Entrepreneurs

Elle Macpherson reveals her secret to establishing any great business partnership

Elle Macpherson launches The Super Elixir at Selfridges on May 22, 2014 in London, England
Stuart C. Wilson | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Elle Macpherson launches The Super Elixir at Selfridges on May 22, 2014 in London, England

Crafting a business that's built to last requires a number of elements, and having partnerships that are built on trust is definitely on the list of essentials.

For model-turned-businesswoman Elle Macpherson, she set up WelleCo with Andrea Horwood back in 2014; and as the business continues to flourish, Macpherson's breaks down how she and Horwood have kept their relationship going strong.

"I think the secret for any great business partnership — whether it's male or female — is recognizing, respecting and enabling each other's strengths for the good of the business," Macpherson told CNBC's Tania Bryer in Monaco Thursday.

"At the same time, (you should be) responsible for your own role in the business while supporting others in theirs — consistently supporting them in theirs."

Macpherson chose to set up WelleCo with the help of CEO Horwood and nutritional therapist Dr Simone Laubscher PhD, after adopting a new eating regime that improved how she felt, both on the inside and out.

WelleCo itself aims to offer consumers a range of plant-based ingestible beauty products and dietary supplements, which have been designed by nutritional doctors.

However, this isn't the only business venture Macpherson's got involved in, having starting licensing her name and image as far back as the late 1980s. She went on to create Elle Macpherson Inc., which served as a financial company to manage her business opportunities and licenses.

Speaking on the sidelines of the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 forum, the WelleCo co-founder told CNBC while her experience in the business world has only really been with women, working with the likes of Horwood and others has been "a very good one."

With discussion about gender equality in the workplace gaining more traction as of late, more and more people are commenting on the matter — and Macpherson is no exception.

Speaking to CNBC, the WelleCo co-founder said that at the end of the day, regardless of a person's sex, it's important to respect one another in the workplace.

"We need balance and balance is beauty. It's about respecting everybody's strengths and weaknesses. Recognizing them and respecting them — regardless of their agenda, or a gender (laughs)."

Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook

Don't miss: