Anastasia Soare on Raising Brows and the Discipline Behind the Billion-Dollar Brand, Anastasia Beverly Hills

0:00Hey guys, welcome back to Skin Anarchy. Today is our 800th episode and I could not be more thrilled to celebrate this milestone with an interview that brings you one of the most amazing. amazing individuals in the beauty space. She is truly a force and she has created such an empire with not only her brand but the legacy that she's created alongside. Today we are going to be celebrating her newest book that has just come out and has been released so make sure you guys check that out before anything else and without further ado please welcome Anastasia Soiret. Welcome Anastasia. I'm so so honored to be hosting you today.

0:33Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate. It's truly an honor and I'm excited you wrote a book. Putting all this wisdom out into the world, it's amazing to read from somebody who's been through it all and built something from the ground up. It is beyond inspirational to see that. I would love to start from the beginning, if you don't mind, if you can tell us about what was it like coming to a new country, starting fresh. Walk us down memory lane. It was quite difficult. Remember, I didn't speak the language, didn't have a community that usually supports you. It was quite traumatic for me.

1:09And so I came to United States with hope and with the desire to make a mark and was quite shocking for me at the beginning. The first six months, I think I cried every day. Yeah. Yeah. Nobody talks about that, right? You come to a new place and start fresh and also the language barrier. How was that navigating? Well, that was one of the most difficult, I have to say, because not being able to communicate is difficult. It was very hard. I used to take evening classes to learn. Remember, in the same time, I was 31. It's very difficult when you are an adult to learn a new language. If you are young, you don't even have an accent.

1:50But 31 is quite difficult to learn a language. I came in July and by April, I started working. Within six months, how much English you could learn was traumatic. But you know what? I was willing to try anything. I had the desire to do something with myself. This is what I had to deal with. I want you to speak on this because many times with entrepreneurship, founders believe you have to have this incredibly solid business plan. How was that for you in the early days when building your vision was? I mean, you had the belief that you were going on. Can you speak about the journey in the beginning?

2:27I got a job in the beauty industry, first of all, because it was the only job that didn't require perfect English and was an opportunity for me to get a job. It didn't matter. I didn't even think that this would be the career of my life. And I got through a person that I met in LA, a Romanian, and a wonderful lady that was able to welcome me, and she was pregnant. And during her three months of leave, I replaced her. So I thought that was a great opportunity for me, and I would take anything that was thrown at me. I never had a business plan because I never thought that that's my calling, okay?

3:11And we basically needed to have a job to pay the bills and figure out what's next. I started working as an esthetician doing facial and body waxing. I noticed nobody paid attention to eyebrows. And I knew from my art teacher that eyebrows are so important for the face. First, I kind of bought a camera and I started taking pictures of our family and I realized that I looked surprised in the picture because my eyebrow was penciled in and round. I was a victim of the 80s. That was the fashion of eyebrows at that time. The esthetician that used to go for facials, she used to tweeze my eyebrow that way.

3:54And I was able to kind of figure out, I went to the library and revisit all the studies of Leonardo da Vinci on the human face that creates perfect balance and proportion by shaping eyebrows. I thought that was revolutionary because nobody in the beauty industry talked about the reason why we put makeup, why eyebrows are important. It was important to understand why. And I start fixing my eyebrows and then I start sharing with my clients. They will look at me and didn't know I changed my eyebrow, but they always say, you look different, rested. Did you cut your hair? What is different? So I start sharing with them and shaping their eyebrows.

4:39And that was the beginning. That's amazing. It's insane because you created a category. It wasn't just a product. I mean, you literally redefined an entire beauty category. What were your thoughts when, you know, ABH started kind of taking off and people started noticing how big of a deal this was? How did that feel? What was your plan about it? I mean, did you plan, no, I'm going to make a whole different category? or how was that? I didn't have a plan. It was interesting for me to understand how important eyebrows was and to find the perfect technique on shaping the past eyebrow for everybody's bone structure and natural shape.

5:21So I wanted first, it was a very organic way for me to kind of develop. I never thought that would get that big. But it was something that I was intrigued by and very interested in. And I started diving into this, bringing science into the beauty, into the beauty. So doing that was important for me to start mastering this. And it took me hours and hours and months and years to develop this technique. It didn't happen in a month. This is really fascinating because one thing that stands out in the book, you know, and for everyone listening, when you read the book, you'll see this theme that you really mentioned this where you always put your best foot forward.

