Reading between the lines: Business Lessons from Beyonce!

When building an empire, nothing is random. You have to know how to build up a good story for each of your projects. How to set a statement.

Beyoncé está en las portadas de Elle y Elle Fashion de USA para el mes de Mayo

Recently, I was reading an interview with Beyonce at Elle magazine. For some people, fashion magazines are vain, but they miss great business lessons from great interviews with insiders of an industry that rules the world. Like this one.

Beyonce recently launched her own athletic apparel line in collaboration with Topshop. And here are some lessons I would keep from her confessions on how she developed this project and sealed the deal.

1. Associate your brand with an emotional story

The name of this new clothing line is Ivy Park. But it’s not just a tribute to her very young daughter, but a whole statement. “I called it Ivy Park because a park is our commonality. We can all go there; we're all welcomed. It's anywhere we create for ourselves. For me, it's the place that my drive comes from. I think we all have that place we go to when we need to fight through something, set our goals and accomplish them” –says Queen B.

But wait! There’s more… The journalist recalls: “The singer's lucky number 4—the date of her birthday, Jay Z's birthday, and their wedding anniversary—appears subtly throughout; the name Ivy, too—shared, of course, by her four-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy—is inspired by the Roman numeral IV”.

A lot of thinking through it, right? Again, like I said, nothing is random. You gotta put a lot of meaning into it.

2. Be prepared and convincing

This was Beyonce’s inititative, not the other way around. Not a move from the brand to use her image. Beyonce had everything already figured out. The way she wanted it. When she wanted it. All her vision perfectly stated in her business plan for Ivy Park.

“I thought of Ivy Park as an idyllic place for women like us. I reached out to Topshop and met with Sir Philip Green [chief executive of its parent company, Arcadia]. I think he was originally thinking I wanted to do an endorsement deal like they'd done with other celebrities, but I wanted a joint venture. I presented him with the idea, the mission statement, the purpose, the marketing strategy—all in the first meeting. I think he was pretty blown away, and he agreed to the 50-50 partnership.”

It’s like the key all teachers gave us in school, the more prepared you are, the more convincing. (Although I bet anything ‘Beyonce’ is convincing enough).

3. Know what you want. Feel what you want.

You might not know the business completely, but you have to know what you want and find the people to do it right. No need to rush things, or launch something that is not polished enough.

“I've learned that you have to be prepared. And when you visualize something, you have to commit and put in the work. We had countless meetings; we searched for and auditioned designers for months. I knew the engineering of the fabric and the fit had to be the first priority. We really took our time, developed custom technical fabrics, and tried to focus on pushing athletic wear further. And because I've spent my life training and rehearsing, I was very particular about what I wanted.”

4. Don’t be afraid to speak up your mind

Above all, your personality has to stand out. No matter how controversial your thoughts can be, you should always be you, it’s what’s going to set you apart from everyone else. Or like a popular quote says, “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken”.

About speaking up her mind or presenting her political and social views in her latest video, Beyonce says: “I mean, I'm an artist and I think the most powerful art is usually misunderstood. But anyone who perceives my message as anti-police is completely mistaken. I have so much admiration and respect for officers and the families of officers who sacrifice themselves to keep us safe. But let's be clear: I am against police brutality and injustice. Those are two separate things. If celebrating my roots and culture during Black History Month made anyone uncomfortable, those feelings were there long before a video and long before me. I'm proud of what we created and I'm proud to be a part of a conversation that is pushing things forward in a positive way.” 

Based on Beyonce’s recent interview for ELLE mag

Beyoncé con su propia línea Ivy Park da cátedra de cómo cerrar un trato!

Queen B se mueve a su ritmo, aunque no siempre es la primera en llegar. Con el lanzamiento de su nueva línea de ropa deportiva Ivy Park, la diva pop se une a la tendencia que ya han abrazado otras celebridades como la actriz Kate Hudson y la cantante Carrie Underwood.

Pero sabemos que todo lo que Beyoncé toca se vuelve oro. Y esta línea creada junto a la marca Top Shop, sin dudas se venderá sin ninguna dificultad.

No podían faltar unas fotos de campaña marcadas por la actitud “fierce” de Queen B.

