Why Mary Kay Is the 4th Largest Direct Selling Company in the World?

OK, you may may not want a pink Cadillac, (One of the spiffs for achievement used to be a pink Cadillac. Looks like you can earn a Mercedes-Benz now. See your local representative for details!) but the company and opportunity has correctly evolved with the market.

Founded in 1963 my Mary Kay Ash, the company has grown, evolved and flourished.  Many entrepreneurial companies are like fireworks; they start off with a lot of fanfare, but if the founder has not set up a legacy plan, when the founder is gone, so is the company. Mary Kay’s biography is worthy of study because even though she is no longer with us, her name, company and reputation continue to thrive.

Mary Kay Review

After her bad experiences in the traditional workplace, Ash set out to create her own business at the age of 45. She started with an initial investment of $5,000 in 1963. She purchased the formulas for skin lotions from the family of a tanner who created the products while he worked on hides. With her son, Richard Rogers, she opened a small store in Dallas and had nine salespeople working for her. Today there are more than 1.6 million salespeople working for Mary Kay Inc. around the world.

At the center of Mary Kay was Ash’s enthusiastic personality. She was known for her love of the color pink and it was found everywhere, from the product packaging to the Cars she gave away to top earners. She sincerely value her consultants, and once said “People are a company’s greatest asset.” While many companies have repeated this statement in a variety of ways it is only a company like Mary Kay, where the actions of the consultants reveal the tangible proof that it is more than a slogan, but a foundation for success.

Her approach to business attracted plenty of interest from the media and business analysts. She was admired for her strategies and the results they achieved. She wrote several books about her experiences, 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).

Is Mary Kay a Scam?

Like many successful companies, Mary Kay continues to innovate not only in their product line, but in the business model, marketing and public relations. It may have something to do with the color pink, but I think it has more to do with Mary Kay’s impression she left with the company.

Mary Kay’s charitable foundation is extensive. A quick glance at their social responsibility page http://www.marykay.com/company/socialresponsibility/default.aspx reveals an entire organization truly dedicated to giving back in a variety of areas. Sure, many companies give back. However, the Mary Kay organization seems to do it from the heart, instead of the PR wallet. This is another testament to her foundational philosophy of people being the company’s biggest asset. It seems “people” include not only the sales representatives, but the customers and customers families as well.

As with all direct selling companies, the heart of your business is a direct result of the leads you generate. Be sure to register for my FREE MLM leads newsletter by filling out your information on the right.