Serena Williams, the tennis legend with an illustrious career, recently shared insights into her journey as an entrepreneur and mother. Today, she is enjoying her greatest success with the upcoming launch of her clean beauty brand, WYN Beauty, in April 2024. Don’t expect her to launch another big social venture any time soon. While Williams is thrilled with her business potential, she’s quick to illuminate the cost of entrepreneurship on personal relationships, most crucially with her family.
WYN Beauty’s progressive, multicultural product line is designed to inspire and empower everyone to embrace their unique inner beauty. The brand features items such as lipsticks and 36 shades of skin tint with SPF, designed to enhance rather than overshadow one’s natural beauty. Williams started this new business at the height of her own transformation. For one, she had recently retired from professional tennis, where for almost 30 years, she had ruled the game.
Besides her 23 Grand Slam singles titles, Williams has won 14 doubles titles with fellow Venus Williams. She has been successful at all facets of her life. She has 327 Grand Slam match wins, the most in the Open Era. This incredible feat makes her one of the most decorated female athletes in history. Her prolific success on the court is paralleled by her tenacity to create a long-lasting legacy outside of it.
At a recent WYN Beauty x Shopify pop-up event in Los Angeles on April 11, Williams reflected on the challenges of balancing her business ambitions with motherhood. In closing, she emphasized the personal sacrifices that accompany her many roles. “You want to run the show, then you’ve got to foot the bill,” she said. Williams understands that pursuing her passions sometimes means being away from her family for extended periods of time. This is true for her daughters, Alexis Olympia and Adira River.
Williams was equally struck by how important it is for her to be able to talk about beauty with her daughters. Last but not least, she inspires in them the understanding that the beauty they seek is on the inside. “It’s super important for me to share that beauty is definitely on the inside,” she stated. “And then anything externally is just an enhancement of who you are.”
Now living in Florida with her family, Williams is candid about the emotional toll that her entrepreneurial journey has taken. It’s the fierce commitment she has to her kids that is killing her in decision-making. “It’s going to cost me time with my family, it’s going to cost me friends, it’s going to cost me relationships. And they’re very expensive. It’s really up to you to figure out whether it’s worth it,” she said.