Introduction
- Estée Lauder—a mother, wife, and friend—was the founder of Estée Lauder Companies (Estée Lauder Companies, 2021).
- Tremendous influence in the entertainment industry through her competitive cosmetic brands and her company.
- Managing her enterprise with charisma, humor, and superb style.
- Cherishing beauty and faith in its power.
- One of the richest self-made entrepreneurs.
Estee Lauder, the founder of Estee Lauder companies, was a visionary American businesswoman and a role model to many. She pioneered her cosmetic company, whose aim was to meet the basic dream of every woman of looking and feeling stylish (Estée Lauder Companies, 2021). She was one of the richest self-made business persons in America and had the honor of being the only woman listed on Time Magazine as one of the 20 most influential business masterminds in the 20th era. Estee managed the world’s most prominent companies while working as a mother and wife and a dependable associate to many.
Background
- The youngest in their family of four.
- Newton High School in Elmhurst.
- Estée’s parents were immigrants.
- Leraning the fundamentals of retailing at her father’s workshop.
Josephine Esther Mentzer, commonly known as Estee Lauder, was born in Corona, a region in the Queens Borough in New York, on July 1st, 1906. She was the daughter of Max Mentez, who worked as a tailor, and Rose Schotz. Rose had moved to the USA from Hungary in 1998 with her five children, where she later got married to Max and begat four children where Estee was the last born.
Estee attended Newton High School in Elmhurt and at the same time helped her father with his hardware. At her father’s store, she gained knowledge of the fundamentals of retailing and the significance of meticulousness (Hoover, 2018).
At the same time, Estee learned about the outward appearance of goods and knew how to market high-value products.
Early Years
- Estée’s interest in beauty ignited while in high school.
- Gained experience by helping her uncle.
- Learned how to create creams and put them on ladies’ faces.
- Began by selling the products to schoolmates.
- Started selling her skincare products to beauty salons (Brown, 2018).
Estee’s passion for beauty glinted in high school at a time when her uncle from Hungary moved to live with her family (Estee Lauder Companies, 2021).
Her uncle used to formulate velvety-like body creams from the kitchen and later in the laboratory.
The uncle taught her how to create creams and apply them to the face. Estee began taking the products and beauty treatments to school and sold them to classmates (Hoover, 2018).
Estée was vending her skin maintenance and makeup products in beauty shops, signifying her products on females as they were sitting underneath hair dryers.
Career
- Estée was very hardworking and strived to grow and expand her business.
- “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” —Estée Lauder (Brown, 2018).
- 1944—Joseph resigns from his job to join Estée in business.
- 1946—Estée Lauder Inc. launched.
- Estée Lauder and Joseph Lauder, the only employees of the company.
- The Estée Lauder company’s big break in 1947 (Brown, 2018).
Estee lived most of her time working in the kitchen to advance her products, and her market slowly expanded. Her husband resigned from his job in 1942 to join Estee in her business (Estee Lauder Companies, 2021).
In 1944, the couple launched their first company and named it Estee Lauder Inc. in 1946.
The couple were the only employees of the company; hence while Joseph was in charge of manufacturing and finance, Estee was in charge of development and marketing (Estee Lauder Companies, 2021).
In 1947, the company got its first major sale of products valued at $800 (Hoover, 2018).
Personal Life
- Meeting her husband and getting married in the early 1930s.
- Divorce in 1939 and remarrying in 1942.
- Establishing the Joseph Lauder Institute of management (Hoover, 2018).
- Living a very flamboyant public life.
- Dying in 2004 at the age of 97, leaving two children.
Estee lauder met her husband Joseph Lauder in late 1920 and got married in 1930, and gave birth to their eldest child in 1931. She got very engrossed in her business which resulted in a divorce in 1939 (Hoover, 2018).
After a few years, Estee remarried her ex-husband in 1942, and together they had two children, Leonard and Ronald.
Estee Lauder set up Joseph Lauder institute of management after her husband’s death in his memory. She later died in 2004 at her home in Manhattan (Hoover, 2018).
Estee made friends with some of the most powerful and influential personalities and was known for her flawless style.
