Four Lessons From Mr. Marc Jacobs

I recently watched the documentary Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton. Jacobs has been the Creative Director and Head Designer for Louis Vuitton since 1997, in addition to designing his own line Marc, by Marc Jacobs. He has been and continues to be wildly successful; LVMH just reported that despite the economy Louis Vuitton continued to increase in sales and profit last quarter. After reflecting on the movie four key lessons jumped out at me.

1. Don’t be afraid of the big risk. Jacobs very first fashion show as Creative Director and Designer for Louis Vuitton he showcased only the clothes of the brand new ready to wear line that he created, not one model carried a handbag. Louis Vuitton is a 150 plus year old company known worldwide for their expertly crafted and highly coveted luxury purses and luggage. That is tantamount to Ray-Ban who is known for their sunglasses to decide they are going to get into the clothing business, stage a Fashion show during Fashion Week, and not have one model wear their world famous sunglasses. For Jacobs to have the gumption not to include even one handbag, gives much insight into his tolerance for risk taking. CEO of parent company LVMH, Bernard Arnault, was stunned to view the show and see that not one bag was featured however the show was a smashing success and catapulted Louis Vuitton's much less popular clothing line into the spotlight. The risk was big, but it paid off.

2. In the movie Mar Jacobs stated, “I don’t have any separation between life and work”. Even in his free time, Jacobs is constantly considering ideas for work. I think this is a great quote, not because I think we should constantly work; but, if we are lucky enough to do what we love - as in the case of Jacobs-, life and work will blend seamlessly together. Work won’t be something dreaded and draining; instead it will be fulfilling and engaging.

3. During the filming of the documentary Marc Jacobs met with renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, known for her crazy polka dot designs. Although there was a language barrier they very much enjoyed each other’s company and Kusama ended with telling Jacobs several times, “work very hard, must work very hard”. Yes to get anywhere of import, we must work very hard. So if at all possible, it is best if we pick something we actually like doing to work “very hard” at.

4. When asked about his definition of success, Jacobs didn’t mention goals or money or fame or recognition he said, “I don’t know how to define success, if I can continue to do what I love; I am successful.” This is probably one of the better definition’s of success because how many people can truly say that they get to spend the majority of their time doing what they love.

A Conversation With Darryl Roberts.

This weekend I was lucky enough to meet with Dr. Darryl Roberts. Darryl is the writer, producer, and director of the many awards winning documentary America the Beautiful.

Since he is the first person I have interviewed for this blog; I am very grateful that he was willing to meet with me. He had wonderful insights about the life of an entrepreneur and the importance of following your interests. We spoke at length and I will highlight some of the keys to success he shared with me in future posts. In this post I will relate a little of his background.

America the Beautiful is his most well known work and the project that has made him a wealthy man; however, Darryl has been entrepreneurial since the early eighties. Though he earned a degree in accounting and marketing after graduating he began working for himself as a party promoter. A couple of years later he was ready for a new challenge. While on vacation in L.A. he decided that he wanted to, and would make a movie. Getting started he promptly raised $31,000. Purchased $500 worth of books on film making and went to work. Who learns how to make a movie just by reading lots of books on the subject? Apparently someone fearless and confident in his dreams.

Darryl said," I never had experience doing anything I wanted to do-I just went out and did it." That is exactly what he did. He wrote the screenplay and decided he would also be the director. The film, The Perfect Model came out in 1988 followed by, How You Like Me Now, in 1995. While neither proved to be a big hit, it opened up doors for other opportunities. He was invited to be the entertainment reporter for the local Chicago NBC affiliate. Which he did for two years before feeling the urge to pursue other goals.

While on vacation in NYC, and staying at the Royalton Hotel he discovered the legendary work of designer Philippe Starck. Darryl was so impressed with Starck's work that he decided to start his own design company. Time to buy more books. D. Anthony Designs, the company he started was soon doing brisk business designing rooms and sets for the Hollywood crowd, culminating in the commission to design the 12th Floor of the MTV building. Most would be thrilled with this type of success but Darryl was contemplating pulling the plug on the business. The success was too great, which to most would be an oxymoron, but he saw that he was headed to a place where he was making too much money to pursue something different. Trying his hand at another movie was what he really wanted to do.

So he shuttered his thriving business to pursue the dream of another film. He spent five years independently making America the Beautiful so when it became a big hit, he reaped all the rewards. "It was life changing" according to Darryl. It has been his biggest success making him a very wealthy man and a sought after lecturer. Because of the film’s success he has traveled and lectured in over 171 cities around the world including far flung places like Durbin, South Africa. He currently has a book in the works, and a possible Lifetime series based on the film. Darryl most certainly does not have miserable Mondays!

Takeaway Lessons:

1. Believe in your dreams regardless of how seemingly farfetched. Darryl didn’t just want to make a movie he did something about it.
2. He learned as much about the business as he could (purchasing $500.00 worth of books) But, he didn’t get caught in the trap of endless researching and no action. He raised $31,000 to fund his dream.
3. Now most people, myself included, probably think, “I certainly don’t have $31,000 lying around nor do I have access to that type of money”. Neither did Darryl he mostly raised it from friends. He was confident enough in his dream to convince others to believe, and to show it by giving up the funds.
4. If you want to be an entrepreneur you’re going to have to become a salesperson and marketer supreme. You must be able to sell yourself, your product, your dream. And also you can’t stutter when asking for money or the sale.
   

And So My Quest Begins....

I know they are out there. People who love their job. Who wake up on Monday excited about the day and the week ahead of them. Who are engaged in their labor and proud of their work. They have found a way to put their strengths to work, to do what they are good at. And at the end of the day they have something to show for their hours of toil. Even more their job is integrated into their life as a whole so they don’t live only for the weekend, and the opportunity to numb their weekday troubles with carousing, drinking and recreation. No everyday is a good day or at the very least Monday morning thru Friday at 5 is not to be dreaded. Or if you are like much of the working bleak it is more like 7:30 to 6:30, (nope not bitter at all, well maybe a little.)

Yes! I know they are out there and I am intrigued, obsessed and wildly, almost sickeningly jealous of them. I will join their tribe one day. (It is one of my major life goals) This blog will be a case study of these elusive beings. I have a few theories of how they have made it happen. My foremost theory is that they are entrepreneurs whose main source of income is working for themselves but I am open to the possibility that there are those out there who work for someone else, but who still happily spring out of bed on Mondays excited about the week ahead. If you know of one of these persons please email me. notanothermiserablemonday@gmail.com I would like to interview them for this blog. It is my quest to know the people whose week does not start with Another Miserable Monday!