaders of the Communist party. They lived a very lavish life. And everybody else starts suffering. Everything we could buy was on the black market. You couldn't, like you said, you went in a supermarket and it was empty, the shelves were empty and people couldn't even buy milk or bread or for a chicken, you had to sit at probably midnight and probably the next day you will be lucky enough to have one in line. Yes. So it was very difficult. Even if, let's say my mother was able to get on the black market, something was hard for me to see my neighbors, my friends or colleagues not being able to have meat for months. It was very difficult. I couldn't support, I couldn't take that. And seeing how people were living from day to day without maybe going to bed, empty stomach. And they will turn off the electricity at 6 o'. Clock. And in the winter was very cold winter, you had to go to bed like you went skiing. So very difficult. I left because I couldn't take that anymore.

[B]

And while you were there though your mother was a rebel.

[A]

She was.

[B]

You learned some interesting things from your mother. Tell us a little bit. Tell everyone a little about your mother. She had an illegal business on the side.

[A]

So she had an illegal. She was a seams dresser. Because they were not the kids from wealthy family, they were not allowed to go to school. So she learned how to sew and she became a seams dresser. And at the beginning, probably communist regime didn't have enough rules to stop those small entrepreneurs. But later in the 70s, you were not able to do it. But my mom figured out that wives of high ranking officers or people in the Communist party They needed to be dressed. So she chose those clients. And everybody was kind of was an understanding that she didn't need to be bothered so she could keep her business.

[B]

And she'd take like the top fashion that was happening.

[A]

Holy.

[B]

And she'd make it for them.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And then you noticed something as a child. What did you notice about these women when they came in and your mom dressed them?

[A]

Oh, my God. I felt like my mother was the whisper, she will make them look so beautiful. They were so happy. She was a customer driven person. She wanted her customer to look beautiful. She used to make them clothes and she would bring the hairstylist to give them makeovers. And she really loved what she did. And my mother worked endless hours. And as a kid, I used to ask her, mom, you work so hard. It's like, I love what I do when I see this women being so happy. They kind of. I charge my battery and this is how we keep going.

[B]

Yeah, it still drives you today, doesn't it?

[A]

And I became my mother because I used to ask her, like, I can't believe you do this. It's too much. So then I came here and I became my mother. And the same question my daughter used to ask me when I work.

[B]

And now she's working.

[A]

And now she became.

[B]

Yes, tell me. You know, and also, by the way, you weren't even allowed, not only. You weren't allowed to be a part of fashion there either. Right. Like, kids want to wear bell bottoms and things like that in those days.

[A]

And, oh, I. I had a pair of bell bottoms and I used eyeshadow from a guy that used to restore ch. Because we didn't have anything. No creams, no makeup, no clothes. So everything was black market. And I felt like I was. I don't know, a pair of jeans was like something that nobody in town had.

[B]

That's amazing.

[A]

And now. Yeah, I think, yes. I look back and I think, wow. Everything that we had was very precious to us.

[B]

And while you were there, you studied in school. Tell us about what you studied.

[A]

So when I was in Romania, the good part about the communist regime at that time was the school was very good. I had an incredible teacher. And my art teacher always said, if you want to draw a portrait and you want to change an emotion, you change the eyebrow shape. And we learned the Leonardo da Vinci theory that he used in all his art. And I came to United States and I bought a disposable camera we didn't have in Romania. Disposable camera. And I realized that My esthetician used to tweeze my eyebrow pencil, thin and round. And I looked surprised and I thought, wow, I look surprised because of my eyebrows. And I remember my art teacher, I started going to the library and I thought, I need to use the golden ratio to figure out the best shape for my face. And from there, the clients will come and will say, wow, you look different. Something is different about you. And I start sharing with them the eyebrow shaping and it took off. Yes.

[B]

I want to take you back just a step. You were married and your husband defected. At one point he was a captain of a ship.

[A]

Yes. I convinced him to defect the ship in Italy. He went to American embassy, asked for political asylum. And I told him, you need to pick only Los Angeles. We need to go to Hollywood because we had three bootleg tape, we had the vcr, and we watch Beverly Hills Cup. Okay, okay. We watch Julia Roberts on Pretty Woman. And I was dreaming of that store. The stores. Rodella Drive. Yes. Two in a Row and the Color Purple.

[B]

Oh, yes, Oprah.

[A]

And it's funny story about that movie that we watch. We. I couldn't understand a word, but was the feeling and everything. And I came to United States and we had one tv, very small tv, because we couldn't afford more. And I was flipping the channels and the only show that I wanted to see was Oprah Winfrey Show.

[B]

Even though you didn't understand English, I couldn't understand.

[A]

My husband used to say, you don't understand one word. I don't know why you want to watch this woman. So Oprah in the movie, in the Color Purple, she looked totally different. And I was surprised I didn't recognize her. But her voice was very familiar to me. And that's why I was attracted. And I was watching her, her show, and I made a deal with my husband. You could watch every show, every sports, every Laker game. I want this slot. It's only mine. And we used to fight about that. No, no, no. And I used to joke and I said, you know, I need to, to understand how she asks questions, because when I'm going to be on her show, I need to know exactly how to answer. And of course she was like, yeah,

[B]

sure, that's pretty awesome. Isn't that. Give her a hand to that. That's incredible. Visualizing at that level

[A]

what you dream for.

[B]

That's right. That was a good dream.

[A]

Very good.

[B]

So he got here two and a half years before you, and you did not get treated well at home once he decided to defect. Right. What Happened to you?

[A]

Well, I used to be called at the police station almost every week. And they put pressure on me to divorce and to not come to United States. Of course, I had to play the. No, I'm married. In my culture, you cannot divorce. I'm Macedonian, so I have to go. I have to follow my husband. But every week I will be there, and they will try to intimidate me. And it was very tough because it was almost like a joke. You knew what time you have to show up. You never knew how many months you will be there. Hold. So my mother again, she had some clients and she would make some phone calls, like, make sure my daughter is going to come home that night.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Very good. And this went on for two and a half years?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And how did you finally get to the United States?

[A]

Well, I think that Romania was. Ceausescu at that time, wanted the most favorite nation the clause. And I think the American government put pressure on him to let the families that they were be unified.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

To unify. And this is how I got lucky. And I got my passport four months before the revolution. I always think, what was happening if I will be still there.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Isn't that interesting how life.

[B]

God has a plan larger than myself,

[A]

but God had a plan for me.

[B]

So you arrive in Los Angeles and they don't allow you to even bring a single dollar with you. Correct. And you got a baby. How old is your baby?

[A]

Just three years old. And I couldn't have $1. Or I said, at least give me a coin. Because learned that you need to make a phone call with 25 cents. And they said, no, we'll put you in jail if you found the border. $1 in your pocket. And I arrived in the airport in la and I was sweating, thinking, I hope his car is not going to break down. I hope he'll still be there when we get there. I don't speak the language. I don't have any money. I don't know anyone. I'm with a kid in. I hold a kid, what will happen? But thank God he was there waiting for us. It was so.

[B]

So you were 31 when you arrived here? 1989, right?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And so you went to work. Why did you go to work in a. In a place doing facials?

