Patterning success with Tracee Ellis Ross
In the latest episode of Your Next Move, actress, producer & founder Tracee Ellis Ross shares key steps to building her business.
After her hit television show “Girlfriends” came to an end, Tracee Ellis Ross was looking for a new challenge. She had long been frustrated by the product options for people with textured hair, so she decided to create new ones. The result is her beauty brand, PATTERN Beauty.
The company has grown, and Ross is now focused on operations. With 11 retail partners, PATTERN Beauty needed to evolve from a small and scrappy company into a multimillion-dollar business grounded in intention, product rigor and a clear understanding of its customer. In this latest episode of Your Next Move, filmed at Inc. Founders House in Los Angeles, Ross shares how she’s managing through this period and areas on which she’s focused now.
What you’ll learn
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Why you need people who can translate concepts into action
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The key reason good communication matters
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Networking is essential
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Why your idea needs to be exportable
Find people who turn frustration into better systems
PATTERN Beauty thrived at first because it was scrappy and small. But with a growing list of retail partners, the company needed new systems. Ross said she didn’t always have the language to describe her frustrations, but she had people around her who did. Her director of operations was able to understand her concerns and make improvements to systems. Learning how to put together the right team and understand where things are getting “clogged” has been essential to growth.
Everyone’s passionate—and they need to communicate
Fostering good communication at every level also helps support growth. Ross recounts a metaphor a colleague shared with her: The people working on the trees are incredible and passionate. The people working at the forest level are incredible and passionate. The company needed a better link between the two.
“So, we need now to build in time to communicate in those two places,” she says.
Expand your network
When someone you trust suggests meeting with a new contact, do it, Ross recommends. When she needed operational partners, she asked her contacts at Ulta Beauty for recommendations. As a result, she met the people who could help her turn an idea into a business.
“This is a life, a world, a business of relationships,” she says. Meeting new people can open opportunities.
Make sure your experience doesn’t limit you
Ross realized that her idea came from her own experience. She had to make sure that her idea was exportable—that there was a way to take her idea and turn it into a business. “If you’re not careful, your own personal experience can actually limit your ability to export that into a business plan,” she says.
Key takeaways
Building the right team, establishing good communication and finding the balance between trusting your team to do their jobs and stepping in when you need to have all been key steps in PATTERN Beauty’s growth. Ross says her experience as an actor and producer has helped her trust herself and understand the mechanics of growing a great team—and a lasting business. Watch the latest Your Next Move episode to learn more.
