Jeffree Star: Founder Of Jeffree

Star’s father committed suicide when he was only six, and was therefore raised by his mother who worked as a model. Star’s family was destitute, but nothing would dull his charismatic, sassy, and straight-to-the-point personality. This, alongside his outrageous androgynous style is what helped him gain a large following in his late teenage years on MySpace (Wallin, 2018), marking the beginning of his career, and thus starting off his journey towards success. Strengths / Weaknesses Jeffree Star’s success is fully accredited to his plethora of strengths that he continues to build, and his weaknesses that he continuously strives to improve on. Star continuously maintains the 10X mindset, meaning he is constantly looking for ways to promote massive growth within his company, and avoids anything that will hinder his growth at all costs.

After gaining attention on MySpace, Star started off his career in the music industry, creating outlandish electronic music. Though his music gained enough popularity to have him signed to Ultra Records, LLC (Hitt, 2018) Star says that his music was not taken seriously by the public. Star handled this rejection very well and accepted the fact that this career would eventually fail for him (Taylor, 2016). This was the point ENT 526 !2when Star decided to use his 10X mindset and risk all of his savings to start a business selling what he was most passionate about: makeup.

Star’s 10X mindset, paired with his brand’s competitive advantage continuously pushes his company towards more success with each new product launch. Star says that before he started his company, he asked himself “What is lacking in the industry? A lot of brands do the same boring-a*s names, like dusty brown, or whatever. I wanted to be creative” (Taylor, 2016). This is a prime example of the unique attributes his company strives for. This company’s unique attributes such as interesting product names, eccentric packaging, and large colour variety makes Jeffree Star Cosmetics stand out amongst the millions.

Although Star consistently showcases many strengths in his work, like any human, Star does have some weaknesses that have been a hindrance towards the success of his business, and have resulted in several issues post-company success. Star has had a large online following since the beginning of his career, and continues his online presence alongside his makeup company with a following of almost 11,000,000 fans (Social Blade, 2018). Star’s sassy and straight-to-the-point personality can be seen as a great quality to have (especially in this competitive industry), but unfortunately has also been a personal weakness of his with regards to how it affected his career. Star has left a very large digital footprint, and at the peak of his company’s success in 2017, several old videos of him making racial comments re-surfaced the internet. Star apologized by saying "I am so sorry for my words. I am so sorry you ever ENT 526 !3had to see me like that…that is not who I am and I apologize deep down to the core of my being,” (Mackenzie, 2017).

Although many of his customers are aware that his outrageous personality may have lead him to make some statements that he didn’t actually mean, his business did suffer during this time because despite the incredible quality of his products, many customers began to boycott his company.

Personal Fit with the Identified Opportunity

Because of Star’s interest in makeup from such a young age, as well as his exposure to makeup and fashion through his time in the music industry, Star had all of the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience needed to start off his company. Star’s gender-bending identity and large fan base prior to the start of his business allowed him to begin his business venture knowing exactly who his target audience was. Star established a Relationship Marketing strategy from the very beginning of his business, establishing close relationships with his customers, and constantly strived to suit their needs, resulting in strong customer loyalty.

Furthermore, Star’s androgynous identity and prevalent online presence all took place during the peak of the worldwide LGBT movement, as well as the animal-cruelty-free movement. The LGBT community, different gender identities, and judgement-free physical expression was becoming more and more widely accepted, and Star’s online presence as an influencer put him at the forefront of this movement. He recognized this opportunity, and used these social environmental factors to his advantage and released a product line challenging gender norms, geared towards the people affected by these movements, making it very clear that the products were for anyone to use - not just women (Hannah, 2017). He also ENT 526 !4used the precautionary principal and is very vocal about his firm stance against animal cruelty, and is transparent about his product production process, as well as the ingredients used in them ensuring the safety of all consumers (Dawson, 2018).

Initial Execution Challenges / Successes

In the beginning, Star faced a myriad of challenges that eventually allowed him to grow his business into what it is today. Not being a woman in the makeup industry made Star’s startup very challenging in the beginning as he was not taken very seriously, and was not seen as a very knowledgeable candidate to start a business like this. After his very convincing elevator pitch to the manufacturing company about his vision for his makeup line (Dawson, 2018) Star’s vision was brought to life, and now rather than being seen as an ineligible candidate, he stands out in the makeup industry.

Key Learning

Jeffree Star offers us all many valuable lessons from his experience as an entrepreneur, most importantly is his ability to handle rejection, particularly at the beginning of his career (Taylor, 2016). If it wasn’t for his perseverance and ability to pay close attention to how his audience was responding to his work, his career would have ended very early on. Furthermore, we can learn from his incredible connection with his fan base, which in turn provides him with the support he needs to run his business. A close connection with his fans also allows for him to provide them with their wants and needs. Establishing this connection before the venture was a very important factor in ENT 526 !5the success of this venture. Star effectively used his fan base to jumpstart his business, ensuring his success.

