Mary Kay Tour: The Face of a Business

By Anderson Shih

Mary Kay has been a face of the cosmetics industry since its founding in 1963. One of the most influential multi-level marketing cosmetics companies of all time, its success was all built on Mary Kay Ash’s desire to create an equal playing field for all its employees, promoting equality among both men and women.

This Columbus Day Monday, the Youth Entrepreneur Society was given a chance to tour the Mary Kay headquarters in Addison, Texas. Students were able to explore the executive office and the Mary Kay Museum. The meeting concluded with an insightful presentation by Mr. Sy and Mr. Visechanvet on an insider's view of the IT and business branches of Mary Kay.

An executive office is the place many strive to sit in. It’s beautiful and luxurious. Mary Kay’s office overlooks the skyline of Addison and is decorated with a variety of trinkets and pink accessories. The artifacts and priceless souvenirs of Mary Kay’s collection all represent her journey from a business in her garage to a beauty empire.

The Headquarters of Mary Kay has a museum within, showcasing all of the products that Mary Kay’s company had created. Dresses, pictures, magazine covers, cosmetics, were all included. These hallmarks of success represent the growth of the business since its founding in 1963 and are a part of the legacy that Mary Kay created. The lobby of the building is a showcase of art, business, and the power of women, all in one. A notable part of the museum was the Wall of Leaders, which was composed of a majority of women. Mary Kay will likely forever be remembered for her business strategies and her policies towards equal pay amongst workers.

Nearing the end of the tour, Mr. Sy and Mr. Visetchanvet spoke to the students about the importance of having updated technology, to protect the work that they do. For example, Mary Kay, as a multi-level marketing business, uses lots of consultants to sell their products for them. These consultants are often average people, who only buy these products from the company and sell them to spread the products. This multi-level marketing plan, however, requires an updated technological system, to allow requests for products to be processed correctly. Mr. Sy mentioned modern technologies such as the cloud, as well as business plans to transition to a more cloud-based system in order to keep this data safe and their business running. Our two speakers concluded that all in all, the most important thing to remember in the business world is to lead with respect and to make people feel important.

The Youth Entrepreneur Society is extremely grateful for this opportunity to visit a business so developed. The experience was both educating and inspiring. YES would like to thank our speakers Michael Sy and Vic Visetchanvet, Ann Burt, Wayne Moorehouse, and Jennifer Xiao for organizing this event.