Image Credit: Art Streiber
“So many men in suits have made me feel underestimated, at this point I just have to laugh, like, ‘Oh, you need a hug,’” Simpson says. “I can’t even think of one moment in particular because it’s happened my whole career. I was always the little girl who had to come in and sit with men in suits, you know? But now I get to wear the suit.”
-Jessica Simpson
Businesswoman and media mogul Jessica Ann Simpson, now 41 years old, released her debut album "Sweet Kisses" in 1999 with 2 million copies sold in the US. She was known for being "a true blonde," as America fell in love with her assumed ignorance and the cute little giggles that followed when something seemingly flew over her head. But, was this a strategic move?
In 2003 Simpson's 3rd album "In This Skin" sold 3 million copies in The US, all before the height of her career as she slowly began to expand her empire. In 2005, the pop star launched the Jessica Simpson Collection, in partnership with her Mother Tina and shoe designer Titan Vince Camuto. Team Simpson sold a majority share of the company to "Sequential Brands," but the partnership quickly turned into what "Momma Simpson" described as, "being on the Titanic and circling an iceberg". After Sequential Brands filed for bankruptcy in August of 2021, Jessica and Tina Simpson opened up about buying back her brand in it's entirety for a rumored $65 mil in September 2021.
“I think back to when we were starting out and we were super young and naive,” Tina, 62, says. “People thought, ‘Oh, those silly women. We can pull the wool over their eyes. You know, it’s Jessica Simpson and her mother!’ It’s pretty funny when you think about it.”
-Tina Simpson
In her 2020 New York Times best-selling memoir, "OpenBook", Simpson wrote:
I thought, "How dumb are you to think I’m that stupid?”
One thing most of us can relate to is being underestimated. It's a horrible feeling but a great motivator to exceed the expectations of those who don't believe in you. Multi-millionaire Jessica Simpson, now worth $200 million dollars, believes that the doubts of others have been her secret weapon. Because they saw no threat - they paid very little attention to her and her plans that were often unfolding in their faces.
The moral, let them count you out! Just don't count yourself out. With some strategic planning, any situation can be flipped in your favor.
Comments