Beauty Mogul Who Launched Her Brand on QVC Publishes Self-Empowerment Book
February 19, 2021: Jamie Kern Lima, Co-Founder of billion-dollar beauty brand IT Cosmetics, hopes to help people battling self-doubt overcome their fears with her new book, “Believe IT,” and its companion course collection, “Becoming Unstoppable.” Jamie, a self-made entrepreneur who launched her brand and career on QVC nearly a decade ago, will introduce her book and digital course on QVC.com and on-air on February 20 at 10 a.m. ET.
In “Believe IT,” Jamie tells the story of how she went from a struggling waitress to a powerhouse beauty mogul, weaving in key lessons learned along the way, such as the importance of letting go of mistakes and insecurities. Her digital course includes a 95-page action plan as a template to help readers activate her insights into their own lives and go from “underestimated to unstoppable.”
Jamie’s entrepreneurial success grew out of her determination to create a makeup formula to mask her rosacea and her realization that her recipe could help boost other women’s confidence in their skin as well. The breakthrough for her beauty line was her debut on QVC in 2010. The undereye concealer she launched sold out in just over 10 minutes, and she knew she had a business.
When IT Cosmetics was acquired by L’Oréal in 2016, Jamie became the beauty conglomerate’s first female CEO of a brand in its over-100-year history, shattering a glass ceiling. Jamie left L’Oréal in 2019 with aspirations of inspiring women’s self-confidence on a more personal level, deeper than their complexions. We sat down with Jamie to find out more about her passion for empowering women and how she turned that into her book and course collection.
What made you decide to write this book?
I was hearing from so many women who saw the headlines about my story that usually said something like, “Waitress Turned Billion-Dollar Entrepreneur.” So many people message me asking if I just got lucky, if I had connections, or if I had money. I realized that it’s important to share my story-behind-the-story, because that’s what will help others feel less alone in their own struggles and setbacks. My story is so much more than a business success story – it’s really a story about a girl who went from not believing in herself to believing in herself, from not trusting herself to trusting herself, and from doubting she’s enough to knowing she’s enough. I know it’s not just my story; it’s the story of so many girls and women out there who are on their own journeys of learning to believe in themselves.
What lessons in your book were shaped by your QVC experience?
So many – especially around the power of authenticity and freedom in embracing your authentic self. In doing over 1,000 live shows on QVC, I’ve had the blessing of meeting thousands of entrepreneurs who built amazing brands. I noticed that the commonality between them all is that they are the same way in front of the camera as they are in the green room – their authentic selves. Customers are smart, and you can’t fake authenticity. This lesson is so freeing because it means we don’t need to put pressure on ourselves to be someone we’re not. Of course, authenticity alone doesn’t automatically guarantee success, but inauthenticity guarantees failure. I learned that right before my eyes time and time again at QVC.
What’s one thing in the book that people will be surprised to find out?
How hard the journey was. I started in my living room with close to no money and a big dream, faced three years of constant rejections, and was told “No” over and over. We all face rejection in life or experiences where someone tells us they don’t believe in us. My book is all about how to handle that when it happens to you.
Was any part of the book particularly difficult to write? If so, what was it?
Yes, a lot of parts! Ninety-five percent of the book is stories I’ve never shared before, including deeply personal life lessons. One of the hardest parts I share is my experience having the rug pulled out from under me by someone I love. Also, I talk about finding out by accident in my late 20s that I’m adopted. I share the five-year search for my birth mom, which happened in parallel with the growth of IT Cosmetics, and in parallel with my painful struggle of trying to conceive. I share the journey of adoption and surrogacy and how I learned that you aren’t meant to do life alone.
Who should read this book?
This book is for anyone who wants to overcome self-doubt and truly learn to believe in themselves.
Why are you excited to share your book with readers?
I believe this book is coming out at the perfect time. I’m so excited to share it with readers to help inspire them on their own journeys of overcoming self-doubt, learning to believe in themselves and trust themselves, and truly becoming the people they’re born to be.