A Billi, a billi, a billi: How Jessica Alba Became a Billion Dollar Businesswoman.

Self made and paid!

In a day and age where people equate fame, followers and ‘popularity’ to wealth (perception vs. reality) it’s refreshing to know that a lot of hard work and a little ‘Honesty’ still does go a long way.. and we mean “money-long” way.

Thanks to her new business, ‘The Honest Company,’ actress Jessica Alba has nearly secured a top spot on FORBES’ “America’s Richest Self-Made Women,” list and it’s not quite for what you might think. The 34-year-old actress, known notoriously for her breakout role on the short-lived FOX show Dark Angel, and her countless movie gigs thereafter (Fantastic Four, Honey, etc), is now said to be worth $200 million- that’s $50 million shy of joining the ranks of Beyonce and Judge Judy, who are both tied at #49, at $250 million a pop. Not bad for the girl who admitted that she saved up her acting money in her 20’s because she wasn’t sure how long she’d keep a job, and that coming from a family where her parents fought to keep the lights on, she had a plan to never return to broke.


However, work fortunately did continue to come, but since trading in her 90 hour Hollywood work week for a desk, Jess is now less stressed, more blessed and even further, the wealthiest she’s ever been. But you too would swap the silver screen for an office chair if you were sitting on a cool $200 million. (She now has a 15-20% stake in the company which is backed by investors).

So where did the major coinage pour-in?

It wasn’t from acting! In 2008, Jessica launched ‘The Honest Company,’ an organic and eco-friendly line of baby and household products. Her decision to develop the organic products came after she experienced an outbreak of redness and welts on her skin during her pregnancy as a direct reaction to her laundry detergent which contained chemical-based ingredients. Having spent half of her childhood in the hospital due to being prone to allergies, outbreaks and an iffy-immune system, Jessica started researching what things were actually in some of her household products, only to be appalled by the long-list of toxic ingredients they contained.

Long story short, after failed attempts to create her own stuff at home for personal use, Jessica began researching and using the help of researchers, to get a better grasp of “going green,” (and no, not the money part… yet.) This turned into Jess stumbling across everything from a shortage of truly organic baby products to the 1976 “Toxic Substances Control Act,” which has allowed more than 80,000 chemicals to remain in household products untested- only five are which are actually regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency; and just 11 are banned from consumer goods. (In Europe that figure is more than 1,300.) The wife and now mommy of two is currently in the process of reforming this act but in the meantime, she has launched ‘Honest,’ which supplies the needs for everything from biodegradable diapers delivered to your door steps to affordable and less-hazardous ‘Honest’ cleaning supplies.

Now, 3 years since the company first started selling product, ‘The Honest Company’ went from hitting $10 million in annual revenue in 2012, to an insane estimated $250 million this year (80% of revenue comes from its monthly subscription service), and it’s now worth almost a billion dollars.  During Forbes Women’s Summit this week, Jessica opened up about her success, saying:

People just saw me as this girl in a bikini in movies kicking butt — maybe not the brightest bulb. It took 3 and half years of lots of condescending nods and lots of pats on the back like, ‘good luck,’ like, ‘You idiot. How are you going to do this? Go back to endorsing things. Go do a perfume!’

I needed more people to tell me no. I needed people to not get it and look at me cross eyed for me to really figure out exactly what I was going to do and how I was going to do it.

It’s something I had to learn as a woman in business. To ask for help and to not be afraid of criticism. And when you don’t know what to do, to be okay with not knowing [but learning]. And to not be defined by your mistakes. There are challenges, there are roadblocks, there are mountains. And you just have to figure it out. You just have to be malleable and surround yourself around really smart people. And I didn’t think I was smart for a really long time.

Do you think you’re smart now?

Yes. I think I’m [ok]. I’m not the smartest, but I try. I’m here at the FORBES summit and I’m talking to you ladies. And I’m on the cover of FORBES!
So how does this apply to us? Well, because in 2015, we live in a time where most billionaires are actually self-made, and not trust-fund babies or heirs to cash.