How Anastasia Soare Turned Rejection Into a Billion-Dollar Business

I train her how to do her eyebrows. So like, you, that was fantastic, but you know what? You should do this. You should have this kit for people that are everywhere because you are only in Beverly Hills. Then I thought, wow, that's a, yeah, you're right. That's a good idea. Good idea. You said, don't let anyone with bad eyebrows tell you how to live your life. And I was like, yes. So the fact that you have this sense of humor in all of this business wisdom, it's just, I adore you. Well, you have to have a sense of humor now. Yes. To go through everything. To go through life, right? Yes. And business. So you grew up in communist Romania. Take us back to that time. Tell us what living with restriction and fear taught you about freedom. And I want to say freedom is my number one value in life. So the emphasis that you put on this throughout the book, again, made my heart sing. Well, night long until the next day, and maybe they would get the chicken. No electricity. We had to do our homework at the candlelight. It was very difficult, very, very difficult. And besides that, was the freedom of speech. You couldn't say anything. You had to be worried about everything. At 6 o 'clock in the morning, you will have the police coming and raid your house. It was a, you lived in a constant fear. This is what it was, Romania and the 80s. And when you dreamed of America back then, what did that dream feel like to you? Like, did you have an idea and your heart? Was it an emotion, everything? You know what? I was watching, I had bootleg, pretty woman in Beverly Hills Cups and the color purple. And watching that, that I could see myself walking on rodeo drive and going through all the shops. And I remember Beverly Hescap, I was dreaming of the city hall, that beautiful building. And that was the dream. I couldn't even think past that. And when I came to United States, then was a wake -up. Good morning, Yeah, you don't speak the language. You don't know anyone. Your entire family and communities in Romania, it's quite difficult. One of the stories I loved you shared about listening to a little radio, Voice of America, with your grandfather, yes. Tell me about some of the mindset lessons that you learned from him. The one line I wrote down, which I loved, is that your mind, your heart and spirit are your fortress, and no one has access to that. Correct. I think my grandfather, that was an emigrant. They took, the communist regime took two properties from him, all the land, all the animals, all the, everything that he had. And he ended up at 80 in a two -bedroom apartment in the fourth floor with no elevator. So he used to chime. I will never forget, he will have breakfast. And with convoy beats, he will hum and he will chant. And he used to tell me, after we'll listen in a corner to Voice of America, you are a fortress. You should not let anyone break that. Your mind controls everything. And I think I, but watching him, forget about what he told me, watching him was the biggest lesson of my life. Isn't that interesting how it's, you know, right before we started rolling the cameras, we were talking about my book and everything is figure outable, which actually comes from a notion from my mom. And it was a conversation, but similarly, I learned by watching her. Yes. And seeing how she moved in the world and seeing how she behaved in the face of little and big obstacles. Right. So powerful. I believe that people misunderstand, they misunderstood when I always said, you have to have a mentor. A mentor means you have a person that you watch every move they make, everything they talk, and then they should be the people that you want to follow them. And not, okay, let's sit down and I'm going to do your homework. Let me take you step by, that's not not going to happen. No, it's not going to happen. I love to, you know, your mom also had such a huge influence on you. She was an entrepreneur in a time and a place when, first of all, many women were not entrepreneurs and it wasn't permitted. Yes. In Romania. I loved this line, again, whenever I'm reading and prepping for a conversation like this, I have out my highlighter and my gel pens and I underline this one hard about work hard, not complain, and figure it out. And I think there was this great. and us feeling beautiful and it makes us feel powerful. Well, remember in Romania at that time, you couldn't walk like right now. You walk across the street and you have access to so many dresses, so many outfits. We didn't have any. So my mother was one of the very few that could make custom everything. So she will bring a shoemaker that will do custom because you couldn't go in a store to buy shoes at that time. Later on, of course, but when I was 12, you couldn't. She would bring somebody to make shoes or an evening pocket. I mean, evening, no pocket. In an evening bag, yes, purse. Everything was custom. The dresses were custom. So it was so