{"product_id":"selling-opportunity-the-story-of-mary-kay-hardcover","title":"Selling Opportunity: The Story of Mary Kay - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMary Lisa Gavenas\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe only woman in \u003ci\u003eForbes' Greatest Business Stories of All Time\u003c\/i\u003e and the first woman to chair a company on the New York Stock Exchange, Mary Kay Ash has a life story that reads like a Barbara Taylor Bradford novel\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGrowing up in Depression-era Texas, Mary Kathlyn Wagner is a dutiful daughter and diligent student with ambition aplenty and no place to use it. Married at sixteen, she is a grandmother at thirty-four. When she is not cooking or cleaning or taking care of the kids, she peddles cleaning products to other housewives. The work has no salary and no security but she sticks with it, sure that direct selling will make her dreams come true. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 1963, after she has been divorced three times and widowed twice, she sets up her own company, selling second chance and self-invention for the price of a skin care showcase. Soon millions know her as the little lady in the big wig who gives away pink Cadillacs. From its unpromising start in a 500-square-foot Dallas storefront, Mary Kay Inc. grows into a global phenomenon with 3.5 million reps in over 35 countries. She becomes the most famous saleswoman in the world. Maybe the most famous ever. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBased on fifteen years of research, \u003ci\u003eSelling Opportunity\u003c\/i\u003e gives us a page-turning rags-to-riches story set against the background of direct selling in all its overstated, over-the-top glory. Here, for the first time, is the definitive history of a peculiarly American industry and a mid-century mindset that ennobled extreme self-reliance, sticking to your guns, and blind faith in the American dream.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMary Lisa Gavenas\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eColor Stories: Behind the Scenes of America's Billion-Dollar Beauty Industry\u003c\/i\u003e, was named a fellow at the Leon Levy Center for Biography and has been cited as an expert commentator on female entrepreneurship (CBS, NBC, CNN, BBC-4). A former senior editor at \u003ci\u003eGlamour\u003c\/i\u003e, department head at \u003ci\u003eInStyle\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMirabella\u003c\/i\u003e, and columnist for \u003ci\u003eElle\u003c\/i\u003e, she has contributed to \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFast Company\u003c\/i\u003e, and other national outlets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 448\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.44 x 9.29 x 6.26 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 28, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48572751905016,"sku":"9780670015412","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0698\/5629\/7208\/files\/7IcvaiDx0s9780670015412.webp?v=1779684622","url":"https:\/\/barneysbooksellers.com\/products\/selling-opportunity-the-story-of-mary-kay-hardcover","provider":"Barney's Book Sellers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}