Rachel Zoe: Nothing Replaces Doing the Work

I recently had the incredible pleasure on my podcast In Search of Excellence of interviewing Rachel Zoe – a distinguished fashion designer, editor, author, TV personality, and entrepreneur – and had the opportunity to ask her about the value of hard work, her fear of failure, and the sacrifices that go into becoming the best at what you do.

A lot of people think that Rachel’s life of styling the rich and famous for the Academy Awards and the Oscars and hanging out on the red carpets is extremely glamorous.?Rachel Zoe is an icon in the fashion world who has styled celebrities like Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, Jennifer Garner, and Enrique Iglesias, and people often assume that most of Rachel’s time is spent hanging out with famous people and attending parties and going to sexy, high-profile events.?But the reality is different - being a stylist is a behind-the-scenes job which means that Rachel fluff clients’ trains before these events, holds their handbags, and makes sure that they have chapstick, lip brushes, and snacks on hand at all times.?Styling is a service business, and Rachel would not have achieved success without doing these nitty-gritty tasks.

“You have to do the work,” Rachel says. “You’re doing yourself a disservice by not working hard from the beginning.”?For her, being a stylist is like bootcamp:?she’s doing the job of 10 people, and she’s more than fine with it because she loves it, wants to control every aspect of her work, and has learned a lot from it.?Rachel compared the intensity of her job to the same rigorous investment banking training that her husband Rodger went through. ?“It may not be the most fun thing you’ve ever done in the moment, but do the work and it will help so much along the way.”

Working hard also meant making a lot of sacrifices.?Rachel never took a vacation for a decade and missed almost everything that mattered including baby showers, weddings, and birthdays.?On one occasion, Rachel even showed up to a huge album cover shoot with the flu – and promptly passed out at fitting because she was so sick.?She says that part of her work ethic was driven by her fear of failure, of not being the best, and of letting her clients down.?More importantly, Rachel had an overwhelming desire to make clients feel amazing and look their absolute best, and this standard that she held herself to was what drove her to become the best she could be.

I’m also a strong believer in the value of sheer grit and hard work.?For my entire career, I have always worked a minimum of 60-hour weeks – and at times exceeding 100 hours a week – meaning 14 hours a day, seven days a week.?It’s part of my DNA and my desire to succeed, and it’s one the most important lessons that I teach my mentees.?I call it “FILO” – first in, last out – which is a method to almost guarantee your success.?

This article is based on my interview with Rachel Zoe , an icon of the fashion world, distinguished designer, editor, author, TV personality, and entrepreneur.?She is the Creative Director of the Rachel Zoe Collection , which comprises ready-to-wear, footwear, and accessory lines.?Rachel is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Style A to Zoe and Living in Style . Rachel had a reality television series, The Rachel Zoe Project , which aired on Bravo and ran for five seasons (2008–2013). In 2009, she founded The Zoe Report , a daily newsletter about what she was coveting in the worlds of lifestyle, beauty, and fashion, and launched another paper focused on beauty entitled Zoe Beautiful shortly after.?Rachel and her husband Rodger Berman co-host the podcast Works for Us .?She is also a board member at Baby2Baby and an artist ambassador at Save the Children International . Listen to the full episode here .

You may also enjoy other episodes on?In Search of Excellence , which can be found on?Apple Podcasts ,?Spotify ,?Google Podcasts ,?Overcast , and?YouTube .

Randall Kaplan ?is a serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, philanthropist, and podcaster.?He is the founder and CEO of?JUMP Investors , a venture capital firm that has invested in more than 80 early-to-late-stage technology companies, including Google, Seagate, and Lyft.?Randall is a Co-Founder of?Akamai Technologies , a publicly-traded technology company that has 8,000 employees around the world and earned $3.8 billion in 2022 revenues.?He is also the Founder and CEO of?Sandee , the largest provider of information about beaches in the world with over 100 categories of information for more than 100,000 beaches in 212 countries.

Randall is the host of?In Search of Excellence , a podcast designed to motivate and inspire others to reach their potential and achieve excellence in all aspects of life.?Randall’s guests have included?Mike Tyson ,?Mark Cuban ,?Kevin O'Leary ,?David Solomon ,?Bob Pittman ,?Sharon Stone ,?David Rubenstein ,?Steve Case ,?Orlando Bravo ,?Sammy Hagar ,?Sam Zell ,?Rachel Zoe ,?Tim Draper ,?Kliff Kingsbury , and?Eric Garcetti , among many others.?Randall is also a dedicated philanthropist – he is the founder of?The Justice Ball ?which has raised more than $8 million for a non-profit legal clinic that aids more than 12,000 poor, sick, elderly, and homeless residents of Los Angeles each year, and is the Co-Founder of?The Imagine Ball ?which has raised millions of dollars and is dedicated to ending the cycle of poverty and homelessness in Los Angeles.

Read Randall's full bio at?www.randallkaplan.com .