Gloria Mayfield Banks at Seminar
Every year, Gloria Mayfield Banks participates in one of the most predatory scams against women, Mary Kay Cosmetics. Every year, she makes hundreds of thousands of dollars from “selling a dream”…. via which more than 99% of women will actually lose money. And every year she has a custom made dress for seminar. Take a look at the dresses through the years… (click photo to see it full size)
Visit the
Gross! But wouldn’t be if many of her team were also successful! Got to finish scraping MK letters off my car today!
She is a beautiful woman and some of these dresses flatter her. However, just because the outside looks good, does not mean that she is a Godly woman empowering women.
She’s made hundreds of thousands of dollars off of women who couldn’t scrape two dollars together. Yet she still convinces them that they need a full store. She does NOT live the multimillionaire because of MK, although she certainly has made money off of women like many of us deceived by women like her. No, her husband is the multimillionaire CEO. She likes everyone to think that they have their affluent life because of her. Another deception.
Most of the women recruited into MK will never make it to SD let alone NSD because there is a certain unethical personality that is needed as well as the ability to convince women out of their money. You know, like Bernie Madoff.
I know a NSD whose “I story” is that she started her Mary Kay business while on maternity leave from her job working for an insurance office. She says she was able to get her business off the ground during that time and resign from her office… she never went back from maternity leave. She fails to mention that her husband was and is in a high management position at a department store. I think of the naive women who will read that and think…. Oh, I could sell
Mary Kay after I have my kid. Honey, no, save that money for your child’s college.
That’s the story one of my directors used! Wonder if it’s the same lady? Or maybe a story that got passed around? 😉
My son’s ex-gf is at Seminar and while I do like her and she is a really pretty girl, she is also completely bare of any common sense and was hounding everyone for her “!00 faces” but she knows how I feel so she did not hound me, however, she did try to convince my son that her car had broken down(it had not) and could he loan her money to fix it(read: finance my trip to seminar) but he offered to look at her car and fix it for her and suddenly her car was not broken anymore. LOL Now my son is the most sharing, giving, helping person I know, but even he knows what a crock MK is.
Your son is wise to be free of her.
That gal is as dishonest as some of the beggars who hit on me in parking lots. They need gas, but don’t want to follow me to the gas station. They need food, but refuse a sandwich. They need a toy for their kid’s birthday, but don’t want me to buy one for him. Money only.
Like your wise son who volunteered to fix the car, I’ll gladly provide gas, sandwich, or toy. But don’t pee on my shoes and tell me it’s raining.
LOL Oh yeah, she was gone a few years ago! I’m the same way, I will help in any way I can but don’t ask me for cash instead with some excuse. If you want beer, ask me, I will likely buy you one!
Well, not surprised about the deception involved in your son’s ex-bf. The level of deception permeates this organization. Think of how “truth is layered” to women. Just sign up and get all of your products for 50% off the rest of your life. No, well, you have to buy $225 (I think this is the new requirement) every 3 months to maintain your discount. The truth gets adjusted all of the time. If women were told the entire truth no, one would ever sign up. I had not thought of Mary Kay as one of the worst scams out there, but yes it is. No matter how you look at it so many women get separated from their money. The promised big commission checks never appear in spite of long hours of hard work.
Nope, not surprised at all either. She signed up one of their mutual friends that my son has known since 8th grade(he is 25 now) and even though she is a struggling single mom, she bought in to it 110% but has to borrow money from everyone and their brother to buy diapers, pay rent, etc and anyone that says :Instead of buying more MK, why don’t you use that for your living expenses?” gets cut out immediately.. I personally gave her a ride to and from her job a couple of years ago because her car was broken down and I knew what it was to be a single mom trying to make it but mind you, it was a 50mi round trip from our house, to her house, her son’s daycare and then out to her job and back to our house and then do it again in the afternoon and finally my husband and I told her we just couldn’t do it anymore since it was costing us so much in gas(it was 5 days a week) and then when she joined MK and I tried to point her here, I was jumped on by her “new friends” as being a negative, non-helpful person who did not deserve a place in her life. At that point I told her “I KNOW you know better than that but you bee-lieve what you want” It’s sad because she is a pretty girl but low self esteem so she lives for the constant stream of praise. I am pretty sure she is terminally Pink because of that.
They used her low self esteem to get to her. They find something like that and then they build on it. It’s an evil scheme. Really it is. I hope she sees the light and gets out.
It is! I don’t have much hope anymore. She quit a really good job to pursue this “business” full time, has had her fiance leave her over her constant spending and even though they had a two bedroom apt, she moved her 4yr old in to their room so she could have inventory. He got tired of working two jobs to support her and her spending everything on MK. There are only so many electric shut offs, phone shut offs, and eviction notices before you just throw up your hands. My best friend has her own business(beauty salon) and yet this young woman doesn’t see the difference between an MLM and a legit business that people pay to go to under the true understanding of paying for a service vs being shammed into a “makeover”
“The truth gets adjusted all of the time”
Good one! It’s truth adjustment, not lying. LOL
The 2005 and 2006 dresses are pretty… so is the 2010 dress. The rest look like they were bought from the tacky farm.
Custom made dresses do not impress me. My mother can sew like a dream, and she could have made any of those dresses. GMB is just trying to sound like a big shot. In the words of Shania Twain’s song: that don’t impress me much. You know what does impress me? Real, honest people with integrity.
