IAM2446 – President and CEO Creates an A-List Beauty Experiences for Everyday Women

Natasha Cornstein

00:00 - 00:18

Our goal is to create these very personalized beauty experiences where you come, you can get your makeup done, you get a blowout, have a glass of champagne, and we get you in and out without sacrificing the quality. So I say it's this A-list celebrity beauty experience for everyday women.

Intro

00:20 - 00:46

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I Am CEO

Gresham Harkless

00:46 - 00:55

Podcast. Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I Am CEO Podcast, and I have an awesome guest on the show today. I have Natasha Kornstein. Natasha, excited to have you on the show.

Natasha Cornstein

00:55 - 01:03

Gresh, thank you so much for having me. I've had this date marked on my calendar and really excited to be a guest on your I Am CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless

01:04 - 01:40

Yes, I'm super excited to have you on as well, too. And I also have been definitely looking forward to it because Natasha is doing so many awesome things. And of course, before we jump in and have that phenomenal conversation, I want to read a little bit more about Natasha so you can hear about some of those awesome things. And from January 2015 to January 2024, Natasha served as president and CEO of Blushington LLC, a brick and mortar and digital beauty service and retail business. She led the national expansion of the brand and its pivot from a pure play brick and mortar beauty service business to a technology driven beauty education and e-commerce platform.

Gresham Harkless

01:41 - 02:20

She continues to reinvent the business by creating the first of its kind platform for beauty professionals. And in January 2024, she became CEO of Blushington Holdings Incorporated and led the development and launch of Blushington Franchising. Natasha is a trusted colleague in the beauty industry and a champion for emerging beauty brands and up-and-coming talent. And one of the really cool things I read before I prepared for this about Natasha is she's also the co-founder or has been the co-founder of Courts of Dreams Foundation, dedicated to restoring outdoor basketball courts and underserved neighborhoods in New York City, which I think is absolutely awesome to be able to be somebody that's so much of service.

Gresham Harkless

02:21 - 02:38

She was named a Beauty United mentor for women of color as well, too. And one of the favorite lines, I feel like it should be a bumper sticker at the very least, a T-shirt is one of her quotes where she said, your next hello can be your future. So, Natasha, excited to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the IMCL community?

Natasha Cornstein

02:39 - 02:42

I am ready. Rush, thank you for that introduction. Yes,

Gresham Harkless

02:42 - 02:54

absolutely. Well, you did all the hard work. I just kind of read it out, so I'm sure that was so much harder. But I guess to kick everything off, I know I touched on it a little bit. Let's rewind the clock, hear a little bit more on how you got started with what I call your CEO story.

Natasha Cornstein

02:54 - 03:32

Absolutely. Well, I guess I'll start where you left off, which is our bumper sticker t-shirt, which is really my core belief in whether it's your personal life or in business is your next hello can be your future. And I started out as a Blushington customer, believe it or not. I was in Los Angeles in 2014 doing press, a spokesperson for a brand, a global brand that I represented. And my publicist said, you're X age. I'll say, I don't care. I was 40 years old at the time. And she said, you have to get your makeup done.

Natasha Cornstein

03:32 - 04:08

And I said, I don't know. I usually like to do it myself. She said, no, it has to be professionally done. She walked me into Blushington in Los Angeles. And for me, I opened that door and it was love at first sight. Had my makeup done, felt like a million dollars when I walked out. And the very next day, as a courtesy to my then boss in New York, I had coffee with a young woman. I was raving about Washington, and she said, I do their PR. I said, I can't believe that. I said, I'm in love with the business.

Natasha Cornstein

04:08 - 04:21

Can you introduce me to the founders? She introduced me that day. And six months later, after numerous emails, phone calls, in-person visits, they appointed me as their president and CEO.

Gresham Harkless

04:22 - 04:37

Oh, wow. That's definitely awesome. And it goes right in line with that quote and what you say. So I wanted to drill down a little bit more, hear a little bit more on how you're working with and serving your clients. Could you take us a little bit more on everything that you all are doing and how you're making that impact for the clients you work with?