[A]

Well, when I was in Romania, my husband called me and he said, well, there are a lot of doctors, engineer, Romanian here in la, and they are all in the beauty industry. It's kind of, maybe you should go to beauty school, because you don't Speak the language will be easier for you to get this job. And he was right, because I went to take some English classes at night, but the only job I could get without speaking very well, English was beauty industry.

[B]

Wow. And so you went to work at a place in Beverly Hills with an esthetician.

[A]

Yes, I work in the salon as an esthetician. Facial and body waxing. And I realized that eyebrows are so important. The landlord didn't believe that financially will be good because how much you could charge $10 when a facial was $60 at that time. So it was too much time to. And financially didn't make sense for them. But I really believed in eyebrows, and this whole technique became such a passion for me, and I really believe that this could be a business, and I loved it.

[B]

And you told your boss you want to just do eyebrows. What did your boss say?

[A]

No. No, of course they didn't agree. Yes.

[B]

So you saved $5,000.

[A]

If I read correctly, I saved $5,000.

[B]

And then you went to go get a little room in Beverly Hills, and they wouldn't give it to you because they thought you can't make enough money. How did you convince them to give you that room? Because they told you no.

[A]

Well, yes, they told me no, but I. Look, you have to. When you are an immigrant. When you come in this country, you see opportunities and you are not willing to give up. I never gave up every opportunity or anything that I put my mind into. I always. And most of the time, I will be rejected. But I will try to find a way to study. I will always ask why you don't want to let me do that. And then I will spin that I will find another way to convince the person.

[B]

How did you convince him to give you the rental space? Because he was afraid you'll never make the rent here in Beverly Hills. Right.

[A]

He was an immigrant as well. So I used that. Like, I'm sure your family or somebody in your family was an immigrant. Somebody give them a chance. Give me a chance, and in six months, if I cannot pay it, I could leave. So that.

[B]

So he opened it up. Give her a hand for that. That's spectacular. It's fantastic. So amazing. So tell me, you know when you start to enter into this process and you start doing these eyebrows, tell me how you made the distinction. You learned about the golden ratio. Yes, but what was the day where you made the connection between your eyebrows and the facial impact of using the golden ratio on a person's face?

[A]

So I start studying. I went to the library And I studied so much the face that my eye became really familiar. And, you know, the human eyes encoded to recognize the perfect balance and proportion within the face. So I spent hours and hours doing eyebrows, making mistakes. I wanted to understand very well mathematically how you apply the golden ratio for eyebrows. And I used to use eyeshadow with aloe vera and some vaseline to fill in the perfect shape. And the clients, of course, they start telling me, like, well, we need that potion that you have, because after we take our shower, our eyebrow is not the same. So I realize I need to have products. Right, okay. And what else? As an entrepreneur, I realize I have two hands and I used to work endless hours, 10, 12 hours. It was a certain amount. I started doing a pair of eyebrows in 40 minutes, then 10 minutes, then 5 minutes, but more than that. How many? I used to do 100 clients a day. But more than 100 clients, I cannot do it. So I realized I need to create a product line.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

That in my mind was I want to be on the beach and still make money selling the products in the stores. This is what I thought. But you work more and more. The bigger the business gets, as you all know, the more work you have to put in.

[B]

That's right. Unless you can become a business owner and product to product, that's a really important thing. I think I saw you did an interview with someone. They were asking you a question, and they said they had a service business. And they said, how could I grow my business? And your first response is products. Yes, the same reason. Because products can have unlimited scalability. You only have so much scalability on a service and your hours.

[A]

Yeah, yes, yes. Unless you grow the service business, which is, again, difficult because you need to. The quality of the service, the people. And in a salon business is quite difficult because to maintain that quality.

[B]

Same level of quality.

[A]

Same level, yes. Where with the products, it's a lot easier.

[B]

So at 40, start your first business. 40 years old. 40 and within. And you start getting some of the. Tell us some of the clients that are coming in to see you at this day.

[A]

Oh, my God. In my salon in Beverly Hills, which is still there. 4:38 North Bedford. From Oprah Winfrey walking in to. No, Michelle. To Michelle Obama, of course.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

He was a client to Penelope Cruz, to Sharon Stone, to Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner. I mean, we have endless. Everybody. It was such a beautiful day.

[B]

I rave about you. I know Kim. And Kim said she doesn't want to go anywhere. That's important without you doing her eyebrows. She adores you. And she's known for her face and her eyebrows.

[A]

One of the most request eyebrows. Hailey Bieber. I mean, how about men? Victoria? Absolutely. I used to shape men that they were in film because everybody has a different look, a different Persona in the movie. And Billy Buff Thornton that as you know, changes his entire look in every single scene or every movie. I used to stay with him and study exactly how we should do his eyebrows, how he should color his hair because he needed a different character in each movie. But David Beckham, Justin Beckham, Mrs. Beckham or Mr. Beckham? Both.

[B]

That's awesome.

[A]

I think men's always should have groomed eyebrows. I think it's very important and I worked in Hollywood for many, many years and I businessmen and actors that you don't make a man look like a woman. A woman's eyebrows should be shaped fully different arch. A man eyebrow should be groomed, should be very manly. And I like that very much.

[B]

And by the way, beforehand she said to me, let me do your eyebrows. So you see the difference?

[A]

Yes, look at that.

[B]

I said to her, if you can do something with this mug, you really are a genius. So it's fascinating that you men as well, I didn't consider that as a possibility, but I could see the difference too. Even with my man. It's fantastic. Tell me though, so you built the business at 43 is when you first started doing products. Did they take off right away? Tell me a little bit about how that went.

[A]

I used to work in the salon and having such an incredible amount of celebrity clientele that validated my work and worth of mouth because at that time there were magazines, TV and worth of mouth. So my clients really believed in my work. The celebrity clients used to validate my work and Nordstrom's approached me. They wanted to sell the products in the the store. And at that time, in 2000, eyebrow wasn't something. I mean women didn't know. Why should I use eyebrow? Brow powder in my eyebrow was kind of still at the beginning. And I convinced them to create brow studios within the Nordstrom's and hire esthetician. I will train the esthetician and every weekend I will travel around the country to do personal appearance.

[B]

Now you gotta hear this. This will tell you who you really are as an entrepreneur. Anastasia, she for 12 years and did this, correct? Yes, 12 years. Every weekend she insisted that they have an esthetician there so it would be done properly. And for 12 years you went to

[A]

Nordstrom every weekend I will Work Tuesday to Saturday. After work Saturday, I will take my carry on my daughter with me and we'll travel. Sunday we'll go to Chicago, let's say, and then do an event there. And Monday I will go to another city. And every weekend, this is what we did. I used to wax, shape the eyebrow and my daughter used to sell the product, teaching the clients how to use it every day, every weekend. And thank God, in 2012, my daughter came on a. Of course she was complaining. I am 18 years old and I work like I'm 60. You know, you know how kids are. It's like, mom, I is this.

[B]

I know what you're going to tell me. Yes, Only because I want people to know something first.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Your daughter, she's major part of the growth of your business. We're going to talk about that in a second. But before she made a difference in your business because I think all of you out there have kids. They tend to get pampered. Tell me what happened when your daughter was working with you. She's going to work for you.

[A]

So I felt guilty. And I'm sure there are so many moms out there that they feel guilty, guilty because they work too much and they don't have too much time to spend with their kids. And I said, if you want money, like for gas or any, like you have to work, so work part time in the salon. That way I could watch her and kind of, she could see how much I work.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And she was working and she, she, of course at night she will go with her friends to the clubs. And she was late in the next morning. And I said, look, I'm going to give you, this is the second warning. If you are late again, I'm going to fire you. I don't think she believed me. She was late again and I fired her. She was very surprised. She went and she worked for an insurance company. And after a month she came back,

[B]

heard she was miserable.

[A]

She was miserable. She didn't have enough money to pay her rent, so she wanted to get some money. And I said, absolutely not. I came in this country, I didn't speak the language. I had the kid and I figured out you speak the language, you don't have a kid, you should figure out. But she was so good in what she was doing. I wanted her back, but I wanted her to beg me to come back. So she did. I let her wait for like two, three hours. She begged me to come back. And we made new rules. You are my daughter. When you are outside the Salon. When we work together, you are an employee. And I'm gonna be harder on you than all the employees because I could set an example. So since then was completely different.

[B]

So I wanna talk about the growth of that. But I do wanna point one thing out. You know one of the first youngest female billionaires in the world is Sara Blakely, who created Spank.

[A]

She's a.

[B]

And we've interviewed her as well. And she went to Nordstrom just like you. And she flew all over the state just like you, and literally went. They wouldn't allow her to sell things, but she went to every department. She'd do demonstrations, she'd give out free product. She did that also, but I think she only did for two years. You did it for 12 years. She's a billionaire, you're a billionaire. There's a little common pattern that I'm starting to see there.

[A]

You have to hustle.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

It's no free road here.

[B]

People think that Oprah made her. Oprah made you. You're already successful.

[A]

Yes, yes, but. And I am forever grateful for everything that Oprah and all my other celebrity and clients did. Yes, but I worked for it.

[B]

That's right. No, I get it.

[A]

I worked. And I still work so much today. I still do eyebrows. I still. I have clients that they come to my house. I do eyebrows. Every single batch of every single product for eyebrows, I have to approve the it because it's very important for me. The quality. Yes, it's. This is how you separate from the rest. When I started, nobody had eyebrow products. I started a category in the beauty industry that didn't exist. Of course.

[B]

Give her a hand for that. It's pretty awesome, isn't it?

[A]

Yes. Thank you. Thank you. And then, of course, other companies, other lines, they start getting inspired and copying. Okay, that's normal. It's good. Competition is good because you continue always. Exactly. But what differentiates Anastasia but all the others is because I know eyebrows more than and better than anyone. And I. Every single batch, I have to approve. And why you have. If I have to. By the way, this is our bestseller, Brawiz. Every nine seconds around the world, we sell one product.

[B]

Nine seconds.

[A]

Nine seconds. Yes.

[B]

Yeah. Give a hand for that. That's incredible. Yes. So.

[A]

So what is happening? You have raw materials when you have a product that is from the earth. So sometimes we buy the raw material from, let's say a yellow from Spain and one time from Brazil. The Brazil yellow could be green undertone and the yellow from Spain could be orange. Undertone, so red. Undertone, warm and cool. Undertone tone. So when you do, the manufacturer will do the same formula. The color is going to be off.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So constantly I have. Before they will start, they will mix in a huge container, the raw materials, and then I have to approve it. And I will say, hey, I need a little more yellow. I need more red. I need more black. So they need to give me exactly what I want. So it's very important. The quality is so important.

[B]

Do you work this hard because you have to or. Cause you love it?

[A]

Oh, I love it. I love. I still work like, I can pay my rent. This is what next month. I love it. I love the game. I love to constantly create new products. Innovation is very important for me. I started this organically. I created products that I knew my clients needed. Every eyebrow is different, every skin tone is different. I love what I do. I'm so passionate, and I wake up every morning and I have a purpose. Is the best thing, the best gift that anyone could have.

[B]

I've seen so many people, very successful, sell their business and make a billion, two or eight hundred million, or, you know, whatever the number may be.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And they think it's going to light up their life. And I see them, I have a good friend. That little business not long ago, 1.2 million cash, that was his portion of it, right. And he was so excited at the point he sold it. I said, buddy, I said, that business tapped a lot of your needs. Everybody needs certainty. And you had certainty about that. Everyone needs variety. Businesses, unlimited variety, different skin tones. Everyone wants to feel significant in your business. You own it. Significant. Everybody wants to feel connected and love. And you love your clients. Everybody needs to grow. Your business makes you grow or your business doesn't grow. I said, and you're contributing people. You're meeting all six of your needs. Now you got this chunk of money. What's going to happen? And I can see it over and over again. Within three months, six. Max.

[A]

Max.

[B]

They're calling me and say, hey, you want to go? You want. I'm like, well, I'm doing this, I'm doing that. I'm already doing these things. My work, man, you're always working. I said, but I don't have to. I want to. And within three to six months, they're almost wanting to get back in the game. Because for most people, their business meets so many of their needs, and then they're not doing it. They just got the money. People think the money's going to do it. The Money doesn't do it. The money's just a nice thing to recognize the level of growth you've had for sure.

[A]

Measure your success.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

But it's not going to bring you happiness.

[B]

That's right. You're so spot on. Give her a hand. So spot on. So spot on. Now let's acknowledge your daughter Claudia, because she made a nice contribution to business. I think it was in 2012, if I remember. Tell me what happened.

[A]

2012, she was not happy that every weekend we had to travel and she came to me and said, mom, it's this app that I think we need to have a presence there called Instagram 2012. So I said, yeah, sure, let's see what's going to happen. We posted, actually was this product Brow Whiz that we posted before and after eyebrow pictures. And of course we were reading every single comment and was one comment that said, oh, I wish I could buy this product. I said, send me your address and I will ship you one bra. And she said, oh, no, you can, because I live in a small village in India. And that was for me, everything. Like, I will never be able to at that time in 2012, to reach a customer in India, I thought, like, this is our ticket. We didn't have money like the big companies like l' Oreal or Esteloder to spend so much in advertising and marketing. That was our vehicle, Instagram. And from 2012 to 2016, we had EMV that not even Ester Lauder and L' Oreal could have. The company grew so much, it was viral. And then we started the makeup line. She came to me. Claudia is like, mom, we need to start the makeup right now. Like, okay, that will be your baby. Baby must be so proud of her. Oh my God. You know what is funny? When she was 18, I used to call her like, it's 8:30 in the morning, you are late. And she was like asleep. Of course, she was a teenager. Now it's 10 o' clock at night. I call her like, you have to go home. Okay? You work too long hours.

[B]

Cats in the Cradle.

[A]

It's so good.

[B]

Yes. That's great. How beautiful. I wish I look forward to meeting her someday, but she sounds like an incredible force of nature and a reflection of all her own skills, but also obviously the grounding that she has.

[A]

I think my biggest achievement is that I was able to give my daughter a purpose.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know, the company that we built together, it's amazing. But to be able to give her the skills and the Power and the desire to every day to hustle. I love it.

