How John Paul DeJoria Built Consumer Brands Through Product Fit and Sales
Family Office Club interview.
DeJoria describes building consumer product and spirits businesses, judging partners and involving teams. He discusses repeat orders, salon product features, market needs, advice to companies he invested in, employee recognition and programs for people experiencing homelessness.
In this video: Richard C. Wilson (Interviewer at the Family Office Club), John Paul DeJoria (Entrepreneur and chairman of the board at Paul Mitchell)
What they said
- DeJoria on encyclopedia sales rejection. John Paul DeJoria says encyclopedia sales training took 5 days to memorize, and the average encyclopedia salesman lasted three and a half days. He stayed three and a half years, following the instruction to stay enthusiastic at each door.
- DeJoria on product reorders. DeJoria says he believed customers would reorder after trying the product. He describes repeat demand as central to building the company when there was no money for advertising or staff.
- DeJoria on shampoo and conditioner design. DeJoria says Paul Mitchell shampoo was designed for one wash rather than two, and made conditioner a leave-in product. He said these choices saved time and money and helped prevent damage from excessive blow drying.
- DeJoria on verifying a partner's claims. DeJoria says to check what a partner claims has been tested and confirm that a product or service matches its description before investing.
- DeJoria on learning an industry's terms. DeJoria says to learn an industry's vocabulary, read about its products and competitors, and ask others what they think. He says investors should look for ways to improve the offer and add value rather than compete on discounts.
In their words
"You want to sell what the feature is and follow it up with the benefit to the person."
"When you love what you do, you're not working anymore."
Why it matters if you are building or preserving great wealth
DeJoria says he gave suggestions to companies he invested in but didn't run, and that investments where he only put in money worked less well. His examples make partner fit partly a question of whether an investor will contribute ideas and effort.
From Richard's exclusive Billionaires.com interviews
Lessons from Richard C. Wilson's one-on-one interviews, as published on each interview page.
- Bobby Castro: Change the strategy to scale. Bobby says that to scale a business, everything has to change. He suggests asking whether the business is scalable, whether it offers a solution and whether it is disruptive.
- Tony Robbins: Think like an owner. His biggest turning point was moving from operator to owner. An operator tries to supervise everything and cannot scale.
- Don Wenner: Commit to scale. Don's major turning point came when he decided to build a great company that makes an impact. Making money and being successful was not enough for him.
See the data
Frequently asked questions
What happened at the entrepreneur center?
DeJoria said that in about 18 months, perhaps 20 months at most, the center sold almost $200,000 worth of items made through painting, jewelry, pottery and aquaculture. He said the participants kept the proceeds.
What did DeJoria say about correcting and recognizing employees?
He said there are ways to reprimand someone so they leave the room loving you, and ways to make a small action feel significant to the person who did it.
Sources
Quotes are copied from the video captions and checked against the transcript. Timestamps link to the moment in the video. General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.