Modelpreneurs?

"Everyone knows it pays to be pretty. It's good to know that it pays even more to be savvy"

I found this very interesting article on Forbes where the term "MODELPRENEUR" came across. The term reffers to "Entrepreneurial Supermodels", women such as Heidi Klum, Gisele Bündchen, Lauren Hutton or Kate Moss (among others!) that are not only pretty but also know how to make money out the brand that each of them represents.

I think that´s cool to realize ... specially because the last thing that one might co-relate to the life-style or atributes of a model is the entrepreneurial spirit ... and well, in the end, models themselves (their bodies, their faces and the icons they represent) are enterprises! We are full of paradigms!

Of course it will always be a question who really manages their businesses, but well, if someone else does that for them, who cares? finally being an Entrepreneur doesn´t neccesarely mean being a CEO :-), they key thing is to have the right vision and drive to endeavor something, launch it, find the right managers and staff (the past three steps can kill you though!) and well, let them do the money for you!

Another isssue is that many of their companies are related to the show-bizz, beauty industry, or clothing ... but again, who cares? In the end one should jump into a business that we really love and KNOW! - and in the case of supermodels those industries make no doubt a perfect fit!

Below some examples that were shared on the article!

Elizabeth Hurley
Business: Beachwear, and soon, pre-packaged frozen low-fat health food

The Estée Lauder model first rode to fame as actor Hugh Grant's girlfriend, but she is riding to fortune with her beachwear line, Elizabeth Hurley Beach, launched in 2005. Those bikinis, jewel-encrusted sarongs, lightweight pants, caftans, hats and bags are marketed in several continents, including the U.S., Europe, Asia, Russia and the Middle East. She hopes to soon launch a line of pre-packaged frozen low-fat health food inspired by and sourced from the food grown on her 400-acre farm.

Gisele Bündchen

Business: Shoes, sunglasses

The highest-paid supermodel in the world, with an estimated $35 million in earnings last year, is also an astute businesswoman. Last year, Gisele reportedly began demanding to be paid in euros instead of the ever-shrinking dollar. And even though she has over 20 modeling contracts, the biggest payday comes from her licensing deal with Brazilian sandal-maker Grendene. The model's line, Ipanema by Gisele, is sold worldwide and accounts for 20% of the company's shoe sales, or about 30 million pairs last year. Gisele's annual royalty stream: about $8 million. Tom Brady's gal pal has also recently licensed her name to Luxottica's Vogue Eyewear for her own line of sunglasses called "Gisele's Selects." Oh, yeah, and she's in the hospitality business to boot, as the owner of Brazil's successful Palladium Executive hotel.

Iman

A firmly established modelpreneur, this Somalian-born beauty and wife of David Bowie started her line of cosmetics for women of color in 1994. It's now carried at U.S. mass retailers such as Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens and Duane Reade and at international stores like Debenhams.