Who would have guessed that reality star turned entrepreneur, Kylie Jenner, would turn out to be one of the biggest success stories of 2019. Her brand Kylie Cosmetics constantly sold out new launches, partnered with Ulta Beauty to dominate retail, and then eventually sold a majority position (51 percent) for a rumored $600 million.
Not bad, right? Earlier last year Forbes named her the youngest “self-made” billionaire, and that caused quite a commotion on social media. Many rushed to her defense and said that, yes, what she did was worthy of the acknowledgement, while others felt that “self-made” was a bit of a stretch considering who her family was and where she came from.
Regardless, she did build a highly successful brand, maintained complete ownership up until she sold the majority stake, and even launched a spin-off brand, Kylie Skin, in the process.
Her social media following was the major advantage she had, and it was because of that leverage she had that she was able to launch to wild success and scale quickly. She didn’t have one major expense that most brands do, and that is paid advertising.
While most new brands run paid media, Kylie simply posted on social media, placing her new brand directly in front of her target audience. The cost? Nothing but her time.
All of the effort she put into her personal brand leading up to that point paid off, and it paid off big. Because of the massive audience she had at her fingertips and their undivided attention, she created a major advantage for her brand:
- She was able to launch with zero investors and maintain complete ownership, up until she decided to sell the majority position, netting a $600 million-dollar payday.
- She was able to advertise to her target market at a cost of $0.
- With an advertising and marketing cost of nothing, she was able to roll the revenue back into the brand and scale at a very aggressive rate.
Her strong personal brand is single-handily responsible for her billion-dollar net worth. The animated infographic below highlights many contributing factors, all of which contributed to the snowballing net worth of Kylie Jenner.
Kylie Jenner Infographic by Hustler Alliance
While not every entrepreneur is going to have millions of followers at his or her disposal when starting out, there are lessons that can be learned from Kylie’s success. Building a personal brand is a must-do in today’s social media focused world. If you are thinking of starting a business, make sure to put the time and effort into building your personal brand, as it can be a major contributor to your success.