She Lived by the Golden Rule

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I love to read or watch bios about strong, intelligent women who have made a mark in the world. This one is one of those. She is Mary Kay Ash the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics. She was born in Hot Wells, Texas in 1918. She had a good mother who continually told her "I know you can do it." She couldn't afford to go to college so when she was 17 she got married and went on to have 3 children. Her husband went into the military and when he came home he told her he wanted a divorce. She was abandoned and uneducated. She found she was a good salesperson and worked at Stanley Home Products and World Gift Company. She learned so much. That praise and recognition were key and, that sometimes you had to fake it until you made it. Keep smiling and being positive. But, men moved forward while women stagnated. She knew that women were smart and hard-working. She believed in The Golden Rule. She wrote up a marketing plan and in 1963 she started Mary Kay. She purchased the formulas of the beauty products she had used for years. Her first product line was a prescription in 5 jars. There was Cleansing cream, magic mask, night cream, shine freshener, and day radiance foundations. She packaged it in a pretty blue case and sold it as Beauty by Mary Kay. She figured one woman could invite 5 or 6 other women into her home and, in a party atmosphere have a Mary Kay consultant show them about the products. If one would buy the rest would. She opened the door for women in business. She let them know they could have it all and soon women were leaving their careers and becoming Mary Kay consultants. During the first 3 months, she made $34,000 and by the end of the first year, the company made $200,000 in wholesale sales. By the second year, sales had quadrupled. She awarded her first top 5 consultants with pink Cadillacs in 1968. She believed that praise and recognition were the key to good business performance. In 1973 there were 21,000 consultants in the US and Australia. By 1976 Mary Kay was on the NY stock exchange. By 1979 Mary Kay hit $100 million in sales. She gave generously to charities. She felt that women should hire housekeepers. At the age of 78 in 1996 she had a major stroke. On November 22, 2001, she passed away at the age of 83. She wanted to be remembered as someone who had helped women to see how great they really are. The picture is from interesticle.com