[B]

Yeah, that's. That's maybe the most accomplishment anyone can have.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Give her a hand for that. That's gorgeous, isn't it?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Really beautiful. Really beautiful.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So in 2018, you were 61 years. I can't believe you're. You're. You never say a woman's age, but I have to with you because you look 20 years younger than that. She's 68 years old. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for. This is unbelievable. You are gorgeous.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

But you're gorgeous inside, which. That's my wife too. Gorgeous inside and outside. That's what really matters. Matters.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

But. But the point is, at 61.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

You decided to sell a minority interest in your business, and you discovered your value was $3 billion. Tell me something, all that you went through from coming here with no language, no money, your baby going through all those things to where you are, what was that like for you? What did you feel? What did you experience? When. When did you realize it was that big?

[A]

No, because I own 100% of the company and I didn't have a CFO. Me and my niece were handling the money, writing the checks, signing all the checks, doing all the deals, and very slim team. And I never thought that I need to check and find out how much the company was worth. But we kind of max out on distribution in United States, and I wanted to expand internationally. Well, I didn't have the power and I realized to expand internationally, I couldn't be making products, dealing with the business domestically and opening the. The business in. In internationally. So I. I realized I need partner.

[B]

Yes. And not just capital, but with the intelligence.

[A]

The capital wasn't distribution. No, no, no. My EBITDA was. Was off the chart. My margins were 51%.

[B]

Let's have a hand for that one, ladies and gentlemen.

[A]

Of course.

[B]

Oh, my gosh.

[A]

That could not be achieved on these days with the tariffs and everything else. But it was amazing to know that I was able to do that.

[B]

And they only got a minority interest,

[A]

and we got a minority because it was too big the valuation for any strategic to come in and buy the company.

[B]

Company. Yes.

[A]

And that had an operation experience.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And we got a hedge fund and they. They came on board and.

[B]

Tpg, right?

[A]

Tpg.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

That's fantastic. Well, what did it feel like for you?

[A]

I think like what it means kind of scary at the beginning because I thought like, whoa, this is crazy. And then I thought, wow, this is unbelievable. This is the measurement of the success this is coming in this country and building something that I was passionate about and I worked so hard. I felt like Oprah always says, you are the best American success story because that proves only in this country you could do what I was able to do. Nowhere on planet Earth you could do this.

[B]

I think it's unfortunate most young people don't know that because most young people are receiving benefits and it's all they've ever known. They don't have the contrast of what you've been through. They think America is a terrible place and never been anywhere else. And then they think communism is going to be it. That's going to just mean free stuff. You and I know very differently if you've ever been to a communist country. So the contrast is so amazing. And that's why I wanted an interview, because I think you destroy all the limiting beliefs. If someone listens to your story and they know it's true, it takes away all the excuses somebody would have. So by the way, another challenge for people is like you created a category and as you said, then people start copying you. And so now you have competition and the markets change. How have you had to adapt or change as the markets have changed and competitors have shown up? And what is the future of you know, know Anastasia, Beverly Hills? What would you say about it?

[A]

It's very interesting that you ask this question because Covid hit and it was terrible.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

All the stores were closed before COVID I we start selling on Amazon. Even so we didn't want to sell on Amazon, but they. There were a lot of companies that were selling fake makeup and was destroying our reputation. So I went to Amazon and I said, we need to solve this problem. And of course they said we'll get it, but you have to sell your own products. So we start selling and I thought I will sell only some Eyebrow Products Ltd. I could control how much we sell. Covid came, of course, Amazon was the only store that you could sell. So we start selling everything there. And it was quite a change. I mean, I mean our business was murdered during COVID Even when the stores open, as you remember, you couldn't go in the Sephora, let's say, or Ulta and touch the makeup. Because you couldn't touch the tester. Yeah. Well, we all know that how difficult business was during COVID Yes. And then we started. But was an era where people didn't want to use makeup. Was that clean look makeup plus they

[B]

were in their pajamas at home all day.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

They Weren't going to work anymore.

[A]

Exactly. And you had to adapt. We start doing tutorial. We start doing. I did an app where you could learn how to do your own eyebrows, how to try the different colors, different shapes. So we try to adapt to the environment that was created. And in two. So TPG came in and after five years, the deal was they will exit. Of course, our EBITDA drops so much that. And we had the loan. We had to kind of reduce. Would readjust the. The structure of the loan. And of course now it's a new chapter.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

That I put some more money of my own and to reboost and to rearrange the the deal.

[B]

So adapted to what happened during COVID for any business was incredibly difficult. But I can only imagine. So what do you see? Oh, go ahead.

[A]

But to answer your question, you have to be adaptable. Thank God right now, the new year started with 2016 again. People start wanting to use color again like we used to have in 2016. So I think it's gonna be a new day for makeup again.

[B]

People are going out again.

[A]

I think we all need. I think we human need to interact with others. We need to. Like one of the lady that you interview, I was listening and she said, said women that wear makeup, they make 30% more money.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Yes. Because this is how we perceive the other people. And not only how we perceive, but I feel like if I am doing my hair, I put my makeup. I feel invincible. If I will show up here with no makeup, that didn't even brush my hair. I don't know if I will be as confident I am right now. I am confident anyway. But that extra. But it steps you up a little bit, but exactly.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So it's also.

[B]

It's like putting on war paint to go to war a little bit, I would imagine, right? Absolutely. Like, I'm getting ready to go make it happen.

[A]

I'm going to go there and fight. Like exactly how you have them. I see the 300 in my company. This is how we do it. Like 300. You get your sword and every day you go to work. This is how. Yes. It's no way that my mentality and the way I keep telling my people the way you do, you go there and you fight. You don't take no as an answer. And you will get whatever you need to get. Because this is how it is. It's not easy. Business is not easy. Life is not easy. Many times people are asking me, are you stressed? Like, no, I'm not Stressed. I open my computer every morning and as a leader and as a CEO of a company, I know that I have to solve problems. I don't need to stress. I need to figure out how I fix problems. That's my job.

[B]

Leaders have problems for breakfast.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

That's what you do. Right?

[A]

So, yes, yes, problems. I used to have problems when I lived in Romania. This is not a problem. This is a great time to have problems.

[B]

You have better quality problems.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

I tell people the biggest problem people have is they think they're not supposed to have any.

[A]

Yes, exactly.

[B]

Because their problems are a part of life. They make us grow. That's life.

[A]

Of course.

[B]

It's all your attitude towards the problem.

[A]

And if I do a mistake, it's great. I'm gonna learn from the mistake and I'm gonna do better next time. Try to. And I tell my team I'm okay if you do a mistake, but try not to make it twice the same mistake.

[B]

Yes, yes, yes.

[A]

You know, and learn from that. This is how we grow.

[B]

Yes. We got a Spartan here, ladies. We got a gladiator here, ladies and gentlemen. Yes.

[A]

I have to go with Joe and

[B]

well, one more question and then I'm gonna ask if we'll bring Joe out and we'll question from the group together.

[A]

Oh, I would love to, but I'd love to know.

[B]

You know, I want everybody to pick up your book. It's called Raising Brows. It's just come out. It's fantastic. It's my story of building a billion dollar beauty empire. Spectacular.

[A]

I sign your book so much. And what I want to say is that I wrote this book just to inspire other people. If I was able to do it without speaking the language, without having money, without knowing anyone, anyone could do it. It's just. You need to believe in yourself.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

That's it.

