Jessica Alba Talks Business and Being Treated Like a Guy

Jessica Alba, an A-List actress, mother-of-two and the cofounder of The Honest Company, a consumer goods corporation worth over $1 billion, recently sat down with Self magazine to discuss how she’s accomplished so much at only 34.

The Sin City star reassured Self that her success has not been an accident.

Alba shared her business approach saying, “I’ve always been business-minded. I approached Hollywood like a business…I was very calculated. I wanted to be treated like a guy; I wanted to put asses in seats. I saved my money, invested wisely and marketed myself. I’ve been building my own personal brand over time.”

Alba attributes her confidence as a business savvy entrepreneur to her two daughters Honor, 7 and Haven, 4.

The California native said, “For a long time, I didn’t think I was smart. I felt like an impostor…It’s not until you feel whole in yourself that you fit in anywhere. And it took me becoming a mom to actually feel that way.”

Alba admits that she started her eco-friendly business out of necessity, saying, “I was horrified by the realities around the use of chemicals, and also the link that these chemicals have to a lot of illnesses, from obesity to lung disease to cancer, allergies, eczema — all of it. I was bringing this little person into the world and I thought, ‘I want her to be healthy.'”

Her brand, The Honest Company, is a Green America gold-certified corporation that aims at supplying families with safer & healthier products, while making the world a better place through the Social Goodness project.

Alba is not only a great mother, talented actress and smart businesswoman, she’s also a strong human rights activist. Alba’s charity work includes participation with Clothes Off Our Back, Habitat for Humanity, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Project HOME, RADD, Revlon Run/Walk for Women, SOS Children Villages, Soles4Souls, and Step up. Alba has even offered her acting talents for free, to raise money for AIDS charity amfAR.

We’re hope you’re inspired by Jessica Alba’s thoughts on entrepreneurship and following your dreams. Let us know in the comments section below.