Your Directors
Senior National Sales Director Emeritus Dollie Griffin
Everyone who has a Mary Kay business has helped continue Mary Kay’s mission in some way—whether it’s through selling or team building. It’s a ripple effect allowing more and more women’s lives to be enriched in some way.
Dollie Griffin
At Home With Cattle or Cadillacs
Growing up as an only child on a rural ranch in Montana, Independent Senior National Sales Director Dollie Griffin didn’t seem to fit the description of typical Mary Kay material. Who needs makeup for feeding animals and cleaning their stalls? But, what seems far-fetched to the outside world may be just a miracle waiting to happen in Mary Kay. In fact, it was Dollie’s disciplined ranching background that helped her become successful as a Mary Kay businesswoman.
“On a ranch, you are paid according to how much you work, and even then, there is no guarantee,” Dollie, who has operated her own ranch for many years, says. “The animals are always taken care of before you. That helped me in my Mary Kay business, because I knew I had to work the business.”
In fact, one of Dollie’s favorite stories is one Mary Kay Ash used to tell about a young woman who was sitting in front of a stove freezing to death. The woman berated the stove for not giving her heat. The stove spoke back to her saying, “Before I can give you heat, you have to put in the wood.” “I use that story often,” Dollie says, “You have to work your business before you can reap the rewards.”
Over the years, Dollie’s business has enriched her life in so many ways. “I grew up with no close neighbors and I never had close women friends,” Dollie shares. “Now, I have a Mary Kay family with women who are like daughters, sisters and even a mother.”
And the courage and confidence Dollie gained early on because of her business enabled her to leave an abusive marriage. “With the Mary Kay opportunity, I learned to think positively and be positive, and I realized I didn’t have to stay trapped in the bad situation I had been in for 15 years. And, I finally recognized that I hadn’t been raising my son in a healthy atmosphere and was able to remedy that.”
Becoming confident, self-assured and financially secure are rewards that Dollie never expected in the beginning. She’s also proud that she’s been able to positively impact so many women without having any formal education beyond high school. “I think it’s pretty amazing that Mary Kay helped me become a respected businesswoman in my community with only a high school diploma and a rural background,” Dollie says. “Thanks to Mary Kay and the opportunity, I’ve been able to guide and support other women and pass the experiences I’ve gained on to them.”
Dollie’s self-motivation has been a key to her success. While her mother helped to pay for Dollie’s first trip to Seminar and to purchase her gown, Dollie is used to fending for herself. “No matter where I’ve been in my life, it’s been up to me to put the bread on the table,” Dollie says. “That’s good motivation for working!” Dollie’s also learned to have faith. “I’ve always felt that if somebody else has done something, then there was somehow, someway, that I could do it, too.”
As she debuts as an Independent Senior National Sales Director Emeritus, Dollie is looking forward to sprucing up her yard, taking some continuing education classes, and pursuing her interests in the Audubon Society and other community activities. Dollie who cares for her mother is grateful that her business has allowed her to do so. One thing Dollie will give up is traveling — something she feels she’s done enough of on those fabulous Mary Kay trips!
Looking back, Dollie is most grateful to Mary Kay Ash and her NSD area Independent Sales Directors called the “Magnificent Women” who’ve helped her reap the rewards of the opportunity. “None of this could have been done without them.” Dollie, who feels comfortable in cowboy boots and evening gowns alike, and is known for staying true to herself, says, “I didn’t do all this by myself — it was a package deal.”