special. Right now we are inundated. I look at myself. I have so many clothes. At that time, you had one dress. Oh, my God. You felt like you were the Cinderella. Yeah. Okay. Do you feel like it was that seed that was planted, though, where you began to witness. Again, it was less about the words, but more about the witnessing where you would see a woman come in and have this gorgeous custom dress on and went from maybe having a doomy, gloomy, or just a bad day to feeling so. that when you feel like I am in power, I look good, I feel good, I have my high heels, I'm ready to conquer the world. Yes. Yes. I totally agree that it's all a feeling, all a feeling, the way we feel, we, we, it's our mind that is going to help us to go through life. Yeah. It's your mind that is going to help you to conquer everything you want. A friend of mine the other day, we were talking and she was having a rough time. They were like, you know, all of us, we go through that where there's challenges in business, challenges at home, challenges, and they all, I call it a tiramisu of stress because I'm Italian American. And I said to her, she's like, Marie, what are we going to do? And she's like, can we just see each other for dinner? And I was like, Absolutely. And I was like, she's like, what are you wearing? And I told her, I said, oh, I'd have to film something. So I've, you know, got it all done. And she's like, well, I'm just in my yoga clothes. And I said, nope. I was like, you are going to go take a shower before I meet you. I said, promise me. Just trust me. I know you're going to feel so much better. If you just shower, get dressed, put on something that feels good. And she's like, you know what? That was the best advice I got all day. Because she showed up at that restaurant. And her entire demeanor was different just from again taking a shower she didn't do anything special holy and get dressed yes every day i will show up at work for 30 years yeah i will get dressed i will put my makeup i will do my hair i will never go to work just looking like i i was ready to take a shower yes it's just i will i will never do that makes a difference um take us back to when you decided to leave Romania. What was your life like? Was that notion of leaving the only country that you had ever known terrifying? And what do you think it takes for someone to walk away from everything they know towards a dream that isn't even real yet? It was very, very good. But remember, my grandparents emigrated from Macedonia to Romania. Romania. So I heard their story was hard. They will always talk about back home when we left. We had the huge community and I like. But because I didn't go through that, I really didn't realize how important that was. And I wanted so bad to leave and to come to America that I didn't process that much. And the harder was in Romania in the communist regime, the more ambitious I was to leave the country. So I came here, though, and I realized what I left. I left my home. I left the community. I left my family. I have a huge family. I didn't know anyone here. It was the most traumatic experience of my life. When you first arrived in the U .S. you didn't speak Hardly any English. No, nothing. Not hardly. Okay, so nothing. You spoke zero English. So I know that there was a certain TV show, however, that not only helped you begin to learn the language, but also find a sense from my interpretation of comfort and began to relieve at least the tiniest bit of that loneliness. And of course, planted a seed that would come together years later. What was that show and how did it support you? So in Romania, I used to have four. Many daytime TV shows, if you remember. I mean, you were very young, but there were many. Yeah, Phil. And for some reason, no, even before that, Sarah, Jessica, Raphael, and many, many, there were a lot. For some reason, I stopped watching this woman called Oprah Winfrey Show. And her voice and everything was so, so comforting for me and I would watch the show and I felt like I was home. When I started writing the book, I realized why? Because I didn't recognize her because Oprah in color purple looks totally different. It was her voice because I watched that movie a hundred times with my family, my girlfriends, my cousins, and it was a voice of comfort of being home. And that's why I was was home among all the uh my cousins and my family and her audience was always like she was so cheerful and and making everybody feel like you're her best friend yes and and full circle in 1998 i'm on on her show doing her eyebrows and you know what was the funniest thing was that my husband wanted to watch uh Lakers, the basketball, and the news, because he wanted to watch the politics. He was speaking perfect English. And I told him, like, we make a deal. I want only one hour to watch the Oprah and Free Show, and you could watch anything else. For some reason, sometimes will be something that he wanted to watch. And like, now, this is my time, you can watch. It's