How much money does john paul mitchell systems make

Yes, he’s the co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems, which sells hair products in more thanbeauty salons in 87 countries. Many of us are familiar with his shampoo if not DeJoria. But few know about his other ventures. And then there’s his hardscrabble life. He worked to help support his family when he was a kid, and he was even homeless twice once just as he launched John Paul Mitchell. How did DeJoria do it? Here are edited excerpts of his story:. I grew up in Echo Park, Calif.

John Paul DeJoria manages multiple companies—all without using email.

But he’d been working in the hair care industry for five years, and was ready to start a business of his own. They set up a PO Box and an answering machine at a friend’s house. Then they started selling shampoo and conditioner door-to-door. By then, Dejoria was already used to facing challenges. His father left his family before Dejoria turned two, and he spent a few years in a foster home when his mother became ill. As an adult, Dejoria sold encyclopedias door-to-door. The experiences helped prepare him to launch John Paul Mitchell Systems in And Dejoria believed in his product. He faced rejection after rejection, but stayed positive.

Getting There: A Book of Mentors (2015)

The trick, he explained, was to «be as enthusiastic on beauty salon number , or beauty salon number or number 5, as I was on the very first one. Eventually, the hard work paid off. After two years, Dejoria and Mitchell were able to pay their bills on time. The business flourished. Today, John Paul Mitchell Systems sells more than 80 products, and Paul Mitchell Schools, which helps train barbers, estheticians and cosmetologists, has more than locations. In , Dejoria and his friend Martin Crowley were drinking margaritas at Dejoria’s house. The alcohol, Dejoria recalled, was «a little rough. Crowley was heading to Mexico for a business trip, and Dejoria asked him to bring back better tequila. Once again, «we went out ourselves and knocked on doors. They took their tequila to bars, and poured out shots for bartenders. Eventually, the business started growing. Over time, that number ballooned to 2 million.

It was very expensive to produce so to make the venture worthwhile we had to sell it for thirty-seven dollars a bottle, which was unheard of back then the really good tequilas were going for about fourteen dollars a bottle and normal ones were at about five or six dollars per bottle. Yes, he’s the co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems, which sells hair products in more than , beauty salons in 87 countries. Paul was in a similarly precarious financial situation. Thank God for accountants and assistants. Within a year and a half, I was the national manager of two of their divisions chain salons and scientific schools and doing extremely well. For ninety-nine cents you got a margarita plus all you can eat salsa, chicken wings, mini tostadas, and other little munchies. Though DeJoria’s empire has grown, he still values door-to-door visits. The key is to be passionate about what you are doing—and then meticulous about the quality of what you produce. My presidents are much smarter than I am. For example, it would have been impossible for me to start John Paul Mitchell Systems had I not learned what I did and made the connections I did from every one of my prior beauty industry jobs. If the weather’s good, maybe once a week. How much can you put toward this business?

Rule No. 2: Make sure your product or service is the best it can be.

Be prepared for rejection. At nine years old I sold Christmas cards, and when I was eleven I got my first morning paper route. Congress fails the long-term unemployed, once. I find it helps me be more peaceful. This Brooklyn rooftop supplies Whole Foods. Though DeJoria’s empire has grown, he still values door-to-door visits.

Rule No. 1: Always be prepared for rejection.

I grew up in downtown Los Angeles. My systemms divorced when I was two, and from that point on, it was just my mother, my brother, and I. We had almost no money. I remember a time when all we had was twenty-seven cents. We have food in the refrigerator, we have our little garden around back, and next week more money will be coming in.

We are actually rich because we are as happy as can be. As a kid, I thought it would be really cool to work mitchll I could contribute to the family. I entered into my first entrepreneurial venture with my brother when I was seven years old. We would buy wood from the Variety Boys Club mithell twenty-five cents, use it to make flower boxes, then sell them for fifty cents. We made a twenty-five-cent profit and thought it was amazing.

At nine years old I sold Christmas cards, and when I was eleven I got my first morning paper route. To me, having a job was a privilege. My brother and I gave everything we earned to our mother so we could afford new sheets and things like. I graduated high school when I was seventeen. If that job existed today I would make every one of my kids do it.

It was all cold-calling, convincing people to let me make a presentation. The goal was to get them, in an hour or less, to buy a set of encyclopedias for their family. The average life of an encyclopedia salesman was three days, but I did it for three years! I was able to last so long because I truly believed that everyone needed a set of these books and that I was doing something good for my customers. I saw myself as somebody who helped people systeme the right decision.

From there, I went on to vend everything from life insurance to medical linen to dictating equipment. Eventually, when I palu twenty-six, I got a job working at Time, Inc.

A friend of mine was an employment counselor and told me about Redken, a company in the beauty industry that was hiring salesmen. I took the job at Redken and moved up the ladder very fast. Within a year and a half, I was the national manager of two of their divisions chain salons and scientific schools and doing extremely. Both of my divisions grew every year, but one day the vice president of the company fired me.