[B]

And act on the book.

[A]

And act. Oh, yeah. Don't sit.

[B]

Massive action, right?

[A]

Massive.

[B]

That's so incredible. Well, let's bring Job. But first of all, let's first give a gigantic hand for the one and only Anastasia. Well, we certainly have the masculine and feminine represented with power on both sides here. Peak masculine, peak feminine with all their power and strength together. I want to start out real fast, just ask you a couple questions and maybe the audience, if you have some questions, like to be able to ask them to remember the burpee rule here. So ask a question, get to the burpee. But you know, you both have been through incredibly difficult times in your businesses and we all will probably in the future at different times. I'm curious, what is the most important belief you think a person has to have to make it through? Both. All three of us went through the COVID situation where it literally shut down our business. I lost $100 million in six months in my business and I didn't shut it down. I just said, we've got to find a way. And by the end of the year, we did get it back even at least. What do you think is the most important belief that an entrepreneur has to have to make it through those tough times? Whether it be in the very beginning. There's tough times. It's just like the stages of development of a human being. When you're a young business, you don't have enough capital and it's tight. When you're a mature business, there are different choices, there's new competition. Tell me and we'll start with you if we could. Joe, what do you think is the most important belief or two that have kept you going during those times or you think people need to be able to keep going when it looks like there is no compelling future? Because we all need a compelling future. We can difficult today if we got a compelling tomorrow. But sometimes it feels like you lost your view of tomorrow.

[C]

I think it's exactly that word. I think it is belief.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

I think you've got to believe. I was just telling your crew outside, I've got a younger boy who in the last year has exploded on the wrestling scene. And I'm curious what happened. He didn't learn any new moves. What happened? And one day he just said, I just decided I don't want to lose anymore. He believed. And so when I was going through hell, the pandemic or the startup or the 15 year, I just believe that was going to like. I remember my bookkeeper walked in one day and said, what the hell are we doing? You're running out of money. There's nothing. Yeah, no, there's something here. It's going to work.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

It's like an insanity almost.

[B]

Well, it's. And think about everyone. What is a belief? It's a feeling of absolute certainty. That's what a belief is. It's not a hope. Hope. It's not. I wanna. It's like it will be. I will find the way. I will make the way. Right.

[A]

I will take action. I'm gonna do it.

[B]

Yes. What are your. What would you say is your core belief and what's been one of the toughest times in your career?

[A]

I think Covid Covid.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yes. Was very difficult. And it was before. I mean, I started a company and a business that nobody was before. I had no idea of the business. I didn't know how to write a check.

[B]

Do you understand?

[A]

I mean, sometimes I look back and I'm thinking, wow, what drove me, it was that desire to win. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna learn. And I wasn't afraid to ask. I wasn't afraid to ask my clients. I don't know this. Do you know? Can you help me? I wasn't afraid.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

I showed that I'm vulnerable and I want to learn.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And I did. I learned. And I had that desire in me. That fire. Not everybody had that fire.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

That I'm gonna figure out, and I'm gonna win. There's no way. I will not. I'm so competitive, and it's no way I'm not gonna win.

[B]

What are you gonna say, Joe?

[C]

Well, she has a huge advantage over you and I. She's Eastern European.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

You can't compete with her. Yeah.

[B]

They had a fight to have some food, right?

[C]

Exactly.

[B]

Exactly. You build a muscle when you were there, Right.

[A]

You have.

[B]

She had her race when she was there. And coming here, it's amazing. What has been. If you look back on your career, has there been a mentor or two that taught you one or two principles in business that maybe have stood out for you or very helpful for you?

[C]

I've had so many. We talked about one earlier. The head of the banana organized cry family. But my customers have been mentors as my partners around the world. When we expanded around the world, especially to Eastern Europe, we set standards and said, you must follow our rules. But then very quickly, we realized, wait, yeah, no, they're doing it better than us.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

We're going to take some tips from them. So. But you've got to. You've got to have an ego that's willing to accept that other people might know better.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And be the learning machine she was talking about.

[A]

I. I think ego is one thing that kind of kills you.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

If you have an ego, you are always afraid to fail.

[B]

Because that's, by the way, what ego is. When people hear the word ego, I always try to tell them it means fear.

[A]

Fear.

[B]

If you see somebody who's got very egotistical and exaggerating their significance, it's because they feel insecure inside.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

And fear stops us from taking action. You're so spot on. So how did you get beyond ego in the terms of willingness to make mistakes, willing to do whatever it takes. How did you do that? That.

[A]

I think I grew up in Romania. I watched my mother trying everything and anything. You pivot, you had to survive every day. You have to find a way. You couldn't have an ego. Oh, I am so and so. And I need to win this now. Nobody cares.

[B]

Yeah, that's.

[C]

So that's what I was going to say was payroll.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Plus, Right. You've got payroll. There's no ego.

[A]

No ego. And the fear. I think the fear. And of course, ego brings that. That was my problem with. I mean, the problem my husband had. He had this huge ego that he couldn't do something below the standard that he had in mind.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And this killed him.

[B]

Yes. And it also. He was not supportive of what you're doing when you want to start this business.

[A]

No, he didn't believe that I couldn't. Like, there are American people born in this country and they don't own the business. And you want to. And I said, victor, what do I have to lose? I don't have anything. I don't care. I will try. I don't want ever to feel like I never tried.

[B]

You know, that's an interesting point. I've seen. I don't know if you guys have seen this pattern. You see someone, they come from nothing. They bust their tail, they grow to a certain level, and now they're a level of success. And when they started, they had nothing to lose, and now here they are, they're very successful, but now they don't want to say, because they don't want to lose. And you see them, they become really unhappy. Because the thing that makes us alive is putting ourselves on the line. Right? It's growth. You can't grow without doing something that you're not certain about. You can't grow without facing something that's incredibly difficult. And then as they do that, it's like muscles get weaker from lack of use. And now they're unhappy. And I try to show them, you're unhappy because, brother or sister, you're not growing because you're playing it safe. You didn't play it safe. I think of things I did in the beginning, my prayer, getting up and telling a general, I'll cut the time in half of any training program you do, and I'll increase the competency. And he said, you're crazy. I said, I'm expensive. We negotiated, but I would get. And I told everybody, I'm not going to get paid if I don't do this. Some people that were rooting against me, but that was part of my inspiration. I'm not going to give them that right. I'm going to find. And I. Did you find the way when you burn the boats, you take the island. How did you burn the boats, both of you? What made you like burn the boats? That this is it.

[C]

I mean, I, I didn't know I was burning the boats. I. We were spending a half a million dollars a month very early on to compete against tough mudder that I didn't have. There's not too many months you can go before you start to say, hey, this is becoming irresponsible. I got a new family. We've got this farm up in Vermont. So the boats were. It was like smoldering and then it turned into a fire very quickly and then you're fucked. And you got to make it work. Now what I was going to say was it doesn't just happen to an individual. You just. Right. It happens to Kodak, it happens to WorldCom. It happens to big organizations that start playing defense instead of what got them there.

[B]

Yeah, Kodak. I don't know if you guys know this, but Kodak actually created the electronic cameras, digital cameras. But they thought, no, we're in the film development business and they wouldn't do it.

