Mary Kay products have made their way into the cosmetic bag and bathroom drawers of women across the world. With sales reaching $2.5 billion, Mary Kay relies on independent beauty consultants to sell their products.

Anna Hayward has been one of those independent beauty consultants since May 1998. Her time as a Mary Kay consultant has been a life-changing journey.

Before June 2009, Hayward’s career was flexible and provided her with a chance to make money and raise her children.

“If my kids get sick I can stay home. I get to go on field trips. It’s great,” said Hayward.

Being a beauty consultant also gave her the opportunity to give back to people.

Hayward holds her training meetings at Arbor Woods senior facility in Jackson, Mich. She selects a few times a year where she gives the women living at Arbor Woods makeovers.

“Most of them have Alzheimer’s or Dementia,” said Hayward. “You should see their faces. These makeovers are not for profit.”

The reason that Hayward does these makeovers for free is because she has built her business on the philosophy that money is not the most important thing.

“Mary Kay Ash [the creator of Mary Kay] taught us to treat people like they have a sign on their forehead that says ‘Make me feel special,’ “ said Hayward. “We shouldn’t have dollar signs in our eyes. We should focus on who we can pamper today.”

At that point, her philosophy became more about the people than actually selling the items, but soon being a Mary Kay consultant would mean even more to her and her family.

In June 2009, being a Mary Kay independent beauty consultant was more than a way to bring a second income into her household it became the only one.

“I was able to make payments on my house,” said Hayward.

When people were losing their houses because people, like Hayward’s husband, were losing their jobs, being a Mary Kay consultant a sense of strength. It allowed her to provide for her family when times were tough. She trusted in God and stayed positive for her husband, but her children’s benefits were gone and for the next year, Hayward’s income and benefits were all that her family had.

“It’s nice to be a part of a Christina based company. Mary Kay Ash was a Christian. I had money and gift cards at my door,” said Hayward.

She was the only income for a year, but now she can teach her daughters some of the lessons being a Mary Kay independent beauty consultant has taught her.

“I can pass along lessons like be kind to one another and set goals to my girls,” said Hayward.

One of the goals that Mary Kay beauty consultants can set is to receive a car from the company. There are three levels of cars. The first level is a Chevy Malibu, the second is a Toyota Camry or a Chevy Equinox and third level is a Cadillac. Mary Kay pays for the car, the renewal of plates and tags yearly, and a little of the car insurance cost. It makes Hayward happy to watch people she brought into the company succeed and earn cars.

After 13 years of being a Mary Kay consultant and still continuing to take each day as a day to find a woman to pamper, Hayward can only use two words to describe what Mary Kay means to her, life-changing.

“It has changed my life so much,” said Hayward.