6:06You've spoken about this in the book as well. You know, even back in Romania, in your culture, if someone came to your home, it doesn't matter who it is. It doesn't matter what you can offer them. You always give them your best. Can you speak to us about that and what that means for entrepreneurship? Well, to me at that time, remember, I was an immigrant. I wanted to really be significant, to do something that I will love and I will be passionate about. And I chose a service business. And I learned from my mother that you do the best that you could do for your client. I wanted my clients to feel beautiful, to feel the best, and to look the best.

6:49And it was so normal for me. I worked with my mother and I used to design the clothes for her. Beauty is the same thing. It's being in the service business. You could be in fashion. You could be in beauty. The same desire to make your client feel beautiful. And I will always remember when I will give my client the mirror and she will look in the mirror, feel so gorgeous, amazing. You get that energy back. This kept me going and made me fall in love with the business. They were my clients that really took the confidence to keep going. And when I started working with a celebrity and they would come back again, they validated my work.

7:30They gave me that power to keep going and doing more and developing. I started the product business because I didn't have products to offer my clients. Gave me the confidence and belief that whatever I do, it was wonderful. And I was keep going on to this. I love that. And what's really interesting and very fascinating to me when I look at your journey is that you've made powerful moves in your career. BBH was the first beauty brand on Instagram utilizing social media. Talk to us about that. When did you make that decision to bring your brand to social media and Instagram and put it out there to the world?

8:09And what made you make that decision? Well, my daughter, I started working with my daughter. She was very young and we used to work five days in the salon and during the two days in the weekends, we used to travel around the country to promote the products. Of course, when you are 18, you don't want to work seven days a week. One day she came to me and she said, mom, is this app that I think we should open an account for the brand. And this app, we could post the pictures and promote the product because we don't have the money to promote on magazines, on TV. Maybe that way we promote the products and don't need to travel that much during weekends.

8:51Came to United States always what was in my mind every time I wanted to do something, I always thought that what do I have to lose? What do I have to lose nothing. If it doesn't work, you have to try. Fear is the most important thing that will stop people from following their dreams. Coming from that communist regime, nothing will stop me from doing anything. You know what I mean? Right. That's amazing. I love that one of the biggest questions is that people get scared because they don't see immediate support. And you've mentioned this in the book. You open part two by saying, if there's no seat at the table, make your own table.

9:30Can you talk to us about that? If you feel like you don't fit in or if no one's backing you, how do you keep pushing as an entrepreneur? You have to believe in your dream. Whatever you do, I believe in eyebrow being the most important feature on our face. I studied technical design. I believed in my dream. Nobody believed at that time. Slowly, by doing the client's eyebrows, they start coming back. If you come back and get eyebrows again and again, then you like it. You believe she liked the way she looked. This is what keeps me going. And I wasn't ever willing to give up. I come from a line of immigrants.

10:12My parents, grandparents were immigrants in Romania. I've seen their struggle. I've seen they were rejected. They didn't fit in. They were Macedonian. They had different food, different culture. It didn't matter to me. If I didn't fit in, it's okay if you don't fit in. I want to encourage right now the young people that they are so bullied at school, and this is so bad for those that they do that. But the ones that are bullied, they should think this. They don't need to fit in. They don't need to be like somebody else. They could be their own. When you are young, you think, oh, I am different.

10:50I was young, a gymnast, so skinny. I never fit. Everybody in school was developed with boobs and tall and gorgeous. I was the shortest, skinniest in class. I didn't fit in. But you know what? I was passionate. I used to go to library, studied design. I read the books. I did my own thing. I never felt like, oh, poor me. I'm depressed because I don't fit in. I didn't care. And you become an adult. Develop your own thing. You are different, and that's the beauty. You are different than everybody else. That's so much more powerful. I love that. And I couldn't agree more. That's the problem with this generation.

11:31Everybody's trying to fit in and no one's like, well, you're never going to fit in. You know, no one's going to accept you. But that's OK. Yeah, it's OK. That's fine. You are unique the way you are. You have to embrace that. I love that. Now, you built it into a billion dollar global brand. I mean, that is huge when you think about what it takes to scale on that level. What did you have to learn, unlearn along the way about leadership? Did you hit a plateau where you had to rethink strategy? I mean, you constantly need to be alert. Even to these days, I want to learn. I want to grow. I'm constantly travel.

