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The male ad executives at
company were not impressed with Ruth's doll. Neither were
mostly male buyers who saw her debut at
American Toy Show in 1959. But as Ruth had guessed, little girls loved her - and 350,000 Barbies were sold that very first year, which was a record. Mattel introduced more dolls to
Barbie line over
next several years, some of which were named after other Handler family members, such as Ken -- Ruth's son -- and Stacie, Todd and Cheryl, who were named after
Handlers' grandchildren.
All was going well until 1970, Ruth was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a difficult time, bad decisions were made and
Handlers' eventually left
successful company they had founded. But Ruth not only survived her bout with cancer; her experience inspired her next business venture.
Ruth told
Los Angeles Times about her fruitless search for natural-looking prosthetic breast. What was available at
time was less than adequate. "I looked at
shapeless glob that lay in
bottom of my brassiere and thought, 'My god,
people in this business are men who don't have to wear these,' " she told
Times. Once again, Ruth discovered a niche to fill.
Ruth found a designer who created a new prosthetic to her specifications. Made of liquid silicone and polyurethane, it looked and felt natural. Her stroke of genius was her realization that like shoes, it needed to be made up in "lefts" and "rights." Then Ruth assembled a sales team made up of other breast cancer survivors, who demonstrated her new product to department store buyers and helped train their sales staffs on how to fit their customers. In 1991, Ruth sold her company to a division of Kimberly-Clark and retired.
"Women--and men too--can do almost anything they set their mind to," said Ruth. "You have to believe in what you want to do and have
courage of your convictions."
Good advice for us all. Rest in peace, Ruth.

Donna Schwartz Mills writes about the specific needs of work at home parents at her website, The ParentPreneur Club, "For Parents Who Want Choices, Not Office Politics." http://www.parentpreneurclub.com Tools, tips and advice you need to help grow your home based business while raising a family. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter sending a blank email to: mailto:subscribe@parentpreneurclub.com