My Top 3 Takeaways From Rihanna's Fenty Beauty Launch

If you’ve heard me say this once, you’ve heard me say it a thousand times. Life is all about learning! That is why I’m a life-long learner and I’m always looking for ways to improve my life and to share those ideas with you!

Now, I understand that Rihanna is controversial in a lot of ways, but let’s look beyond the controversy for a minute. I personally love Rihanna because she’s got smarts and spunk like my own daughter, she’s beautiful and talented, and her music makes me MOVE when I’m on that treadmill!

On top of all of that, I can now see, through the launch of her new makeup line, Fenty Beauty, she’s also a brilliant business-person. I could list many things that I learned from this launch, but let me share the top 3 lessons that we can all apply to our specific goals.

1. She understood her market and was strategic. Rihanna saw the lack of diversity in the makeup industry and decided to change it. People of color are typically under-represented, with many companies producing mostly lighter shades. Rihanna took note of this and made it a point to cover ALL shades. This move paid off big time, with the darkest shades of makeup selling out the quickest. In your business or nonprofit, understanding your audience is one of the most important things you can do. Look for holes in your market and do your best to fill them. It’s a surefire path to success.

2. She planned ahead. Instead of rushing out a product, Rihanna took (at least) 2 years to launch it. This is one of the Big Ideas we’ll cover in the Lady Boss 90-Day Program: Making sure you have absolute CLARITY around your goals and vision.

Rihanna took her time and found the ideal business partner in Sephora, a major cosmetics distribution chain. This choice resulted in a quality product, and an amazing, built-in distribution network. With over 700 stores, and a massive online presence, Sephora provided Rihanna the platform needed to launch globally, without any major glitches. This is what planning ahead brings. Let’s be real, it’s impossible to foresee every issue. But thinking ahead is crucial to long-term success.

3. She established herself before jumping into a new industry. A big mistake made by entrepreneurs is launching into too many spaces at once. I coach many women who make this mistake. I often hear about a main business, a job, a side hustle, and a nonprofit on the way! This usually doesn’t work. Instead, find your top niche and establish yourself before launching anything new.

In Rihanna’s case, she’s known primarily for her musical career. She’s had a lot of success in the entertainment world, but it took her 12 years from the release of her first album to launch her first major business venture … That’s 12 years!

So, don’t be so quick to spread yourself thin. Master your domain and then you can spread your wings and fly!

I recently launched my Lady Boss 90-Day Coaching Program. That program is designed to help ladies with a goal or a vision to learn the right tools and steps to make that vision a reality. The idea is to help you gain clarity, sharpen your mindset, and then to ACT on your goals. The doors to the program closes promptly at midnight on Sunday October 1st, and so I hope to see many of you sign up!

One of the things we’ll look at inside of the program is success models. I’ve learned that to be successful, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. All you need is a good, working model that you can emulate, and apply to your own vision.

I want you to stop and think about how these 3 lessons can help you in your business, nonprofit or career today. Leave a comment and let me know what you’re thinking.

And remember, the doors to the Lady Boss 90-Day Coaching Program closes on Sunday, October 1st, so don’t be left out.