5 Mary Kay Ash Strategies in Business...

1. CLEAR VISION.

The Queen of beauty had a clear vision of what and where she was going to. She started her company with the vision of giving women the chance and opportunity to succeed. This clear vision made her to set goals and strive to reach such goals. This clear vision she had is one of the strategies that made her come tops in a male infested business.

2. PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST.

Looking at Ash's vision above, one will realize that she put people inn front before wealth. She was an apostle of leaders that will add value to people and organization they lead and leaders who work the benefit of others. She instilled the philosophy of operating by the golden rule into her company and her respect for people earned her a loyal and hard working sales team.

3. STRONG MINDED

Success in many cases are failure turned inside out and Mary Kay Ash believes that every failure, obstacle or hardship is and opportunity in disguise. In a male dominated business arena, Ash had her fair share of challenges and refused to back down. Her advice is that you go the extra mile that failure refuses to go.

4. DETERMINATION.

Ash said that she believes that most successful people are ordinary people with extra ordinary determination. She said that many times she failed, many times she was disappointed and she did not quit. It is the setbacks, disappointments and work that her company.She put her best effort with determination into anything.

5. GUT

Mary Kay Ash is full of guts. She stood firm in her beliefs and trusted her guts. She also followed her instincts on her path to success and at time she goes against expert advice. She said that women should change their work to accommodate their beliefs instead of the other way round. Its only guts that made her come tops in the cutthroat business world.

How Mary Kay Ash start her business ??

In 1963, Mary Kay Ash retired from a successful career in direct sales because she was frustrated over being consistently passed over for promotion in favor of men. When the book she sat down to write became a business plan for her ideal company, she and her son Richard Rogers started Mary Kay Cosmetics in a Dallas storefront with an initial investment of $5,000. At the time of her death in 2001, her mult-national company enjoyed annual sales of over $2 billion and her book on management was part of the curriculum at Harvard Business School.

Mary Kay Ash Milestones..

Year 1999

• Named by Lifetime Television the most outstanding woman in business in the 20th century, based on year-long online voting.

Year 1998

• Dedicated the Mary Kay Ash Cancer Research Institute at St. Paul Medical Center, Dallas

Year 1996

• Included in the book Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time as one of 20 and the only woman business leader profiled
• Awarded an “EPAcres” certificate of recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Lights Program for its accomplishment of preventing pollution equivalent to planting 100 acres of trees through the use of energy-efficient lighting
• Awarded a certificate of recognition from the City of Dallas (for July 1, 1994 through June 30, 1995) for its efforts in helping ensure safe drinking water

Year 1995

• Released third book, You Can Have It All, which achieved best-seller status within first week of sales
• National Association of Women Business Owners 1995 Pathfinder Award
• Awarded a certificate of recognition from the City of Dallas (for July 1, 1993 through June 30, 1994) for its efforts in helping ensure safe drinking water

Year 1994

• Received Honorable Mention Award for Awareness and Achievement from the Board of Sponsors of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• Awarded a certificate of recognition from the City of Dallas (for July 1, 1992 through June 30, 1993) for its efforts in helping ensure safe drinking water

Year 1993

• Dedicated the Mary Kay Museum, a 3,000-square-foot tribute to 30 years of direct selling success
• Dedicated the Mary Kay Ash Center for Cancer Immunotherapy Research at St. Paul Medical Center, Dallas
• Dedicated the Mary Kay Ash/St. Paul Medical Center Mobile Cancer Screening Unit, Dallas
• First female recipient of the Kupfer Distinguished Executive Award, Texas A&M University
• Dallas Mother of the Year Award, Dallas Can! Academy
• Outstanding Texas Citizen Award, Texas Exchange Clubs

Year 1992

• Living Legend Award, Direct Selling Education Foundation

Year 1991

• Outstanding Woman of the Year, Les Femmes du Monde

Year 1990

• Outstanding Business Leader Award, Northwood Institute
• National Family Business Award, Baylor University
• Women of Achievement Award, General Federation of Women's Clubs
• Business Leader of the '90s Award, Association of Woman Business Owners
• Individual Komen Award for Philanthropy, Komen Foundation for the Advancement of Breast Cancer Research

Year 1989

• Sovereign Fund Award
• First Annual National Sales Hall of Fame Award
• Circle of Honor Award, Direct Selling Education Foundation
• Honorary chairperson yearlong Texas Breast Screening Project
• Featured in "Great American Entrepreneur" series at the Smithsonian Institute

Year 1987

• Christian Excellence Award in Business, International Association of Women in Leadership
• Churchwoman of the Year Award, Religious Heritage of America

Year 1986

• Woman of the Year, Crystal Cathedral Christian Executive Women
• Distinguished Woman Award, Northwood Institute
• Honored by President Reagan as one of the women entrepreneurs featured in the National Federation of Independent Businesses Report

