Head of the class. “Being a good student was key to my Mary Kay business success. Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. It’s very clear cut with the Mary Kay opportunity,” says Independent National Sales Director Margaret Bartsch. When her Independent Sales Director advised her to accomplish a “Perfect Start” back in 1994, within a year, she earned the use of her first career car and was well on her way to success.

Margaret was always a good business student — she started her own employment agency at age 22. What she lacked was balance and flexibility, two of the most valuable lessons she’s learned as a mother and a businesswoman. “The Mary Kay opportunity gives us choices — where we choose to spend our time versus being told where we have to spend our time. Women don’t think they can have it all, but with the Mary Kay opportunity, it’s not just a catch phrase. It’s a reality, if you choose it,” says Margaret.

Margaret also chooses to spend time with her sports-minded family. “My husband, Ashley, is head coach of my son’s football team and my daughter’s soccer team. We play every sport — football, basketball — he’s an ‘All-American’ father. We also have a golf course in our neighborhood, and we all play. We all golf together a lot — our son, Austin, and Alexis, our daughter. It’s insane, plus there are piano lessons, but with a Mary Kay business, I have time to make the best choices.”

Fondly known as “the quiet storm” by her peers, Margaret embodies a soft approach and a steely determination. “I’m not the life of the party, but I’ve changed so many lives. Changing lives is what gets me up every day. Today, I could put a dream in a woman’s heart that changes her life forever.”