In the weeks that followed, I received a great deal of media attention—but I didn’t want it. I had already lost control over the message I wanted to convey, and I was also slowly losing control over Dar Be Dar. I appreciated how lucky I was, but I couldn’t handle the number of orders that were suddenly coming in. I only had twenty-four bikinis in stock! I was still working full time at the cosmetics company, and I was answering all press inquiries on my own, without a publicist. I felt like I was stuck on a wheel of fortune and I was never coming to a stop anywhere near the right direction; I just kept spinning round and round. The length of my to-do list made me feel nauseous.
Once again, I had to come up with another strategy, and this time it was going to require that I rebrand the company, create a new collection, hire a publicist, and find time for all the press. I was in need of a bigger investment and a legitimate business plan.
Eric and I discussed the necessity for a larger capital contribution to Dar Be Dar. He has always said that an entrepreneur’s most important quality is knowing how to rebuild yourself from scratch. I respect him tremendously, and his life lessons have been instrumental in my success. My favorite words of encouragement from him were, “Some of the most successful people in the world fail at first, and some even fail many times.”
Consider these famous examples:
BRIAN ACTON
When he applied for jobs at Twitter and Facebook, they both rejected him. Four years later, Facebook bought his creation, WhatsApp, for $19 billion.
VERA WANG
She failed to make the U.S. Olympic figure-skating team. Then she became an editor at Vogue but was passed over for editor in chief. She began designing wedding gowns at age forty and is now the premier designer in the business, with a multimillion-dollar company.
WALT DISNEY
He was fired by a newspaper editor because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Several of his businesses failed before the premiere of his movie Snow White. Today, most childhoods wouldn’t be the same without his vision.
OPRAH WINFREY
She was fired from her television news-reporting job because the network didn’t think she was fit to be on screen. But she rebounded and became the undisputed queen of television talk shows. She is also a billionaire.
DR. SEUSS
His first book was rejected by twenty-seven different publishers. He is now one of the most popular children’s book authors ever.
Devastating failures are just another stop on the road to success. Drive is something that no one can put a price tag on, and that is why Eric continued to invest in me. He knew that my drive would continue to motivate me to move forward.
This time Eric’s investment in my company would be different. I had acquired so much more knowledge of the fashion business, I already had sales lined up, and I had access to media. I felt more confident than ever before. Again his investment was relatively small, but it was the first building block in a series of interlocking pieces that would ultimately lead to the creation of my empire. We agreed that I would use the investment to hire a publicist; attend trade shows in New York, Miami, and Vegas; and then create more well-rounded collections, which I could present at these shows.
I instantly started researching renowned PR companies and interviewing publicists who could potentially help me build a brand and handle media. After reading through the contract terms for several companies in both Washington, DC, and New York City, I realized that a substantial PR company wouldn’t be a good fit for my needs (and budget). First, some asked for monthly payments as high as $20,000. If I had that kind of money to spare on PR representation, I would use it to hire an actual staff. Second, there was a strong likelihood that I wouldn’t receive the amount of attention I needed from them because of how much of their resources are spent on their A-list clientele. I was really searching for someone that wouldn’t just be in it for the paycheck, but would understand my vision, be passionate about it, and help me maneuver my way around the fashion industry step by step.
A dear friend of mine, Erika Gutierrez, who is the daughter of the former U.S. secretary of commerce, worked for a PR firm in DC. She confided in me that she was planning to leave the firm soon and was thinking about starting her own PR company.
A few weeks later, Erika and I met at Starbucks for coffee. I always thought she was an outstanding woman. She owned every room she walked into, which I admired, and I knew she had the ability to ace the PR business. I couldn’t handle the media alone, and I needed someone who could take the pressure off that aspect of my life so that I could focus on building my brand. Could she be the one for Dar Be Dar?
I explained my vision and what my business plan entailed. She was enthusiastic about my strategy, and I felt she truly believed in my mission. A few days later, we signed a contract! I would be her first and only client for the next six months. It was so energizing to work with someone who embodied such strong and influential characteristics. People either inspire you or drain you, and I wanted to surround myself with people who would inspire me to reach higher. Her enthusiasm was infectious.
