Brittany Ciresi

I attribute my success to believing in myself, especially when other people didn't. This beauty industry is very, very difficult, and it's hard to explain to people who aren't in it, and it's hard to push through for the people that are in it. There are a lot of gatekeepers, and there's a lot of people who simply don't want to help people grow. I've noticed that sometimes people feel like if you're winning, you're taking something from them, even if they didn't necessarily want it. I see a lot of that in various roles. So I'd say believing in yourself, remembering why you started to begin with, and just finding your voice - those things are so important because it is difficult to explain to people the depth of our industry, and it's difficult to get around the gatekeepers or naysayers that, for whatever reason, don't want to see you grow or prosper.

The best career advice I ever received came from my most recent boss before this position. She sat me down one day and said, 'Brittany, I love that you are a hard worker, and that you try to figure out everything by yourself. But you don't always have to do that. You have a team, and you should rely on them and ask for help sometimes.' I thought that was really great advice. I know some work environments don't promote that, but I think if your work environment does promote collaboration and asking for help, you should take advantage of it.

My advice would be to make sure you absolutely want it, because it is very difficult. And understand that it does take quite a bit of time. It took me 13 years to get my dream role, so you know, they always tell people that after 10 years you should probably give up, well, it took me 13. Had I listened to that rule, I probably wouldn't have gotten this job. So you have to very much really, really want it, and you will also have to kind of create opportunities sometimes where there aren't any. I always asked people every time I met a sales rep or outside salesperson or a brand person - I'd ask them how they got their job, I'd get their information. Even with my freelancing roles, I freelance for MAC, and I just emailed people. I emailed them and asked them if they were hiring, even when there were no posts online or anything. Sometimes you do just create the opportunity for yourself.

I'd say the most challenging part for me is that I inherited a territory from someone who wasn't doing their job very well, so it's just been kind of overcoming the bad taste in their mouth that they had from someone before me. It's not terribly awful - I've been in sales and management roles my whole life, and before this, I was managing a store for a different salon distributor and the store was set to close, so I had to turn it back around. I had to win over all the customers that were used to the former manager being there for years and years, so I've dealt with this kind of challenge before.

I'd say honesty is a big one, both personally and professionally, especially with people that you care about, because that really deepens relationships. And honesty with customers too, because sales is not always just about numbers. Deception is not a great sales tactic - it leads to bad faith and returns and ultimately bad outcomes, so it's a short-term win to be deceptive in a sales role. Outside of that, a willingness to listen to other people is both good personally and professionally. Not always talking helps wonders in friendships and family relationships, and it's also tremendous in learning what people are looking for in a business transaction.