only one hour. And he used to say, I don't understand why you want to watch this woman. You don't understand anything what she's saying. What do you want to, why you want to do this? And as a joke, I used to say, you know what, I need to understand how she, and learn how she asks questions because the day I'm going to be on her show, I need to know how to answer. It was a joke. imagine. It was a joke. But you know what? Just watch what you put in the universe because it could happen. I was going to say, it was like it feels to me like those seeds were planted in your heart and in the universe way back even in Romania. Just what you realized writing and putting the book together, that that voice and that sense of coming home, it's almost like coming home to your destiny. So let's talk about when Victor, your husband at the time lost his job and you refused to give up. Let's talk about the resourcefulness, how that played a part, and especially this moment where something in you said, I need to make a call to another immigrant to have a conversation that would put you on the path to your dreams. So he lost his job and we had a very interesting conversation and I told him like Victor, we need to forget who we were in Romania because he, you know, he had a job, he was high rank of his family was very high up. We both had very comfortable life other than, you know, what was around us. And I said, we need to forget who we were and let's start from nothing. Let's see, you speak English, you could, I will get a job and you could go and start computers. Because I thought from that time that that was the future. I think he had ego fear. He couldn't get any job. He didn't want to do anything anymore. I think his ego was crushed and he didn't want. He couldn't do it. I totally understood later. And even then, I said, you know what? I don't think he's going to be able to me. I faced the fact after a few months. And I met Mihaila, another emigrant that was working in a salon. She was pregnant and she needed to take three months off. And she helped me to get that job with the idea that I will go, she's going to come back and I would leave the place, but it was still incredible for me because I would have three months an experience for my first time working in America. So I got the job and it was an incredible experience, I have to say. Very interesting. Like just walking into that salon, I loved how you painted the picture where it was just mirror and glass and sunlight and just a completely different environment. That sounds like anything you had experienced in person before. Yes. And the owners were really amazing. Two ladies, one German, one Italian, very stylish, very chic. And I really wanted to learn from them. And I did. I learned a lot from them, Giovanna and Utah. Never forget. I also loved how you said. And I think that this is really, really important. So I've run my business now for 25 years. And we've had many incredible people that I've worked with and for. And I also am in touch with so many other fellow business owners. And I loved in the story where you said there was a colleague of yours that when you would stay behind and clean your boss's stations because you wanted to be in their orbit. You wanted to learn from them. You wanted to go above and beyond. And a colleague had said to you, well, you know, that's not in your job description. And you made a very clear line. And again, it was another moment in your book where I cheered because anyone who says that's not in my job description and just stops at what's required, you were like, you're probably going to be in the same role 25 years later. And now with AI and how everything is changing, you won't have a job in like a week. Yes. And I just so admire, appreciate respect. And I want to be a voice that brings back traditional work ethic values because they shape you into the most incredible person in the world. You become a survivor. You will figure out, doesn't matter what is throwing through you. AI, you will find a way. You will. Anything, you will find a way to survive. And people want that person around. Absolutely. Like Anyone who's creating something when you see someone who goes above and beyond and who has humility and is an open mind, open heart, wants to serve work and learn, it's like, I want them. Yeah. Every boss wants people like that. Yes. They want to surround themselves with people like that. Yes. You will never lose your job if you act like that. There will always be some kind of other opportunity. And then the relationships that you form, because you never know where people wind up evolving to what their new projects or ventures are. And I always think back to the people that show up in that way. And they're the first people I pick up the phone and go, oh, I've got this new opportunity. So there was a moment when you were working in the salon. You're doing facials. You're bust in your buns. And you started to see something that no one else did. Take us back to