Happy Monday everybody! Turn those frowns upside down because here’s another blog post!
Today I’d like to look at one of the most successful businesswomen of all time.. You may not have heard her name before but you’ll most certainly know her brand.
She is Dame Anita Roddick and she is the owner of The Body Shop.
Sadly, Anita died in 2007 after suffering a brain hemorrhage, however she left behind a great legacy and a powerful story. Young businesswomen have much to learn from Dame Anita Roddick.
Today’s post will look at Anita, her business and her success, and give you five top tips to jump-start your own career!
First a little about Anita. She was originally a teacher and a traveler. Many of her Body Shop products were inspired by traditions and ancient medicines she saw in her travels around Africa.
Anita’s husband was also a great traveller. In fact his travels are the reason for The Body Shop’s inception. When Gordon decided to ride across South America on horseback, Anita needed to find some way of financially supporting herself and her two daughters. Thus The Body Shop was born, but no
t before Anita ran into some good old fashioned sexism.
Anita tried to ask the bank for a loan to buy her little store. Of course the bank said no because she was a woman who had no right running a business. They did however award a loan to Gordon who passed the money onto Anita.
Lesson 1: If at first you don’t succeed try again. Yes it sucks that Anita couldn’t get a loan on her own but the fact of the matter is sometimes you need to try a different path, method or option to get the result you want. Just don’t give up on your plans. Keep thinking of new and creative ways to achieve your goals and give it a go!
That’s how Anita found herself with a little store nestled between two funeral homes (The Body Shop became a bit of a pun I’m sure) from which she sold a total of about 10 different products. Not much right? Well Anita was genius. To make it look like she was selling a larger variety of products she sold five different sizes. Each one was hand made and told a story about the origin of the ingredients.
This brings us to lesson 2: the simplest things can make the biggest difference.
As a marketing student I love Anita’s communication and messaging. It’s simple: she just tells you how the product has made its way into your hand. Yet somehow this little tale makes the product more personal, like it was made for you and you alone.
I think the ‘keep it simple’ rule is a great one for all graduates and students to follow. I’m not just talking about using it in your marketing plan, although I have heard the term used a time or two in staff meetings. No, I think you can use the ‘keep it simple’ rule in your resumes, your job interviews and when you’re networking.
We all know how competitive the industry can be and we often fall over ourselves trying to get that dream job and appear to be the BEST candidate. KEEP IT SIMPLE! Stick to what you know and what you do best rather than pushing to impress. It’s a much safer option and guess what? It’s actually more impressive.
Ok so back to Anita. It’s no secret that The Body Shop founder had a passion for social change. The Body Shop pioneered many social movements and acted to not only raise money, but raise awareness of issues around the globe. Anita’s ethical compass and drive permeated everything The Body Shop stood for. This in turn gave customers pride when purchasing products, as they left the store having felt like they’d done their bit.
So Lesson 3: Find your passion. I think this one sometimes seems like a bit of a pipe dream. We’re always told that we should love what we do. We should feel excited to come to work everyday and we should find joy in the work we do. For many this is easier said than done. But take a page out of Anita’s book and stop for a moment. Really think about what you love.
Is it sport? No? How about cooking or fashion? It might be history or English, or maybe even finance (whatever floats your boat). If you’re looking to enter the marketing or PR industry you are part of a lucky breed who can essentially do anything they set their mind too. It doesn’t matter what your passion is, there will likely be a marketing position that caters to that subject or category. Follow Anita. Find your passion.
Now we’ll fast-forward a few years. The Body Shop has started to take off and Anita decides that it’s time to expand. She manages to get together a group of like-minded friends who are willing to start their own Body Shop stores. Thus the Body Shop Franchise was born.
However, Anita hated big business. The cold-hearted environment of the corporate world made her blood boil, so there was no way a business type was going to run one of her stores. Classic Roddick decided to use the Marcel Proust Questionnaire to filter out the dud employees.
This questionnaire asked questions like “If you could buy any car what would it be”. If the answer was a BMW or Mercedes? Bye bye! Anita didn’t want you.
Lesson 4: surround yourself with likeminded people and connect with those who share your passion.
We generally tend to do this but networking with people who understand you and the way you work can have great advantages further down the track. Not only do you work well together but also your new mate might be a little more inclined to recommend you to others.
Be careful though! Don’t limit yourself or pigeonhole people. One of the great things about working in such a diverse industry is the opportunity to work with diverse people too.
And lets be honest, it’s sometimes better to avoid working with your carbon copy (especially if you’re a little bossy like me).
For the final lesson out of Anita Roddick’s book of success, we’re actually looking at (in her eyes) her greatest failure. In 1984 The Body Shop was listed on the London Stock Exchange. Anita mentions in a number of interviews that this stunted the growth of The Body Shop’s ethical campaigns and creativity. Instead the drive for a profit and the influence of the bottom line increased. The Body Shop had become a cog in the business machine.
This brings us to lesson 5: no matter how successful you become, you will fail once or twice. If the great Anita Roddick did it, inevitably so will you. But no need to fear! Failure is good. In fact failure is where experience is born.
Remember to learn from your failures and the failures of those around you. Being aware of yourself and your abilities is where true success lies.
While that’s it from me for the time being I suggest you look up a few of the interviews given by Dame Anita Roddick and discover a few of her hidden gems yourself. She was a truly amazing woman!
Please leave me some love below or share on social! Until next time!
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