Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 44

nMMTT WARS The woman from I Southfield ad executive took a gamble and found her risk paid off in out-of-this-world success By Lillie guyer Free Press Special Writer EfJ -r 1 1 1 WIHilUUIHi.llmi.,l.l,..4 I I I I PWSPI1XI llil sZmn I a i P. lllilitlgll iiig arilyn Barnett knows the feeling of being out on a limb. I 18 HI Barnett's polished appearance 'II belies her years of early struggle, 11 from erowincuoDoor in Detroit to HERMAN T. ALLENDetroit Free Press Marilyn Barnett has turned her Southfield-based advertising agency, MARS, into a multimillion dollar business. MARILYN BARNETT risking it all for self-employment.

There were uneasy days of not knowing where her first account would come from, or her next paycheck. In 1973, with little money and less financial experience, Barnett opened her own advertising agency. Her first hurdle: Persuade the kindly older man in NBD's South-field office to give her a letter of credit, so she could begin to buy TV time and other advertising space on behalf of her clients. "I promised him we'd make good" on the debt, she said. The bank official, Ted Wendt, granted her request, and Barnett more than fulfilled her promise.

Her agency accounts are still at NBD, partly because "this elderly gentleman believed in me back then." But she spent those early years on the edge, in a makeshift office in Southfield with three colleagues. "It was a dramatic gamble," Barnett said. "But, fortunately for us, it worked." MARS, which stands for "marketing, advertising, research and service," is the name of the Southfield-based agency she operates. It has grown into a multimillion dollar enterprise, among the top dozen in the Detroit market. Serving several dozen high-profile clients, such as Nestle and Jack, the company has mushroomed into six locations with about 140 employees and 10 freelancers.

Satellite offices are in Philadelphia; Miami; Vancouver, Greensboro, N.C.; Glendale and Hollywood, Calif. Another sign of the company's growing influence: MARS rose this year to the No. 11 spot on Crain's list of the leading ad agencies in the Detroit area. It was No. 19 just four years ago.

That's not bad for a company without automotive work in the country's auto hub. Barnett says the catchy name is easy to remember and describes what the company does. "People remember it when I say, 'Hi, I'm Marilyn Barnett from But it's the portion of the name that Barnett prides herself on. "We are foremost a service business and do whatever it takes to help our clients succeed," she says. The agency specializes in serving the food, health care and packaged-goods indus- prised.

"We get along extremely well. She provides a tremendous amount of space for me to develop my own business style, rather than conforming to her model." Of course, it helps that they see eye to eye on major things from the need to serve clients first to keeping the business private, rather than going public. Michelle Roney, vice president of UCI, a MARS division, has worked for Marilyn Barnett for six years. Roney describes a flourishing creative environment. "You never have to worry about where you stand with Marilyn.

She's very good at getting people in and then letting them do what they do best." For all her achievements, Barnett is not one to take credit for the good work of her people. "No one gets somewhere completely on their own," she says. And no one stays ahead without satisfied clients. They're at the top of Barnett's rules for success: "Pursue your dreams, and do whatever it takes to help your clients meet their objectives." Clues to Barnett's motivation may reside in the working-class Detroit neighborhood where she grew up. She attended Central High School in the '50s and recalls a supportive, yet humble, upbringing.

Her father, Henry Schiff, worked as a milkman, and her mother, Kate, was a housewife. "Our family didn't have much money. But my parents made me feel I could do anything I wanted to do; there was nothing beyond my reach," she says. "They instilled me with this confidence that you have to have to succeed in life." tries. A growing client list includes Nestle, Jack, Hewlett Packard, Office Depot, Hanes, Select Care, Dial Corp.

and HJ. Heinz. Ask Barnett about her business, and her face lights up. "It's an absolutely wonderful business. It gives you a chance to be creative and use your mind.

You meet great people and, for me, it's been a chance to build an extended family of employees," she says. "It keeps you young, because you're always at the cutting edge." Despite her devotion to running a business, Barnett, the mother of two grown children, knows the toll it can take on a personal life. For those considering self-employment, she cautions: "You have to love it, because it takes a great part of your life. Be prepared to sacrifice. You work 18-hour days if you have to." As one of a handful of top female executives in advertising, Barnett dismisses the idea that the advertising business discriminates against women.

"It would make a better story if I could say so," she says. "But there really wasn't discrimination. Clients are more interested in your capability, reliability and marketing savvy than in gender." People who know Barnett well describe as private, caring and risk-oriented. AA "Her style is one of quiet effectiveness. She's very careful and methodical," says son Ken Barnett, who joined the agency in 1976 after earning an advertising degree from Michigan State University.

He rose through the ranks to become executive vice president and co-owner. What's it like working with Mom? Ken Barnett admits he's been pleasantly sur JOB: Founder and president of MARS, headquartered in Southfield; specializes in advertising, marketing, research and targeted client services. PERSONAL Born in Detroit. She's "50ish" and raised her children in Southfield. She got a bachelor's degree in marketing communications from Wayne State University.

HOBBIES, INTERESTS: Sailing and boating (used to have a sailboat); movies; is an avid reader for trade and pleasure. Belongs to Group 200, a national women's business coalition that meets to network and share business strategies. GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT: "My two children; that's what I'm most proud of in life." Son Ken runs the business with her, and daughter Rhona Gorosh is an elementary teacher in Troy. GREATEST DISAPPOINTMENT: "You always feel that you can be more than you are that you haven't completely used your God-given gifts and maybe could have done more for other people but, then, I still have time." RECENT READING: "The Third Wave," by Alvin Toffler, $6.99 (paperback), Bantam Books. ADVICE: "If you have a dream, follow it.

But you must be very persistent. Nothing happens without effort. I've always kind of lived on the edge." 4F DETROIT FREE PRESSMONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1995.