the moment that you realized Eyebrows could change everything. What were you seeing that other people missed? I took a picture. I bought a disposable camera and I started taking picture of us, the family. And I realized that I look surprised in picture because my eyebrows was pencil thin. I was the victim of over -twee's eyebrow, pencil thin and round. And I thought, wow, I look surprised because of my eyebrows. I remember my art teacher talking about the importance of eyebrows and study that we had around the proportion of the face and the Leonardo da Vinci using golden ratio. And I fixed my own eyebrows. I start mixing some Vaseline with aloe vera and eyeshadow and an eye shadow. And I bought a brush from an art store and I cut it angle and I start filling in my eyebrow according my bone structure and the clients will look at me and they will say wow you look rested why what did you change did you change your hair did they what what they didn't know was eyebrows so I started sharing with them because I was so excited to to share that with my clients well I went to Giovanna and I told them that I want to do eyebrows. And at that time, it used to take me half an hour to do an eyebrow. Long time, because I was trying to figure out. And it didn't make sense, financial sense for them. And I understood it didn't make sense because how much you could charge, $10. Yeah. And by, for half an hour. And a facial or a body waxing, you will charge much more for the half an hour with the client. So, of course, they decide not to let me do the eyebrows. And one Sunday, I opened, I went home. I mean, I was home breakfast. I bought LA Times and I told my husband, I'm going to open my own business. Oof. Did you know it in your heart? Did you, like, was it clear for you? Like, this will happen or was it? Do you remember my husband didn't work. Right. At that time, we had the kid, we didn't have money. I mean, I was the brand winner. And he said to me, like, do you understand that I don't have a job? And there are American people that live and are born in this country and they don't own a business. And I said, Victor, what do I have to lose? I left Romania. We made so many sacrifices. I need to try the craziness. I need to try the, no, I have to try this. we get so long and I want kind of to give back what gesture she introduced me to that place and she she was afraid so she couldn't she had two kids she she was afraid she didn't want it to leave when you were facing all of those rejections from the outside was there something like a deeper lesson about your own conviction and what would you say to people because I again I'm in time. I didn't invent golden ratio. This is applying. You look at the building that is on golden ratio proportion and you love it. The eye is encoded to recognize that. So I knew that eyebrows, it's going to be amazing. And I believe it. I loved it. I loved everything about it. So I will not take no as an answer. Even if nobody around me believed. I believed. And I think that was enough for me. Yeah. I want to talk about inner belief, too, because there is another part in the book that I thought was awesome. You were writing about the importance of not letting anything steal your focus, especially when you feel the fear, whether it's the fear of judgment, the fear of failure or some notion that maybe you don't deserve success so big. You wrote, the important thing is not to lose your focus. I would do this by acknowledging what I felt in the present. I'm overwhelmed. I'm angry at my situation. I would rather watch TV. Then I'd coach myself back on my path by taking action. You can say, yes, I feel bad, sad, mad, tired today, but I'm going to do something. I'm going to do anything. I'll do one more thing to master my craft. I loved that because I don't think there's a person on the planet who is in the process of building something, whether it's a business or their next chapter in life, that doesn't feel exhausted or deflated or like it's not working out. And so I'm curious, do you still do that self -talk today? Does it sound any different or is it - Absolutely. Yeah. You'll never stop doing that. Right. Because the way I describe business is you wake up every morning, you open your computer and you start reading emails, there are challenges every day. They are a problem. You need to find a solution. This is how I describe business. And problems, there will be always. Always. People think, oh, if I'm going to be successful here, everything is perfect. Or if I had a billion dollars or I had a billion dollar company, it's like it'll go away. No, no, no, because you have the people that work for you. You are responsible for them. They have families. You build your legacy. It's not about the money anymore. Yes. About so many other things. So suddenly you went from working at that salon and then you took the step of renting your own space at the Wanwan salon. And you've started to get celebrity clients, Cindy Crawford, Naomi, Heidi, and