What it was like working with Jo Horgan, founder of Mecca.
Ten non-obvious lessons from four years at the cutting edge of beauty.
Earlier this week, I went on my first ever live radio show - Entrepreneur Her - to talk about my somewhat-random, never-boring career and business journey.
Despite the fact I spent the better part of six years hosting the lady-brains podcast, I was nervous AF heading into this chat, perhaps because I’m much more at home asking questions than answering them or perhaps because I haven’t been in a professional studio for over a year. Who knows? All I know is that I wanted to cancel in the lead-up (hello self sabotage, my old friend) and also that I’m glad I didn’t, because it was loads of fun and served as a reminder that I! Can! Do! Hard! Things!
We covered a lot but host Moana Hope was particularly interested in hearing about my time working with one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, Jo Horgan from beauty giant Mecca. To bring you up to speed (in case we’re internet friends and don’t know each other IRL), I worked for 4 years underneath Jo helping envision and build the beauty ‘store of the future’. It was a legitimate dream job, the type of role that defines a career. Jo was, and remains, the smartest and savviest person I’ve ever met.
Inspired by my chat with Mo, I’ve been reflecting on what I learned during my stint there. So without further ado, here are ten of the biggest lessons from my time spent in Mecca-land:
Look for inspiration in weird places.
At Mecca, a large part of my role involved traipsing around the world to uncover the most exciting innovations in retail. Inspiration came from everywhere: from a mirrored escalator in Saks 5th Avenue New York, to a single shelf in a dingy artisan fragrance boutique in Paris, to the weird and wonderful installations at Gentle Monster in Singapore. We collected ideas from all over and this act of seeking out inspiration from every corner is now the starting point for any creative task I do, whether it’s crafting this weekly newsletter, building my website or developing a strategy for a client.
The lesson: don’t stay in your lane. Get out of it from time to time.
Think big, act small.
While part of my role was to help define a vision, the other part was to incrementally work towards that vision as we opened new stores. With each new build we’d experiment with something new - fixtures and finishes, different store layouts, novel merchandising or completely new services - with each store being slightly further developed than the last. We implemented, we tested, we learned, we iterated. We thought big but consistently acted small.
The lesson: small changes compound over time. This relates not only to business, but also to increasing your net worth, becoming happier, building good habits and literally everything else that’s important in life.
The physical environment matters.
Jo possessed a winning combination when it came to store design: impeccable taste and an at-times excruciating focus on the detail. At one point, our team spent weeks debating which shade of red the roof’s steel beams should be. This insane level of consideration went into every aspect of the customer experience, and I quickly developed an appreciation for how a space can make someone feel. And perhaps more importantly, how a physical environment can impact how you (or a customer) behaves.
The lesson: design the physical environment to elicit the response and behaviour you want.
Invest in potential, not proven capability.
I’ll never forget the moment I was called into Jo’s office to be told I was being promoted to lead the ‘store of the future’ strategy. I was completely unqualified but I think she saw something in me; an insatiable curiosity and willingness to learn, an ability to build relationships and the desire to do something big. I saw similar opportunities given to a number of naive, green people over my time - young talent was backed all the way.
The lesson: sometimes proven capability is important but more often than not, the young and hungry are the best bet.
Always ensure there’s something for people to look forward to.
Mecca had this annual event called ‘smash and grab’ where pallets upon pallets of no-longer-saleable product (think items that were discontinued, old Holiday product, samples etc.) were hauled into head office and laid out on giant trestle tables ready to be grabbed by staff. On the morning of smash and grab, we’d all bring suitcases and wrestle our way through hundreds of other screaming colleagues to nab the best stuff. It was pure chaos. Mania. We became savages. Chatter about who got what and who missed out would circulate through the office for weeks. Smash and grab became folklore. A legend. It’s still one of my best Mecca memories to this day.
The lesson: design rituals, build hype, create raving evangelists.
Presence is power.
I’m fairly certain Jo had one of the most stressful roles on the planet but she was always poised. If she had a hard phone call, difficult meeting, jet lag or exhaustion…you’d never know. The only thing visible from the outside was charisma, positivity and strength.
People have no clue what’s happening in your life; they don’t realise you’ve just had to fire someone, or that you’ve lost your biggest client, or that you have 300 unread emails in your inbox. They only know what they see. How we show up is a choice: we can choose to enter a room with anxious and exhausted energy, or we can choose to enter it with hope, positivity and light.
The lesson: how you act = how you’re perceived. Be cognisant of how you show up.
Be the hostess with the absolute most-est.
During my time at Mecca, anyone who visited the office - whether they were a brand, supplier or partner - were treated like royalty. Fresh flowers. Haigh’s chocolates. Warm croissants. Piping hot coffee. Handwritten thank you notes. Each touchpoint meticulously planned down to the most minute detail. At the time it felt like overkill but with perspective I understand why - if you make people feel great in the moment it will pay off, big time, in the long run.
The lesson: people remember how you make them feel, so make them feel fucking great.
Be unapologetic in following your passion.
I’ll never forget Jo telling the story of getting Nars on board when Mecca was nothing but a sparkling glint in her eye. 20+ years ago the internet didn’t exist and so she found Nars’ New York phone number and rang and rang and rang. She continued ringing even when they politely told her to please stop because she was clogging up their voicemail, but after many months of persistence she finally landed a meeting which ultimately led to an exclusivity deal. She didn’t give up. She won.
The lesson: there’s no shame in doing whatever’s necessary to bring your dreams to life.
Guide, don’t force.
Jo’s a visionary and she was ten steps ahead of everyone else in the business. A brand or trend she’d casually mention in a meeting would five years later be profiled in WWD. Her predictions for the future of beauty would, more often than not, come true. Reflecting back I think she showed an enormous amount of restraint and patience, because instead of forcing her vision down everyone’s throats she guided people to arrive there in their own time. In this process the vision became not just hers, but everyone’s.
The lesson: forcing your vision onto people creates resistance, guiding them towards it makes it shared.
Don’t believe your own bullshit.
It’s easy to create a self-serving narrative that you’re the best in the world or the greatest at what you do, but this mindset is dangerous. It’ll be the death of you. The very second you believe it, will be the very second your competitors swoop in and take over.
The lesson: never get complacent.
Ever.
Check out my full chat on the Entrepreneur Her show with Mo, if you fancy. We covered:
How I almost became a spy
Some BTS stories of my time at Mecca and the biggest lessons learned
How following my gut instinct led me to move on from lady-brains
Common themes that crop up with founders I mentor and advise
Why I’m a massive advocate for a portfolio career - a new way to live and work
💆🏻♀️ I’m marinating most on lesson #6 right now…
…what about you?
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