Big Lucky

When you get up in the morning and look in the mirror, what’s your first thought? Do you focus on what you don’t like about yourself or do you see a person you care about and are rooting for—a person made to win?

What did I learn from working with stars at the top of their game? They believed they were made to win. They all shared that drive, that fire, to be the very best.

I devoured books like Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, The Power of Positive Thinking by Napoleon Hill, and Think and Grow Rich by Norman Vincent Peale.

In that moment, I made an intentional choice—I could believe I’d never amount to anything and prove them all right, or I could believe I’d been born to win and set out to prove them all wrong.

The message that Paul communicated to me through his actions was that everything matters—especially how you treat others. Part of Paul’s charm was that he was genuinely interested in people. He was curious and asked lots of questions. More importantly, he listened to the answers. He paid attention to the details. He cared. Paul also taught me that part of living a good life is being thoughtful about what you do for yourself, too. Until seeing Paul’s suite, I’d never given any thought to examining what refueled me.

I learned many things from Paul, including how to create a real home for myself, no matter where I landed—a lesson I learned from him that I still value to this day.

I never once heard Paul say anything negative about anyone. He only spoke kindly of people and focused on the good.

Don’t get me wrong, Paul was fiercely competitive. He loved to win, but he didn’t fight dirty. He kept his own counsel and understood that when you can’t hold your tongue it reflects badly on you.

My clients were at the top of their game. Sure, there may have been an element of luck for some of them, but nearly all of the celebrities I’ve ever known have worked hard at their craft and equally hard at preserving their image.

In that moment, I knew without a doubt that my mother, although deeply flawed, loved me as best she could.

The fear of poverty tops the list of the six fears in Napoleon Hill’s classic book Think and Grow Rich. The author calls it the most destructive of them all. A few of the reasons why fear of poverty tops his list are because it paralyzes your reasoning, kills your imagination, leads to procrastination, destroys ambition, makes it impossible to concentrate, and breeds a whole host of dream killers.

“Cheryl, maybe you should think about going back to Los Angeles and asking your mom for your old job back,” I said. For the first time, I was doubtful I could make things work, and I didn’t want to risk dragging her down with me any further. “No way, Jim,” she said. “I told you I’m not going anywhere. That’s what you do when you love somebody—you stick with them in good times and bad. We’ll get through this, baby. I believe in you. You know why?” I couldn’t imagine a single reason. “Why?” I said. “Because you are my Jim Markham.”

“Sounds like a raw deal, Jim,” he said. “But sometimes what appears to be a curse winds up producing our greatest blessings.

We can’t identify unhealthy behaviors until we have a firm understanding of what’s healthy.

Before the end of the week, I gave him a copy of Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. “This is one of the books that changed my life when I was about your age,” I said.

That’s when Cheryl asked, “What makes you most excited about the hair care industry? And what do you have to offer that’s unique to anyone else out there?”

Twice I flew to Toronto for a week’s worth of classes with Martin Parsons, a well-known platform artist and member of Intercoiffure —the most powerful and influential organization in the hair industry. I also went to San Francisco twice to attend Vidal Sassoon’s Academy for women’s hair cutting. I wanted to get more advanced in styling women, and Martin Parsons and Vidal Sassoon were both undisputed leaders in that field.

By the time Paul Mitchell Systems launched in Beverly Hills in 1980, it was the hottest thing out there. Paul, an entertaining and gifted Scotsman, had become known for a new technique called “hair sculpting.” When I saw that he was coming to Albuquerque, I bought a ticket to his show, eager to see this artist who was generating so much buzz.

I also began to think of my temporary lockout from the products business as a blessing in disguise. I was confident that the time I was bringing myself up to speed and studying my competitors would pay off in spades.

was on a mission and I would not quit until I’d made my dreams come true.

What we needed was a business plan to entice investors to bet on the new hair care product company I’d envisioned.

By that point in my career, I’d run two well-known product companies. I easily could have let my pride stop me from asking for help. But what I’d learned is that nobody is smart enough to be an expert in everything. Nobody.

Most stylists who came out with a product line simply hired a lab and slapped his or her name on the label. My approach was the opposite. I wanted to be involved in every aspect of the business.

Dan got straight down to the business at hand. “Here are my conditions,” he said. “You’ve got to have a partner, another well-known stylist who is an expert at women’s hair.” Given my track record, the idea of bringing in a partner disturbed me, but when I hesitated to answer, Dan remained firm. “That happens or no deal,” he said, as if he’d read my mind. “Secondly, I want to be involved in all contract negotiations. I think that’s an area where I can help you a lot.” I nodded. He was right about my limited understanding of contract negotiations, and I was grateful for his advice.

