From Broke to Billions: The Mindset Behind Building Iconic Brands with John Paul DeJoria | Buffini Podcast
At age 81, John Paul DeJoria has lived a full life and, thanks to his immense entrepreneurial success, is worth nearly $3 billion.
But for this legendary business icon, reaching the American Dream is not enough. He is just as focused on helping those in need. He believes this so strongly that he titled his soon-to-be-published book, Success Unshared Is Failure.
Recently, DeJoria was a guest on Brian Buffini’s podcast, It’s a Good Life. He shared more about his humble beginnings, the incredible partnership with hairdresser Paul Mitchell that led to one of the professional beauty industry’s most massive success stories, and why he feels compelled to do his part to change the negativity now impacting the world.
Humble Beginnings
From a challenging childhood to sleeping in his car, DeJoria’s early years shaped the values that still guide him today.
Growing up in Los Angeles, DeJoria’s parents divorced when he was young, leaving his mother struggling to raise him and his older brother.
“But she was a really great, positive mom. She taught me to always be kind to people and always remember in life that there’s somebody that needs something more than you do,” he recalled. “So always try and lend a helping hand.”
As a young adult, DeJoria served two years in the U.S. Navy before holding a series of jobs, including towing trucks and selling encyclopedias door to door.
In 1980, with only $700 to invest, he teamed up with Mitchell to develop a haircare line. Living in his car for a time, DeJoria once again hit the streets, walking into local hair salons to secure contracts to sell the products.
It took several challenging years for the line to catch on. Today, that business — John Paul Mitchell Systems — is one of the world’s most iconic haircare brands.
DeJoria has also expanded his entrepreneurial reach as a co-founder of the extremely successful high-end Patrón Tequilla & Spirits Company, John Paul Pet, ROK Mobile and numerous other ventures.
Lessons for Entrepreneurs
DeJoria is refreshingly honest about the ups and downs he has experienced throughout his career. As such, he often shares this advice for others who aspire to their own entrepreneurial success:
- “When you start making money, do not change your lifestyle for one year,” he stressed. “A lot of people make some money and something goes wrong the second year, and they can’t keep up with their bills.”
“I waited until after the first year before I changed my lifestyle. And I kept it that way for another year until I increased my lifestyle again. This way, no matter what happened, I could handle it along the way.” - “Be prepared for a lot of rejections. If you’re prepared for it and you know it in your head, it’s not going to affect you,” he advised. “One of the biggest lessons in life I learned from selling books door to door is to be prepared for a lot of rejection. Don’t let that get you down.”
- “Make sure your service or your physical product is in the reorder business. We could only survive if people loved our product and reordered it,” he said of John Paul Mitchell Systems’ business philosophy. “So we made products that people would love so much, with such high quality, they’d want to reorder.”
Success Unshared is Failure
DeJoria is not only a successful businessman, but also an extraordinary philanthropist who has helped support numerous organizations, including Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Food4Africa, MineSeeker, and Blazer House. He believes so strongly in giving back that in 2011 he signed the Giving Pledge, an initiative that encourages the world’s wealthiest individuals and couples to donate at least half (if not more) of their wealth to charitable causes during their lifetime or in their wills.
“I’ve seen so many people, when I was down and out, that had a lot and they weren’t about to share whatsoever,” he noted. “Even today, when things have gotten quite nice financially in my life, I see so many who don’t. And there’s so much extra we have that we could share with others.”
“If only 50% of people did it, we’d have no more wars,” he added. “We could take care of one another. That’s the power of love.”
DeJoria’s book, Success Unshared is Failure is due to be published in April.
Click here to listen to the entire podcast.
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