Mary Kay Ash

Beauty by Mary Kay was started in 1963 with her 20 year old son, Richard, $5,000 in savings and a business model created at her kitchen table. Mary Kay had spent 25 years in direct sales operating as an independent contractor and had become a top salesperson for a well known company but was denied the same benefits and compensation as other salespersons, namely men.  In frustration she resigned.  Not being one to sit still, she began to outline a book she wanted to write.  One that might help women gain the opportunities she, herself, had been denied in the traditional 1960’s business world.

While sitting at her kitchen table one morning enjoying her coffee and reading her notes she experienced her own “Aha” moment.  She realized she had created a perfect business model.  Based on The Golden Rule rather than the competitive rule.  On the principle of placing faith first, family second and career third.  On praising people to succeed rather than beating them down when they didn’t.  Mary Kay knew about direct sales, knew about what would appeal to women.  All she needed was a product line.  She turned to something she knew had worked for her.

While selling at a home party for her previous employer, she had been introduced to the hostess, a cosmetologist, who was testing a beauty line to friends.  The woman had developed the products from a leather tanning solution her father had formulated after he noticed how youthful his hands looked from using the solution every day.  Although the cosmetologist marketed the products to her friends she did not achieve any great success.  Upon her death in 1961, Mary Kay purchased the formulas from the woman’s daughter and the Mary Kay beauty line was born. With their life savings of $5,000 she and her husband rented a small office to manufacture an initial inventory of skin care products.  They also recruited nine independent sales representatives.

Only a month before the company was to open, her husband died.  Not one to sit about feeling sorry for herself she went ahead with the opening, asking her 20 year old son, Richard Rogers to help her.  Richard quit his job and for $250 a month ran the financial and administrative operations.  His qualifications?  Two college marketing courses and experience as a sales representative for a life insurance company. From these humble beginnings a giant of a company was born.  By 1993 Mary Kay, Inc  had become the bestselling brand of facial skin care and cosmetics in the US with wholesale sales of more than $735 million.  The company made the lists of both the Fortune 500 and The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America.  Two years later, it had surpassed $950 million in wholesale sales and was the bestselling skin care and cosmetics brand for the third year running.

In 1993 Mary Kay had to retire from her position as chairman because of ill health and the following year withdrew completely from any of the company’s operations. Many were concerned that the company would not continue to thrive without her charismatic leadership. However, that was not the case.  She had built an organization that was solid from the ground up and it continues to grow each year.

 

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