Lessons of a Lipstick Queen: Finding and Developing the Great Idea that Can Change Your Life (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: lipstick queen, lipstick idea, lipstick brand, Poppy Industries, New York, Estée Lauder (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With this breezy business how-to, Australian cosmetics entrepreneur King seeks to empower other women to start their own companies. King launched her business at the age of 18 after a fruitless quest for the perfect matte lipstick incited her to create her own brand. Within a year, she was the sole owner of a million-dollar company, Poppy Industries. King intersperses vague exhortations to daydream and fantasize with snippets from her success story to illustrate her business basics: Keep it real, she says and Watch out for bad omens. She also includes exercises so rudimentary they're almost patronizing. For example, she exhorts the reader to go online and punch in google.com, then start entering different key words that describe your idea. More nuanced content does arrive later, when she breaks down the elements of successful marketing and cold calling, but even this advice is undercut when King reveals that her company eventually failed. One of her last lessons to her readers is how to bounce back from depression, in keeping with the general direction of this book, which offers less pointed business advice than simplistic self-help. (May)
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From Booklist

Breathless, energetic, and somewhat disjointed in chronology. This is the rise-and-fall-and-rise-again story of Poppy King, a young Australian entrepreneur who began a lipstick-only manufacturing company at age 18. It’s told in a series of more than 60 lessons (repeated at the end of each chapter), interspersed with “My Story” monologues, covering every conceivable business question from “Where do I start?” to “How do I find financial partners?” Learn about her successful cold call to a Barney’s cosmetics buyer, her commonsense approach to marketing and public relations, and her do-it-again attitude as she loses her company and starts another venture, Lipstick Queen. Don’t expect facts, figures, statistics, or even lists of resources. Do expect to get engaged, to laugh, and to be inspired by the ups and downs of Business Life 101. --Barbara Jacobs

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Atria; 1 edition (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743299574
• ISBN-13: 978-0743299572
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #739,646 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ENCOURAGING AND EMPOWERING, June 29, 2008

By	Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

While many of us may sometimes have an original idea that we think will make us rich and famous, that same many will probably toss the idea aside thinking, Oh, I could never put that across" or "It probably wouldn't work anyway." And therein lies the difference between many and Poppy King.

When she graduated from high school in Australia (not too many years ago), Poppy didn't seem to have much of a future. Her grades had not been outstanding; she didn't really excel in any field. What she did have was a desire for something which eventually became an idea - an idea that grew into a multimillion dollar company. Within three years of her high school graduation Poppy headed the company that produced her own lipstick brand, Poppy Industries. She had sold her product to Barney's, and in 1995 was named one of the "Global Leaders of the New Millennium" by Time magazine.

Not bad for a young woman with a lackluster future! She accomplished all of this by dint of energy, enthusiasm, and a firm belief that she could do it. She shares her path to success, including setbacks and roadblocks, in "Lessons of A Lipstick Queen." As Poppy says, "I have taken everything that I have learned and plotted it out to show you how you, too, have what it takes. You can find, explore, and make any idea happen."

"Plotted it out" she has in 12 chapters, beginning with "You Already Have Ideas" in which she shows us to recognize the ideas that all of us have, and concluding with"Keep the Flame Alive," reminding us, among other things, that the customer is always right, and that our workers are treasure troves of ideas.

A motivational story at heart Lessons of A Lipstick Queen is geared to bringing out the entrepreneur in each of us.

- Gail Cooke

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is about following one's dream, taking risks, and going with an idea that can be built into a company., May 5, 2008

By	Jeff Lippincott "www.Jlippin.com" (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I really liked this book a lot. It's a book written by a female entrepreneur who started her own company in Australia when she was 18. She winged it, and somehow it grew to be a real success despite her lack of a formal business plan. But eventually her lack of proper planning caught up with her and the company was forced into bankruptcy and as a result she lost control of it. This book is a compilation of 61 lessons she learned from her experience riding the wave of success as her company grew and then fell. The lessons are grouped in the following 12 chapters:

1. You already have ideas (1-6)
2. From ideas to decisions (7-13)
3. Research is simpler than it sounds (14-19)
4. Looking closer (20-23)
5. The road map (24-27)
6. On the money trail (28-33)
7. Marketing: Anyone can do it (34-38)
8. Putting yourself on the line (39-43)
9. The greatest show on earth (44-48)
10. Now you're moving (49-53)
11. The err is human (54-58)
12. Keep the flame alive (59-61)
Epilogue: The last word on the very beginning

This book is about following one's dream, taking risks, and going with an idea that could be built into a company. It is filled with words of wisdom regarding entrepreneurship. It is motivational, and includes tips and annectdotes that just about any wanta-be entrepreneur will find useful on their road to starting a small business of their own.

I wish I could list all 61 of the lesson titles in this review. But that wouldn't be fair or right. However, the 14 lesson titles that were my favorites were:

5. Fantasizing is essential
14. Avoid Complication
15. The destination determines the journey
16. Go back to school
24. Close the information gap
25. Start with the questions
26. Mapping it out
28. Ideas need money, and vice versa
34. Keep it real
35. Successful marketing: Something simple
36. Successful marketing: Something true
37. Successful marketing: Something consistent
38. Successful marketing: Something with a point of view
39. Strive for balance

The book follows a typical sequence. First the lesson learned is presented and then the author tells her story as it related to the lesson. If you are thinking about starting a business of your own, then seriously consider getting a copy of this book and giving it a read. You won't be sorry you did. 5 stars!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons of a Lipstick Queen, June 9, 2008

By	F. del Castillo (Canberra, AUSTRALIA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is about following your dreams and learning from your mistakes along the way. It is about never giving up even though the journey ahead appears hard and painful. It is a truly inspiring positive book filled with insight and wisdom.
Poppy King's honesty and humor makes this book a real joy to read.
Enjoyed thoroughly the "My Story" sections that were written with the specific lessons.
This is a truly beautiful book!!