You visit our businesses then immediately leave. We go in, do our job really well, then leave. I was going to love-ins in Griffith Park instead. I then went to work for Fermodyl Hair Care, training their management and sales force on how to sell. But, once again, I was fired by the vice president for not fitting ststems. Today that would be called discrimination.

I left, sales plummeted, and within a year the vice president and his top two guys got fired. My next job was working for the Institute of Trichology as the vice president of sales and marketing. This time it was because I made too much money. Tired of being at the mercy of others, I decided to go out on my own as a consultant for people who wanted to join the beauty industry.

I was good at it, but my clients were such small laul that they were always behind on the paychecks. Around that time, inmy friend Paul Mitchell doess was his hairdressing name, his real name was Cyril T.

Mitchell was having some real challenges financially while he was trying to get a product line off the ground. I suggested we start a business. We decided to create a line of hair-care products for professional stylists. Paul was in a similarly precarious financial situation. Unfortunately, the investor changed his mind at the last minute and the money never came in. How much can you put toward this business?

Too proud to tell anyone about my situation, Foes moved into my car and figured out how mitchhell get by on two dollars and fifty cents a day. I would wake up in the morning and shower at the Griffith Park tennis courts.

I ate as late as possible because breakfast des to last me till four-thirty p. For ninety-nine cents you got a margarita plus all you can eat salsa, chicken wings, mini tostadas, and other little munchies. Twenty chicken wings later, with the salsa serving as my vegetable, I was full for the night.

I would leave a quarter tip at each place. I was a big tipper! I parked my car on Mulholland Drive because it was safe. After a couple of weeks, Joanna Pettet, an actress I had known from years past, walked by and saw me. I have an extra room I can let you have for a couple of months to give you a helping hand.

She was a good lady. I got some business cards printed up for John Paul Mitchell Systems with her home phone number on it. I also got a post office box with a Universal City address for fifteen bucks. To start, Paul and I made a sample run of two shampoos and a conditioner. I relied on the skills I developed selling encyclopedias and went from beauty salon to beauty salon, cold-calling. That was our entire philosophy. We helped our mitchelp become successful. It was literally hand-to-mouth for mlney first eighteen months to two years.

From then on, business improved bit by bit. Martin had been spending some time in Mexico for a separate business that we had started the year prior. Buy whatever the aristocrats drink.

We figured that if we hired a master tequila distiller to make it even smoother and found a nicer way to package it, we could be onto. It was very expensive to produce so to make the venture worthwhile we had to sell it for thirty-seven dollars a bottle, which was unheard of back then the really good tequilas were going for about fourteen dollars a bottle and normal ones were at about five or six dollars per bottle. I figured that if no one bought it I would keep the tequila and for the next ten years everybody I knew would get a bottle on his or her birthday, christening, bar mitzvah, or any other kind of occasion you could think of.

Business was slow at first, but once people got over the shock of the price and tasted our product, they wanted. At Paul Mitchell, we gave it free to people at events.

I have started so many businesses over the years, from diamonds to solar energy to manufacturing boats and pet supplies. The common thread among them is that they were each exciting to me at the time. The key is to be passionate about what you are doing—and then meticulous about the quality of what you produce.

I remember feeling so down that I thought, I could look up and see an ant crawling above me. For example, it would have been impossible for me to start John Paul Mitchell Systems had How much money does john paul mitchell systems make not learned what I did and made the connections I did from every one of my prior beauty industry jobs.

Each experience equipped me with something essential to my ultimate success and put me on a path where I could make a difference in the world. Success iohn is failure. You have to focus and contribute in ways that you think are most beneficial. My mom instilled this philosophy in me. She always encouraged my brother and me to do good. They do the minimum they are paid to.

Always do the best you can, not the least you can get away. When you do your job, even if its just cleaning an office, do it as if somebody you want to impress is watching your every step. Do what you do best and try to find others who can fill in by doing the things you are not good at. For instance, I am terrible at details—accounting especially, so I hire accountants to help me.

This frees me up to focus on the things I do excel at and I can run a more efficient operation. The biggest hurdle people face in almost any business is rejection.

But DeJoria, 69, does way more than hair care. Though DeJoria’s empire has grown, he still values door-to-door visits. He spends a lot of his time meeting with the salon owners and distributors. But these days, he uses a private jet to get. As told by Liz Welch.

‘Tequila of the future’

Photograph by Jeff Wilson. I work at home in Austin, but I spend a lot of my time traveling—about two weeks out of every month. I also travel a lot to meet with distributors and salon owners, to do press interviews, and to attend openings of Paul Mitchell schools. I could not do what I do without a private jet. I travel to at least 20 states a year, sometimes leaving in the morning and returning at night. I save so much time not having to deal with checking in and customs. Plus, I haven’t had a cold in 20 years.