Building an Empire: Les Wexner:

On Building an Empire:
'On not trying to build my business.
The punishment would have been never to be able to try.'

Leslie H. Wexner doesn’t miss a detail.
An all-consuming curiosity and acute powers of observation for spotting slight shifts in popular culture and consumer behavior have enabled the chairman and chief executive officer of L Brands to take a groundbreaking fashion concept and morph it into a juggernaut, embracing fine fragrance, bath, body and personal care, plus home fragrance. The result: 2015 retail sales of an estimated $4.7 billion — one-third of the $12.15 billion grand total for L Brands sales.

This story first appeared in the June 8, 2016 issue of WWD:
A freewheeling interview with Leslie Wexner reveals a sharp eye, a well-read mind and enough curiosity to build an empire.

Leslie Wexner On Building an Empire

Leslie H. Wexner doesn't miss a detail. An all-consuming curiosity and acute powers of observation for spotting slight shifts in popular culture and consumer behavior have enabled the chairman and chief executive officer of L Brands to take a groundbreaking fashion concept and morph it into a juggernaut, embracing fine fragrance, bath, body and personal care, plus home fragrance.

Some CEOs buy sports teams.
Les Wexner bought the town of New Albany, Ohio.
New Albany was founded in 1837, but its story really begins in the late 1980s, when Wexner was looking for somewhere to build a country home. The Columbus, Ohio, native spent weekends scouring central Ohio for the perfect spot to construct his rural getaway. That’s how he found New Albany—which was then only “a community of plain topography,” as Wexner put it in a written response to emailed questions.

After buying 30 acres and then an additional 30, Wexner became “intrigued” with building something larger. It was dirt-cheap at the time. A 90-acre plot for his mansion was valued by the county auditor at $192,300 in 1987, a couple of years before Wexner bought it. That same parcel—land and property—is now valued at $45.6 million.
Article by Sophie Alexander: Billionaire Behind Victoria’s Secret Built His Version of the American Heartland

 On Leadership
'I firmly believe leadership is not just an important thing. It's the most important thing.'
— Les Wexner, chairman and CEO, L Brands

Inside The Minds: 100 Must-See Interviews–

With the World’s Most Successful Entrepreneurs
At Under30CEO they think big.
In 2011 U30CEO published a list of the Top 50 Most Motivational People on the web and things got a little crazy. The article created an incredible buzz all over the web and fired up their audience to go out and make something happen.

Start an Epic Business, and Score the Life You Want
For young entrepreneurs in pursuit of financial success (a great guide for that is the book Rich20Something which teaches millennials how to start businesses in the 21st century).

Successful investors like Ron Conway say they’d rather invest in an 18-year-old Mark Zuckerberg than a 31-year-old seasoned entrepreneur because the young Sean Parker types truly think the sky is the limit. Under30CEO carried that mentality into the interviews conducted: A look to the past future.

Inside The Minds
Explore: U30CEOs' ENTREPRENEUR INTERVIEWS

And then they made it happen: Successful Women Entrepreneurs

Every successful entrepreneur started somewhere.
There’s no “magic pill” that effortlessly launches you out of your cubicle confinement and into the free world of entrepreneurship. For some, the dream to be your own boss grows for a long time, even years, before it finally comes to fruition. The truth is, great success in business grows from just one, tiny seed. Read what drove these top women entrepreneurs to make their big idea a reality.

Many women we see as powerhouses in business came from humble upbringings.
Working their way up the corporate ladder to rise from personal hardships and tragedies - while fighting gender discrimination, is a common life thread often seen among some of the most successful and famous women in business.

Women-owned businesses continue to be the shining light in the current market.
According to the Center for Women's Business Research, female entrepreneurs generate $2.3 trillion to the American economy and employ more than 18 million people.

Truly inspirational female business leaders
The following women in business have overcome great odds and serve as a beacon for all those to follow. Presently, there are roughly 22 female presidents or prime ministers in the world, and about a dozen women executive sat at the helm of Fortune 500 companies. Getting to the top hasn’t been easy, especially for these top 10 women CEOs.

10 Successful Women Entrepreneurs of Color Share Their Best Advice - Fundera Ledger

So far, 2018 has been a year of activism for women. The #MeToo movement included women in nearly every industry exposing workplace sexism and harassment. It's grown into the action-oriented #TimesUp movement . Equal pay has taken a front seat, too, with major court rulings aiding efforts to close the gender pay gap.

Started Out Late in Life
In the modern world of global commerce, youth is often seen as the key to success in business -- with the idea that younger generations can bring fresh ideas and impetus to the boardroom table. There is plenty to be said for a more experienced head in the business world -- and some of the most successful female entrepreneurs have enjoyed prosperity later in life.
With this in mind, this is a list of six globally accomplished businesswomen who achieved global business success much later in life.

Today, women are sitting side by side and establishing their businesses as household names in a variety of industries, including publishing, technology, fashion, broadcasting and beauty.
And to inspire you to do the same: top female entrepreneurs in the world.

No matter the type or size or your venture, business blogs can offer valuable info, whether it be helpful resources, success stories, or even virtual pep-talks. To save your precious time:
a curated list of business blogs for female entrepreneurs.
Ladies, click — and read — your way to a better business.

The Most Powerful Businesswomen In The World:
It's been a groundbreaking year for women in business. IBM appointed its first female CEO in Ginni Rometty. Sheryl Sandberg led Facebook through a much-anticipated IPO. Irene Rosenfeld is busy splitting Kraft into two public companies, and Marissa Mayer jumped from a top Google exec to the CEO seat at Yahoo.
Attributions:
MARY FERNANDEZ
LAHLE WOLFE
ALISON STORM
Joanna Zambas
Peter Meinertzhagen

“Life-fulfilling work is never about the money- when you feel true passion for something you instinctively find ways to nurture it.”
― Eileen Fisher

And Then They Made It Happen

John Henry: 'Hustle your dreams to the next level'

Entrepreneur John Henry meets the moguls and money-makers of tomorrow doing whatever they can to make it today.

HUSTLE: Host John Henry follows entrepreneurs struggling to take their dreams to the next level begins February 10. Produced in partnership with Cadillac.

Hustle - VICELAND

Videos from Host John Henry Follows Entrepreneurs Struggling To Take Their Dreams To The Next Level.

Be more persuasive in your professional and personal life—

Inside the Mind of Chris Voss:
Life is a series of negotiations you should be prepared for buying a car, negotiating a salary, buying a home, renegotiating rent, deliberating with your partner. Taking emotional intelligence and intuition to the next level, Chris Voss' NSTD gives you the competitive edge in any discussion and The Secret to Winning Any Exchange:

Winning Negotiations: The New Rules in 2019 and beyond
Who knew hostage negotiation actually uses the same principles that apply to all negotiations?! Hostage negotiation started in the 1970s, before Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow, before neuroscience, and before emotional intelligence.

We thought we were dealing with an aspect of human behavior that was the exception to everyday life. What we didn’t know is that we were dealing with the essence of everyday life and had the rules for all negotiations. Here are those rules for winning negotiations:

The 5 New Rules for Winning Negotiations

Who knew hostage negotiation actually uses the same principles that apply to all negotiations?! Hostage negotiation started in the 1970s, before Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow , before neuroscience, and before emotional intelligence. We thought we were dealing with an aspect of human behavior that was the exception to everyday life.

Human beings don’t remember things the way they happened.
We remember the most intense moment and how it ended.
The last impression is the lasting impression.
At The Black Swan Group, they call this The Oprah Rule.

Christopher Voss is the CEO of The Black Swan Group,
a firm that solves business negotiation problems with hostage negotiation strategies.
'To compromise is the worst thing to do.'

Recession to Opportunity: An Interview with Tim Chen:

The Mind Behind the $500 million Business
How Tim Chen, the founder of NerdWallet, worked up the nerve to start a company after getting laid off during a recession.

Tim Chen had recently been laid off from his job as a financial analyst at a hedge fund, during the recession of 2008, when his sister asked him for help finding a good credit card. Much of the information he found online was confusing and disorganized, so he decided to start a personal-finance website; it would go on to become NerdWallet, which is now worth $500 million and employs almost 350 people. Lola Fadulu recently spoke with Chen about how it feels to get laid off, starting a business during a recession, and why workers should pay attention to who their managers are. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity. Citation: 'When Losing Your Job Is a Blessing'
Interview by Lola Fadulu via The Atlantic

When Losing Your Job Is a Blessing

Fadulu: The way you grew up was very different from the way your parents grew up. Chen: Until 2008, I thought that the economy was this super-stable thing, and everything was good. I didn't realize that crazy economic shocks can happen. 2008 really changed my life.

Stumbling Onto an Idea: “I always dreamed of doing something entrepreneurial. I just never felt like I had the permission to.”— Tim Chen

Sarah LaFleur and Rebecca Minkoff: What makes their brands thrive―

Successfully starting a fashion business from two women who know
Sarah LaFleur, founder and CEO of MM.LaFleur, and Rebecca Minkoff, co-founder and creative director of Rebecca Minkoff, discuss what helps make each of their brands thrive.
Video Content via FastCo

VIDEO | Successfully starting a fashion business from two women who know | Fast Company

Sarah LaFleur, founder and CEO of MM.LaFleur, and Rebecca Minkoff, cofounder and creative director of Rebecca Minkoff, discuss what helps make each of their brands thrive.