Natasha Cornstein

04:37 - 05:20

Absolutely. So for those of you that haven't visited a Blushington yet, we are a brick and mortar beauty destination where you can come for your, what I always like to say, the most in-demand beauty services all under one roof. Time is our most precious commodity. I think Gretchen, you and I are both working parents, so we understand. And I think time is really the greatest luxury that we have in life. So at Blushington, Our goal is to create these very personalized beauty experiences where you come, you can get your makeup done, you get a blowout, have a glass of champagne, and we get you in and out without sacrificing the quality.

Natasha Cornstein

05:20 - 06:04

So I say it's this A-list celebrity beauty experience for everyday women. And I think really what we're very focused on at Blushington is being a destination for all customers. This is who we are as a brand, this is part of our culture, this is part of our training, and what do I mean by that? I mean that no matter what your age, from the most youthful to the most mature, whatever your background is and your heritage, from the lightest of skin tone to the darkest of skin tone, and whatever your hair texture is, from the straightest hair texture to the coilest or kinkiest hair texture, You have a home at Blushington.

Natasha Cornstein

06:04 - 06:53

And I think that really sets us apart from other, you know, express beauty destinations that sort of focus on straight hair or focus on sort of just being right down the middle. Our training and our commitment is to be a destination for all. So what does that look like as the CEO driving those values? It means that I have to bring people onto our team that share those values, that are committed to the learning. Because our talent at Blushington, their makeup artists, their hair artists, they are tremendously talented. I just had a workshop with some of our artists that have been with us since 2017 and 2015.

Natasha Cornstein

06:54 - 07:30

We went through every single lipstick, eyeliner, foundation, you name it. to make sure we had all of the tools that we need for artists to do their job. So that's sort of on the service side, some of the things that we're working on. I mean, I think one cool service scratch that we recently introduced that I think is very unique to Flushington is we're doing blowouts for wigs. Wigs have become an explosive industry. It's a $5 billion industry and growing.

Gresham Harkless

07:31 - 07:59

Yeah, absolutely. That ends up being such a huge thing to kind of create that culture because I think so many times, and I almost wonder if this is part of your secret sauce, but also maybe the organization as well, too. You mentioned that intense curiosity, but I also think that and wonder if that listening that you kind of talked about to be able to kind of create that environment where you can innovate, you can change, you can be open to new ideas and continue to kind of make sure that you are at the end of the day creating that great experience, creating that destination.

Gresham Harkless

07:59 - 08:05

Do you feel like you being dialed into that and aware of that in the organization is part of what sets you apart and makes you unique?

Natasha Cornstein

08:07 - 08:45

I think yes. I think that often when you get to the CEO seat, and people say it's a lonely seat, and there is truth to that. It can be a lonely seat. It doesn't have to be a lonely seat. And I think that a mistake I made early on in my career when I really advanced and was given a much larger responsibility is coming back to what we spoke about a little earlier is, you know, it was going to be the way I thought we should do it at the speed I thought we should do it and how.

Natasha Cornstein

08:46 - 09:23

And I remember my boss taking me aside and saying to me, you will be a CEO someday, but not unless you learn to bring your team along with you. And it was the greatest piece of advice I got. And when I heard it, it really stung. And I didn't take too kindly to it. And I came home and I think shed a few tears to my husband. And he said, well, is there a truth to it? And why don't you take the night to think about it? And there was truth to it. And they did me the biggest favor sharing that.

Gresham Harkless

09:24 - 09:37

Yeah, absolutely. I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or even a habit that you have, but what's something you lean on that makes you more effective and efficient?

Natasha Cornstein

09:37 - 10:30

I would say that it is crucial to read. I think that anyone that is sitting in a leadership position must understand what's happening in the world, and that's across the spectrum. And so every morning, the first thing I do is I spend about an hour reading. And it's not just in my industry. I mean, yes, I subscribe to all of the great beauty publications, WWD Beauty. I belong to CEW, Beauty Independent, Glossy. I read the Business of Fashion. So I do a deep dive into my own industry. If I could say one book that really speaks to me that I go back to over and over again, it's called Dare to Serve.

