Given that she started with a trunk show in Austin, Texas, in 2003 and generated more than $100 million in revenues last year, Stella & Dot CEO Jessica Herrin chose a fitting theme for her 2011 confab of sales reps: "Women Behaving Boldly."

Herrin was just one of the bold business-builders on a panel that I led at the Stella & Dot event, called Hoopla!, in San Francisco in early July. Also on the panel: Former Goldman Sachs (GS) banker Sharon Meers, who is now a prominent author on work-family balance, and Leslie Blodgett, who traded Fortune 500 life--working for Macy's (M), Revlon (REV), and Procter & Gamble (PG)—to lead a fledgling makeup company, Bare Escentuals, that she's built to more than $500 million in annual revenues.

Sometimes boldness comes in unexpected fashion. Here's Blodgett talking with me about a moment when she seriously doubted herself...and it turned out to be a transforming moment for her company and her career.

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