13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

1) You read about an entrepreneur: Miracle Happen by Mary Kay Ash

• What surprised you the most? I was most surprised by how dedicated she was to her faith. I have known about Mary Kay makeup since I was a little girl and my mom purchased the product. I have always associated Mary Kay with makeup and never realize what her values were. As a Christian, I enjoyed reading about how she saw God throughout her life. In most of the chapters of the book she mentions how God had affected her life. The chapter that stood out to me the most was Chapter 7, which stated her perspective on life which was "God First, Family Second, Career Third."
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? I most admired her love for others and making them feel valued. She believed in personal touches and would send birthday cards and gifts to her staff members. She made sure that anyone who sent her a letter received one in return. As the company grew bigger she was unable to hand write the responses, but did make it a priority to hand write sympathy cards. These small touches show how much she genuinely cared for her employees and customers. She stated, "the whole reason for [the company] existence is the give people the opportunity to enrich their lives" (p173).  She created her business to support other women and was always looking for way to enrich other people's lives.
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? I least admired her workaholic personality. In the beginning chapters of the book, she calls herself and workaholic and  mentions having trouble sitting still and watching tv with her husband. Additionally, I felt like she was sometimes too selfless and did not take care of herself. She was always focused on her business and taking care of her family and left her needs till the end. 
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? Mary Kay encounter adversity at a young age. Her father had tuberculosis, which left her mother to care for the children by herself. At the young age of seven, Mary Kay found herself taking on adult responsibilities such as cooking dinner and shopping for school clothes. She grew up very fast and took on these duties without complaining. Another adversity that Mary Kay faced was her husband dying one month before the company was suppose to open. The company opened on schedule with the help of her two sons. Her son Richard left his job as an insurance agent with Prudential to help start the business. Her other son Ben supported her by donating 4,500 dollars to the company and later moved from Houston to manage the company's warehouses. 

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? Mary Kay was a strong saleswoman and speaker. Her first experience of sales was for the company Child Psychology Bookshelf. Her enthusiastic personality allowed her to sell ten set of books in only a day in a half. She also sold cookware with her husband. Additionally, Mary Kay was a great speaker. At a young age she strived to be a good extemporaneous speaker. In middle school she competed in a statewide contest and won second place for best speaker. In high school, she competed on the debate team and was awarded for her accomplishments. Both of these skills would be used as she began selling her products and giving speeches for her company.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. When Mary Kay first began selling her product she would visit the houses and give sales presentation and facials. Customer found this unprofessional and believed if the company was so small the owner was giving facials the product must not be good. I was confused by the customer's response. I personally would have been honored to see the founder of a company coming to my house and demonstrating the product. 

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? Did you enjoy being a consultant or the founder of the company? I would ask her this because she had experience in both positions and I would want to know which she found more enjoyable. What has been the most memorable moment you've had throughout your experience with Mary Kay? I would ask this because I am curious to see who the moment would be with. Would it be with a customer, employee, family member? Would it be a one-one conversation or an event she went to? After the many years with Mary Kay, it would be interesting to what moment had a significant impact on her. 

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? Mary Kay believed in hard work and demonstrated it everyday. She followed the "35,000 List" which was invented by Ivy Lee, a leading efficiency expert. The "35,000 List" is created at the end of the day and is a list of the six most important things you have to complete the next day. She used this to organizer her many tasks and manager her time efficiently. She was determined and made it a goal to wake up at 5 a.m. and begin her workday without phone calls or interruptions. Creating her "35,000 List" and waking up early allowed her to maximize each day. I share her opinion of hard work and believe time management and determination are skills every hard worker posses.