Beauty is Beyond Skin Deep: Check out this entrepreneur's ultimate purpose for creating her beauty brand!

Monday: MicroBusiness and Marketing Marvels FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Happy Monday, everyone! Let’s start the week motivated with new and interesting knowledge from today’s “Marketing Marvel.” Each Monday, we talk about successful people in the business and marketing industries and highlight their contributions, life experiences, and insights. In this article, let’s focus on a singer-entrepreneur who redefined the beauty industry with cosmetics due to her personal struggles. The personal values she instilled in her brand benefited not only herself but also millions of consumers worldwide. Continue reading below to know more about today’s feature. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

Beauty is Beyond Skin Deep: Check out this entrepreneur's ultimate purpose for creating her beauty brand! Rihanna: Founder of Fenty Beauty Actress… Model… One of the best-selling music artists of all time… These are some of the attributes of today’s “Marvel.” With a net worth of USD 1.7 billion, she is currently one of the richest female musicians and entertainers in the world. Any ideas on who we’re talking about? It’s… Rihanna! Robyn Rihanna Fenty (a.k.a. Rihanna) is a Barbadian pop and rhythm-and-blues (R&B) singer who rose to international fame in 2005. She is known for her distinctive vocals and trendy appearance. Aside from rocking the music industry, the artist became an ambassador of Barbados in 2018. This gave her the responsibility to promote education, tourism, and investment in the island. As an ambassador, Rihanna did not just do her duties and responsibilities well… She also did a GREAT job of bringing honor to her homeland through her successes and stories of inspiration that she was recognized as a National Hero in 2021! Here’s what Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said during the awards ceremony: “On behalf of a grateful nation, but an even prouder people, we therefore present to you the designee for the national hero of Barbados, Ambassador Robyn Rihanna Fenty. May you continue to shine like a diamond and bring honor to your nation by your works, by your actions, and to do credit wherever you shall go.” Amazing, right? … but wait, there’s more! On top of being a successful artist and ambassador, Rihanna runs a successful business empire that changed the game in the beauty industry. The name of that business? Fenty Beauty! Established in 2017, Fenty Beauty is the brand that rocketed Rihanna’s entrepreneurial career to mogul status. What’s so different about her brand of cosmetics? Well, Rihanna values inclusivity and so when she founded her company, the first thing she and her team launched was 40 different shades of foundations and concealers. 40 different shades?! Wow, that’s a lot! This gave beauty enthusiasts a positive impression that Rihanna and her brand care for everyone—regardless of skin tone and gender. This created a MAJOR shift in the industry and not long after, other cosmetic companies followed suit. That’s not all that there was to Rihanna’s entrepreneurial career… After launching her own line of cosmetics, she ventured into another field: Apparel. Aside from Fenty Beauty, she established Savage X Fenty, a size and skin tone-inclusive lingerie line, in 2018. This brand offers a wider range of sizes and has nude color options in a variety of shades. According to Rihanna, traditional lingerie lines were made mostly for women to impress their partners. Believing it wasn’t always the case, she broke free from that kind of thinking by redefining what it means to be “sexy.” In creating her own lingerie line, she emphasized that wearers should empower themselves by choosing any style, mood, or vibe that is made for them. Here’s what she said: “Savage X means making your own rules and expressing your mood, character, and style for you—not for someone else.” Additionally, her statement below encapsulates all the principles she has and instills in her brands: “I wanted things that I love. Then I also wanted things that girls of all skin tones could fall in love with. In every product I was like, ‘There needs to be something for a dark-skinned girl; there needs to be something for a really pale girl; there needs to be something in-between.’ You want people to appreciate the product and not feel like, ‘Oh that’s cute, but it only looks good on her.’” Her main goal? Beauty for ALL. … and by “all,” she meant leaving no one behind. Here are some of the values we can learn from Rihanna. These morals enable her to not only rock the music industry but also stand out in the beauty and fashion industries. Let your values lead your decisions. Grounded on the vision of “Beauty for All,” Rihanna makes sure she doesn’t just create products for everyone, but also provides consumers across the globe access to Fenty’s offerings. That’s why during Fenty Beauty’s launch, Rihanna and her team went live in 17 countries on the same day and hour to ensure everyone could access and check out their products. The marketing strategy was a success! A huge factor that contributed to that was the collective and synchronized efforts of over 500 team leaders and members of the brand worldwide. Show; don’t just tell. “Our approach to inclusion marketing has always been about showing, not telling. Never once did we use the word ‘inclusive’ in our messaging.” - Sandy Supito, Chief Marketing Officer of Kendo Brands, which includes Fenty Beauty Rihanna’s Fenty brand doesn’t say outright that it values inclusion. By creating products in different shades and sizes, the business communicates how it values multicultural inclusivity. One good result of this? Word of mouth (WOM) marketing! By making consumers feel that they belong and they are special, Rihanna and her brand earned customers’ trust and compelled them to talk about Fenty Beauty with their peers. This also led to the creation of a movement called, “The Fenty Effect.” Rihanna believes that success wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for her diverse, creative, and brave team. She believes no one knows everything there is to know—not even the most successful business people in history can build an empire with zero help. According to Rihanna, “Even if you’ve never designed something in your life, you might have an impeccable taste: I’m welcoming everyone’s vision here because that’s what it’s gonna take. I can’t just think I know everything. I welcome other people’s expertise. I love new, young talent.” With this, Rihanna and her team achieve an extraordinary execution of Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty. — To summarize everything we discussed above, what made Rihanna succeed as an entrepreneur was mass market through inclusive values. By providing products that solve beauty enthusiasts’ major struggles and putting them at the forefront of the Fenty brand, Rihanna successfully provided beauty for every single person. Not only do they look good, they feel good too. We hope that you gained lots of useful business and marketing insights from Rihanna and her Fenty brand! If you haven’t tried putting inclusivity a priority for your company, now’s the best time to do it! Take note: In a world with diverse cultures, it’s important that you think BIG so you can expand your brand’s reach. This will help you widen your business perspectives, appeal to more consumers, and make a positive difference in your industry. Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn.