It is a truth universally recognized – there is no such relationship as sisterhood. Genetically, there is no other man in the world with whom a woman would have more DNA in common. Socially, your sister understands your unique childhood and family connections in a way no one else can. For many, this innate understanding breeds more than just a lifelong friendship. Particularly in the beauty world, several sisters have banded together to find the best-selling brands that are helping shape the entire industry.
Working professionally with your sister is a rewarding but extremely tough endeavor. Sure, there are overwhelming benefits — a inventive, judgment-free environment, innate trust, and an unspoken understanding — but your family energetic doesn’t have to feel like an episode Inheritance know that this undertaking is not without a number of challenges. For the sister teams in the back NUDESTIX, Miss JessieAND Brown girl JANE although all the runaway successes in the crowded beauty industry simply wouldn’t have it any other way.
Just ahead, learn about the unique stories of each of these three best-selling brands and how their sisterhood and family relationships helped inspire their success.
Familiarity breeds creativity
Shared life experiences between families are a given, but they are also significantly beneficial when it comes to identifying potential business opportunities. The common thread between each of these three brands is the completely organic way in which they developed initial concepts and ideas. For CEO Miko Branch, who co-founded hair care giant Miss Jessie’s with her sister Titi, it was a matter of leveraging each other’s strengths and skills. Titi, who died in 2019, was a creator with a particular interest in the practicalities of beauty, but she was a gifted public speaker who had an astute eye for public relations strategy. In fact, Branch shares with TZR that it was Titi who came up with the idea of the couple opening their first salon.
For Malaika and Nia Jones, the novel duo founding perfume brand Brown Girl JANE, their relationship has given them a distinct, inventive way to approach the centuries-old perfume industry. “As sisters, we knew that scent could change emotions and transport us to different times, places and memories,” explains Malaika Jones, CEO. With the goal of amplifying diverse voices often underrepresented in the industry, the pair took action on their own based on trust and mutual understanding.
Likewise, sisters Ally and Taylor Frankel, who founded NUDESTIX with their cosmetic chemist mother Jenny, leveraged this prior industry knowledge when they realized there was a significant gap in the market for a truly beginner-friendly, easy-to-use beauty brand. “We were all so passionate about the concept that we felt like we had no choice but to jump right into it,” says Taylor Frankel, chief brand officer, and it was their mother’s experience that helped the sisters gain confidence right away take action – and the company is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary.
A unique perspective
The overwhelming consensus of all three sister bands? Their relationships are major, if not decisive, factors in their success. But just because you’ve started a business, formed a constrained liability company, and signed incorporation agreements doesn’t mean that classic sibling squabbles and idiosyncratic types of social pressures will just magically disappear. Birth order dynamics, long hours spent together in high-pressure situations and life savings on the line all become everyday factors as the brand progresses – issues that would not typically be apparent if business partners were tied by bank accounts rather than by blood.
“We all want to make money, but the family businesses that are successful are the ones that really leverage all the assets that the family has, whether it’s equity, know-how, verbal skills – all of those things really are used to build a business,” Branch says, describing how she quickly learned that she and her sister needed to adopt each other’s skill sets to really hack it. She no longer had the inventive talent, but she was also well-versed in more unfamiliar areas, from negotiating contracts to the manual labor required to build a store.
Both Jones and Frankel report that they sometimes draw an undetectable line between conversations at work and time to bond in real life. Jones explains that the sisters’ extremely close relationship means that non-work-related conversations quickly turn into in-store conversations, which creates clear boundaries and even individual space for rest and reflection. Frankel shares this opinion and applies similar rules at home. “Over the years, we’ve had to be really careful about the difference between ‘family time’ and ‘NUDESTIX time,’” she says. “We have to remind ourselves to switch off during family events because otherwise it’s very straightforward to work 24/7.”
Sharing success
The challenges may be isolated, but there are also sweet moments of success – especially at the very beginning. Frankel recalls the time when NUDESTIX had just launched, when the trio traveled around the world to promote and develop the line. “We all shared a room to save money. “It was novel and electrifying to be able to travel together to so many cities for the first time,” he says. “These were memories that remind me of our growth as a company and how fortunate we were to spend this time and experience together as a family.”
Although Titi is no longer physically involved with Branch, the full-fledged empire that is Miss Jessie is another physical testament to their once-in-a-lifetime bond and unique relationship. “Titi taught me many lessons,” Branch says, but what she finds particularly poignant is an extension of her father’s commitment to instilling unwavering self-sufficiency and resilience in his girls. “We were Actually those who mix the product, lift all the barrels of fragrances and ingredients, haul the boxes and paint – they just do all the filthy work,” he says. That’s why even now, he laughs, he’s a special type of CEO, focused on every aspect of the company’s operations.
With an acclaimed line loved by celebrities, stylish women and every Sephora shopper, Jones says it all comes down to the power of true partnership and collaboration. “As sisters, we know that each of us can succeed, and supporting each other and supporting each other only makes us stronger,” she explains. Brown Girl JANE was built on the foundation of love and trust, but also a deep understanding of the other person – all their strengths, weaknesses, peculiarities and emotions.
In some ways, these sisterhoods have expanded to include their clients. This is evident in the way the three brands communicate with their audiences, their practical approach and the way they have managed to achieve scale without losing sight of their original goals and ethos. They have truly become family affairs.
