The world is mourning the loss of Dolly Parton. The beloved country music icon died Aug. 25 at the age of 80. Parton’s family confirmed in a statement that she died peacefully after a brief battle with cancer.
Parton moved to Nashville the day after her high school graduation to chase a songwriting career. She signed with Monument Records in 1965 and joined The Porter Wagoner Show two years later, a partnership that launched her into the national spotlight. She went on to write more than 3,000 songs, including Jolene, I Will Always Love You and 9 to 5, and sold more than 100 million records.
Parton holds the record for the most number-one country hits by a female artist, with 26 chart-toppers, and won 11 Grammy Awards. She also built a film career, starring in 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias.
Parton was more than a music superstar. She was also a savvy businesswoman and entrepreneur who built a lasting empire well beyond the recording studio.
A savvy businesswoman from the start
Parton’s business instincts showed up early. In 1966, she and her uncle Bill Owens founded Owe-Par Publishing, giving her ownership of her own songwriting copyrights from the start of her career. She later declined Elvis Presley’s request to record I Will Always Love You after his manager demanded half the publishing rights, a decision that protected decades of royalty income.
Her biggest move came in 1986. Rather than accept a licensing fee for her name, Parton negotiated an ownership stake when she partnered with the Herschend family to build Dollywood. The 50-50 partnership grew into one of the most visited theme parks in the country. She launched the Dollywood Foundation two years later to fund literacy causes across East Tennessee.
In recent years, Parton expanded into consumer products, launching a multiyear partnership with Duncan Hines and licensing a fragrance and a pet apparel line. Her final ventures came in the months before her death. Her Songteller Hotel opened in Nashville earlier this year, and just two months before she died, Parton cut the ribbon on Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop, a Tennessee highway travel center.
Forbes estimated her net worth at $450 million last year, while other outlets place the figure closer to $650 million. She never became a billionaire, having redirected much of her income toward the Imagination Library and other charitable causes instead.
What entrepreneurs can learn from Dolly
Parton never pretended to be an expert in every corner of her business. Instead, she trusted the people she hired to run it.
“I don’t boss anybody around, because I don’t even have the time or the energy to even do that. I just try to put people that are smarter than me in all the right places, and then I go on about my business,” Parton told Bloomberg in 2024.
For entrepreneurs, Parton’s career is proof that staying true to who you are can be the smartest business strategy of all.
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