The Look Behind the Ledger: Donna Ivackovic on Building The Beauty Suite and Betting on Herself
Respectfu11yShow Notes
What does it look like when a woman decides that the corner office simply is not enough and builds something entirely her own? This week on Respectfu11y, Jamie sits down with Donna Ivackovic, entrepreneur, beauty industry veteran and visionary founder behind The Beauty Suite in New York.
Donna’s story is one that will resonate with every woman who has ever felt the pull between security and calling. Her career began in 2001 at a start-up cosmetic brand, where she threw herself into every available role and discovered something that would define everything that followed: her love was never just about beauty products. It was about building spaces where people could genuinely thrive. That insight sent her on a decade-long journey through the upper echelons of the beauty world, working alongside top leaders at iconic global powerhouses including L’Oréal and Estée Lauder.
But prestige has a ceiling, and Donna felt it. Despite the success, the corporate structure began to feel more like a constraint than a launchpad. So she did what women with a vision do. She bet on herself. She stepped away, built a thriving consulting practice helping emerging beauty brands grow and eventually co-founded The Beauty Suite, a space designed to let creativity, collaboration and business development coexist without the weight of corporate red tape. In 2024, she became its sole owner and she has never looked back.
In this conversation, Donna and Jamie dig into what it actually takes to walk away from a prestigious career to build something of your own, the lessons corporate life teaches you that entrepreneurship cannot and the real meaning of building a culture rooted in teamwork and empowerment. They also talk about what it means to do all of this while raising three children alongside her husband, because ambition does not pause for anyone, and neither does motherhood.
This episode is for every woman in her 40s and beyond who is still figuring out what chapter comes next. Donna’s story makes a compelling case that the best one may still be ahead.
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