TLDR;
Kim Kardashian shares her 10 commandments for creating marketing that commands attention and building businesses that scale. She emphasizes the importance of being the product, perfecting existing ideas, defining your brand, dominating the conversation, turning failures into strategy, treating customers as co-founders, understanding culture, knowing your worth, building your empire, and embracing your unique journey.
- Be the product and focus on how you make people feel.
- Perfect existing ideas rather than reinventing the wheel.
- Define your brand's DNA to be instantly recognizable.
- Dominate the conversation with unforgettable moments.
- Turn failures into strategy by acknowledging mistakes and involving customers in solutions.
- Treat your customer as your co-founder by listening and collaborating.
- Let culture set the time and guide your next moves.
- Know your worth and add tax for your unique value.
- Build empires before dawn by protecting your time and hiring experts.
- Embrace who you are, work hard, and pay it forward.
Introduction [0:09]
Kim Kardashian introduces her MasterClass, where she shares the 10 rules she lives by for creating marketing that commands attention and building scalable businesses. She emphasizes that these aren't mere suggestions but commandments she adheres to. She will be working with three entrepreneurs to put these principles to the test in real-time.
You Are The Product [2:20]
Kim discusses her early entrepreneurial ventures, including making and selling floral headbands at age 17. She highlights the importance of visibility and confidence in selling a product, sharing her experiences with various endorsement deals and launching her Skims collection. Kim states that people invest in you and how you make them feel, not just what you sell. She recounts opening the Dash clothing store with her sisters and leveraging their visibility on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" to drive customers to the store. She underscores the necessity of social media for modern brands, sharing her own experiences with makeup and shapewear, and how sharing her expertise led to the creation of KKW Beauty.
They Prove It, You Perfect It [9:54]
Kim emphasizes that innovation doesn't always mean inventing something new; it's about solving existing problems in a unique way. She shares how she identified a gap in the market for contour kits and body makeup, leading to the launch of KKW Beauty. She advises entrepreneurs to identify the shortcomings of the three biggest brands in their market and find ways to serve their audience better. Kim recounts how she identified missing elements in shapewear, leading to the creation of SKIMS, which focuses on seamless designs and accentuating curves.
Define Yourself Before Others Do [15:28]
Kim stresses the importance of branding and defining your brand's DNA, including its values, visuals, and voice, to make your product instantly recognizable. She explains that branding is the feeling people get before they even touch your product and should represent who you are and what you want to be. Kim shares how SKIMS focuses on taste level, simplicity, and tones, making their images and packaging easily identifiable. She advises defining the three core principles of your brand and making them non-negotiable as your business evolves. Kim discusses the evolution of SKIMS from shapewear to intimates, swimwear, and activewear, always maintaining a simple aesthetic. She highlights the tension between making a brand feel personal without being solely about the founder, which is crucial for scaling.
Don't Follow The Feed, Be The Feed [24:01]
Kim explains that marketing is about impact, not just being everywhere, and emphasizes creating unforgettable moments that dominate the conversation. She shares examples of fun and experimental SKIMS campaigns, such as the nipple bra and Merkin campaign, and how they generated buzz. Kim highlights the importance of paying attention to who responds to these campaigns and why, as it provides insights for future strategies. She recounts how the nipple bra campaign unexpectedly resonated with breast cancer survivors, leading to the development of a breast cancer survivor bra. Kim advises launching bold, unexpected campaigns, tracking engagement, and letting the response guide your next move. She also stresses the importance of staying tuned into culture and having a media diet to inspire ideas.
Turn Failure Into Strategy [35:00]
Kim emphasizes the importance of remaining calm and solution-oriented as a leader, especially during emergencies. She introduces the concept of turning failure into strategy, explaining that every brand will face backlash, and it's important not to let it break you. Kim shares the story of initially naming SKIMS "Kimono" and the subsequent backlash due to cultural appropriation. She explains how she acknowledged the mistake, took accountability, and involved customers in the solution by changing the name to SKIMS. Kim outlines a playbook for handling such situations: acknowledge the mistake fast, take accountability, make the customer part of the solution, and move decisively. She also discusses the importance of trusting your gut and discerning between real concerns and mere noise, using the example of the SKIMS maternity line.
Your Customer Is Your Co-Founder [44:05]
Kim emphasizes treating customers like partners by listening, collaborating, and building with them, as the best ideas come from the people you're creating for. She shares an example of launching SKIMS shapewear without a pee hole and quickly changing the design based on customer feedback. Kim advises communicating with customers and making them feel like they have a hand in improving your product. She encourages posting polls to gather customer feedback and incorporating it into your products or campaigns. Kim recounts the development of the SKIMS adaptive line, which was created in consultation with a woman in a wheelchair to make the clothing easier to wear for people with disabilities. She also discusses the importance of inclusivity in terms of shade and size ranges.
Culture Sets The Time [49:50]
Kim explains that culture is a gold mine of information that tells you where to move next. She shares how the SKIMS sorority collection began with the cultural phenomenon of Rush Talk on TikTok. Kim discusses the importance of seeing what you can utilize from the culture around you and how it can come in many different forms and ideas. She recounts SKIMS' partnership with Mel's Drive-In, where they transformed the restaurant with SKIMS-themed decor, creating a cultural moment that generated buzz. Kim advises making a list of five brands that reach an audience you don't and asking yourself what they have that you need, what you have that they're missing, and what you could create together. She highlights collaborations with Nike, Swarovski, and micro-influencers as examples of expanding audience reach and creating cultural moments.
Know Your Worth And Add Tax [56:33]
Kim emphasizes the importance of knowing your worth and setting your price accordingly. She recounts her early career experiences, including a makeup line deal where she and her sisters received a small royalty payment. Kim explains how this experience motivated her to start KKW Beauty, where she had more control and could directly benefit from her work. She advises asking yourself what you can do that others can't copy, what people already seek you out for, and what would break if you walked away to determine your base value. Kim defines "tax" as the premium you can demand after delivering results repeatedly.
Empires Are Built Before Dawn [1:02:46]
Kim stresses the importance of protecting the hours no one sees and owning the vision while hiring for what you don't have. She shares how she manages her time efficiently, often multitasking and micromanaging her schedule. Kim recounts the early days of Dash, where she and her sisters delegated responsibilities and relied on each other's strengths. She emphasizes the importance of having great partners and trusting your team. Kim advises building one ritual and choosing one before-dawn habit to test its payoff. She also highlights the importance of being easy to work with and setting a positive example for your team.
