Maureen Kelly is a role model for indie beauty founders and cosmetics CEOs. The creator of Tarte Cosmetics began her journey 25 years ago and built a billion-dollar beauty empire. Kelly took time out from her role as entrepreneur, mother and daughter to attend Cosmoprof Miami. She explained how culture, innovation and personalization are the keys to Tarte Cosmetics’ success. She also took time to answer questions from budding beauty entrepreneurs.

One professional makeup artist in the audience revealed her passion to create her own product line. Kelly urged her to get out on the Cosmoprof exhibition floor and visit the myriad suppliers who offer the products she seeks. But Kelly also asked: What will be your point of difference? What is your back story?

She also suggested keeping an eye on the competition.

“KBB is the biggest brush on TikTok,” she asserted. “Check her out. She’s great at storytelling.”

Stay Focused!

A hairstylist who also sells her own line of products asked Kelly how she finds balance between business, personal life and family? Unfortunately, she doesn’t. Instead, Kelly shifts focus. One hour, she’s at her son’s wrestling match. Later, she could be helping her aging parents who recently moved in with her. Later, she could be in a staff meeting. The key, she said, is to be focused on the event or task at hand.

“You have to learn to shift focus to the role in front of you: mother, daughter, sister, best friend,” she explained. “Be where your feet are. When the phone buzzes at the dinner table, leave it!”

Another attendee has a line of refillable blush and bronzer in one. She asked Kelly if she would give her a good marketing angle for her product line. Without skipping a beat, Kelly suggested promoting the device as being the one product a woman needs in her makeup routine.

“Everyone is decluttering their lives right now. Even Alix Earle isn’t wearing makeup these days,” she reminded the audience. “Your product lets the user declutter her makeup bag, too! Plus, if it’s refillable, that’s a great sustainability story.”

Know Your Strengths

Kelly reminded the audience that although they may be company founders and CEOs, that doesn’t mean they’re experts on everything. Therefore, they must make wise hiring decisions and learn to delegate.

“My first hire was in finance,” she recalled. “I am not good at math. I know my strengths and my weaknesses.”

She may not be keen on finances, but Kelly knew to keep expenses under control. She founded Tarte in her parents’ garage in 1999. It was only the fear that products would freeze that made her move operations into her one-bedroom, rent-controlled apartment on the Lower East Side of New York City.

Years later, Kelly was still in that apartment eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to make ends meet.

“Vogue called for an interview and the editor joked, ‘I remember you worked out of a dingy apartment,” she recalled. “I said, ‘yeah, I remember it too, because I’m still in this apartment!”

In the beginning of her journey, Kelly struggled with the idea that others were more successful than she.

“It always seemed that everyone had more,” she recalled. “Comparison is the thief of joy! Remember that and you’ll be fine.”

A humble start may even pay dividends. What do Amazon, Apple, Disney, Harley Davidson and Hewlett Packard all have in common? All of them were started in the founder’s garage! Everyone likes a Horatio Alger-type success story. Indie beauty founders with authentic rags-to-riches stories should incorporate them into their business ethos.

“People want authenticity. Show them your garage,” she urged attendees.