While flipping through channels late at night--amid the reruns, color bars, and grade-B movies you're certain to find Meredith Baxter, Ali MacGraw, or Lisa Hartman enthusiastically discussing Victoria Jackson's line of "no-makeup makeup." Victoria Jackson, the 37year-old founder and chairwoman of the board of the cosmetics company that bears her name, is understandably proud that her product boasts over one million customers nationwide. Jackson, who struggled to pay the rent just over a decade ago, was recently featured on Robin Leaeh's Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. While you may never have heard of Jackson, the stars' seeming conviction and testimonies draw your attention and keep you tuned in. Such is the magic sales method of the ever-growing field of infomercials. These are the half-hour-long "paid presentations" seen late at night in which a product's virtue is praised by paid celebrities, and an 800 number begs for your fingers to start walking toward the phone--and your wallet.

Despite the fact that she was told by television marketing experts that selling makeup through television wouldn't work, Victoria Jackson Cosmetics hit the airwaves in October 1989. Jackson's slick, 28-minute show of before-and-after makeovers and celebrity endorsements brought in over 10,000 sales and over $1 million in revenue-- in its first week. Victoria Jackson Cosmetics' 800-telephone line has been ringing off the hook--and ringing up the sales--ever since. The company boasts nearly $200 million in total sales since Jackson's infomercial debut. In 1992, Jackson's company grossed over $40 million.

KEEPING CUSTOMERS--IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN GETTING CUSTOMERS

It's well known that favorable third party critiques build more customer confidence in a product or service than a company's own advertisement. Watching a star such as Ali MacGraw expound the attributes of a product is a lot more convincing, but skeptical observers may still find it hard to believe a paid endorser is being completely honest with us.

Getting over this stigma can be difficult. While Jackson acknowledges these stars are channel stoppers, she stresses that she knows, beyond a doubt, all the glamorous faces in the world wouldn't mean a thing if her customers weren't happy with the product and didn't come back for more. And apparently they do: The company sends out four catalogs per year, and Jackson says that the majority of its business is now repeat orders from satisfied customers.

Like so many businesses today in which competition is high and value means more than low price, customer service and support in the cosmetics industry is key to sales--and survival. Jackson believes that part of her success with customers is the time her company has taken to train the 100 operators (who talk to the millions of callers) as beauty consultants rather than simple order takers. Jackson also stresses that whether a business has one or one million customers, it needs to have everything well thought out to bring the customers the satisfaction they deserve, including a no-questions-asked money back guarantee.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN--IN THE GARAGE

Jackson's path to fortune started 14 years ago when she gave up makeup counter jobs and decided to act on her wish to become a Hollywood makeup artist. Her first step was to scour magazines for the names of photographers she wanted to work with. For two years, Jackson worked gratis for local photographers in order to build her portfolio, working as a waitress and giving haircuts in her kitchen, among other jobs, to pay the rent. Her big break came in 1980, when she met a photographer who was shooting Larry Hagman for the cover of People magazine. Soon Jackson was grooming for magazine covers, album covers, advertisements, and editorial layouts-- and became one of the most sought-after makeup artists in the business.

Despite the deluge of makeup products available in stores, Jackson could never find a foundation she liked that fit her philosophy--simple, light, clean, and color matched more naturally to skin tones. So she started experimenting by mixing her own concoctions in her garage until she found a formula that met her needs. Soon other makeup artists and friends became regular customers. The idea to bring her makeup line to women everywhere was born.

"I did some research and found a chemist in Los Angeles whom I persuaded to work on speculation to help me put together a line of 14 shades of foundation. He took the challenge," she says. After two years of R & D, the two developed a spectrum of base shades to suit women of all colors.

THE CLASSROOM AS TEST MARKET

In 1983, the dean of the visual arts department at the University of California at Los Angeles invited Jackson to teach a new extension course, "Makeup Styling for Photography and Video." The first class sold out--and so did each subsequent class for the next six years. Teaching had a fringe benefit: "This was a chance for me to test-market my foundation on the 55 to 60 students in each of my classes." When local beauty supply stores began to pick up her product, Jackson was convinced of the success potential of her foundation--which is still the cornerstone of her line. The garage became an active production and distribution center, from which Jackson sold about 100 jars of foundation a week.