Shortly after signing our contract, Erika and I were going over media questions when I received an email titled “Miss Alabama.” The email read:
Dear Ms. Raassi:
I am the current Miss Alabama, and I am getting ready to compete in the Miss USA Pageant. I came across your story in a magazine and was amazed by your inspiring story. I was wondering if you could help sponsor my swimwear portion. I would love to talk about your story and represent your brand at the Miss USA Pageant.
I read the email aloud to Erika and said, “How cool would it be if we could actually sponsor the Miss Universe Pageant?”
Beauty contests require a panel to choose an individual to represent community standards of beauty and morality. During the 1920s and ’30s, beauty contests consisted of swimsuit pageants and were mainly put on as tourist attractions. The contestants used these pageants as a platform to diverge from expected female social norms and advance their Hollywood careers.
It wasn’t until World War II that these contests transformed into mainstream, respected communal events. During a period of decolonization and nationalist movements, these competitions became a means of expressing nationalist sentiments and pride, and they gathered momentum around the world. The pageants began to include other components—talent, evening gown, etc., and scholarships were offered as prizes. Beauty pageants evolved into representing what society viewed as the embodiment of an ideal American woman: well-mannered, intelligent, beautiful, and epitomizing moral excellence.
The Miss Universe Pageant, one of the three largest beauty pageants in the world, features contestants from eighty to more than one hundred countries and attracts a global audience of millions. It represents the international ideal of beauty, and the pageant’s logo—“the woman with stars”—represents the magnificence and responsibility of women around the world. It’s a public forum available to women to showcase their physical attributes, talents, and social skills.
The pageants are often used as a political forum as well. In 2002, Miss Lebanon withdrew from the competition because she refused to compete with Miss Israel. Iran never participated in the pageant because of religious barriers. However, in 2003, Nazanin Afshin-Jam, an Iranian Canadian, represented Canada in the Miss World contest, which defied the conservative Iranian community and caused a stir.
Since the 1979 Revolution, Iranian women have been banned by the government from participating in pageants because they couldn’t compete uncovered. Furthermore, the Islamic Republic views pageants as being counter to Islam. Still, I watched the Miss Universe Pageant on satellite TV every year in Iran with my friends and family growing up. Some of the most beautiful women in the world compete, and I always mourned the fact that Iranian women were not among them. They were just as beautiful, influential, and talented. Could it be possible to find a way to represent the striking beauty and intelligence of the women of my country through this organization?
Shortly after I told Erika that I wanted to make swimwear for the pageant, she received a phone call from an unknown number. The woman on the other end of the line was Kara, an executive from the Miss Universe Organization. She had called because a few days earlier, taking the subway on her way to the Miss Universe office, she’d come across my article in Marie Claire. She believed it was fate and said that if anyone should design swimwear for the Miss Universe Pageant it should be a woman whose mission is to empower other women through the message of “Fashion is Freedom.” The Miss Universe Organization had been working to promote female empowerment for years, and this pairing would be a match made in heaven.
I patiently waited for Erika to finish the conversation, and the second she hung up, I jumped up from my seat and asked, “What’s the catch? If this is a match made in heaven, then what are we waiting for?” The one thing I didn’t understand was why, if the pageant was just two and a half months away, they still hadn’t secured a swimwear sponsor. There had to be a catch!
Erika clarified that there was a hefty sponsorship fee and that fee wouldn’t cover the costs of producing four hundred bikinis for the contestants and traveling with the organization to Las Vegas for nearly two months. The terms seemed to be impossible to meet. I couldn’t think of how I could come up with such a hefty sum in such a short period of time. But I had to find a way to do it, because I didn’t want to let this opportunity slip through my fingers. We decided to sleep on the idea and reconvene the next morning.
Later that evening, I couldn’t stop thinking about the endless opportunities this pageant could produce for me. I phoned Eric and expressed fervently how much I wished to be involved with the Miss Universe Organization. This platform would mean so much to me. I wanted Iran to be represented in a pageant from which Iranian women were banned. My contribution could be a symbol for women who never had the opportunity or freedom to follow their dreams, and for those who wanted to participate in these pageants but didn’t have the choice to. I couldn’t think of a more fitting outlet to broadcast my “Fashion is Freedom” message.
