Selena Gomez and Kendall Jenner mean business.
Female-oriented career resource and media company Create & Cultivate has partnered with Chevrolet to again honor 100 women who are making moves and redefining the future of the workplace, and the two stars are included on the sixth annual list, released Feb. 22. In 2021, Jenner debuted her 818 Tequila brand, while Gomez launched her makeup line Rare Beauty the previous year.
Others honored on the Create & Cultivate 100 List this year include Jennifer Aniston, Lana Condor, Becky G, Christina Milian, Behati Prinsloo and Chrishell Stause.
C&C founder Jaclyn Johnson called them all "trailblazing women who are making noise, breaking boundaries, and finding new roads."
It goes without saying that their advice on how to run a successful business is all the motivation we need.
"Launching a beauty brand is something I wanted to do for many years, but I knew there needed to be a mission behind it," Selena said in a statement provided by Create & Cultivate exclusively to E! News. "I've been vocal about how I've felt the pressure to look a certain way, so I wanted to create a brand that changes the conversation around beauty and perfection."
As for Kendall, she explained how her business-savvy family has inspired her entrepreneurial ventures: "My family works incredibly hard, and even when we experience setbacks, we push through," she said in a statement exclusive to E! News. "The diligence and perseverance I witnessed when my sisters started their respective businesses has definitely impacted my approach to my own business."
See more A+ wisdom from these icons below.
I am lucky to have a family made up of strong female entrepreneurs, so from a very young age I was inspired by their dedication and entrepreneurial spirit. My parents loved tequila for as long as I can remember—it was celebratory in our household, and when I got older, they got me interested in discovering new tequilas. Tequila became a creative outlet for me that was tied inexorably to magical moments spent with family and friends.
Think about the people who enjoy your product—your drinkers—as your north star. How can we give people the best experiences possible with our product? Using that as a compass has been very helpful as we have expanded over the past year.
My family works incredibly hard, and even when we experience setbacks, we push through. The diligence and perseverance I witnessed when my sisters started their respective businesses has definitely impacted my approach to my own business.
Launching a beauty brand is something I wanted to do for many years, but I knew there needed to be a mission behind it. I've been vocal about how I've felt the pressure to look a certain way, so I wanted to create a brand that changes the conversation around beauty and perfection. Too many people in the world are trapped by unrealistic standards of perfection, and at Rare Beauty, we are on a mission to help everyone celebrate their individuality by redefining what beautiful means.
First of all, I love what I do, so that is a major motivation. What keeps me going is knowing that if I continue using my voice and my platform to break the stigma around mental health, that I can reach young people who need to hear this message. That's why I am so dedicated to not only raising funds through the Rare Impact Fund, but using my platforms to provide mental health resources to young people.
We're aiming to make real changes in the beauty industry by helping to break the stigma around mental health and increasing access to mental health support and services.
There's power deep down inside yourself, and you can find it when you don't give up on yourself and when you can be vulnerable and ask for help.
Get up, dress up, and show up. It's often easier to want to hide away when life gets really tough. But that is the exact time you have to mentally push yourself forward to get yourself back to where you want to be. Sure it's fun to turn down party invites and opt for the couch and sweats instead. But when heavy life situations feel like they are pulling you down, you have to start fighting to swim back up. Once you are up there, you can float.
If I enjoy doing something I do it, even if it may not be the typical road that has been paved before. Be your own advocate. People may not think of you for something because it's not what you're typically known for, so get in front of them and let them know!
Don't just be happy to be here and accept whatever they give you. Know your worth and fight for it.
You just have to trust yourself— trust your vision and the passion you feel about the project you're working on.
The best piece of advice I've been given is to treat everyone with respect—in any aspect of life. It's advice I apply to everything I do, and something I want to lead by example with both in family and business. I'm always so grateful that people want to work with us to help bring Calirosa to life or that people want to talk to us about it, so I think by bringing that respect to our company and the people involved goes really far for team morale and connectivity.
You have to put yourself out there—show up, raise your hand and speak up. Talk to your partner or girlfriends, give yourself a pep talk and reflect on all the amazing things you've done to get yourself to the place you are now, and then visualize where you want to go next.
