Last Saturday, December 3rd, I got to meet John Paul DeJoria, the co-founder of Paul Mitchell. It was awesome to thank him for all the support he gave to my career as a US Freestyle Skier. Paul Mitchell has always been a big sponsor of freestyle ski events and many great causes around the world.
Great Leaders Care
I learned an important lesson that day, great leaders care. I know John Paul (JP) has been very successful with his life and business. With that said, he talked to me like I was his best friend, he cared who I was and what I did. Not many business leaders of that caliber would even spend one minute speaking with someone they just meet. After talking with him for a few minutes, there was no wonder why he has taken his company to close to a billion dollars of annual revenue. He was dynamic, friendly, and very passionate.
I knew his rags to riches story and told him how I have always been impressed with what he has done. He looked me straight in the eye and said this, "The American Dream works and is alive, never give up on your dreams, don't be scared for the no, believe." Many times in life you have the moments when you know you were suppose to meet someone and they were suppose to tell you something. Meeting John Paul was one of the moments for me. Below is a quick version of the John Paul rags to riches story, which should inspire each of us to pursue our dreams.
The John Paul DeJoria (Paul Mitchell) Rags to Riches Story
After working gigs as a janitor and insurance salesmen, DeJoria found his way working into an entry-level job at Redken, a hair product company. It inspired him to start John Paul Mitchell Systems with hair dresser Paul Mitchell in 1980. He started the company with a business loan of 750 dollars and the passion for the american dream. DeJoria spent many nights sleeping in his car as he started his company. The signature black and white Paul Mitchell bottle was designed to save costs on colored ink.
DeJoria and Mitchell went door-to-door visiting hair salons across the country with a sales approach that had never been used. They would conduct free product demonstrations that would guarantee that the salon would be able sell their product. He said this about that experience, "I have said many times that the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people do a lot of the things that unsuccessful people don't want to do. Like when the door is slammed in your face ten time, you go on to door number eleven with just as much enthusiasm." With that determination DeJoria has taken Paul Mitchell to where it is today.
It was great to meet one of the great self-made billionaires, inspiring!
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