Jill Sherman is a detail-obsessed trend addict living in Boston, Massachusetts. By day, she’s a marketing exec navigating her way through the bowels of corporate America. By night, she’s a trend fiend who scours all forms of print and digital media in hopes of spotting the next relevant, interesting, and/or unsavory trend.
She is currently is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of BeautyTicket.com, a haven for premium beauty brands at deep discounts.
Jill has always been a bit of a beauty junkie. Her CV includes Vice President of Marketing for TRIA Beauty, Director of Marketing for American International Beauty Group (the largest privately held beauty company in the United States) and New Product Development for Bonne Bell Cosmetics (which is, by far, the best smelling job she’s ever had!)
What are you working on right now?
I am currently the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of BeautyTicket.com, a haven for premium beauty brands at deep discounts. In my free time, I also write a trend blog, TrenddelaCreme.com, which focuses on trends in beauty, fashion, and popular culture.
3 Trends that excite you?
1) The exponential growth of online beauty retail.
2) The growing popularity of luxury discount sites.
3) The willingness of premium brands to venture into the secondary market.
How do you bring ideas to life
First, I research the crap out of an idea. Then, once I’m convinced the idea merits every waking moment of my life, I just don’t give up (even if it means I have to make sacrifices in the short term for payoff in the long term.) If you allow bumps in the road to effect your momentum, you’re more likely to lose sight of the light at the end of the tunnel.
What is one mistake that you’ve made that our readers can learn from?
Don’t try to grow overnight. Take a few months to work out the kinks and get your quality control up to speed before blasting your name to the world. If a customer’s first experience with your brand is a bad one, don’t expect a repeat visit.
What is one book and one tool that helps you bring ideas to life?
Exploiting Chaos by Jeremy Gutsche. It will free your mind and likely raise your pulse at least 20 beats per minute. (You really have to read it to understand why I say this!)
What is one idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
I want somebody to create a shopping cart that follows me around the web. It would allow me to comparison shop, see similar items, and finalize my purchase without ever having to leave the site I’m on. (I am often reading a blog when I run across a “must-have” item. How great would it be if I could click on it and own it within 60 seconds?)
Why start a company during a recession, especially online beauty retail?
Having worked for beauty companies most of my career, I was acutely aware of the mountains of unsold stock that was available (even before the recession hit!) The beauty biz works at warp speed, with short development cycles and new products coming out almost every month. This leaves little room for error, and orders are canceled all the time if a product isn’t ready to ship on the date promised. Prior to the recession, most beauty companies shipped unsold products overseas or destroyed it to use as a write off. But with the changes in the economy, I knew I could convince premium beauty brands that it was better to sell their products to me — somebody who could protect the integrity of their brand and keep customers buzzing about it. Otherwise, they run the risk of seeing it back in the United States at swap meets, dollar stores, or in bargain bins at discount retail outlets.
What drew you to marketing?
My father was a marketer all his life, and I think I latched onto his enthusiasm pretty early on. My parents encouraged a lot of physical activities outside the home (like marching band, swim team, and basketball) and to compensate for my lack of athleticism, I always found myself promoting these activities instead. It just felt natural, and it was something I really enjoyed. And anything that doesn’t feel like work is supposed to be the perfect career, right? At least I think that’s how the saying goes.
Connect
Jill Sherman on LinkedIn
Email: jsherman [at] beautyticket [dot] com
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.