It is truly hard for some to believe that there was once a time when girls were raised to have no greater aspirations than to be wives and moms. Seriously, it made sense. Taking care of the home and the children is a monumental task. But then there were situations when the household income was lacking, either because the man of the house was unable to provide or there was no longer a man of the house around. Women found themselves out in the work force, many without any training or mentoring. One such woman was Mary Kathlyn Wagner. To provide for her three children and herself while her husband was serving in World War II, she found herself selling books door-to-door. When he returned, they divorced and she worked for other companies only find herself being passed over for promotion in favor of less qualified men.
While most women would have thrown in the towel and just accepted what would become known as the glass ceiling, Mary Kathlyn took up the challenge of becoming her own boss in 1963. Despite the death of her second husband and with only $5,000 in the bank, she started Mary Kay. And, as they say, the rest is history.
In addition to creating a cosmetics empire, she was one of those pioneers that, along with the women’s movement, supportive husbands and technology, provided women with the opportunity, if they wanted, to pursue a career and, yes, possibly own businesses.
Despite Mary Kay’s death in 2001, that respect for and support of women in business continues on today in Mary Kay Inc. and The Mary Kay Foundation. To provide the tools to be entrepreneurs, Mary Kay Inc. is partnering up with The Dallas Entrepreneur Center (The DEC) for the first annual Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit on Friday, January 27 at the Fairmont Hotel Dallas. From 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., experts and thought leaders with backgrounds in fashion, high technology, consumer-packaged goods and business services” will mentor, guide, teach and share their secrets to success.
According to Mary Kay Inc Chief Marketing Officer Sheryl Adkins-Green, “For 53 years Mary Kay has been empowering, mentoring and promoting women entrepreneurs. Our founder, Mary Kay Ash herself, was one of the greatest business minds of all time and millions of women around the world have built successful businesses by following her proven leadership and sales techniques. No one person or company has more experience with women’s entrepreneurship than Mary Kay Inc. We believe that the Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit will help inspire current and future female entrepreneurs.”
So, what’s on the Summit schedule?
Throughout the day there will be mentorship opportunities and “breakout sessions, which have been customized for entrepreneurs of all ages and stages and will include case studies, how to’s and tools to take your company to the next level.”
Some of the breakout session topics and speakers will include:
- Why Women Make Great Entrepreneurs: Amber Venz Box of RewardStyle and Valerie Freeman of Imprimis Group
- 10 Questions You Need To Answer Before You Become An Entrepreneur: Shama Hyder of Marketing Zen and Yasmeen Tadia of Make Your Life Sweeter
- How To Build the Best Team For Success: Sheryl Chamberlain of Cap Gemini and Kristi Libby of S.W.C./SoCu and Jill Scigliano of Dallas Entrepreneur Center
- Customer Development: How To Find And Grow Customers: Melissa Youngblood of LCC Management Consulting
- Building Your Brand: Heather Capps of HCK2, Holly Mason of Mason Baronet and Jessica Nunez of True Point
- Fundraising: How To Fund Your Business: Julia Taylor Cheek of Everly, Louise Kee of Golden Seeds, Cynthia Nevels of Integrality and Cristin Thomas of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses
As for food for the mind and tummy, there will be a light breakfast followed by the morning’s keynote speaker: internationally renowned motivational speaker/#1 U.S. Ranked Mary Kay Independent Elite Executive National Sales Director Gloria Mayfield Banks.
At the seated luncheon, Empowering A Billion Women by 2020, Founder/Chair Ingrid Vandervelt will be the keynote speaker.
Following the sessions will be the first-ever “Pink Tank” providing the opportunity for pre-selected participants to fast pitch their business ideas to Mary Kay Inc.’s Adkins-Green, Mark Cuban Companies Business Development Director Abe Minkara and CEO/fashion designer Abi Ferrin for seeding from The DEC.
Registration fees are $125 per person in advance and $150 at the door.
Ladies, you’ve come a long way since Mary Kay sold books door-to-door. The future is yours.
* Photos provided by Mary Kay Inc.