Ms. Jo Malone CBE, British perfumer and founder of fragrance brands Jo Malone London and Jo Loves.
Mike Green, CNBC
British entrepreneur and renowned perfumer Jo Malone (CBE) has opened up about her difficult upbringing and how becoming the breadwinner of her family at the age of 11 sowed the first seeds of entrepreneurship.
Mr. Malone, founder of the successful fragrance brands Jo Malone London and Jo Loves, appeared on an episode of CNBC’s “Executive Decisions” podcast with Steve Sedgwick, released Tuesday.
Jo Malone London has been acquired. estee lauder Founding the company in 1999, the founders made millions of dollars for an undisclosed amount.
But long before she became a millionaire, Malone recalled growing up on a council estate in Kent, England, with a mother who worked in the beauty industry and a father who was an artist, gambler and poker player.
“From the time I was 11 years old, I was just an adult saying, ‘Do I have enough money to buy an electric and gas meter?’ Because I knew that if he gambled all his money, he wouldn’t have anything to eat,” Malone told Sedgwick.
Her mother became ill before Malone was a teenager, and she missed nearly a year of school as she tried to find a way to make ends meet for her mother, father, and younger sister.
Drawing on her mother’s experience and teachings, the savvy Malone recreated the face cream she used to sell, took it by train to London, and sold it to customers for £4.50 ($5.90).
“That’s how I kept my family together. My dad would come and go whenever he wanted to come home,” she said.
“I think I was made in the moment. No matter what was thrown at me, I always found a way out. When I find an entrance, or find a tunnel or a ladder, I think, ‘Okay, how am I going to make the next 20 pounds?’
Malone recalled selling her father’s paintings on Saturdays because the family needed money for food and his father tended to be extravagant. On Sundays, she attended poker games by his side, where he taught her how to read marked cards.
Today, Malone is a successful entrepreneur and credits her difficult childhood experiences with shaping her into the resilient businesswoman she is today.
“At first it was survival.”
“I kept saying to myself, ‘I’m not going to live like this when I grow up. I’m never going to have a family like this,'” Malone said.
“I remember being in my bedroom one day. We didn’t have central heating. It was really cold and there was ice on the windows. I remember rubbing the ice between my fingers and looking out and thinking, ‘I have to change my destiny.'”
Malone said she was lonely as a teenager, unable to do “normal” things like sports with friends. Instead, she stayed home to do laundry, cook dinner, and pick up her sister from school.
It wasn’t until she grew up that she realized that her independent spirit fostered an entrepreneurial spirit.
“At first it was about survival,” she said of her first few jobs at a flower shop, washing dishes at a restaurant and walking people’s dogs.
“I was never embarrassed to do laundry or do those things for a living,” Malone said. “I think it was when I first started my skin care business. That’s when I knew I was in charge of my life and I had to make it happen.”
“And that’s when you become an entrepreneur. I didn’t know what the word entrepreneur meant, but that’s when it really took hold,” she said.
Ms Malone, who is no longer associated with Jo Malone London, now lives in Dubai and launched a luxury spirits brand, Jo Vodka, this year. She also runs a fragrance business, Jo Loves.
Listen to all episodes of Steve Sedgwick’s “Executive Decisions” wherever you get your podcasts, or click here to listen.