Think of a problem as an opportunity to find a better way.

We all have certain gifts and things that we are good at. Follow your passion.

Invest in learning. If you aren’t continually learning what’s new, you’ll be left behind. Don’t let what you don’t know hold you back. If you really want to learn, you can. No one person has all the answers. Ask for help when you need it. Find successful mentors to guide you in different areas of your life.

Dan and I communicated via frequent telephone calls as he helped me through the details of entrepreneurship. Just as I had done when Jay Sebring was my mentor, I called Dan frequently to seek his advice.

Dan helped me become a better negotiator and emphasized the importance of getting multiple quotes. “You don’t necessarily want to take the lowest bidder,” he explained. “But knowing what the low bid is gives you leverage with the vendor you think will do the best job.”

and I refused to settle for any who weren’t a perfect fit.

From the start, Dan had always emphasized the importance of having a written agreement explicitly outlining what our strategic vendors would provide.

Dan said. “Given your business, I would think it’s the same. Your people are your most important asset. Treat them fairly, so they stay with you.”

I thought about his advice and worked to create a cohesive atmosphere where everyone knew their contributions were valued. I encouraged out-of-the-box thinking and kept an open-door policy. We served lunch nearly every day and kept the vibe positive and friendly.

I aimed to treat all my employees the way Jay Sebring had treated me back when I’d first come to California hungry to learn and full of ideas. He’d encouraged my growth and taught me that asking the right questions and genuinely listening to the answers without being defensive is one of the most important skills needed to build healthy relationships—whether in business or in personal life.

Although ABBA Liquid Styling Tools delivered on the promised performance, we made three missteps with our launch. First, we did not have enough products in the line to meet all the variables of effectively caring for women’s hair. Second, the packaging of the few products we had developed didn’t look as good as they needed to on the shelves. Finally, we failed to communicate our exciting story properly. On

mistake. Although we’d had JP’s permission to use the tagline, it presented ABBA as a copycat product instead of answering that all-important question: Why this product?

We collaborated to tell a more compelling story with cleaner copywriting, providing customers with answers to the crucial questions: Why THIS product? Why for me? Why NOW? The new

Takeaways As a leader, create a culture where all employees feel valued. Become a master at listening and encourage your team members to share ideas with you. A lot of knowledge walks out the door when you lose good people. Always do your due diligence and get a minimum of three different vendors to bid for a job. Don’t always accept the lowest bid. Use that as leverage to get the best vendor for the job. Document every communication and spell out everything clearly in agreements. Slow down to go fast. Asking the right questions and genuinely listening without being defensive is one of the most powerful tools

you have in relationships—whether in business or personal life. Speak up for what you think is best, even if you’re alone in your opinion.

Make sure you have the right insurance policy in place when you sell. Read every word of your contract and pay close attention to any indemnity clauses. Avoid litigation if possible. Keep good records. Never underestimate the impact stress can have on your health.

In particular, sulfates jumped out at me. They were in a vast number of beauty products and in virtually all shampoos on the market, because they’re cleansing agents that create lather. But I learned they can also cause skin irritation and sometimes contain traces of 1,4-Dioxane, a suspected carcinogen that forms during the production of the shampoo. Sulfates were typically the second ingredient listed after water in shampoos.

We looked at the trends and watched what customers were buying. We studied what they picked up from the shelves and quizzed store clerks on what patterns they noticed from the shoppers. Curious, we went back at different times each day to see who was shopping when. Most of all, we examined the ingredients list.

Over the next nine months, we spent entire days with top experts, listening to their advice regarding bottling, branding, graphic design, packaging, marketing, advertising, and every aspect of the business. I wanted to hear multiple viewpoints and consider the best options available every step of the way.

When life hands you a bigger mission, answer the call. If you’re down, rally the hero inside you and use your pain to fuel you forward. Whatever you set your mind to, give your very best effort and use the best talent to help you. When others sense your passion, they’ll be more willing to take the plunge with you. Do your research and let the best idea win. The narrower the focus, the wider the potential. Listen to other ideas and give credit where credit is due.

For each item, we added a corresponding tagline: Jeans fade, your hair color shouldn’t. It proved to be a very effective campaign, and one that still makes me smile today.

When I’m developing a product, I start with the basic questions like who is it for? What do we want it to do? What’s the point of difference? But the next round of questions are designed to push the limits and spark out-of-the-box thinking.