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ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Coreen Cordova: Entrepreneur took risks, followed her passion and never, never gave up

KENTFIELD – Coreen Cordova’s resume looks something like this: bachelor’s degree in theater arts from Illinois Wesleyan University, fashion and beauty expert at KPIX for 15 years, owner of Coreen Cordova Cosmetics for 21 years, makeup artist for burn victims at the Bothin Burn Center at St. Francis Hospital for 15 years, spokeswoman for the cosmetic division of Amway for 14 years, stylist for female newscasters at KRON for 15 years and, most recently, president and chief designer of Coreen Cordova/Que Milagro for the past eight years – not to mention her positions as training director for the cosmetic lines of Zsa Zsa Gabor and Estee Lauder as well as numerous motivational and public speaking engagements.

When recently asked how she was still so vibrant at her age – 60, not 100 as you might expect from her years of experience, though she looks closer to 30 – she said she always knew she didn’t want to be an 80-year-old sitting in her chair, looking out the window and saying “What if…?”

With 20 more years to go, there’s not much of a chance of that happening.

In the mid-70s, Ms. Cordova figured if she was going to start a business, she better do it while still young and without that much to lose. So at age 29, she quit her job with Estee Lauder, borrowed $20,000 from her parents and formed Coreen Cordova Cosmetics.

“I believed I was really good at something, and I had an idea of how to teach women how to do makeup that no one had really done – how to do it rather than sell it to them,” she said.

Though armed with talent, experience and a good idea, she found getting her business off the ground challenging.

“The first year was a complete struggle. I thought, ‘People aren’t seeing the value in what I’ve created.’ I was very frustrated. I was highly educated and wanted people to take what I was doing seriously,” she said.

Faced with an obstacle, her creative mind went to work. “Who owns the power of recognition that I can attach myself to?” she asked herself.

Knowing how seriously doctors are taken, she found a plastic surgeon at St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco to sponsor her to do makeup for post-surgery patients. She was also offered the chance to help burn victims. With no experience in that, Ms. Cordova decided she would learn how to do it and began working at the Bothin Burn Center.

“I entered another level of makeup artistry,” she said. “I just had to go out and beg people to teach me and do whatever I could to learn this.” And she did.

This sort of undertaking doesn’t tend to go unnoticed, and the producer of the KPIX show “People are Talking” visited Ms. Cordova to use her services. The producer was impressed and soon after invited her to be on the show. Ms. Cordova became a regular, and the visibility she had been seeking finally paid off. “The perception to the public is that ‘She must be the best because she’s on TV,’ and my business went insane – from zero to thousands. It led me to doing talks for women’s groups, motivational speaking, talks on the beauty factor,” she said.

This quick success forced Ms. Cordova to grow rapidly, but she was ready for it. She hired employees, developed a cosmetic line and made sure the success she had worked so hard for would continue.

“You better be passionate about what you do because it may be the only thing you do for a long time,” she said. “I didn’t take a vacation once for 11 years.” This passion for helping women see their strength and beauty led her to work for so many years in a variety of capacities doing what she loves most.

In 2000, she was ready to start a new business, though she wasn’t yet sure what it would be. She went to Mexico with the idea of finding who she would be next. She began taking silversmith classes but felt there was enough jewelry already out there.

“If I can’t do something really new, there’s no point in adding to what’s already there,” she said. But then she conceived of detachable charms that could be themed so people could put together their own necklaces, which no one else was doing. Using only savings and equity from her house, Ms. Cordova’s next company – Coreen Cordova/Que Milagro – was born.

As before, the business began very slowly. Stores wanted to sell her products on consignment, which made it hard to grow. Then one store suggested she do a line of western charms. Though not immediately taken by the idea, she started doing charms of horses, hats and boots. Once she got a rep in the western industry, the business took off, doing $250,000 in the first month.

Ms. Cordova has since expanded her jewelry to more than 100 themes, including multicultural charms such as masks from around the world, Buddhas and crosses. Her jewelry is carried in Saks Fifth Avenue and other high-end boutiques and has been featured in several nationwide magazines, including Elle, Vogue, Bazaar, Redbook and O, The Oprah Magazine.

This entrepreneurial character must have a source, and Ms. Cordova is quick to credit her father as her first inspiration, noting how in his 70s he started a new career as an actor.

“I always saw him going for the gusto in his life, doing things he loved and had passion for.”

Other inspiration has come from women she has surrounded herself with her whole life that have been her crusaders and believed in her. Kit Cole, former chairwoman of Epic Bancorp, has been an important financial mentor. She helped Ms. Cordova get financing to relocate her first company, guided her through buying a house once she stared making more money and made sure she learned how to manage her finances.

“I’m just generally inspired to want to help women,” said Ms. Cole, herself a 2003 Women in Business honoree. “In the case of Coreen, it was especially easy because she actually listened to the advice and actually acted on the advice, which was rewarding, and she had a lot of successes as a result of doing that.”

With an unstoppable passion, commitment and willingness to take risks that led Ms. Cordova to the top of two thriving businesses, she said her best lessons have been in her failures.

“I learned the things I really need to know when I was in my darkest place, which makes me appreciate my lightest place,” she said. “You have to believe in yourself and in the thing you want to do. You have to feel it has value – once you do, you’re unstoppable.”

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