“He estado comprando en Topshop por unos 10 años ya. Es uno de los pocos lugares donde puede realmente comprar por mí misma. Me hace sentir como una adolescente. Siempre que iba a Londres, era como un ritual para mí –ponerme mi gorra y pasármela bien perdida entre la ropa. Creo que el tener una hija y madurar han hecho que me preocupe más por la salud y el fitness. He descubierto que no había una marca de ropa atlética para mujeres como yo o mis bailarinas o mis amigas. Nada aspiracional para alguien como mi hija. Pensé en Ivy Park como un lugar ideal para mujeres como nosotras. Me acerqué a Topshop y me reuní con Sir Philip Green (CEO de su compañía matriz, Arcadia). Pienso que quizás él creyó que yo quería hacer algo avalado con mi nombre como lo han hecho otras celebridades, pero en realidad quería un verdadero proyecto conjunto. Le presenté mi idea, la misión, el propósito y la estrategia mercadológica –todo en la primera reunión. Creo que quedó realmente impresionado, y aceptó el acuerdo 50-50.” –dice Beyoncé en una entrevista para Elle.

No hay dudas de que con dicha actitud Beyoncé nos da a todas una cátedra de como cerrar un trato con un importante ejecutivo y lograr nuestros proyectos. La preparación y la organización es la clave. 

Puedes descubrir más en Vogue, Elle y Marie Claire. La cuenta de la marca @WeAreIvyPark alcanzó miles de seguidores en minutos una vez que Bey posteó las primeras imágenes y videos en su propio Instagram. 

Zoe Saldaña y sus hermanas se pasan a YouTube!

La actriz Zoe Saldaña compartió ayer en su instagram la noticia del nuevo canal de Youtube que ha iniciado junto a sus hermanas Mariel y Cisely.  Con este divertido video, las chicas nos dieron un adelanto de qué se trata. 

Cinestar es el nombre de este canal del cual ya se habla en Facebook e Instagram. La iniciativa se desprende de Cinestar Pictures, compañía productora ya fundada por las tres chicas del #TeamSaldana, como se hacen llamar en las redes. 

Justo en septiembre del año pasado, el trío anunció la creación de esta nueva propuesta tras un acuerdo de producción para AwesomenessTV, informó la revista Variety.

Tal como dije en mi Instagram, es interesante ver a Zoe emprender en este proyecto que reafirma el auge de la televisión social. Por supuesto, también sabemos por su instagram que Zoe es madre a tiempo completo y le gusta aprovechar al máximo el tiempo con sus gemelos, por lo que no me sorprende que prefiera participar de algo propio que al mismo tiempo le permita estar cerca de la familia, mas que ambiciosos proyectos para la pantalla gigante que la alejen de casa. 

¡Enhorabuena! 

Creative looks!

Un pequeño post para rendir homenaje a estos looks que me gustaron. Así lucieron estas chicas durante el desfile de la diseñadora Stella McCartney.

Creo que ya soy muy vieja para saber quién es la primera chica, pero me encantó su cabello, el estampado y lo asimétrico de su vestido. Simplemente genial. 

Siguiendo la secuencia de izquierda a derecha, Katy Perry podría volver a poner de moda los turbantes. Mary J. Blige, con un enterizo cropeado en el costado. Y mi favorita, Gwyneth Paltrow con un conjunto simple, cómodo, pero con cierto aire artístico. Las botas azules, por supuesto, son el mejor statement. 

Fotos de JustJared.com 

The Wolf of Corporate Communications!

I’ve been taking a Corporate Communications class this winter semester that have made some serious damage to my brain (jajaja). Since day one, we’ve been discussing how our personal culture and the environment we grew in mold our way to communicate in our professional environments.

I know this doesn’t sound like nothing new, It totally sounds logical, but the discoveries we’ve made in class, along with the differences we’ve found comparing our dominican way to communicate to the north American way, is a whole other topic to discuss in another post.

What I want to talk about is how this class made me notice something I wouldn’t have noticed before while watching The Wolf of Wall Street. Yeah! I’m talking about that movie for which Leonardo DiCaprio totally deserves the Oscar for Best Actor.

The thing is that, seeing it from my new point of view, the main character, Jordan, totally owes his success to his amazing communication skills. And the movie encompasses everything I’ve learned in class about what Corporate Communications is all about:

Lesson #1 – Communicate effectively: While working on the “pennies” stock market, Jordan convinces (or fools if you want to say) its clients to support startups companies with no merit.  I’m not praising the fact that he lies, but the fact that he clearly tells his listeners what he wants them to do, how and why, with clear guidelines and measurable amounts.

Lesson #2 – Empower your employees and communicate your vision:  Once Jordan gathered his soon to be partners in crime, he believed they could do a lot more than what they even knew they could. He saw further. He knew they had abilities that were meant to be exploded, so he pushed them. But he was not a careless demanding boss, au contraire, he carefully taught them how he did things, and how he wanted them to do things.  Every day he sat with them to show them, to practice with them, to make them feel involved, until they all got it and assumed it.