your name starting to spread. But I think that there was a really important part of that piece of your story when your life changed. And it was that birthday party with Yolanda. Yes. Can you tell us about the conversation that was not just a wake -up call, but a shake -up call? Yes. So I was in that place for like five years. And my room was next to this lady, Yolanda, She was from Poland, another immigrant like me. And I barely saw Yolanda. She was there before I would come to work and she would leave after I would. And I would leave like 9 o 'clock, 9 p .m. She was still there. The lights were still on. And one day she came out with a piece of cake and she started sharing the cake with all of us. And She said, I'm turning 60. I said, Yolanda, for how many years you work here, for how many years you ran this room? She's like 20 years. And that was the day when I thought, oh, my God, I cannot be in this room 20 years from now on. I can't, I know, I came from Romania, I made so many sacrifices, I have to do something else. It's time for for me to step up. So I jump on a, on a, actually was a client of mine that I share that with him. And Jack was his name, Jack Wiseman. I got to, he took me on his car and we start going around Beverly Hills. And he used to say, oh, you have to get this place. So you have to get this place. You know, around the triangle. Like only in Beverly Hills, because I told him I want only in Beverly Hills. in 97, 96. empty, no floors, no ceiling, like an empty place. And I thought, okay, this kind of is good. The landlord was exactly across the street from my place. And I called the broker and I made an appointment with the landlord. And of course, he didn't want to rent me the space. That's another story. Yeah, no, they refuse to be fuse, which I have a whole chapter in my book about that. Not this studio that we're in now, but my previous one. I remember I felt the location. Like I knew it was where I was supposed to be. And when I walked into the landlord and my financials were out of the park and he rejected me because he didn't understand when an internet business was. And this is like 2010, 2013, something like that. And there was like a group of tech bros that they said, oh, no, no, no, they're more stable. Well, I didn't let the idea go for that particular commercial space. And I went back and I just kept hammering him. Those guys didn't have the money. I wound up getting the space. But it was the same thing. It was like they say no to. And it's like, no, I'm not going to. That's right. Refused to be refused when you're clear and you know. So, okay, you've got your space. you're feeling the rhythm, the clients are coming in, lines around the block, but then there's another pivotal moment when a woman named Poppy comes into your own reality. Yes, tell me who Poppy was and how that one conversation, because you had had at that point, right? Yeah. The business was thriving. Thriving, yes, you're right. So Poppy supposed to go to Canada to tape for a movie. She's an actress. She's an actress. She was going in Canada to film a Marley Morrow movie. And she, beautiful eyebrows, thick and gorgeous. So she said to me, I need you to teach my makeup artist how to keep my eyebrows the same shape throughout the movie. It was six months. said, let me, let me go to an art shop, because I used to spend so many hours in the art shop, and I got some plastic. I did some cut out, some stencils, and based on the shape that I gave her, I gave some eye shadow with aloe vera, and I made that, I mean, I taught her how to do the pomade with the brush and everything she needed. I train her how to do her eyebrows. Now, Six months later, Poppy comes back. So, like, you, that was fantastic. But you know what? You should do this. You should have this kit for people that are everywhere. Because you are only in Beverly Hills. Then I thought, wow, that's a, yeah, right. That's a good idea. Good idea. I went to Italy, to CosmoProve, and I started working on the brand, on the line. Was that terrifying? The product, yeah, to go, like, did you, obviously, that interaction with Poppy opened your back to Italy, manufacturing, production, fulfillment, that's an entirely different other business. And I didn't know anything about it. Let's put it that way. What did I know about manufacturing? Yes. I loved, I read in the book that I don't know where it was in the journey, but that in order to support funding the business, you also bought and sold and flipped some real estate, absolutely, so that you can keep injecting. Was that around the, Yes. The same time. Yeah. That sounds fun. I mean, I love real. I just love real estate porn in general. I'm constantly looking at it. Okay. Let's talk about your Oprah moment. Obviously, she's an icon. She's a legend. I have so much love and appreciation for her. And in my own life, I feel like there is a moment like the before my work on Oprah and after. You know, it was a very big moment for me. What was it like