MARY KAY ASH By: C.K.Yee No comments

Mary Kay Ash was the successful entrepreneur, founder of her own brand Mary Kay and owner of the Mary Kay Inc. She had create miracles and opportunities for women to learn that not only man have the ability to become an entrepreneur. She is the role model of many women not only in the past but also nowadays women especially those who are weak. Her quotes inspired most of the women to become strong and be confidence.

She was born on May 12, 1918 in Hot Wells, Texas. Mary Kay Ash had married for three times and she had three children who were Richard, Ben and Marylyn with her first husband, J. Ben Rogers. Her second marriage to a chemist was brief and he died of a heart attack in 1963, just a month after the two had gotten married. She married her third husband, Mel Ash, in 1966, and the couple stayed together until Mel's death in 1980.

Mary Kay Ash, started her career at 45 after she was really tired of her traditional workplace after watching the man she trained got promoted one by one over her. She was determined to break the traditional rules and become a successful woman entrepreneur.She started her own cosmetics company, using incentive programs and other strategies to give her employees the chance to benefit from their achievements. She started with $5000 and bought a lotion formula from a family of a tanner.She believed in the golden rule "treat others as you want to be treated," and operated by the motto: God first, family second and career third.

She wrote several books including Mary Kay: The Success Story of America's Most Dynamic Businesswoman (1981), Mary Kay on People Management (1984) and Mary Kay: You Can Have It All (1995).She stepped down from the position of CEO in Mary Kay on the year 1987.

Mary Kay Ash is an open risk taker. She is the America’s foremost woman entrepreneur. Mary Kay, she does realize that she is on the disadvantage side of being an entrepreneur. During her time, men are to be seen more powerful than women. Meanwhile, women usually stay at home and do their housework.Ash says that “if a man can put in a sixty-plus-hour work week and still can be considered a good husband and father, why can’t a woman do the same?” .It was set in their mindset, when women become “liberated” in the 1960s that the ego in the men think themselves as the strong figure in the house and refuse their wives to have their own career.She is said to be an open risk taker because she dare to break the traditional chain that women should stay at home. She used to work in a company but getting frustrated to see the man she trained got to promote one by one before her so she resigned from that company even though she needs money to raise her family but still she started to take her own risk by using all her property which is $5000 investment from his oldest son, Ben Rogers, Jr. to start her company, Mary Kay Cosmetics. Mary Kay too encourage people to take risk. For instance, she took a calculated risk when she decided to make a small investment in the Starter Kit and worrying about the facts that how she should place her inventory order by minimizing her risk. She always knew her risk but she choose to take it because she knew that when the risk became success, it is an opportunity.

Furthermore, Mary Kay, she is a proactive woman. Proactive, this is the word to describe people that serving to prepare for and always went a step ahead in doing something. The people who are proactive they can react to their surrounding really fast and do it ahead before others did. Ash (1995) believes that “many people fail, not because they lack intelligence and skill, but simply because they did not concentrate their energy on a central goal”. Mary Kay plans her work and works her plan. She is a proactive woman because she is the woman who can see her future and plan with wisdom. She adapt to changes in her business and make it successful. She realize that especially in this industry nothing will be the same as always. The world is changing every second and she has to be fast to catch up with the changing. Ash (1995) states that those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened are the three types of people in this world (p.151).Companies that failed to adapt to all the changes will be prepared to enter the graveyard of the business world. For example, she is proactive in making her skin care product to be free from animal testing and make her customers to be 100% confident in using Mary Kay Cosmetics. She realized that the animal testing for the skin product would make her lose her loyal customers. She is a proactive woman in the business world to see those changing and adapt to it making her business successful in the business world.

Failure is an option, in her book The Mary Kay Way: Timeless Principles from America’s Greatest Women Entrepreneur, she mention a quote “people fail forward to success” tend to inspires people to take risk in their business. At first, she fail many times in her first Mary Kay skin care class and she was worry to prove to the small group of women that her products are good. There are times that she was desperate because she only sold a total of $1.50.There are times when she doubt her own ability to become an entrepreneur. She becomes really worry about her life because she had used up her savings for her business but no profit earned. But then she comes to realize that it was her problem and tried to the solution after analyses her problem. She did not give up and she fail forward to success. Failure is indeed an option for her to make sure she will do it better the next time.

 Mary Kay Ash had a golden rule which she abide even when she is young. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” She always believe that if she treat people with the right ways, people will work more efficiently and she will get the profits and benefits. In this way, she was to be seen as a woman that are team oriented. She treasured her team and beauty consultants and they are also loyal to her. She always treats her people with the mindset that what would I do if I were in her shoes. She suggests that a little bit of empathy in business goes a long way. When she sees someone she would imagine that that people was wearing an invisible sign that indicated “make me feel important”. Thus, Mary Kay, she has the natural ability to make people feel comfortable with her and she can leads her team to move towards the same goal as her. She treats them as family in the company. What makes Mary Kay a special boss is that she always greet her employee with warm greetings and encourage them that they are not just good but great. She not only treated them as employee but also respect each of them, regardless of their position or rank. She believes that every business is a people business. Business is all about people and this is why makes her a successful entrepreneur.

Networked is also a trait that an entrepreneur should equip with. A business especially those big ones would not be success for only one people in that company. Business is all about people. Without them, it cannot be a business. Thus, networked is an important trait to be starting business. Mary Kay did not start her business by only her own selves but also mentors. Their company has a plentiful of mentors. She mentions that her first mentor was her mother, learning all the working ethics. Besides that, she also has her employee, team and her large number of customers to support her. Her out-going personality attracts people to communicate and deal with her.