JO MALONE

Turning yourself into an upscale brand is extremely difficult. Fragrance guru and entrepreneur Malone chronicles how she did just that.

Gifted with a pronounced sense of smell and the desire for a better life, the author worked hard to build a fragrance empire. Malone deftly mines her early family life for the inspiration that laid the foundation for her success. Early on, she learned the “art of the sale” while working alongside her father in his small stall selling his artwork in a working-class London neighborhood. But it was her mother’s passion for skin care that led Malone to a meeting with Madame Lubatti, who operated an exclusive salon in a posh district of London. Lubatti became an important mentor for the young girl, and it was in her lab where Malone trained her sense of smell and learned the art of developing face creams and masks. However, times were tough for the author’s family. Finances were extremely tight, and her parents’ relationship was volatile. Malone struggled in school, later learning she had dyslexia. Still, as she notes, she was an entrepreneur by the age of 11. At 20, she went into business as a beauty therapist and partner in her mother’s business. The enterprise was successful, but tensions between Malone and her family created a deep rift. The author and her husband eventually broke away, building their own business manufacturing and selling creams and fragrances. The author provides a solid narrative detailing the difficulties and rewards encountered while creating a business from the ground up. By the mid-1990s, Malone was courted by major department stores, and she appeared on the Oprah show. She became partners with Bergdorf Goodman in New York and eventually sold her company to Estée Lauder in 1999. Despite the millions she received, running a business is Malone’s passion, and she recounts starting over again with a new fragrance-based venture.

A moving and revealing account of the author’s passion for business and personal success.