Mary Kay Ash: Overcoming Obstacles

Provide an open-ended opportunity for women!

-The Mary Kay Way

Mary Kay Ash is an inspiration, a legacy, and a visionary! Raised in a time when a few women were in business for themselves, Mary Kay Ash broke down barriers in the male-dominated-work world. She wanted a career where she could make a good income, have a flexible schedule, and give her children the care they needed. Building a career is hard, building a legacy is harder, and being able to do it when the world turns against you might be the hardest—but Mary Kay Ash did it all.

Mary Kay Ash experienced first hand the discrimination and unfair treatment plaguing women in the business world. From being denied promotions, to being told she was thinking too much “like a woman,” Mary Kay retired from the direct selling company she worked at to start something new.

Committing her life savings of about $5,000, she created a marketing plan for a skin care line she had used since the early 1950s. Sadly, tragedy struck her family with the death of her husband one month before the launch of the venture. But with perseverance, determination, and a lot of love, Mary Kay’s company succeeded and passed the $1 million sales mark in just a matter of three years.  

Over the course of her lifetime, Mary Kay Ash has inspired other women with her business know-how, dedication, and her spirit. And as we all know to be true, the Mary Kay Company really does make dreams come true. We decided to listen once again to Mary Kay Ash’s words of wisdom to learn how we can better ourselves in our daily lives and our Mary Kay business.

Mary Kay always believed the only way to truly succeed is to plan. In life and in business, you have to know where you are going and how you plan to get there.

Persistence is everything! Being in business and being successful takes time, determination, and a whole lot of persistence. Mary Kay explains that successful directors are just ordinary people who have the extraordinary determination and meet their goals.

The Mary Kay Company gives you the tools to succeed, but nothing works unless you do! The key to being successful in your business is to be patient, put in some effort, and do work. You can ask for help and receive guidance but without hard work and determination—you’ll never achieve it.

One of the fundamental lessons to always remember is to treat people like people, and to show passion for everything you do. Mary Kay Ash told us to imagine people with signs around their neck asking us to make them feel important. And it’s true! The more passion you share and the more you make someone feel special, the better you’ll do in your Mary Kay endeavors.

One of our biggest fears in life is failure. We’re so scared of taking a chance and risking it all, that we miss out on some of life’s greatest adventures. You can never be afraid to try, because you might discover you have so much to give. Let others hear the beauty of your music and be inspired by your song. Never let your music go unplayed. 

As Mary Kay Ash would say, “God didn’t have time to make a nobody. You are a somebody.” Go out there, treat others with respect, be happy, show passion, and let others be inspired by the influence that is you. The secret to success cannot be found in a magical formula; it’s what you do that really matters. Here at UnitWise, we live by Mary Kay Ash’s words of wisdom, every day. Therefore, we want to continue to show our passion for such a wonderful company by making UnitWise a better product for Independent Beauty Consultants, Directors, and NSD’s. Our passion, our plan, and our motivation is to help you. Here’s to Mary Kay Ash, here’s to you!