Eric listened intently as I spoke. And after I was done, he asked the same question I had when the sponsorship was proposed to me: “What’s the catch?” I was kind of terrified to even tell Eric the terms, because I was convinced he would say they were just too absurd.
“We need $140,000, which includes $85,000 for the ten-second NBC segment that would air the night of the pageant announcing Dar Be Dar as the official swimwear sponsor, plus the cost to produce four hundred bikinis, travel costs, PR, and other expenses,” I said timidly.
Eric laughed out loud. “Holy crap, that’s just silly!”
Eric and I discussed my concerns about my full-time job and the fact that the pageant was only about two and a half months away. We agreed that there was no way I could handle such a huge undertaking. It was too expensive, and there was not enough lead time to fulfill the organization’s expectations. I hung up the phone and contemplated my fate. I thought if the sky is the limit, then why doesn’t someone just hand me some wings and allow me to fly through all these obstacles to my dreams?
The sudden ring of my phone pulled me from my thoughts. Eric’s voice came confidently through the receiver: “Let’s do it.”
He told me that his company had just signed a substantial contract, giving him the capital to invest in such a huge opportunity. He saw the synergy between my company and the Miss Universe Organization and believed it could become a very lucrative pairing. Of course, as soon as he’d handed me those wings, I was immediately petrified, and I definitely didn’t feel ready to fly the limitless skies.
“Are you crazy? How could I possibly do this on my own?”
“Tala, if anyone on this planet can do this, it’s you,” Eric replied.
As flattered as I was by his compliment and motivational speech, I still didn’t think I could pull this off in such a limited amount of time—even if I sewed myself a Superwoman costume. I wasn’t afraid to work hard; I had an excellent work ethic (or at least I would like to think I do). Even so, I couldn’t do the impossible. I was a one-woman army running Dar Be Dar and working full time. When would I find the time?
Eric managed to remind me that it’s important to take chances in business. I had just recently come to terms with the dissolution of my boutique, and Dar Be Dar was doing just fine. I knew if I put my mind to it I could handle the business aspect, but I was hesitant because I didn’t want to suffer another personal collapse if this didn’t work out. This time around, my audience wasn’t just DC, it was the world. I had the physical endurance, but was my soul ready for such a big commitment, and such a risk?
The following morning, Eric and I had a thirty-minute conference call with the Miss Universe Organization. They made their sales pitch, and it felt like they tried to sell us on the facts that the pageant is watched by the entire world every year, their website receives billions of hits, and my company would benefit enormously from the exposure this opportunity would create. I had hoped to hear a more genuine pitch about female empowerment, freedom, and the synergy between our companies, but this felt more like I was buying a car at a dealership. It was all numbers. But, of course, at the end of the day this was all about business.
Then they gave us an ultimatum—either we sign the contract in the next few days or they would sign someone else on their long list of companies “dying for this opportunity.” Obviously, I was extremely skeptical. My gut was telling me that the entire offer placed an unreasonable demand on our money, time, and energy. But I didn’t follow that instinct because I craved an opportunity that would bring meaning and purpose to my life. I would receive the necessary funding from Eric and couldn’t bring myself to pass up a chance to make a difference. There aren’t many people in the world who can say, “I sponsored the Miss Universe Pageant.” I snatched the opportunity while it was still within reach.
Eric negotiated for the payment to be split into four parts, which they agreed to. We also requested to use all the attending contestants for a high-end fashion show featuring my swimwear. Our proposal was verbally accepted, but we were told the fashion show couldn’t be worked into the contract on such a short timeline.
And just like that, within a few days of the initial phone call, Dar Be Dar was the official swimwear sponsor for the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant. Oh my God, this is huge, I thought. So huge that I had no other choice but to leave my job at the cosmetics company. I was scared to do it because it was my only stream of steady income, but I believed the risk would be worth the reward.
I knew there was a chance that the Miss Universe Pageant wouldn’t work out the way I predicted. The unknown is always intimidating, and it’s human nature to focus on the possibility of catastrophe. It’s a fact of life that many of the risks you take won’t pay off the way you want them to.
But remember: beyond the risk lies the opportunity for wisdom and growth. Besides, how are we supposed to achieve greatness if we always play it safe? Don’t let the possibility of failing stop you. Miss Universe was giving me the chance to grow, and that is exactly why I took the risk.