Following Dolly Parton's death last week at the age of 80, Billboard has compiled a retrospective on the country icon's business philosophy, drawing on decades of interviews to distil the principles that guided her wide-ranging commercial empire. Parton was as celebrated for her business acumen and philanthropy as for her music, having built a portfolio spanning publishing, record labels, theme parks, film and TV production, books and merchandise, all underpinned by a hands-on, disciplined approach to decision-making.

Her business instincts date back to the 1960s, when she and her uncles launched her own publishing company, a move that continues to pay dividends across more than 3,000 songs she owns the rights to. She also ran her own label, Blue Eye Records, retaining ownership of her masters, and by 2020 was reportedly working a schedule likened to a tech CEO's, reviewing a curated list of business decisions with her longtime manager, Danny Nozell, from as early as 4am. Parton frequently credited surrounding herself with trustworthy, hard-working people, including Nozell, as central to ventures such as Dollywood, the Tennessee theme park she launched in 1986.