Maria Hatzistefanis - How to Be an Overnight Success

Contents

About the Book

I want to share my story with you of how I made it to where I am right now. I didnt always know what I wanted to be. I changed career three times before I started my own business and I was fired from my last job. I have made a lot of mistakes, taken a lot of risks and found small and big successes along the way.

I always turn to stories of strong, successful women and I am inspired by their journeys, so I would like to try to inspire you too show you the way and share with you how I overcame obstacles and challenges. I want to motivate you to pursue your dreams and keep on going when everything feels like it is against you, and to teach you to believe in yourself even if no one else will.

When the skincare company Rodial launched its cult snake serum, the press were quick to call the business and overnight success. In fact, Rodials founder, Maria Hatzistefanis, had been toiling for 18 years building the company from scratch. She started it in a bedroom at home and today runs a business with products in 20,000 stores worldwide.

Success of any kind takes time, patience and huge determination. Maria achieved it by thinking big, taking risks, creating buzz and building her own personal brand. She believes all of us can do this if we put our minds to it, and in her book she reveals how, with expert advice, tips and secrets.

One things for sure: success does not come overnight.

About the Author

London-based beauty entrepreneur, Maria Hatzistefanis, started her career as a beauty writer before moving to New York where she received an MBA from Columbia Business School. She founded her ground-breaking skincare group, Rodial, in 1999 by identifying a niche for treatments targeted to specific skin concerns, with evocative tongue-in-cheek names such as Snake Serum and Dragons Blood.

Maria now runs two brands Rodial and Nip + Fab. Her cutting-edge products sell through 20,000 stores across 35 countries worldwide, with support and praise from high profile names in the fashion and beauty industries.

Introduction: How I Became an Overnight Success

I always thought it was meant to be calm at the centre of a whirlwind. Well, Im at the centre and this is definitely not calm. My phone has not stopped ringing. If it isnt another TV or magazine interview, its another order, or someone at the office, or a celebrity publicist asking for products to Ellie Goulding and Jourdan Dunn. I am juggling phone, bags, product samples and a coffee as I attempt to get a cab to Heathrow to fly to New York for, yes another TV interview, another deal and a product launch. The cause of this storm is my revolutionary product, Snake Serum, by my suddenly quite famous company Rodial.

The word is out and everyone is asking, How did you become an overnight success?

I wasnt expecting this. Well, lets be clear, I am loving it, and I was hoping for it I just wasnt expecting it! Vogue magazine is asking for a quote its doing a piece about the celebrity fans of the product, the waiting lists and sell-outs. (NB: If you want a sell-out, tell people its selling out!) The German distributors weve been in talks with for a while have suddenly decided they need me to fly to Germany as they need the contract for our magic serum signed right now and, by the way, can they place an order for tens of thousands of units? A TV channel in Europe has just picked up the story and it is doing a live before and after demo on camera to show the instant anti-ageing results. Elsewhere in Europe, a major retailer has put the product in 200 of its stores; at the cash point they are merchandising the theme with rubber snakes. Love it. At the airport, I pick up the Sunday Times and Im on the front page, and theres a full-page feature on how I made it and how Im an overnight success. It is non-stop. I turn my phone off as the plane doors close. At last a moment of calm and it occurs to me that Im not AT the centre of this storm, I AM the centre so actually, the legend holds true. It is calm, because I am calm. This is wonderful. This is why I started this business.

Meanwhile, back home in the UK, the product is flying off the shelves at Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Space NK, and its the same story in the US at Saks Fifth Avenue. This means I need to get on the line to our factories to approve them working overtime, weekends and evenings to fill the orders and make as much product as possible to cope with this unprecedented demand. I need more phones or ears, or both because now more publicists and agents are calling in our miraculous products for their celebrity clients and Im hearing from the office that we are inundated with calls to get the product in goodie bags at VIP events. I am co-hosting a dinner with Poppy Delevingne and, on my way, I stop by Central Saint Martins College to speak to the students about a new project. Oh wait, do I have time to fit in an Instagram post on my @mrsrodial account in between? Make it quick as the phone is ringing can I fly to NY to film Project Runway for my mentoring episode next week?

And it just gets better. To front our campaigns, Im working with Erin OConnor, Daisy Lowe and Kylie Jenner. I count designers Mary Katrantzou, David Koma and Henry Holland as my friends. Im travelling the world for press events and to speak at conferences in London, NY, LA and Tokyo.

My name is Maria Hatzistefanis (aka @mrsrodial my alter ego) and I am the Founder and CEO of The Rodial Group, comprising two mega brands, Rodial and NIP+FAB. The combined two brands are available in over 20,000 stores and 35 countries worldwide.

So, how did I become an Overnight Success?

We are in 2017. I started the business in 1999. It took me 18 years to become an overnight success.

OK but surely some actual overnight success stories do exist: I mean, iPod just came out of nowhere and changed the MP3-player market overnight, right? And Twitter changed the face of social media out of the blue? And you remember when Angry Birds came out of nowhere and suddenly everyone was playing it? Well, not quite.

The iPod launched in 2001 but it wasnt that well received. It wasnt until the fourth version that came out in 2004 that if finally took off. Biz Stone, founder of Twitter, had been trying to launch various blogging and mobile products for eight years before he found the right formula. And Rovio, the company behind Angry Birds, had been through 50 games and was on the verge of bankruptcy when Angry Birds hit. The exception to the rule is probably YouTube. But even though it was a virtual overnight success, it took five years to make a profit! I have yet to find a brand that was created overnight and had a sustainable business model. Overnight success is really just overnight exposure.

And to get your business that exposure, you are going to have to keep on pushing. There will be days you look around at other businesses and think: Why arent I getting that publicity? Or Why am I not selling out in my stores? Whats wrong with me? I might as well just give up. Just remember, its not a race. You have to get it right, so when you do become an overnight success you are ready for it. Its all about being consistent with your message and product and knowing who your customer and your brand are. Be consistent, deliver the same message on your product, your media, your digital presence so that people can recognise and remember you and your brand. It takes years to make an overnight success. And once you are there you have to keep challenging yourself. Do not stand still, do not stagnate. As an entrepreneur, you never reach a point where you say, I am very successful now, I achieved all the success I ever wanted. You need to progress your business, grow it, reinvent it and find new, exciting products and services to launch.