[A]

Yes, they went under.

[B]

One of the most successful companies in history went under because they just weren't willing to adjust.

[A]

Yes. I think you have to pay pivot. You have to adjust. You have to be alert constantly. If you. It's like a ways. If you see a dead end, you need to change, you need to move, be alert and ask questions, be around people that they could maybe sparkle something in you and not be afraid. I think when you said about your friend that got to a certain point, I think he. Fear kicked in.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

And he didn't want. Oh, I have to keep up with the jones. What this one is going to say about me or.

[B]

Yeah, that's the new thing today. Now people are worried about what people are going to say about him on social media.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

It's even more than before for some people.

[A]

But I think we need to ignore. When you have a passion and you have a purpose, you need to ignore all the noise around you and you have to be like a bullet.

[B]

And it takes courage. But I try to tell people courage is not that you're not fear. I mean, fearless doesn't mean you have no fear. If you had no fear, you'd be dead.

[A]

Right? Yes.

[B]

It means you fear Less, but you fear less because you act. The solution to fear is almost always action. Right. Courage doesn't mean you're not afraid. It means you're afraid, but you do it anyway, right?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Let's take some questions from the audience. We have audience members that are just starting a business. Haven't started yet. We have people, one business at 450 million, other around 250. But like most businesses, some of them are trying to break that first million. Let's have. Who's got some questions here for our audience for our two entrepreneurs? How about we go over here with Lindsey over here on team eight. And here we've got Jenny here, McKinney on team 12. Give it up for her. Jenny, how are you? Where are you in the world?

[D]

I'm in Kelowna, British Columbia. Thank you so much, Tony.

[B]

Give it up for the Canadians.

[D]

This week has been life changing. And to hear from both of you, Jo and Anastasia, it's been mind blowing. And Anastasia, I have been a makeup artist for 30 years and the impact that being in proximity to a woman and showing her how she can glorify herself and impact her own identity is so life changing. And what I've heard from you with your resourcefulness, your resilience, extreme level of focus and vision, I have had a dream to create products that link the identity that a woman is wanting to generate and create and embody in herself with simple products. And one of the things that I heard you say is that you started out in the very beginning with just your. You had a lean line and then built from there. And so I wanted to know what principle guided you in your product build beyond just what you thought the market wanted. Like, was it, were you filling what you thought the market needed or was it the dream inside you that everybody needed it?

[A]

Well, everything started super authentic and super lean. My client will show up with over tweezed eyebrows. She had oily skin. She had oily skin and curly hair. I had to create products that will help her to create that perfect shape. So this is how I start creating eyebrow products just to solve a problem. And I think that is because if you create a product that, I don't know, you dreamed of and you cannot sell it, you don't find a customer, then you are the only one that is going to sit and look at that product. So always in my mind was I need to create a product that will solve a problem for my client and I could sell it.

[B]

And one of the biggest mistakes I think people make in business is they fall in love with their product or service. They don't fall in love with their client.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

If you fall in love with your client, that means you want to do whatever it takes to meet their needs. And you're obsessing all the time. How do I help them? Right?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I always say your ideal client, you want to know where they live. What I mean by where they live is think about. Everybody's life is really. It's a dance between what they desire most and what they fear most. That's where people live. If you want more of a life, you either have to fear less or desire more or some combination thereof. But once I know what you love, what you hate, what excites you, now I can start to solve a problem for you. But if I create a product that I love, which is what most entrepreneurs do, then they have a limited market. It's the people just like you. You got to think in terms of. Of not your own needs, but their needs. Now, you might be a person that's benefited from your own product. Right. Not going to influence it. But when you make it all about yourself, rarely do those companies scale.

[A]

So not only I wanted to create the greatest product, but I needed to create education for the people that work for me and for my clients. So education is very important because you need to show your customer how to use your product. Yes. This is how you use it. This is where your eyes are, eyebrow should begin. You know, so education, it's hand in hand with the product that you want to make.

[B]

Give her a hand. Thank you so much, Jenny. Give her a hand. All right, let's bring another one. How ironic. The first person is a makeup artist. Yeah, that was random.

[A]

Wonderful.

[B]

Thank you so much. Oguzon. Am I pronouncing your name right? Yes. Uguzon.

[E]

When I talk with Tony, exactly how he called me every day.

[B]

Where are you in the world? I didn't hear, where are you in the world?

[E]

Irvine, Orange County, California.

[B]

Oh, Irvine, California. Give him a hand. Well, I ask is, you both know we have people from 56 countries here, so translate language.

[A]

Wonderful.

[B]

So what is your question?

[E]

My question is growing company is not easy, but definitely harder than the growing company is the hiring process. If you don't make the right hiring, it definitely can mess up your company, which is what I had experienced before. And my question is both of you, it's you guys created amazing company. You know, something really miracle. But how was your hiring process finding the right people?

[C]

So for us, when I look back, we were very lucky because we had no resources. I had to hire anybody willing to work for $2,000 a. A month. That was the deal. That was a threshold and a sifting mechanism that got us a certain quality of person, which meant they had to love what we do. Right. I moved them to the farm. They got $2,000 a month. We hiked them out every day. They must love what we do, otherwise they wouldn't be doing this. So those first 12, 24, 36 people, they slept in the office. They woke up at 5am with us. They got in the cold river like they were so on brand. We were Spartans, literally Spartans. So I think I was lucky and probably a lot of entrepreneurs are lucky because they have to go through. They have no choice to go through that same process. Does that make sense?

[A]

Yeah. The way I hire at the beginning was, of course, I started with esthetician. So not only they had to have their license, but I will go through, train them. I had to train them to do exactly my technique, my exactly how I wanted. They needed how to talk to the clients, what to do, how to shape their eyebrows, everything A to Z. I had to train every single esthetician. Then when I went to the corporate office, I was hiring young people because I didn't have enough money to pay them a lot of money. I started the, the line, me with an assistant and then my daughter start helping me. So three people. And then you scale, you grow and you hire people that will sell our salespeople in the cosmetic industry. But slowly you have to be kind of careful who you're going to hire because sometimes people you will see. Many times I see a CV and like, oh, I grew this to 200 millions. I grew like, no, you cannot grow yourself. You had the team that help you to grow or you lead that team. So most of the time you have to. I mean, there are some great people out there, but they will claim things that they are not in real life.

[B]

I've also found, just to add to it, that, you know, you've heard the phrase, it's not who you hire, it's who you fail to fire.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And I'm a very loyal person. If I've made any mistakes in early decades of my business, it was not staying with somebody too long from trying to help them. Because my nature is to help people.

[A]

Yes. Yeah.