BUILDING FROM THE FOUNDATION UP

While her foundation line grew more popular within its limited circle, Jackson still wasn't satisfied. "The most difficult part of starting any business," says Jackson, "is that once you have your product, you have to then convince the world that they want to buy it. You need capital, and unless you have a lot of personal resources, you have to look elsewhere."

Jackson knew that in order to realize her initial dream of selling her line nationwide through the highly competitive arena of department stores, she would need heavy-duty capitalization. Her first money-raising attempt, in the mid-1980s, failed. "But this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. My business would have ended up very differently if I had sold through department stores."

Jackson simply tried, tried again. She put together a new business plan that incorporated a yet-untried marketing plan for makeup--selling via television--and started to approach venture capitalists. She found out that "a lot people will line up and tell you all the reasons your idea won't work. They'd say, "What are you going to do, Victoria, compete with Revlon or Clinique?' I'd say no, I have a niche for my product, and it's going to work."

BRINGING IT TO THE MASSES

By chance, one of Jackson's cosmetically converted UCLA students worked with a group who invested in and produced successful infomercials, American Telecast Group (past credits include shows for Richard Simmons and John Ritter). The student set up a meeting between Jackson and this team, in which Jackson pitched her idea of selling her makeup line through television.

At first, these venture-producers were skeptical--they believed that women needed to see, touch, and feel cosmetics before they would lay out money. But according to Jackson, "Anyone who takes no for an answer isn't an entrepreneur." Put your money where my mouth is, she told them, and I promise that you will become a part of a multimillion-dollar cosmetics company.

Perseverance paid off: Within three days, Jackson had a contract and $10 million in financial backing. For six months she worked on perfecting and producing her line and putting together an instructional videotape to accompany the kit. She persuaded friends (and former clients) MacGraw, Hartman, and Baxter to join her production; they receive royalties on sales for their appearances. After spending $750,000 creating the infomercial (the most that had ever been spent on a single infomercial up to that point), Victoria Jackson Cosmetics went on the air. She learned, during this period, that "if you are lucky enough to find your way into a good deal, make sure that you surround yourself with a group of people to help you make sound business decisions. That includes good lawyers, accountants, and others who can help you look at what you're getting into. I've seen too many people get into some not-so-good deals, who sign away most of what they've worked for."

MAKING UP IS HARD TO DO

Anyone who is starting out is a little naive, Jackson says, or afraid to speak up and say no. "The times I've make mistakes are when I didn't listen to myself. When I started, I was a makeup artist--not a businesswoman, and I had to learn to integrate the two. I had to become a very good makeup artist and a very good businesswoman."

Even now, Jackson can feel pressure from her seven business partners from American Telecast--all men. "It can be a little intimidating---especially when you really want something to succeed and the people on the other side are holding the checkbook. You must hold true to your belief in yourself and your product and not compromise the integrity of either," she insists.

ENTREPRENEURIAL REWARDS

While removed from the day-to-day goings-on at the company (based in Paoli, Pennsylvania; Jackson works out of her office in Los Angeles.), Jackson still feels overwhelming pressure at times. While the "frenetic energy" she spent in earlier years certainly paid off, "it was a crucial turning point for me to separate Victoria Jackson Cosmetics and Victoria Jackson the person--in the beginning, it was all the same. When an entrepreneurial venture becomes as big as this has, you have to learn to trust others to make some of the decisions. The nice thing about becoming successful is that it allows me the luxury of spending more time with my family. While I'll never lose sight of the fact that it's my name on each one of those compacts, I've learned that I have to sit back and separate myself from the sometimes-overwhelming responsibility," she says.

Jackson was eight months pregnant with her second child at the time of our interview, and that new baby girl is sure to take the front seat for a while. When asked about the task of balancing her "sometimes-overwhelming" responsibility and her family, Jackson answered without hesitation: "My family is most important to me, and I never confuse that priority."

What's the most rewarding part of Jackson's years of hard work? "I have achieved what I set out to do, and have done what people said I couldn't do. The best part is that I didn't have to compromise the integrity of myself or my product."

Her one-million-plus customers seem to agree.

COPYRIGHT 1993 Freedom Technology Media Group
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group