Year 1985

• Outstanding Women in Business in Dallas Award, The Dallas Chamber of Commerce

Year 1984

• Featured in the book The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America
• Women's Award of Achievement, Women's City Club of Cleveland, Ohio
• Mary Kay on People Management published by Warner Books; featured on The New York Times best seller list for 11 weeks

Year 1983

Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Edwin L. Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

Featured as one of the "100 Most Important Women in America" by Ladies Home Journal

Year 1982

• Distinguished Business Leadership Award, University of Texas at Arlington College of Business Administration and Advisory Council
• Golden Achievement Award from Incentive Manufacturers Representatives Association

Year 1981

• Business Award for Excellence in Community Service, Dallas Historical Society
• Free Enterprise Award, San Fernando Valley Business and Professional Association and the Free Enterprise Award Committee
• Mary Kay by Mary Kay, published by Harper and Row

Year 1980

• Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement

Year 1979

• Profiled on "60 Minutes"
• Horatio Alger Distinguished American Citizen Award, Horatio Alger Association
• Cosmetic Career Woman of the Year Award
• Dale Carnegie Leadership Award

How the business gained success ??

Charming. Spirited. A one-of-a-kind success story. Over the years, there have been many successful business leaders but none as unique as Mary Kay Ash, Founder of Mary Kay Inc. Her accomplishments left an unforgettable mark on American business and opened the door for women around the world to experience success on their own terms.

“You can do it!”

These words embody the very spirit of Mary Kay Ash and the Company she created. It’s the spirit she learned as a child growing up in Hot Wells, Texas. When facing new and daunting tasks, her mother encouraged her with, “You can do it, Mary Kay. You can do it.” Mary Kay Ash did more than embrace this empowering spirit – she passed it on through a remarkable company that would inspire millions in generations to come.

That company story didn’t begin until Mary Kay Ash faced a situation all too familiar to women. After 25 years in the direct selling business, Mary Kay Ash resigned her position as a national training director when yet another man she had trained was promoted above her – at twice her salary. Her response was visionary. At first, she started writing a book that would help women gain the opportunities she had been denied. But soon she realized she was creating a plan that would do much more than give advice. It formed the foundation for a new opportunity where women could develop their talents and achieve unlimited success.

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Mary Kay Ash Achievements

	A dynamic speaker, motivator and entrepreneur, Mary Kay was recognized for her achievements through numerous awards and honors including:
		A&E Television Networks aired “Mary Kay” on the Biography Channel.
		Named one of the 25 Most Influential Business Leaders of the Last 25 Years by PBS and the Wharton School of Business in 2004
		Greatest Female Entrepreneur in American History by Baylor University in 2003
		2002 Dallas Business Hall of Fame Laureate in recognition of her lifetime achievements as well as demonstrating inspiring business and community leadership, industry vision and service as a business and civic role model in the community
		2002 National Conference on Medical Care and Domestic Violence Community Service Award, now known as the Mary Kay Ash Award
		Most Outstanding Woman in Business in the 20th Century by Lifetime Television in 1999
		Texas Woman of the Century in 1999 by the Texas Women’s Chamber of Commerce
		National Business Hall of Fame election in 1996 by Fortune
		Pathfinder Award in 1995 by the National Association of Women Business Owners
		Business Leader of the ’90s Award by the Association of Women Business Owners
		Circle of Honor Award in 1989 and Living Legend Award in 1992 by the Direct Selling Education Foundation
		First Annual National Sales Hall of Fame Award in 1989 by the Sales and Marketing Executives of New York
		One of “America’s 25 Most Influential Women” in the 1985 The World Almanac and Book of Facts
		Horatio Alger Distinguished American Citizen Award in 1978, an award given to distinguished Americans who have succeeded in spite of adversity

Entrepreneur Profile

+ Mary Kay Ash +

Mary Kay Ash, born Mary Kathlyn Wagner in Hot Wells,Harris Country, Texas, was the daughter of Edward Alexander and Lula Vember Hastings Wagner. She attended Reagan High School in Houston, and graduated in 1934.

Ash married Ben Rogers at age 17. While her husband served in World War II, she sold books door-to-door. After her husband's return in 1948, they divorced. Ash went to work for Stanley Home Products.Frustrated when passed over for a promotion in favor of a man that she had trained, Ash retired in 1963 and intended to write a book to assist women in business. The book turned into a business plan for her ideal company, and in September 1963, Mary Kay Ash and her second husband began Mary Kay Cosmetics with a $5,000 investment. Before the company could open its original storefront operation in Dallas, her second husband died, and her son, Richard Rogers, took his place. The store opened in 1963, but grew rapidly, particularly after Ash was interviewed for CBS's 60 Minutes in 1979.

Ash was widely respected. She considered the Golden Rule the founding principle of Mary Kay Cosmetics and the company's marketing plan was designed to allow women to advance by helping others to succeed. She advocated "praising people to success" and her slogan "God first, family second, career third" expressed her insistence that the women in her company keep their lives in balance.