WCW: Tara Fela Durotoye

So it comes as no surprise that we are crushing on the amazing Tara Fela Durotoye, the founder and CEO of House of Tara, Africa’s Foremost Beauty Brand, especially after the House of Tara brand became a Case Study at Harvard.

According to the Harvard website, “House of Tara has been named by L’Oréal as a strategic distributor for Nigeria of leading international cosmetics brand Maybelline – marking another milestone in its ongoing success story. Lauded as a pioneer in the beauty and makeup industry in Nigeria, House of Tara was credited with launching the country’s first makeup studio, establishing the first makeup school in West Africa, and creating a full makeup product line entirely dedicated to African women. From a small venture in the late 90s, the company had grown into a sophisticated organization with a broad array of products and services, a multi-channel distribution network, professional makeup schools, and high-touch customer service”.

But we aren’t going to focus on TFD’s success today, even though they are extremely laudable and completely worthy of emulation, instead we are completely crushing on the following characteristics.

1. She gives back: if you are a regular Inspired by Glory Reader, you will know we are completely INLOVE with women who give back. Women who even before they cross the finish line, turn around and make sure they are holding another woman’s hand as they head down the corridors of success. Whether it’s through one on one or group mentorship, speaking engagements or her recently created and widely successful TFD Series, Tara has stayed focused on ensuring that she clears the path for other women to follow.

2. She has created a company of value: Now we aren’t talking numbers here, although that in itself is pretty darn amazing, we are talking about the culture of ethics, moral values and principles that visibly runs across the House of Tara Brand. One only has to look at the corporate governance of the company to see how accountability is woven in throughout its business model.

3. It isn’t always about her: As CEO, visibility comes with the brand description, but TFD makes it clear at every opportunity (and I have been a personal witness at quite a few), that House of Tara is more about the people behind the scenes, working tirelessly to create the home grown African brand we are all proud of today.

4. Tenacity and resilience: TFD is Nigeria’s pioneer makeup artist. Today, being an MUA is quite a trendy profession. There are visible business models to adopt and case studies to follow. But let’s try and cast our minds back to what it must have been like for TFD in 1993 when she just started out. We imagine it must have taken a whole lot of trial and error, creativity and staying power to build a brand that is celebrated globally. So, if you feel you are starting out on a new path, with very few examples in to follow, borrow a leaf from Tara’s book and stay the course!

5. She knows her numbers: Being the woman behind Africa’s foremost beauty brand doesn’t happen overnight, neither does it happen without putting in the WORK. Tara knows her business inside out, no wonder House of Tara is being studied at Harvard.

There’s so much we can say about our Wednesday Crush-Tara Fele Durotoye but we’ll just conclude by saying thank you for creating a pathway for women like us to follow!