n $1886,32$ years before women in the U$.$K$.$ earned the right to vote, Avon$$s founder,

David H$.$ McConnell, helped give them the chance to earn an independent income.

McConnell didn$$t set out to create a beauty company. He was a traveling book

salesperson and offered beauty products as a perk.

He soon realized customers were more interested in the free perfume samples than the

books and that many of them stayed at home while their husbands went off to work.

From a small New York City office, McConnell mixed the company$$s first

fragrances himself and recruited a team of women to be Sales Representatives.

It was an inspired idea: women had a passion for his products and loved

networking with other women, so it turned out to be a brilliant business

model, which works just as well today.