12:06I constantly work. I was in Dubai. I did masterclasses. It was so hot and the skin was oily because it was so hot. Everybody was sweating. When you live in a hot climate, the makeup has to be applied totally different. You need to clean the eyebrow before you apply anything. Because the product, the new product that we launched, the microstroke, will show every line better if you don't have natural oil on the eyebrow. I learned something. Now I'm going to go home and educate my entire team how they have to do the training to other social media in the stores. It's very important. I love to learn from other people.

12:48I love to learn from experience. So you need to be alert and adapt. Being an immigrant taught me something valuable. You need to adapt to any situation. Yeah, that's very interesting. And don't panic. Don't panic. Don't stress. Go with the flow. Embrace change. Right. How do you separate yourself from the brand? Did you have to deal with that? I never put my ego in front of the business. To me, I'm the business. I represent the business. I learned from my mother because this is how she was. So my client is the most important in my business. And everything I do, I do it for my client. And obviously, the business is the most important thing.

13:35And when I take a decision, is this great for the business? I don't think of myself. Is this good for Anastasia, for me as a person? No, I think I will take this decision because this is the best thing for the brand Anastasia Beverly Hills. That's really awesome. I like that because we hear about this all the time. That's why I asked if you go to social media, everyone's like work-life balance. You can't have work-life balance. If you're building something, you have to immerse yourself. That's why I asked. Let me put it this way. The only time when I don't work is when I sleep. No, that's reality.

14:11The only time when I do not work is when I sleep. Even if I went right now to a luncheon with two wonderful ladies, yes, they were friends, but it's a business connection. We talked about business. I learned from their own business. And I always think, okay, how I could apply everything I learned into my business. So everything gets connected with the business. It makes sense. At the end of the day, I think it's just a matter of people. I think it's working hard, but then also immersing yourself, right? I mean, that's the culture of it. I would love for you to talk about mentorship. I know in the book, you mention mentorship.

14:49You say mothers and mentors make the difference. That's the title of one of the chapters. I'd love for you to speak about this, especially for women. Mentorship is hard to come by. Finding someone to teach you, guide you. What's your approach to that and your view? I mean, you need to find somebody you could watch. For me, one of the most important figures in my life was Oprah Winfrey. And I would be around her. I'm still doing her eyebrows. In many moments in her life, I was invited. I was lucky enough to be there and around her. And I learned just observing, not necessarily. I would sit down with Oprah like, Oprah, I want you to teach me about business.

15:27No, It wasn't about that. You need to be open to learn, observing how she does, how she talks to the people, how considerate she is. If Oprah is so considerate and value everybody's time, I am like nobody. I have to be even more. Yeah. And those are things that by observing, people think mentoring means I will teach you, I will do your business plan. No, you need to observe and be alert, observe people that you admire even online see what they do read what events they are doing be part of whatever business you admire and learn from what they do you know what i mean yeah if you are lucky enough to find somebody that will spend time with you and give you advice you are even luckier right there are many forms of mentoring or inspiring people i think i know you mentioned with your daughter in the book, you talk about how you told her if you come in late one more time, I'm going to fire you.

16:32That's a hard lesson. Talk to us about that in terms of how that works on people. Yeah. I was very hard on my daughter because I wanted her to be like a Spartan, to learn that life, it's difficult. We are immigrants in this country and have to work twice as hard as everybody else. I wanted her to understand that life is difficult because she used to tell me when she was like 17, 18, you know, I don't want to work that hard. I want to have fun. I said, life is not about having fun. Life is work. Life is hard. But if you are lucky enough to love what you do, then it's easy and it's fun. So she didn't understand when you are 18, 19, you don't understand that.

17:16Okay. She used to complain like I am 18 years old and I work like I'm 50 years old. And I said, you want to have a car? You want to have a gym membership? You have to work for it. Everything, we have to work for it. Nothing is free. Good things, beautiful things, we need to work for it. So slowly she learned. And after I fired her, she went to work for a company. She didn't have enough money to pay her bills, and she came to borrow some money. I wanted to re-taught her a lesson. and I said, I'm sorry, I cannot give you the money. Go and get two more jobs because I came in this country without speaking the language, without money.