when she had you on the show? and what did that mean to you personally? So remember, I used to learn English watching her show. It was almost like a pinch me moment. Is this real? I'm going to do her eyebrows. I felt like we had this relationship for so many years. It's like we are best friends, but not really best friends. And I went there, but before I went there, my daughter, when my daughter said, oh, my God, Oprah Winfrey producer wants you to go there, and it's just like, I said, okay. And she said, Mom, do you understand that she hates to get her eyebrows done? She had strong, thick eyebrows. And how about, like, she's so influential. How about if she will say she doesn't like it, she will say, no, no, no, this is to pay. eyebrows, miles and miles around the world of eyebrows, okay? So I told my daughter, like, you know what, I'm going to figure out. Yes. So I go there and at the moment she's in a chair, in the makeup chair, and she's there and she's like, oh, I'm thinking, yeah, maybe she doesn't like to get her eyebrows, tweez or wax or. And the moment I dip the wax, the stick in the wax, I felt like I was in cruise control mode. I do this for a living. I used to do 100 eyebrows a day. So I looked at her and I said, please, I want you to relax. I'm the best in what I do. And I want you just to relax. I will be very quick. So I start doing my thing. And after I finish, I said, okay, a few more minutes and I'm done. It's like, did you put numbing cream? And I said, no, I didn't put any numbmed, but that wasn't painful. Like, yeah, because I'm the best. Yes, Anastasia. Yeah, she loved it before and after. The rest is history. Yes, it's so, so beautiful. I love that. But I want, I'm sorry. Oh, no, sorry. To close this. Yes. I mastered my craft because, yes, of course I wanted to be successful. Yes, I wanted to make money. But that was not my focus. My focus was to be the best in what I did. So I used to do eyebrows and I will put 100 % in everybody that was in my chair. I wanted to create and shape the best eyebrow. It didn't matter if it was the cleaning lady or was, I don't know, the CEO of I don't know what company, huge company. Everybody was important to me. I will give them full attention. secure in what I was doing, I will start crying. I will start maybe shaking. I will say I can't do this. Right. You know. Yeah. I used to have people that work for me and they, they will start crying and they will not do it, which I totally understand because it's, look, to be in live television and do Oprah Winfrey eyebrows. That's, yeah, that's a high state situation. It's a very high -state situation, but I love the emphasis, and it's a point that's very well taken. I think it's actually extremely important in this particular age, where we are recording this in 2025. Because, you know, technology is incredible, and I love it, and it can aid us and support us in so many different ways. However, there is a dark side to it where people are wanting to shortcut the mastering of the craft, which comes when you put in the hours and you have the intention and the focus and you're willing to make mistakes and learn and try and show up day after day, day after day, day after day. So again, it was one of the 476 reasons why I was really excited to have this conversation because I do feel like there is, or has been, I should say, a de -emphasis on traditional work ethic values, like Yeah, you and your daughter, that someone for many of it was like, oh, my goodness, I love this, but I can't go out in my village and get this particular product. What did that comment awaken in you about access and possibilities beyond the success you already had with the product side of your business? Instagram is going to lead me to access clients and people that I will not be able to do it. So at that point it was primarily U .S.-based U .S. Yeah, North America. And to reach somebody in small village in India, that was incredible. So exciting. And I thought, oh my God, Claudia, we need to put full gas. Let's put the leg on the pedal and we should run with this Instagram because this will be incredible. We could promote our brand with no money, just time, of course. We used to work nonstop and creating a community of people that love makeup. And this is how we brought the company to a different level. Because we didn't have money to spend on marketing and paying ads on TV or magazine. We didn't have the money. But Instagram definitely was our vehicle to taking the company to a different level. Yes. And then in 2018, I read that you were doing about like 320 million -ish in sales and made the decision to then take on private investment. Yes. Was that a part of that kind of realizing, oh, my goodness, there's this incredible opportunity to go global through. Yes. I wanted to go global. Yes. And I realized that I had to be in the salon to do I. because it had been self -funded. Yes, it was because I never worked with anyone before. I didn't even know how worth it was the