Natasha Cornstein

10:31 - 11:03

And it's about this concept of servant leadership, which is how I would describe my style. And the way that I have built the success in my life as a CEO is by serving my team. I serve my team, I serve my customers, our vendors, anyone that I come across. And then I serve that path forward by being that listener, by having that open mindset.

Gresham Harkless

11:03 - 11:08

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks so much for sharing that. So I wanted to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. So

Natasha Cornstein

11:08 - 11:08

you might have

Gresham Harkless

11:08 - 11:19

already touched on this. It's a little bit more of a word of wisdom or piece of advice, but I like to say it might be something you would tell your favorite client, or if you hopped into a time machine, you might tell your younger business self this.

Natasha Cornstein

11:20 - 12:20

I would say something that's really important is to think about how you navigate meeting people. And you may have heard me say this because I'm pretty consistent about it, but I loathe the word networking. I find that to be a very transactional word. I think it suggests that we want to meet people so that we find something we can get from them or that we look at meeting somebody as what can they do for me? What can I get from them? And that networking connotation, I think, is something that if I were to give a nugget to somebody that was building their career or at any stage in their career was to just talk to people, just talk to people.

Natasha Cornstein

12:21 - 13:03

And talk to someone while you're waiting in line for a salad, talk to somebody at the garage, talk to somebody, sign yourself up and walk into a room that might feel really intimidating. and find the courage. I mean, I remember, I know I'm getting off track a little here, Gresh, but I remember when I first joined the beauty industry, I didn't know anybody. I came out of sports. You know, I always say I live in a sports bar at night with my husband and son, and now I'm beauty and glamor by day. I was so nervous walking into my first beauty industry, you know, networking event.

Natasha Cornstein

13:05 - 13:29

and put that name tag on and feeling like a little sweaty and uncomfortable, and I didn't know where to put myself. And I just walked up and said hello to somebody. And wow, that felt really good to have that first conversation. And one more nugget, if we have time for it, which is ties to meeting people, stay in touch.

Gresham Harkless

13:30 - 13:42

Yeah, absolutely. So now I want to ask you one of my absolute favorite questions, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote unquote CEOs on the show. Natasha, you may have touched on this, but what does being a CEO mean to you?

Natasha Cornstein

13:43 - 14:54

Being a CEO means that you get to build an incredible, take an incredible idea and shepherd that idea and build the vision while bringing along and developing other people. So to me, the most important role of a CEO, yes, we have the fiduciary responsibilities. Yes, we're in business to grow and do more and better. But as a CEO, you have an extraordinary responsibility to your team. to help make people's lives better and fuller and give economic earning potential. to the people on your team. And so as a CEO, I would say I have the responsibility to develop a vision that I move forward and bring that team right with me, shoulder to shoulder, not only for the sake of the business, but for the sake of their individual development.

Gresham Harkless

14:55 - 15:11

Absolutely. Well, and Sasha, truly appreciate that definition. And of course, I appreciate your time even more. So what I wanted to do now was pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know. And of course, how best people can get ahold of you, your team, find out about all the awesome things that you all are doing.

Natasha Cornstein

15:12 - 16:11

And I would love to meet your listeners. I can be, you can email me, Natasha at blushington.com. You can find us on Instagram at Blushington. You can find us on the internet, www.blushington.com. And what I'd love to say is I invite you to explore Blushington franchising. We're on a path right now to sell 10 new locations this year. to sell 130 by 2029. We are registered in 35 states to sell franchises. So again, we've sold Boca Raton, Florida. We've sold two in Houston. Really excited about so many places in the country. So looking at Atlanta, the Carolinas, Florida, Nashville, opening franchises in Arizona, Las Vegas, Phoenix.

Gresham Harkless

16:11 - 16:19

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I truly appreciate you. Of course, we're going to have the links and information in the show notes as well, too, so that everybody can follow up. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Natasha Cornstein

16:19 - 16:22

Thank you so much, Crash. Have a great weekend.

Intro

16:22 - 16:52

Thank you for listening to the IMCEO podcast powered by CB Nation and Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at imceo.co. IMCEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Check out the latest and greatest apps, books, and habits to level up your business at ceohacks.co. This has been the IMCEO podcast with Gresham Harkless Jr. Thank you for listening.