The Jessica Alba Trap

Let me tell you a story.

Two years ago, I tried to be Jessica Alba.

Not the actress. The businesswoman.

You know the story: She built The Honest Company into a billion-dollar empire. She’s a mom. A CEO. A superhero.

So I thought, “If she can do it, why can’t I?”

Turns out, I couldn’t.

I lost $14,000. Cried in my car. Ate too much ice cream.

But I learned 7 brutal lessons. Don’t make my mistakes.

Mistake #1: “I’ll Figure It Out Later”

Jessica didn’t start by selling baby shampoo. She spent years researching chemicals, regulations, and factories.

Me? I bought 500 organic candles because they smelled nice.

I didn’t check:

Who would buy them.

How to ship them.

Why they were better than Target’s $5 candles.

Result: My garage still smells like lavender. My bank account smells like regret.

Fix this: Write down one question every day. “Who needs this?” “What’s my price?” Answer it before you spend a dime.

Mistake #2: “I Need to Do It All”

Jessica has a team. Lawyers. Chemists. People who know what “ROI” means.

I thought I had to be:

The website designer.

The Instagram model.

The customer service rep.

I lasted 3 weeks.

Result: Burnout tastes worse than kale smoothies.

Fix this: Admit, “I can’t do this alone.” Hire a teenager to fix your Wi-Fi. Trade cookies for accounting help.

Mistake #3: “My Product is My Baby”

I loved my candles. They had vegan wax! Recycled jars!

But nobody cared.

Jessica sold safety for babies. Not “organic” labels.

Lesson: People don’t buy your product. They buy the feeling it gives them.

Fix this: Ask 10 friends: “What problem does this solve?” If they say “Umm… pretty jar?” Start over.

Mistake #4: “I’ll Go Viral Overnight”

I posted 100 TikTok dances with my candles. Got 7 likes. (4 were my mom.)

Jessica didn’t go viral. She built trust. Slowly.

Truth: Overnight success takes 5 years.

Fix this: Talk to one customer a day. Not 10,000 followers.

Mistake #5: “I’ll Skip the Boring Stuff”

Contracts? Taxes? Insurance? “I’ll Google it later.”

Later cost me $3,000 in fines.

Lesson: Adulthood is just boring paperwork. Do it first.

Fix this: Spend 1 hour a week on:

Receipts in a shoebox.

Emails to a lawyer.

Reading the small print.

Mistake #6: “I Need Fancy Everything”

Jessica started in her kitchen.

I rented a “co-working space” with $8 lattes and neon signs.

Result: My “office” cost more than my candles.

Fix this: Start with:

A free website (Canva).

A $20 logo (Fiverr).

Your dining table.

Mistake #7: “Failure Means I’m Weak”

When my candles failed, I felt stupid. Embarrassed.

But Jessica’s first company flopped.

Truth: Failure isn’t the end. It’s the price of learning.

Fix this: Write down 3 things you learned today. Even if it’s “Don’t trust TikTok ads.”

You Don’t Have to Be Jessica Alba

You just have to be you.

The world doesn’t need another Honest Company. It needs your idea.

Start small.

Fail fast.

Keep going.

And maybe skip the candles.

P.S. If you’ve ever cried over a failed dream, drop a ♥️ below. Let’s start a club.

P.P.S. If this made you whisper “Oh crap, that’s me…” – tell us your biggest oops moment in the comments. Let’s turn our face-palm fails into someone else’s roadmap. 🗺️