Madolyn Johnson Lecture (2005)

Madolyn Johnson President and Founder, HomeMaker's Idea Company

In 1971, ISU alumna, Madolyn Johnson, opened a home décor store that would later become a multi-million dollar organization. Ms. Johnson majored in Modern Languages at Iowa State University and later earned her teaching certificate. After teaching for several years in Colo, Iowa, and then in Chicago, Illinois, Madolyn gave birth to her first daughter and decided to be a stay-at-home mother. While home with her daughter, Ms. Johnson came up with an idea to start her own business.

The HomeMaker's Idea Company is a party plan company that sells organization and decorative items for the home. The company was built one idea at a time, one dream at a time, helping one person at a time and truly one home at a time. The mission of The HomeMaker's Idea Company states "home is the core of family life; products are designed for the home, decorate the home, and are sold in the home." Bringing families together and making homes comfortable and relaxing lie truly at the heart of the mission.

To start the first store, Madolyn took $1,500 out of her teacher's retirement fund. One afternoon she realized she needed $600 to pay a vendor or she would be out of business. Ms. Johnson went to her neighbor and good friend who pulled $600 from a shoebox and told Madolyn, "Don't even worry about when you pay me back because I know you will make it." Six months later she had $10,000 in the bank. Ms. Johnson likes to say that her company "started on a shoelace and was saved by a shoebox."

Madolyn worked for several years alone doing all of the ordering, selling, and delivering of products. A few years into the business, Madolyn's second daughter, Cathi, became ill with a rare disease. Not only did the business keep Ms. Johnson financially secure during this hard time, but it was also an "oasis to keep her strong." Cathi made a full recovery and Madolyn was able to set her sights on her business once again.

The first 20 years were building blocks for The HomeMaker's Idea Company. Madolyn had never had a business course in college and since then has taken crash courses to reach higher levels of business. Ms. Johnson describes her journey through having "gut experiences, blind faith, lots of mistakes, lots of failures, and successes [that have] hopefully outweighed the failures at this point." In the 1980s the company grew beyond the Chicago area, and in 1989 Madolyn decided to close all of the retail stores and move ahead using only direct sales. The newly established sales force helped Madolyn launch the growth of The HomeMaker's Idea Company. From 1991 until 2001, The HomeMaker's Idea Company experienced 1000% growth from $2.5 million to $25 million.

In 2004, 6,000 representatives had product shows in nearly 50,000 homes. Each representative owns their own business within the company's structure. Ms. Johnson states that "the direct sales method is the largest incubator for entrepreneurship." Many women in the sales force went from a salary of $100 per week to six-figure salaries in only a few years. Madolyn watched as many ordinary people did extraordinary things.

The HomeMaker's Idea Company has had the opportunity to give back to its community in many ways. The company has been helping charities across the nation including Rebuilding Together, the U.S.O., and Homes for Our Troops, which builds and remodels homes of wounded soldiers. Ms. Johnson has also donated to Iowa State University and the University of Illinois, Chicago to encourage students to pursue entrepreneurship.

Madolyn attributes her success to the word "extra." People who rise to the top have extra drive. She believes there is no substitute for hard work. They have extra vision to not only see opportunities but seize those opportunities. Successful people have extra perseverance. They don't quit in the face of hardships, they embrace challenges and overcome them. Finally, they have extra passion for the business idea, purpose, and people. Successful people surround themselves with others who are aligned with their vision and values. Nearly 6,000 people contributed to the growth of Ms. Johnson's company and all were bound by a common mission. In closing, Madolyn offered an inspiring quote, "Success lies not in how well known you are, but how well respected… not in your power to take, but your power to give. Success is the small voice you hear when you know you have done the right thing."

If you would like more information on Ms. Johnson or The HomeMaker's Idea Company please go to www.homemakersidea.com.

Students Present Ms. Johnson with a gift. Pictured L to R: Michael
Wampler, Madolyn Johnson, Lauren Knoche, and Payam Imani.