company because they were only in my mind. I was the only investor. You know, every money that I would make, I will reinvest in the business. So it was very scary. Yeah. Did you talk to fellow business owners? Like what was, how did you start to get a foothold into that new world that was different than your own. I had a friend and he introduced me to a company that would reassess the financials and after six months. Yeah. He came to me and she said and he said the company is evaluated at $3 billion. Like what? Come on. What did that feel like? What was that experience? Kind of unreal I have to say. unreal could I mean because most people like if you're even looking at 50 million a hundred million that's still so far outside most of us who don't grow up around that kind of money it's hard to even fathom then you get to the B then you get to three of them and you're like like what like but the the reason why my EBITA was I don't know if anybody could do I cannot even do it right now. The margins were incredible. And I watched every penny. I didn't have a CFO. Me and my niece were the CFO. I had 20 hats, you know. I love hearing that business. Yes. And it sounds like from what you had shared too, for you, it was around the service being the best in the world, doing browse, developing the products, and then being the front woman for your company, the marketing, yes. Marketing, finance, I will negotiate for the products, the components. I was like one show. Yes. My daughter will have the social media, the content, the marketing area, and she started making the makeup and I will do the finance and all the other ones. But it was, it was really, we loved it. Yeah. But it was a lot. Yes. And guess what? Even now we do the same. Now, of course, we have more people, we have a CFO, we have executive team. But it's still, the bigger the company grows, the more you sell, you diversify the company, it is more work. What's your role look like these days in terms of, because obviously you have this incredible book. You're in the promotion period, which is amazing. And I know, you know, creating a book is not, creating anything's not easy. It takes a lot. Tell me what your role looks like these days and how is this book weaving into that. Because I started getting feelings, intuition, like, oh my gosh, Anastasia feels like there's this whole other part of her that's coming to life in terms of business and advising and supporting other business owners. The reason why I wanted to write this book is to tell my story to inspire other people. Because after COVID, I feel like young people, especially, all the other ones, but young people especially, they need this encouragement because I feel like they think, oh, nothing, that's not going to happen. I cannot achieve what I want. Yes, you do, but it takes this and the A, B, C, D, E. So I want to tell my story and I hope I will encourage people to follow their dream, to not be afraid. Because, yes, I know you could do it, but just try it. Get the job first, you know, that you like, you want to be in a certain industry. Get a job in that industry. Even if you work in a bank or I don't know where, get the job in that industry and work and find out maybe you could learn. Maybe after six months or a year, you figure out I don't want to be in this business. That's right. I want in other, which is helpful. Absolutely. And I love, too, that you shared in the book. You're like, look, you weren't like 18 when you started this. No, exactly. Yes. No. I was third. themselves in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. We've done episodes. I'm like, look, it is never too late. Never, look at Bobby Brown. She's 61. She started a new brand. I know. And it's killing it. I'm so proud that she showed people that, hey, even at 60, you could do it. That's right. That's right. Fabulous. You've helped millions of women see themselves differently, but I'm curious when you look in the mirror now, not as Anastasia as the brand, but Anastasia as the woman, what do you see for yourself and what message would you want every woman listening right now to take from your story? Don't waste your time on little things. They are not important. I remember I wasted so much time when I was younger. My hair was super straight and I had dark, long hair. I wanted curly hair. I had hazel eyes. I wanted blue eyes. Like you always want something. as the last one in the class. I mean, when the PA class, it was the last one because it was skinny and short. Hey, look at me now. It doesn't matter. I never let anyone to take my shine away. Never, ever, and I want people to do the same thing. You are unique. You are beautiful. You are powerful. You just unlock that power. That's it. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for writing this gorgeous, beautiful book and for being with us today. Thank you. Hey, if you loved this video, you need to watch this one next. Trust me on that.

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