Ep 226 | Monique Rodriguez

Written By Yasmin Nouri

Harnessing The Power of Manifestation & Vision Boarding to Build Your Dream Business

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Monique Rodriguez is the founder and CEO of Mielle Organics, an all natural hair care and beauty brand. 

Monique created Mielle Organics’ first product in her kitchen. Now, the brand has products in over 85 countries – and still pursues the same vision it did from when it operated out of Monique’s kitchen, with the same values.

Monique worked  as a registered nurse for almost a decade. She became a nurse initially to make her mother happy, and to have a career with financial stability. As a wife and mother of two girls, it was a big risk to leave her stable career path to pursue her passion. Yet she always had a love of beauty and haircare, and once she saw the engagement of her online community with the products she was creating in the kitchen, she decided to bet on herself and launch her own product, and that’s when Mielle Organics was born.

In 2021, Monique became the first Black woman to raise a non-controlling nine-figure investment, over $100M, in a deal with Berkshire Partners. In 2023, Monique made history again when Mielle Organics was acquired by Procter & Gamble in an unprecedented acquisition, the largest exit ever for a Black Female beauty founder, in which she will continue to serve as CEO of the company. As part of her deal with P&G, she also established Mielle Cares, the non-profit arm of her company, with a $10M donation that was matched by P&G. 

In this week’s episode we discuss the many business ventures Monique tried that didn’t work out, why she decided to pursue her nursing career and the biggest skills she learned there that have propelled her when starting her own business. We also chat about her process of building a passionate community through social media, how that helped her create product market fit for her product, and the steps she took to find a chemist to work on her first batch that ended up selling out. Monique also ends on sharing insights on manifesting success, the exact steps she took to bring her ideas to life, her advice on navigating challenging situations both personally and professionally, and so much more. 

Show Notes:

  • Confronting fears and building self-belief. [03:33]

  • Influence of strong women in Monique's upbringing. [06:54]

  • Calculated risk-taking and leadership mindset [09:20]

  • Skills and traits Monique built from her nursing experience. [15:00]

  • Being introverted and getting out of her comfort zone. [19:36]

  • Monique’s toughest life experience: Having a high-risk pregnancy in 2013. [22:16]

  • Monique’s initial idea of creating her own salon prior to Mielle. [26:24]

  • How Monique funded her business during its early stage. [31:02]

  • Getting their first orders and creating their products at home. [34:51]

  • What propelled them during the successful launch of Mielle Organics. [36:08]

  • Deciding to leave her nursing job and focus on Mielle Organics. [37:21]

  • Steps to manifesting and the importance of having vision for herself and the company. [40:08]

  • Monique’s vision boards and journal. [42:22]

  • How to avoid being pushed out and prevent taking the next steps. [45:19]

  • Mielle Organics’ growth in Sally Beauty and the challenges faced behind the scenes. [50:13]

  • Monique’s motivation in bringing in private equity and alignment with Berkshire. [54:58]

  • The timeline of the P&G acquisition. [57:32]

  • Monique's commitment to journaling and cultivating gratitude. [59:53]

  • Selling the business in eighteen months and its impact on Monique's life. [01:02:00]

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