[B]

Now I decide they need to be clients. If you're going to be on this team and you're going to play, you know, with the best of the best, I can't coddle you. While my platinum player has to pick up for you. Right. And so I think, you know, Jeff Bezos has a whole philosophy of, you know, hiring slowly and firing quickly.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And I think honestly it sounded like not very merciful. But in business it's critical because you got a family of people you care about. They're all busting their tail, whether it's Sparta or yours. That's one piece. The other thing I do is I look to see everybody when they're coming for an interview. It's like dating, right. They put on their best outfit, their best attitude, their best everything. The real test is when they live you 24 hours a day. Right. When they get into an environment of real work and you see who they really are. So oftentimes, two things I do is I ask the question, how can they do the job? By the time I see somebody, they've been interviewed by multiple people so they can do the job. The second question is, will they do the job great long term? And that's tied to what are their goals. You know, I hired somebody years ago. I had a woman who was with me for five years as our personal assistant. And we traveled the earth. We'd go to, you know, 18 countries in a year. And I mean, you know, 1820 hour days without exaggeration, traveling time zones. And so, you know, you care about this person. They're part of your family. Well, after five years, she fell in love with somebody else in my company and want to have a kid. Wonderful. So we're still great friends. So I'm trying to hire a new person of that quality. And we went to the LA cause we're near Los Angeles, the LA association of Assistants. Right. Executive assistants. And we went through like four people, like five months because they don't come there. I found out to be an assistant, they come there because they want to be in Hollywood. And they wanted my clients like yours, Right. They wanted access to these writers, these directors, these producers, these actresses. And they would treat them great and everybody else like crap. And so it's like you got to know, do the goals align with the job? And then the third one is team fit. Because you can have. How many of you have had somebody on your team, let's see, was great at what they did, was they're a great salesperson, negotiator, great at something, but they pissed everybody else off in the company and they constantly drag. How many have had this experience in your company? Right.

[A]

Oh, whoa.

[B]

And so what I learned is you don't want to let go of them because they do such a good job. But if they're not the right team fit, you gotta get rid of them because they'll be a vacuum and you'll get the right person. But I think you made a really good point. I'm glad you recognize it. Who you hire and who you fire is critical. And you're not gonna know for sure until you put people through the trenches. And so sometimes we do that too. We'll go, okay, we're gonna give you a 30 day trial. Are you willing to step up and be that place? And then you get to see what they're really like under pressure. And then we pretty much do what you do. We also screen in advance. Like I mentioned earlier in the week, like let's say our salespeople, we say, here's the job. Working for world class, make a difference this way, Unlimited income, but don't apply unless you are world class. And our standard, I got this from a partner of mine years ago, is it doesn't matter what they say, we reject them and hang up on them the first three times. So a person call in, I'm calling about that job, you know, in sales. And we go, it's world class. We said, don't call if you're not world class. And we have them hang up. We do it on everybody. And why? Because you can train people, but you can't train people's nature like this. Man's nature is to find the way, her nature is to find the way. It's hunger. I look for hunger in somebody and if that person calls back, that's a good sign. But let them go a little longer. You know, they go, I'm not getting it. We hang up again. The person calls us back on the third time and they go, oh, we must have been disconnected. Or they make a joke, or that's the person we hire. And by the way, once we hire them, we train them the same way. We are brutal because the world's more brutal, right? And now we can train them. I think great people are found and then trained. Not just trained. You gotta find some with the right nature. And to me, if I had to pick one quality, it's hunger to learn and grow. All of us are still hungry. You know, you look at the best entrepreneurs, people that, you know, I look at, you know, some of the people I've spent my life and dear friends with. We're all hungry still. We don't have to be. We are hungry. Means to be more, to do more, to give more, to share More, more. Get somebody like that with some decent skills and they're going to be a great employee and they're going to maybe be a great partner with you someday. You never know. Is that helpful? What are you going to say?

[A]

I. I think that people that want to do more.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

This is what I look for. I mean, you don't need to be the best and you could learn, but I need to.

[B]

You could become the best if you have that hunger.

[A]

Yes. Yes, you are.

[C]

I agree 100%. I. I'd rather have that than the skills.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because you can teach the skills.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

But that person, that could be an Uber driver, a waitress, a waiter.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

They have that energy. Energy would probably be the word hunger, the fire.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, that's true. Is that helpful?

[E]

It was the best advice ever. I would get. Thank you so much.

[B]

Thank you. Give him a hand, everybody. Let's do another one. Christina, can you hear us?

[A]

She's Romanian. Are you Romanian? Yes.

[B]

Wow. You know by her last name or.

[A]

Yes, the last name.

[B]

Well, where are you in the world? Where are you in the world right now?

[F]

I'm in Amsterdam. The Netherlands.

[B]

The Netherlands. Give her a hand. Get in touch with the Dutch.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

You have a question?

[F]

Well, first of all, such an inspiration. I mean, the two female legends coming out of Romania that everybody knows is Anastasia.

[E]

Sorry.

[A]

Of course. Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah.

[F]

I have two questions for you. What's the one operational decision that you made that protected your business the most? You talked about raw materials, so you decided to partner or you decided to start from scratch with the raw materials? Would that was. Do you think that was the decision that was the pivot decision for your business or which one was it that you think protected your business against everything?

[A]

Oh, there are so many. So many.

[B]

Yes. What are one or two, though?

[A]

Yes. But definitely choosing a manufacturer that it's high level. The way we work, we go to labs that they are the best in complexion. For instance, like this, the pencils, the mechanical pencils are made in Korea. They are the best in that. Other pencils are made in Germany. They are the best company that made. So we manufacture everything with the best. We partner with the best because quality, quality for my brand, quality is everything. I cannot. I cannot bring a product on the market that is not superior.

[B]

That's beautiful.

[A]

Yes.

[F]

And the second one, and this could be actually a question for both. I don't know if. If I'm allowed to ask that, but when? Yeah, when, where and how did you learn the Numbers of your business because you talked about ebitda and when did you find out that this was core to your business? Was it from the begin that came with that hunger that you needed to know your cash flow and how does it go? Or was it a learning curve?

[A]

It was a learning curve for me because I wasn't trained. I didn't go to school here, finance to learn about EBITDA and like the balance sheet that in Romania we used to do and the basic how much money you have to start, how much you spend and how much you earn left with. And I used to have, by the way, in the beginning of my years to create cash flow for my business because at the beginning I didn't make enough money. I used to renovate houses and flip houses and every penny that I. All the dollars that I will make, I will insert in. In the business. So I needed to find ways to. To create cash for my business to be able to maintain. Because nobody wanted to invest in eyebrow business business, you know.

[C]

So, yeah, I would say a couple of. Going back to the first question too, I'd love to answer, which is for us, a key decision we made was we were going to hold the standard. This was going to be hard. Barbed wire crawls were going to be ridiculous rope climbs. Even though the customers, the investors, the board of directors, people Tony knows, were begging me to make it softer. Get rid of the name death race. Why are you making people sign a waiver that says you may death die by holding?

[B]

You've been right about that part.

[C]

By holding the standard, though, by holding the standard, we became differentiated. So that was number one. Number two, on learning the financial terms, we went out to investors, we had to learn on the fly just like you did.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

And. And there's no better way to learn than when you're under pressure and your survival depends on it.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And the third thing I'd like to comment on based on these few questions and what's going on here is clearly I chose the wrong industry. I should be doing eyebrows, eyelashes, toenails. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing with barbed wire and fucking Roblox.

[A]

I will teach you how to drive around.

[C]

Everybody wants to talk about eyebrows. Tony wants to get eyebrows.

