Bobbi Brown, founder of the eponymous global makeup brand, says it took her seven years of freelancing as a makeup artist to achieve success. She felt her efforts start to truly pay off when she styled the face of a young Naomi Campbell for her American Vogue cover debut in 1989.

"It was seven years of pounding the pavement," the entrepreneur tells CNBC.

She went from cold-calling makeup artists to working with icons of music, fashion and politics, building a successful company that counted $30 million in net sales last year and retaining creative control even after she sold the operation to Estee Lauder in 1995.

But now she's starting over. In December, Brown left the company she led for 25 years. The next chapter in her career is justBOBBI, a lifestyle and wellness concept shop at Lord & Taylor.