“Let’s start a mentoring movement, everyone needs one” With Tom Winarick, president of Doll Face Beauty
“Become a mentor. Everyone needs one, whether it’s formal or informal. Most people in business are too afraid to share information and create a competitor. Paying forward is both rewarding and beneficial.”
I had the pleasure of interviewing Tom Winarick, president of Doll Face Beauty and a third-generation beauty entrepreneur who loves to create new and disruptive Indie brands and products.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I was literally born into the beauty business and am 3rd generation. I’ve never thought about doing anything else! My grandfather was a barber who immigrated to the U.S. from Russia and later created a hair tonic which became an iconic product. It was sold in every barbershop in America. It’s called Jeris. He was a real rags-to-riches story. From that product and brand, my father expanded the company into multichannel, multi-products and multi-brands. I have been on the creation side and the management side working for other notable brands and, now, I’ve found a fabulous opportunity to apply my skills to my own brand, Doll Face Beauty, in which I’m able to work with my wife, Lisa and son, Josh.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your company?
Starting a company with your own vision is a rollercoaster to say the least. At our lowest point when people around us, including friends, family and advisors, were encouraging us to abandon our vision, only then did the biggest opportunity present itself. The take-away is never abandon your vision if you truly believe in it!
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We treat our brand as a living, breathing person…our daughter so to speak! Everything we do for the brand reflects “her” personality. This clearly helps define and guide everything we do. One of our very largest customers told me that the reason they had decided to stock our brand because we kept referring to our brand as “her”. They told me this showed that we were totally committed and passionate about our brand and that gave them the confidence to engage.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Be passionate, be individual, don’t follow the crowd, don’t be a “me too”. If you follow your vision you’ll never lose your passion and as long as you keep that passion burning for your brand, you’ll never burn out!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Being third generation, I have had the benefit of the experience of my father who helped forge my outlook on entrepreneurship and thinking beyond the norm. I am also a vacuum for knowledge and never miss an opportunity to engage with people from all aspects of business.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
We treat our team members like family with respect, compassion and kindness. We hope that our life philosophy will encourage our team members, associates and all who we come in contact with, to spread that same respect and kindness to others.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
One conversation can change your life! Seek out those opportunities to learn from people and to meet new contacts. You never know where they could lead.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1. Starting a company will consume your life (and it should), but always make some time for yourself. Whether it’s something daily, weekly or monthly, make the time to do something for yourself. It’s important to have some sort of balance. You’ll be more productive overall!
2. Never underestimate how much capital is required to fund a business. There are so many little details that burgeoning entrepreneurs don’t account for, and they can quickly drain your cash resources. When formulating your business plan, think of EVERYTHING that could come along and then increase it. Even paper clips cost money!
3. Negotiate everything! Many service oriented resources are selling only their time and talent who need business. Ask everyone for a discount…don’t be proud. It’s your money!
4. Be strategic, but stay flexible. All businesses needs an initial strategy, however the nature of business today dictates that you keep atune of trends and technological advancements and never rule out change. Technology is moving at lightning speed and you have to be on-the-spot to take advantage of new opportunities.
5. Think globally. The world is getting smaller and smaller every day. Embrace international opportunities, don’t be intimidated.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Become a mentor. Everyone needs one, whether it’s formal or informal. Most people in business are too afraid to share information and create a competitor. Paying forward is both rewarding and beneficial.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
@dollfacebeautyofficial
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!