Lesson #3 – Give them something to believe in: Jordan also acknowledged that there was something missing. His company had no structure, no material evidence to turn to. That’s when he created a name and a logo of a company that they would once be proud to work in, Stratton Oakmont, and he worked his words to make them believe so.

Lesson #4 – Implant the company’s culture: Let’s say it like it is. Jordan was twisted, had no moral and the kinky things done in his company were not to copy at all. But being crazy was part of its company’s culture as well, and he was the first supporter of all the craziness. Everything was a surreal, depraved party at Stratton Oakmont, and whoever felt like it was to much, needed to find another place to work, because that was “the way they did things there”, which is the simplest definition of what a company’s culture is. And he was himself the personified icon of what his company was all about.

Lesson #5 – Communicate with your employees: Stratton Oakmont’s employees were Jordan’s sidekicks. They knew that what they were doing was not legal. They knew his boss was sick of his mind. They knew the tax authorities were after them. They knew everything. Because everything was told loud and clear from the mouth of the boss, using a microphone placed in the middle of the open office. Jordan used that microphone everyday; he announced his own “almost” retirement. He delivered the good and the bad news. So his employees got to see his face everyday and he was no stranger or unreachable leader to nobody.

These lessons are the main reason why I liked the movie overall. It is overloaded with drugs and nudity (which I found excessive and could’ve been cut a little to reduce its length). It made me wonder if all this is really going on outside my world bubble, and made me feel a little sad for people. But I can’t deny it was a great movie and one worth to see. 

Met Ball Coolness!!

No soy muy entusiasta de las fiestas con concepto o código de vestimenta, no porque no me gusten, sino porque me parece muy estresante tener que pensar en algo tan específico que vestir para una actividad. 

Sin embargo, me encantó el concepto de este año de la Gala del MET (Metropolitan Museum of New York) organizada por el Costume Institute, cuyo tema fue "Punk: Chaos of the couture", dada la apertura de la exposición del mismo nombre. 

Pienso que para los estilistas de las grandes celebridades significó un gran reto (aunque muchos no lo captaron muy claramente -¿quién dijo Kim Kardashian?)

En fin, incluso ante mi "no tan entusiasta espíritu de fiesta conceptual", he aquí algunas de las cosas que me hubiera gustado tener. 

 

Milex... perdón, Miley!

"Todos los niños quieren que le den Mileeexx"... Sólo las dominicanas entenderán esta frase. Fuera de eso, creo que Miley Cyrus para V Magazine es una portada muy fea. 

MTV Movie Awards cool pics!

Ver un poco los MTV Movie Awards es admitir que estoy envejeciendo. De la última entrega de los premios, no conocía prácticamente a ninguna de las nuevas niñas de Hollywood, cuando antes me los sabía todos. 

Zoé Saldaña fue una de las grandes protagonistas de la noche y estuvo acompañada de los más bellos galanes detrás de cámaras. No me gustó su outfit, pero igual les muestro las fotos y muchas otras para que se entretengan y compartan mi nostalgia. 

;)

Bradley Cooper también andaba, ¡Ay, chichí!

Las hermanitas Kardashian. 

Esta niña sí ha crecido!

Un cuerpo, dos estilos!

Kesha es una artista cuyo cuerpo es lo que en República Dominicana llamamos "cuadra'o". Y en lo personal creo que su estilo es fatal, a pesar de que es parte de todo un concepto artístico de "chica rebelde". 

Pero saben quién también tiene un cuerpo "cuadra'o", pero que muchas envidian y los hombres desean: Heidi Klum.

Heidi es cuadraísima igual que Kesha. La diferencia está en el estilo. Mientras Kesha acumula desaciertos con vestuarios recargados. Heidi tiene sus trucos fijos para sacarle partido a su cuerpo. 

Si se fijan, en la mayoría de sus atuendos de alfombra roja, Heidi Klum opta por vestidos con algún corte asimétrico que equilibre su falta de curvas o un escote profundo en V que le dé armonía. O su truco infalible: mostrar sus kilométricas y torneadas piernas. O todas las opciones anteriores a la vez. 

El tema es que la modelo de Victoria's Secret, ha aprendido a sacar partido de su cuerpo, sabiendo lo que le va bien y lo que no. Si tienes el tipo de cuerpo de Heidi o Kesha, no es motivo para que te acomplejes. Lo que debes hacer es evitar ser Kesha y procurar ser Heidi. 

De hecho, toda mujer debe buscar modelos a seguir, según su tipo de cuerpo. Tener un referente de estilo te puede ayudar a amarte como eres y sacar provecho de lo que tienes. 

fotos de JustJared