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Gwyneth Paltrow seems to have it all. The 47-year-old actress was born in a wealthy family, which makes any start much more comfortable. She grew up in the middle of high-profile people and used to spend her holidays traveling on director Steven Spielberg's boat. Spielberg was the one who gave Paltrow her first role in Hook. Since then, she collected multiple films and got an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love when she was in her 20s.
But Hollywood was not enough for Gwyneth Paltrow, who wanted new challenges and created her own company from scratch. Once again, it was a success, but not without some bumps on the way. Here are some secrets behind her success.
She has a powerful network
Everyone needs to build a network to achieve some success at work. Gwyneth Paltrow was born with one. She was born into a wealthy family, and her parents were very close to Steven Spielberg, who is her godfather. He gave Paltrow a small role in Hook, and that's how her career started.
Of course, Paltrow proved she is talented in the following years. She also made a robust network on her own and even hosted a fund-raising dinner for Obama at her home.
She was not afraid of changing
Gwyneth Paltrow had a stable career in Hollywood, and she received an Oscar for her role in Shakespeare in Love in 1998. The actress worked a lot in her 20s, but also says she was burned out. Paltrow slowed down when she got pregnant and took a long break from the movie industry. In the meantime, the award-winning actress created a newsletter talking about lifestyle to send to her friends. That was how Goop was born.
Paltrow put her acting career on the second plan and started over as a businesswoman. No need to say, she is rocking it.
She is kind with herself
Being an award-winning actress and successful businesswoman demands a lot of work. To achieve so much in life, you need to work hard. There is always pressure always to do even better. Paltrow probably felt that pressure, but she slowed down after a certain point.
The actress said in an interview with People that she is less judgmental about herself, and she has more solid values now. It allows her to be honest and kinder to herself and not worry about pleasing people all the time - something that was challenging when she was younger.
She learns from her mistakes
Although Goop is very successful, they also make some mistakes along the way. Paltrow has been criticized for featuring some random subjects, like a medical medium giving nutritional advice. Paltrow also supported ideas that raised doubts among her public. Paltrow says that those moments taught her a lesson. "I have learned so much. And so much by making such grave mistakes that have cost millions of dollars," she told CNBC.
However, Paltrow was not specific about which mistakes she was talking about. Of course, not every company can survive mistakes that cost millions of dollars.
She didn't back off when people didn't believe in her
As we mentioned before, Gwyneth Paltrow had a stable career in Hollywood when she decided to make Goop a real business. Not many people believed in her. According to the Iron Man star, people accepted her as an actress but wanted to put her in a box, where she could not do anything else. Paltrow believes that women in general face "a lot of push-backs, especially if you're successful and attractive."
However, it did not discourage her, and pursuing her new ideas was the best thing she could do for herself.
She value obstacles
Gwyneth Paltrow became an A-list star during her 20s. She received an Oscar and dated names like Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck. The actress says she started to have some privileges like not waiting on a line for a restaurant, and her life became too comfortable. It sounds like the dream life to anyone, but not to Paltrow. "There is nothing worse for the growth of a human being than not having obstacles and disappointments, and things go wrong. All of my greatest achievements have come out of failure," she says.
Perhaps, that motivated her to try a new endeavor.
She knows when to use her personal life to create content
Gwyneth Paltrow doesn't talk much about her personal life. However, she made the spotlight when she announced her divorce and defined it as "consciously uncouple" and that they were still in good terms to raise the children together. We are familiar with the term now, but in 2014 it was something new for many people.
Paltrow wisely thought it would create great content for Goop and commissioned specialists to write about it. It didn't focus on Gwyneth Paltrow, but the idea was to explain what it was and how it could be done.
She focuses on high-quality products
Goop might be a success, but not everyone can afford it. Several people complain the products are overpriced, like when they announced a leather toiletry bag for $5,800. Paltrow was not happy about it and remarked that there were also cheap products for $8 and several things for under $100.
The entrepreneur also says that Goop focuses on quality, and sometimes it doesn't come cheap. The ingredients are beautiful. You can't get that at a lower price point. You can't make these things mass-market," she told the New York Times.
She has a personal connection with what she sells
As we mentioned, Goop started in a simple way, with Paltrow sending free newsletters to friends with lifestyle and recipes types. Although the company is not based on her kitchen table anymore, Paltrow says she remains true to its roots.
She told CNTraveler that she won't have products that she doesn't want in her home, that she doesn't understand, or that are not part of her story. According to her, the website is about making good choices.
That gave her company credibility to partner up with other brands like Juice Beauty, which assures Goop will keep growing.
She doesn't take it for granted
Let's be honest: Things for Gwyneth Paltrow were much easier than most people, and she admitted that in multiple interviews. However, it doesn't mean she takes the things for granted or that there are no efforts behind it.
Paltrow confessed that she is still insecure about if a new product will work out, if she is a good mother, if she is doing things right. However, it also helps her to be focused on details and do things well done. The actress is also very close to all the production steps of her products.