[A]

But at the end of the day, at the beginning, you need to make sure you have money to pay salary for your employees. This is how it comes. You barely make money for you, but you have to make sure. Sure you pay your salary for your employees.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And this is how you learn slowly

[B]

I'll say for me too, I didn't know it was my mission, right? So I was just. I didn't know anything about finance at all. Zero. And you learn through pain. I remember my accountant saying to me, I said, how am I doing? He goes, oh, you're really profitable. I said, ah, it's great. And I got the end of the year and there was no cash. And I didn't understand cash. Cash profit is the theory. Cash is what you gotta run your business on. And so through pain, I had to learn. One of the reasons I brought Keith here, by the way, I saw a gentleman whose comment was, he's a CPA for 25 years. And he said, I've never seen a more clear way to understand how to run your business. Cause accounting is a language. But really what you want is financial intelligence. You want to know what things mean so you can make better decisions. And when you don't understand accounting and you find out afterwards by a basic accounting, there's nothing wrong with accountants. They're putting all things in the right place. But you find out afterwards there's nothing you can do about it. At that point, you want to know in time so you can make better decisions. And beforehand, so you make better decisions. And I'm passionate about it because three times in my lifetime I've got 121 companies now. I had companies early on that almost went bankrupt. And every time it's because I thought we were driving 50 miles an hour and we're going 120, 20. And I thought we had a full tank and we were on E. And it was because the accounting did not give me that information in real time. So I am very passionate about learning this early on in your business because you'll make better decisions. And that's one of the reasons a lot of people don't go out of business. 50% a year, 80% in five years, 96% in 10 years. They don't go to business because they don't have a great product or service. They're not passionate, work hard. So very often they just don't know their number in time to make the kinds of changes that are necessary. And then when a Covid or something else happens.

[A]

Yes, man.

[B]

If you don't know what you're doing, you're going under. So I really encourage you, Christina, on your journey, you know, really master this part. Or what I do now is get. I give people. I have a company does it, but you don't use my company. You don't have to buy A cfo. If you got a business and it does less than a million dollars a year, a CFO is 350 grand. But I created virtual CFOs because I own that problem and I'm all over the world and I'm not the only one who does it. Now other people do it too. So you can pay 100th the amount or 1, you know, 1 50th the amount, and you get that person to coach you so you can make better decisions now while you're learning. Because even when you're brilliant in that area, most of us focus on what we're good at. We're going to create pain and transform people. Right. We're going to make them beautiful. But the numbers aren't really as important to us, but they have to be. So you need somebody else. That's their entire obsession. And they have the skill to show you the patterns. Remember we were talking about pattern recognition, pattern utilization, pattern creation. Hard to create new patterns when you don't even know what your pattern is currently creating. So I think I'm very passionate about a subject that normally is boring as hell and that I personally had no interest in because I had so much pain by not mastering it. So I hope you will.

[A]

I definitely learned my lesson the hard way.

[B]

Okay.

[F]

And Keith was a revelation for me. After Keith, now I want to geek out into every number of my business and I'm.

[B]

Oh, that makes me happy. That was worth the week alone. Give her a big hand. I just want to finish with two simple questions for the two of you. One is if. How much do you think your success is based on your willingness to never give up? It sounds so really overly simplistic, but you're both incredibly successful in what you do. How much of it was relentlessness? I will not give up. Up. How much of your success would you attribute to that?

[C]

Who's first?

[A]

Absolutely. I think. I mean, I could. I could go from the beginning. It was not a way that I would give up. It's like, that's why I came here.

[B]

Yes. And I couldn't agree more. How about for you?

[C]

I think about any business, whether it was the fireworks, the swimming pool business, Wall street, this business, I should have gave up.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

Because I didn't give up. Like any. If you looked at just the paper, Joe, you shouldn't be doing this. Doesn't work. It doesn't pencil.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Right.

[C]

But I didn't give up.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then on the opposite side, most people never even get started because they Think they have to have a master plan. What do you think about that?

[A]

Oh, I. I never. I got so many times asked, like, what. What was your plan? Plan? I didn't have a plan. I needed to pay my rent at the beginning to survive. I needed. Then once I kind of start believing that eyebrow is my calling, I slowly. Every day was a journey that I will learn, and every two years, I will have a different plan. Kind of every two years, okay, I'm gonna master. I want to be master of my craft. That was the most important thing then. I wanted to create the best product. That was something else. I'm going to open the salon. That was another. So constantly I will do. But I didn't have a plan at the beginning.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

I never thought that in my wildest dream in 1989 when I came here, that I'm going to be in the beauty business and I'm going to start the new category.

[B]

So what Wild and so Mo. What would you say to that, Joe?

[C]

I never understood plans because I don't know what the market wants. I don't know how they're going to respond. Fire. Ready, aim. Like I have to start.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And. And have a listening device and then create the plan.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

I will advise people that they should start with something. If whatever you think, it's what you like, what you want to do. And maybe that will not be your calling or that will not be your business, but you will find out if it's your calling and this is what you want to do, or it's not, and you could start something else. Don't take it as a failure. Like, I fail so many times, but I. I study. I thought, okay, I need to learn something and I move back. I. I will move ahead with some other things. I will never beat myself looking back because you can't change the past. You need to live in the moment and plan for the future.

[B]

That's awesome. I think also for those who have advanced businesses, the same mindset I think is required to grow. You have to have that. You can't get that thing where you're trying to protect what you have and be so cautious. You can test it. I've done a lot of my businesses. I started with, like, a skunk group. Let's try something. I don't know if it's going to work or not. I didn't give up the core business. Yes, I had it. I always believe I got to run the business you're in. And like I said, the business you're becoming. If you Just focus on what you're going to do in the future. You're not going to have your cash flow. You just focus on your cash flow. Somebody's going to out compete you. You got to do both. But I think if you're successful, you still got to be innovating. Innovating doesn't mean new technology means trying a better way to meet your clients needs. My last question is real simple. What gives you the most joy in your life at this stage of your life?

[A]

Life.

[C]

Can I go first?

[A]

Yes.

[C]

I get an email every day. I'm back with my husband, I'm back with my wife. I lost £200. I gave up drugs, I gave up drinking.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

I got a little Tony Robinson.

[B]

That's awesome.

[C]

Every day from somebody. So. So how could I give this up?

[A]

No, you can.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's your mission.

[C]

It's unbelievable, your calling. Now they're going to start saying, and I got new eyebrows

[B]

thanks to Joe.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

I mean, I, I am in the most beautiful business. I make people to feel good. I mean, I make products and I teach them how to use them. I have the best job on the planet and I love every minute. I wake up every morning and I'm thinking, okay, what else I could do? What else I could offer my clients?

[B]

What else could you ask for, life, than a higher purpose, Something that calls you? We all need a calling, right? We need to have something you care about more than just yourself. It's easy to meet your own personal needs, but I don't care if it's your kids or your family, your business, your mission, or some nonprofit thing. When you find that you have a magnificent life.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

You are two truly magnificent human beings. It has been our privilege to spend time with you and thank you for sharing your wisdom and your heart and your soul. And thank you for your example for all of us. Let's give them a hand, everybody.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

So beautiful.

[A]

Thank you. The Tony Robbins podcast is inspired and directed by Tony Robbins and his teachings. It's produced by US Team Tony, copyright Robbins.