Awards
- 1967—100 best American entrepreneurs.
- 1970—Ten Outstanding Women in Business in the United States.
- 1988—Business Hall of Fame.
Estee Lauder was named in the list of 100 best American entrepreneurs’ in 1967 and ‘Ten Outstanding Women in Business in the United States.’ (Brown, 2018).
She was the first female to get the insignia of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1978. Estee was inaugurated to the Junior Achievement US Business Hall of Fame in 1988 (Estee Lauder Companies, 2021).
Challenges
- Problems emanating from the passion for her ideas (The Famous People, 2021).
- Difficulties rising from little or nothing as a woman.
- Estée lauder’s business was relatively new and faced several structural problems (Hoover, 2018).
- Marketing the business in the initial stages.
Estee Lauder’s interest in beauty began at a very young age. Her passion for beauty is demonstrated in her quest to grow and expand her business that cost her marriage in its early years (Szycher, 2014). Estee had sworn that she would work hard and make more money to enable her to buy anything she desired.
Estee Lauder was a skincare products pioneer in her time.
Additionally, Estee Lauder’s company was fairly new and had to compete with the bigger brands to penetrate the market. This was a major challenge because the company was still taking shape had to give away free samples to market the company (Szycher, 2014).
Estée Led by Example
She led by example in several ways:
- demonstrated leadership skills early in her start-up.
- was a leader who commanded followership (Szycher, 2014).
- was committed to the course and focus on results, exhibiting critical entrepreneurial predispositions (Szycher, 2014)
- focused on improving the world through innovation.
Estee foresaw an opportunity to build and initiated her operations early. It takes a lot of hard work, gut, and passion for starting a business from scratch (Szycher, 2014).
Estee lauders business was able to excel because she was a leader that had followers that were willing to follow (Szycher, 2014)
Estee demonstrated great commitment to her goals, and her drive to achieve more became her stepping stone to success. Leadership entails an aspect of envisioning the future and cultivating the discipline and commitment to reach there (Szycher, 2014). Estee operated her business with a sole focus on improving the beauty industry by employing innovative techniques. A business owned and operated under innovation is bound to succeed.
A Lasting Legacy and Resilience
- Estée demonstrated that all things are possible through determination and hard work.
- She left Estée Lauder Companies, a multinational and one of the leading cosmetics brands in the world.
- She also left a lasting legacy behind her enshrined in her contributions to society.
- Estée’s life shows the story of a dreamer, a visionary woman who rose from nothing to something.
“If you dared to dream it and had the guts and gumption to go for it.” ~Estée Lauder
Lauder was a contender who demonstrated that all things were possible.
As one of the foremost cosmetics companies, Estee Lauder Companies sells in over 120 countries of the world, generating billions of dollars in revenue.
Though The universe has evolved drastically over the years, the core values that Estee Lauder showed are more applicable and inspiring to females of all groups.
Estée Lauder’s desire, vision, and dreams remain unceasing and in standard unchanged.
Summary
- Founded Estée Lauder Companies.
- Endured various challenges with charisma, humor, and superb style.
- Interest in beauty ignited while in high school.
- Gained her knowledge by watching his uncle work.
- Estée Lauder Inc. launched in 1946 and known today as Estée Lauder Companies, one of the leading cosmetics brands.
- Left a lasting legacy behind her by her exceptional leadership skills.
Lauder was a contender who demonstrated that all things were possible.
As one of the foremost cosmetics companies, Estee Lauder Companies sells in over 120 countries of the world, generating billions of dollars in revenue.
Though the universe has evolved drastically over the years, the core values that Estee Lauder showed are more applicable and inspiring to females of all groups.
Estée Lauder’s desire, vision, and dreams remain unceasing and in standard unchanged.
References
Brown, N. (Executive Producer). (2018). Estée Lauder – “Dedication”. Web.
Estée Lauder Companies. (2021). The Estée story. Web.
Hoover. G. (2018). From one woman’s passion to cosmetics empire: The Estée Lauder story. Web.
Szycher. M. (2014). The guide to entrepreneurship. Productivity Press.
The Famous People. (2021). Who was Estée Lauder? Everything you need to know. Web.