Mary Kay Ash was an American entrepreneur, the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. She received high honors during her lifetime as a business woman. Most notably, she received a Horatio Alger award and a Hall of Fame award, along with many others.
Mary Kay Ash was born in 1918 in Hot Wells, Texas. Even as a young person, she was a hard worker. She took care of her ill father during her high school years while her mother worked at a restaurant to support the family. Mary Kay married at age 17 and had three children. When her husband went away to serve in World War II, Mary Kay took a job as a direct seller of books. She was surprisingly successful at it, earning $25,000 in just six months.
Soon after this, she was divorced from her first husband, but her entrepreneurial spirit had been ignited. She went on to do direct sales for Stanley Home Products for 25 years. Although she was highly successful and was promoted to national training director, her salary was only half as much as a man she had trained, so she quit.
Through this experience, Mary Kay became aware of the need for women to be able to make a competitive wage. After marrying a second time, she founded Mary Kay Cosmetics in 1963. The success of her company skyrocketed in only the first two years of business, and has continued to be successful even today.
Mary Kay was a tireless advocate for women in the workplace, because she believed that a woman ought to be able to make the same wages as a man. Mary Kay Cosmetics was built as a way to help women advance in business. Her cosmetics business was exceptional because it was founded on the principle of the Golden Rule. Her business model of God first, family second and work third encouraged women to develop the right priorities and treat others with respect and dignity.