Jamie Kern Lima

And I wiped my makeup off on live television, showed my bright red bumpy skin, and literally everything was on the line. And right as I was standing there in the QVC studios about to go live, I learned you are not even guaranteed the 10 minutes. They know by the second what's selling and who's ordering online and what's, you could be a minute or two in and think like, oh, I got eight minutes left.

And I wiped my makeup off on live television, showed my bright red bumpy skin, and literally everything was on the line. And right as I was standing there in the QVC studios about to go live, I learned you are not even guaranteed the 10 minutes. They know by the second what's selling and who's ordering online and what's, you could be a minute or two in and think like, oh, I got eight minutes left.

If you're not hitting goals, boom, your clock jumps down to one minute, you're done. So I learned that, like no pressure, right? And I remember the moment that bright red on-air light came on and I saw the clock and it was like 9.59 a.m. 9.58.

If you're not hitting goals, boom, your clock jumps down to one minute, you're done. So I learned that, like no pressure, right? And I remember the moment that bright red on-air light came on and I saw the clock and it was like 9.59 a.m. 9.58.

I remember walking over to models, every age and shape and size and skin tone and skin challenge, calling them beautiful and like viscerally meaning it in every ounce of my being. We were a few minutes in, and I didn't know how we were doing, but I knew I wasn't cut yet. I was like, okay. And then at the nine minute mark, I hear the host say, the deep shade's almost gone.

I remember walking over to models, every age and shape and size and skin tone and skin challenge, calling them beautiful and like viscerally meaning it in every ounce of my being. We were a few minutes in, and I didn't know how we were doing, but I knew I wasn't cut yet. I was like, okay. And then at the nine minute mark, I hear the host say, the deep shade's almost gone.

The tan shade's almost sold out. And at the 10 minute mark, this giant sold out sign came up across the screen. It was wild. Yeah, it was crazy. I start crying. I start crying on national television. They cut from me and went to like Dyson Vacuum or something. And then my husband, Paulo, who's right over there, my husband, Paulo, comes rushing through the double doors of the studio.

The tan shade's almost sold out. And at the 10 minute mark, this giant sold out sign came up across the screen. It was wild. Yeah, it was crazy. I start crying. I start crying on national television. They cut from me and went to like Dyson Vacuum or something. And then my husband, Paulo, who's right over there, my husband, Paulo, comes rushing through the double doors of the studio.

I'm crying and I'm like, real women have spoken. And he comes over to me. I thought he was going to give me a hug. He just, like, comes over to me, puts his fist in the air, and he's like, we're not going bankrupt. And I was like, ah. And that one airing turned into more than 250 shows a year. We grew to more than 1,000 employees and became the largest beauty brand in QVC's history. What?

I'm crying and I'm like, real women have spoken. And he comes over to me. I thought he was going to give me a hug. He just, like, comes over to me, puts his fist in the air, and he's like, we're not going bankrupt. And I was like, ah. And that one airing turned into more than 250 shows a year. We grew to more than 1,000 employees and became the largest beauty brand in QVC's history. What?

with so many experts, they said it would never work, eventually changed an industry. And I don't know who needs to hear this today, but someone else's no is no indication that your idea or your art or your business or your vision isn't gonna work. And even though we got enough no's and rejections to wallpaper this entire campus, we kept getting back up.

with so many experts, they said it would never work, eventually changed an industry. And I don't know who needs to hear this today, but someone else's no is no indication that your idea or your art or your business or your vision isn't gonna work. And even though we got enough no's and rejections to wallpaper this entire campus, we kept getting back up.

Every time we got knocked down, we kept going and we kept growing. And in 2016, L'Oréal, the biggest beauty company in the world, knew that we had created something unlike what everyone else was doing. What we were told over and over would never work, had grown into one of the largest beauty companies in the country.

Every time we got knocked down, we kept going and we kept growing. And in 2016, L'Oréal, the biggest beauty company in the world, knew that we had created something unlike what everyone else was doing. What we were told over and over would never work, had grown into one of the largest beauty companies in the country.

And in 2016, L'Oreal paid $1.2 billion cash to buy the company I started in my living room, which is just wild, and then made me the first woman to hold a CEO title of a brand in their 108-year history. So it was just crazy. And here's the thing. Here's what I really hope you take root today and every day outside of here is I don't care how many no's you get. That bank might tell you no.

And in 2016, L'Oreal paid $1.2 billion cash to buy the company I started in my living room, which is just wild, and then made me the first woman to hold a CEO title of a brand in their 108-year history. So it was just crazy. And here's the thing. Here's what I really hope you take root today and every day outside of here is I don't care how many no's you get. That bank might tell you no.

The investor might say no. A boss might not see your potential. You have a power inside of you, a knowing that when you trust it, it'll always lead you to the next right step or the next right lesson. No one else's doubt gets to define your destiny. No one else's no gets to define your yes. And here's the thing. The day the L'Oreal deal was announced, it was everywhere.

The investor might say no. A boss might not see your potential. You have a power inside of you, a knowing that when you trust it, it'll always lead you to the next right step or the next right lesson. No one else's doubt gets to define your destiny. No one else's no gets to define your yes. And here's the thing. The day the L'Oreal deal was announced, it was everywhere.

The homepage of the Wall Street Journal. And that was the first time I heard from that potential investor who said women won't buy makeup from someone who looks like you with your body and your weight. He says, congratulations on the L'Oreal deal. I was wrong. And I don't know if y'all have seen the movie, have you seen the movie Pretty Woman?

The homepage of the Wall Street Journal. And that was the first time I heard from that potential investor who said women won't buy makeup from someone who looks like you with your body and your weight. He says, congratulations on the L'Oreal deal. I was wrong. And I don't know if y'all have seen the movie, have you seen the movie Pretty Woman?