I have never been overly confident but it's something I am really working on in my life as I know that in order for others to believe in me, I have to first believe in myself.
If you believe in something you need to do all you can to make it a reality. When I thought about developing KINLÒ there were so many times I told myself that maybe going outside my comfort area and becoming a CEO wasn't a good idea, but I knew that there was a need and a void and I wanted to do what I could to try and solve it.
It's never easy when you lose and it never really gets easier but I try to look at every disappointment as an opportunity to learn.
It is always important to remember there is a lesson in every failure. I grow the most when I have to work through a tough time or "failure." I don't even like calling it "failure" because I genuinely believe that nothing is ever a "failure," it's simply a lesson and an opportunity to grow and do better. When things don't work out the way that I had hoped, of course it can be painful and of course I will grieve for whatever loss that I may feel and that is very healthy, but I refuse to let it rule me. I believe things will get better, no matter the pain in the moment. When I have things in my professional life that don't work out, I know it wasn't meant to be and another door will open if I believe in myself and keep working out. When things don't go the way I had hoped in my personal life, I look at the reason why and ask myself what I can do to heal.
Put your mental health first. Period. Then everything will begin to fall into place. You cannot perform to the best of your ability if you have not taken care of your mind. When I don't take care of my mental health, everything feels like it's falling apart. When I don't have strong boundaries, I feel aimless and helpless. And that's when doubt begins to creep in. That's when I make mistakes that hurt myself and others. You must value your heart and mind above all else. Believe that you are deserving of self-love and do everything in your power to show yourself that you are loved and valued.
I think learning the power of saying "no" is extremely important. If I ever find myself saying "no" to something, I also make sure that I back it up with a reason. I would never say "no" to something just to say "no," but I do think that the conversation around that is what makes a difference when it comes to identifying opportunities that are right and opportunities that may not serve or align with my future goals.
I take things personally sometimes, which isn't always the best—but it does drive me to really self-reflect and figure out what moments of so-called failure are worth dwelling on and which ones are just human error. To me, there is no such thing as failure. When things don't work out, that lends itself for opportunities to learn—if you miss the lesson, you aren't paying enough attention.
My best advice is to listen to your inner voice and trust your instinct. Not the nagging one that can be self-critical, but the one that knows deep down what you really want your life to be—in a spiritual, not material, sense. All of that stuff is "extra." The first step in your journey is believing that it's possible. Only then can you begin to map out how you get there. You know it's true what they say: It's about the journey, not the destination.
You have to take risks. Any time I've taken a risk, it's always empowered me. It doesn't have to be stressful, either. It can be exciting, especially when it's something you truly care about.
I have always been a pretty confident person, and being in the entertainment industry for the last 30+ years has definitely helped me grow that confidence even more. My advice for those looking to cultivate confidence and go after their dreams would be to make sure you are incredibly passionate about your goals. You have to love it, because this is what you're going to eat, breathe and sleep all day, every day.
Focus on profitability first, before scale. This requires a lot of patience! When I started Hill House, I saw lots of businesses focused on growing as quickly as possible at the expense of their bottom line. We took a more old-fashioned approach, focused on profitable, sustainable growth. It required a lot of patience, but it has paid off for us.
As cliche as it sounds, please just be yourself. Trying to build a career off of a foundation of falsehoods is exhausting and unsustainable. And don't be afraid to get boxed in. Being really, really good at one thing is enough to take you to that next level and will open doors to all of the other things that you may want to do in the future.
My advice would be to stay true to you and the content you want to make. There is an audience for everyone—just do the work so your community who loves you can find you. And always be open to other forms of career opportunities that'll come to you, there is no cookie cutter formula to success.
My best advice is to embrace who you are, and focus on what makes you unique. The moment I started to focus on my personal journey instead of trying to fit a mold that wasn't created for me, I was able to unlock greater happiness, and as a result, success. The truth is, we are our most successful when we do things that bring us joy. Allow yourself to enjoy the ride without fixating on the end destination, you can always add extra stops along the way!
I don't believe in advice. It's really just all experience.
Failures are just part of life. But, we have a child now and the pressure to make all this work is on. I'm doing everything in an extremely American way while my husband is constantly telling me to slow down—that these things take time. We meet in the middle.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.