Star’s desire to constantly take risks to grow his business is admirable, and was they key to his business becoming successful. If it wasn’t for the initial risk taken, Star’s career may have ended up failing.

Strategy Effectiveness / Conclusion

Jeffree Star’s strategies have lead him to single handedly acquire $150 Million per year in total sales (Wallin, 2018) proving that these strategies used are very effective. Star strives to promote open physical expression, as well as promote the fact that makeup can be used by anyone who wants to use it (Star, 2016). Star continuously pushes this throug, and online presence, as well as through his continuous charitable actions towards the LA LGBT Centre. Star’s devotion to constantly be producing ethical, and unique makeup products that are true to his outrageous style, as well as his constant positive connection with his fans has, will continue to grow his company. From his career on Myspace, to makeup company venture, Star’s ambitious and creative mindset is indispensable. ENT 526 !6Appendix: Beauty Industry Information

Key Economic Indicators

• GDP - The global beauty Industry is worth $265 billion with an annual growth of 4. 7% and has grown from a total worth of $24 billion in 2003 (Yeomans, 2013). After taking these statistics into consideration it is clear that the beauty industry is viable, and worth investing in.
• Consumer Price Index - Success in the beauty industry relies on an increasing CPI. CPI has been and continues to steadily increase. This allows for a decrease in wage expenses for the business (U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). Porters Five Forces Model
• Threat of New Entry: Low - High capital costs to enter the makeup industry (Kasi, 2017). Many resources, research, and development is required to produce makeup and beauty products, which discourages other companies from entering the market (Kasi, 2017). High customer loyalty with most makeup brands who connect with their audience (Kasi, 2017). Threat of Substitution: Medium to High - It is very easy for customers to substitute one product for another if they are dissatisfied with the price or quality of the product. ENT 526 !7-Due to high customer loyalty in the makeup industry, customers are often not as easily swayed by prices (Kasi, 2017).
• Buyer Power: High - Due to the relatively high threat of substitution in the makeup industry, the customers have the power to force the manufacturers to lower their prices. - If the customers decide to buy the cheaper substitute brands, manufacturers will have no choice but to lower their prices to maintain business (Kasi, 2017).
• Supplier Power: Low - The makeup industry has many market players. The makeup industry includes a large amount of products which are produced by many manufacturers. This decreases the overall bargaining power of the suppliers, putting majority of the bargaining power in the hands of the buyer (Kasi, 2017).
• Competitive Rivalry: High - Competitive rivalry in the makeup industry is very high due to the large number of brands creating the same large number of products, catering the the same demographic (Kasi, 2017). Most makeup brands now compete on an international scale, especially in this day and age when e-commerce is becoming more and more prevalent (UK Essays, 2013). ENT 526 !8-“Winning” customers over to increase brand loyalty becomes an important factor determining the overall success of the business (Kasi, 2017).

Drivers of Change

• Principles - As humanity evolves, we become more aware of what we are putting on and in our bodies. Brands that offer / place an emphasis on ‘organic’ or ‘cruelty free’ products are becoming the more and more popular (Kay, 2016). -For example, in the UK, organic cosmetic product sales increased by thirty five percent since 2014, and this number continues to grow all over the world. (Kay, 2016).
• Product Innovation - This fast-paced industry required all competing brands to constantly be coming out with new, better, innovative products. The result of this is constant change, and breakthrough in the industry (Regnier, 2017).
• Customer Needs - The customers needs are of top priority in the beauty industry. If the customer’s needs are not satisfied, the sale is lost (Armoudom, n. d. ). - The result of this is brands constantly needing to research, develop, and product new, better product, resulting in constant change in the industry (Armoudom, n. d. ). Industry Key Success Factors
• Convenience ENT 526 !9 - With the prevalence of e-commerce in todays society, it is important for brands to stay up-to-date with this technology as makeup is now being purchased online now more than ever (Edwards, 2017).
• Favourable Image / Reputation -Arguably the most vital concept to ensure the success of a brand. Brand loyalty is of utmost value to all brands, as that is what maintains their steady flow of customers (Kay, 2016). Brand activism is becoming prevalent amongst makeup brands, and a very attractive selling point to customers because in today’s society they are becoming more aware of ethical product production (Kay, 2016).
• Attractive Styling / Packaging - The reality is makeup is a vain industry, and the way products are packaged greatly affects whether or not the customer chooses to purchase a product. Packaging may vary based on who the product it targeted towards. It is also important to create labels clearly stating all necessary details about the product. For example, on a perfume box it is necessary to make it clear to the customer whether it has a rollerball applicator or a spray applicator, as this may influence the customers decision to buy (McDougall, 2013).
• Scientific Research Expertise - All-Natural products are on the rise so it is important for brands to ensure all product ingredients are well-researched and safe for customer use.