Kardashian. This is the name that with one utterance, can spark debate in almost any room. This one simple name divides Americans and causes them to either rave with admiration or mock with scorn and disdain.

The name, “Kardashian” was made famous by the Los Angeles, “it” family when they started their reality television show: Keeping Up With The Kardashians in 2007. The show features a day in the life of the Kardashian-Jenner family and the exhilarating drama these socialites encounter.

The youngest member of the KJ clan is Kylie Jenner who is quickly emerging her entrepreneurial career at the age of 20 years old. Kylie has premiered on the show many times over the last 11 years and has gained an enormous amount of fame and a fan base of over 150 million because of it. Regardless of what people may think of Kylie and her family, she has utilized the exposure from the show to propel her career and to become the youngest, most successful, self-made entrepreneur in the world.

In 2015, Kylie launched her own line of cosmetics: Kylie Cosmetics. She started this entrepreneurial venture because she had a passion for makeup, because she saw an unmet need in the market, and because she realized she had the opportunity to leverage a huge platform from her already established reputation. She understood her target market and she sought to please them.

Kylie did not just blindly enter into the cosmetics world. She strategically planned for years before she actually launched her first line of lipsticks. She discovered a niche in the cosmetic market, and through understanding her target customers, she branded herself by focusing on that one specific area.

According to Elle magazine, Kylie Cosmetics sold out of all 6 lipsticks in the first 10 minutes of their release. 15 days later, when the lipsticks were restocked, all 6 sold out in the first two minutes. Whether or not this “shortage” was intentional, many believe this rush to purchase Kylie’s line was due to her marketing genius.

She not only stimulated anticipation for the release of her new line through her multiple social media platforms, she also kept in constant communication with her fans, letting them know when the lipsticks would be restocked and where they would be able find them. She also showed a considerable amount of public relations expertise by encouraging her fans not to buy from outside vendors who purchased the lipsticks for their original price of $29 and marked them up to as much as $225 on sites like eBay. In July of 2018, Forbes estimated her company at nearly $900 million. Over the next year, Kylie is expected to become the youngest self-made billionaire ever.

Kylie Jenner displays an immense amount of ambition, motivation, and persistence – traits that are necessary for any entrepreneur looking to start a business. Many may attribute her success to her family’s already established fame and reputation, but the bottom line is that she is an inspiring, young entrepreneur who has strategically used the resources at her disposal to create a cosmetic empire.