17:59I still made it. I got the job and I'm doing something and you should do the same. She was so good in what she did that I wanted her to ask for her job back to learn a very valuable lesson. At the end, I said, you are so good in what to do. You are very smart and very efficient. I will give you the job back, but I'm not going to give you the money. I'm not going to give you the money to pay your rent for nothing. You have to work for it. We made new rules. I'm not your mother when you come in the store, and I am your boss, and I'm going to be harder on you than every other employee. I was quite a strict employer because I want people to learn.

18:41Discipline is the most important thing when you want to do something in life. In my 34 years in the beauty industry, I met the most incredible, talented, intelligent people. But to me, discipline will make you successful. Wow. I love that. Nobody talks about this. No one says these are the things you need. Every time you look for advice, everyone's talking about be positive. It's like, where's the hard work? We have to talk about hard work. Being positive is great, but that's not enough. That's not going to get you where you want. Exactly. It makes a lot of sense. Tell me about the money aspect.

19:15I see this in the young generation. They make it big and then they start spending all of their money. How was that for you when you were making it big and like your investments and all of the decisions you made about money? How did you make those decisions? What were some of the pillars? I was very good with my money. I would spend minimum to survive. Everything I made, I put back into the business. Didn't matter if I had the beat up car. I didn't care what cars people were driving in Beverly Hills. the bigger goal. To me, it wasn't important what I'm driving today. To me, it was important that I have this dream and I want to build this business in the long run.

19:55BMW or Mercedes wasn't important to me because I will spend the money that rather than spending on the car, I will spend on the business and I will grow the business. This is how I was thinking. We used to live in Beverly Hills, but in two-bedroom apartment was affordable, but I didn't spend money crazy. I had the goal, at least before I opened the salon, never take clothes to cleaners. I used to do my own cleaning. I never had a cleaning lady because I thought in my mind, why would I pay$100 a cleaning lady when I make$150? It doesn't make sense. So I would rather do my own cleaning and I will save the money and put it in the business, build something.

20:42And later when I make enough, I could afford a cleaning lady. This is how my brain always works. It makes a lot of sense. In terms of the beauty industry, you've seen the beauty industry more than probably anyone else. All the ebbs and flows. Where do you think we're going in the industry? I feel like there's so many brands now. Every day there's a new brand popping up. Where do you see the future of this industry? I believe legacy brands were still, because they have a strong foundation, they will still be alive and they will still be around. New ones being successful long term, some will not because business is not easy.

21:16And now it's very expensive to the business in the beauty industry. When I started 25 years ago, to make products was way easier than it is today. You know, put only tariffs. The amount of money you pay on tariffs, it's so high that it's very difficult to afford if you are a small little brand. So I'm sure some of them, they will survive, some will not. But the show must go on and who is stronger is going to survive. I'm definitely noticing that as well. People are struggling in the industry, like entrepreneurs. It's difficult. It's very expensive to promote the brands. It's very expensive to make the products.

21:55and it's not easy. Yeah, absolutely. Now, my final question, Anastasia, for you, if you had to pick one product from the ABH collection, which one is your favorite product? Oh, my God. If you asked me two months ago, I would say the brow, but right now we just launched the MicroStroke Brow Pen and I'm in love with this product. MicroStroke Brow Pen, it's amazing. Wow, you guys keep innovating. It's going to keep changing. Of course, that's the beauty. We stay alert, blink. new products, technology changes. I had the brow pen a few years ago with the brush very thick. We couldn't control that, the flow of the ink right now.

22:35For in the last two years and a half, we worked with a lab that was able to fix that problem. Because it's not only I have the idea, but you need to find the lab to do what your vision is. I think that's another thing, not taking subpar results, not accepting them and keep going till you. Absolutely, yes. Thank you so much, Anastasia. this has been such an honor just to learn from you. I've been a fan of ABH for as long as I can remember. You are so amazing. Thank you. I appreciate your love and support and all the listeners. I hope they get inspired by my story and they will never give up and follow their dream.

23:11Believe in themselves and don't give up. Thank you so much. Thank you, sweetheart. Hey guys, so I hope you loved that episode. Please make sure to hit subscribe if you're tuning in to us on any podcast platform. We are available on so many different platforms. So wherever it is that you're tuning in, just go hit subscribe. You will be immediately notified when we publish new episodes. This way you're able to tune in to amazing insights from experts, brand founders, industry leaders, authors, all the wonderful people that we host. And that's very important for me because I love to hear from you guys and really understand what you love and what you want to hear more of.

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