Currently we are in midst of a global pandemic crisis, the entire world is shut down, businesses shuttering everyday and 6.6 million people in America filed for unemployment. The lesson here is it would have been easier to manage 2 months ago before it got more difficult. And for an entrepreneur, working with a lean team, creating under constraints and having a healthy balance sheet when times are good prepares you for difficult times like this.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Yen, founder of Purlisse and YENSA Beauty. Jennifer started her career on the hit TV Show POWER RANGERS and now she saves complexions with her award winning beauty line, Purlisse. Jennifer Yen is a single mom who has a goal: to share the Asian Beauty Secrets that cleared up her skin while she was a Power Ranger; the show destroyed her skin! Now women can fall in love with their skin again from tried and true Asian remedies that date back 1000s of years. Going back to her roots and her Grandmother’s Asian beauty secrets, Jennifer was able to improve her skin and her confidence.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us the “backstory” that brought you to this career path?
My path to becoming a CEO is an unconventional one. I’m a former TV villainess. I used to fight Power Rangers on TV and spending 15 hours a day with heavy makeup on, under bright lights really wrecked my skin. I tried absolutely everything to restore my complexion but nothing worked. That’s when I rediscovered my grandmother’s Asian beauty rituals, and immediately saw a difference in my skin. I was determined to bring these rituals to everyone around the world, so I created Purlisse.
However, after giving birth to my daughter, I was again faced with troubled skin. My mother insisted that I participate in “Zuo Zue Zi”, a 2000 year old tradition in Chinese Medicine where a new mother sits out a month right after birth, in order to rest and heal her body by integrating superfoods into their daily routine. This inspired me to start my second brand, YENSA.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this career?
Life and work challenges never get easier, you just get better.
Can you share a story about the funniest or most interesting mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I thought building my own business was going to be so much easier. Having survived the great recession and now going into the great pandemic, 2 lessons stand out:
- Solid, steady and sustainable businesses win the race.
- Do more with less and create under constraints.
Ok let’s jump to the main focus of our interview. Even in 2019, women still earn about 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. Can you explain three of the main factors that are causing the wage gap?
1. Women are forced to take time off from work when they become mothers because there is not enough infrastructure to care for children.
2. Women hold less executive positions.
3. There are not enough women investors investing in women led companies.
Can you share with our readers what your work is doing to help close the gender wage gap?
I am a woman, creating beauty products for women, therefore we have an all women team. This is not to say that we wouldn’t hire men. Right now, we only have a team of talented and passionate women. In addition, most of our contractors such as our marketing agency, PR and others are also women led. I hope we are doing our part to close the gender wage gap.
Can you recommend 5 things that need to be done on a broader societal level to close the gender wage gap. Please share a story or example for each.
1. In a relationship, partnership or marriage, when both partners are working, the childcare, the household chores, cooking, errands, grocery shopping, cleaning etc should be shared by both partners.
2. More infrastructure for childcare that enables women to work and stay in the workforce.
3. Advice and mentorship from other women who have been able to raise children while continuing to work.
4. Have more women executives and more women in leadership positions.
5. For every man a company hires, hire a woman.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would strive to continuously empower, promote and enable women’s economic independence.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Anticipate the Difficult by Managing the Easy” — Lao Tzu
Currently we are in midst of a global pandemic crisis, the entire world is shut down, businesses shuttering everyday and 6.6 million people in America filed for unemployment. The lesson here is it would have been easier to manage 2 months ago before it got more difficult. And for an entrepreneur, working with a lean team, creating under constraints and having a healthy balance sheet when times are good prepares you for difficult times like this.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I admire Sara Blakely, she is self-made, passionate and believed in her mission and product and self-financed her company. Her company was born out of her own personal pain and her brand and company is authentic.
This was really meaningful! Thank you so much for your time.
Jennifer Yen of Purlisse and YENSA Beauty: 5 Things We Need To Do To Close The Gender Wage Gap was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.