Shane Parrish

She asked him to give up his well-paying job and join her for nearly no salary.

And he didn't hesitate at all.

He joined her on the spot.

Her older son, Ben, would provide financial support and advice.

They would open up on schedule one month after Georgia's death.

The inventory was sitting there.

The storefront lease was signed.

She'd already recruited nine women, all personal friends who trusted her to be her first beauty consultants.

On Friday, September 13th, 1963, Mary Kay Cosmetics opened its doors in a 500 square foot storefront in Dallas's Exchange Park.

The entire inventory sat on a single steel shelving unit Mary Kay had purchased from Sears for $9.95.

The location seemed perfect.

There were 5,000 women who worked in the surrounding office complexes.

The storefront sat directly in their path from the parking lot to their offices.

Twice a day in the morning and evening, thousands of potential customers would walk past their door.

But there was a problem.

All of those women kept walking.

In the morning, they rushed past, hurrying to punch in on time.

In the evening, they rushed past, again, exhausted and eager to get home.

Nobody stopped.

Nobody even looked.