This is so depressing. Not because of the claims against Gloria Mayfield Banks, but because this site has proven itself to promote nothing but negativity. The only people who thrive off this are the many women who have somehow found themselves unsuccessful in this business due to 1.) lack of ambition 2.) lack of sales. I AM NOT EVEN IN MARY KAY, but, my mother is a single parent turned National Sales Director, and I have seen the hundreds of women who’s life she has impacted positively. I can’t forget the hundreds of women who approached her during seminar to say that she was the reason that they chose to join Mary Kay, and have continued to provide a lasting income for their children. This site is depressing, it’s nothing but negative energy feeding off itself. I pray for each woman who comments on these posts nothing but success and financial security. Again, I am not even in Mary Kay, but my mother is the reason I am attending college.
Vanessa – Your mother is an nsd and makes her money because thousands of women LOST MONEY in this loser “business.” They lost that money because she lied to them and sold them a dream, knowing full well that 99% or more of them were guaranteed to lose money. That is nothing to be proud of. And if pointing out these hard facts makes me negative, then by golly, I am proud to be negative.
Please note: I am a very successful owner of a real business. One in which I don’t have to lie to thousands of women to con them into signing up and buying inventory. I make my living honorably, while your mother is a liar and a thief.
Dear Vanessa,
My precious DIL has spent the last several years believing and stretching her way to Directorship and her first “free” car. She idolizes GMB and many other NSD’s. She has followed all the advice given to her by these “top” women in MK. Despite it all, she has declared a loss on her taxes each year and amassed credit card debt over $10,000. She is considered to be in the top 2% in MK and her NSD says she is one of her best! Really????????
Positive thinking is a great asset, but not at the expense of careful evaluation of all the facts. Truth is neither positive or negative. Truth is truth. Facts are facts. Fortunately for you, your mother’s facts are a benefit for you. Please don’t tell us that our facts are not true. Tax forms and credit card statements don’t lie.
Some advice for you in your college career…don’t blindly believe everything your professors tell you. Everyone has an agenda. Learn to think independently and see things from differing points of view.
Thank you for your prayers for us. I, too, am sincerely praying for you. 🙂
Vanessa,
Denial is more negative than truth.
I have seen the hundreds of women who’s life she has impacted positively
Well are the ones who had a money-losing experience going to go to Seminar to thank her? You are living your life inside the pink bubble.
I’ll ask you this … go back through your mother’s records, her old newsletters, and see how many of the directors who were with her when she first became NSD are still in Mary Kay? What is her churn rate? If they were making as much as you assume, why would they quit?
Take the orders for her national area and assume EVERY consultant sells EVERYTHING for full price … now divide that by the number of consultant in her area? What’s the average sales revenue per consultant? Can they make a living off that?
Adding … I hold Gloria Mayfield Banks in special contempt because she has an MBA (Masters in Business Administration).
She knows EXACTLY how the MLM business model works.
She knows damned well what sort of a swathe of financial ruin MLMs leave behind.
I have seen her in person, delivering her well-rehearsed schtick about her life story and her career which (if true) reveals she’s monumentally stupid. She was SHOCKED to find out that working for Kodak involved making film? She was SHOCKED to find out that moving to management meant taking a pay cut compared to being a top commissioned salesperson?
“women who’s life she has impacted”
You mean whose, not who’s. Stay in college.
Vanessa, I know how you feel. When I was a consultant I felt the same way! But what after being in MK for ten years what I found was that this website actually provides a lot of factual information, and honest unbiased help to women who have been in, or are thinking about joining MLM’s.
I’ve found that the women here on PT have formed a supportive community that is welcoming to women who are currently in, or who have already left MK. We do not judge, and we are most definitely not negative. Unless you call the truth negative. But really, the truth does not fear investigation.
If Mary Kay offered true success for all women as claimed, then there would not be such high turnover rates, would there? 99% of those who are in MK would not lose money, would they?
Vanessa, since you are praying for me please ask God to give me back the last 10 years, and the $20,000 that I ‘lost’ while giving MK my all. I am now giving my ambition, dedication, and honesty back to my family since they also got ripped off. Despite that ugly truth, I am now more positive than ever! Hugs to you! =)
Well, I do really, really well financially in my fraud investigation business. So by your logic (don’t listen to people who earn less than you), a LOT of people should be listening to me.
This site is about education. We are helping people learn what a scam MLM is, since nearly everyone LOSES MONEY in it.
“you can support a wealthy corporation with a CEO with his 20 cars and 7th vacation home.”
Mary Kay is a corporation. Mary Kay is wealthy Every time MK consultants purchase products from wealthy MK Corporation, that’s EXACTLY who they’re supporting.
According to Forbes, MK Corp’s 2017 sales revenues were $3.5B. That’s $3.5B wholesale orders purchased by consultants. (Consultants are the real customers. MK Corp does not track how much of those products were actually sold to end-users.)
Dear vanessa: the truth hurts more when it is the opposite of what you thought. Your stage of denial is normal. you will understand … encouragement and a hug. bye
“That’s why women buy into a dream of a better life only to face ignorance, gossip, slander and non support from other women.”
And it’s a dream … just a dream, because it is not going to provide them with a real business and a living wage.
“God forbid that you purchase products or services from a friend and help them when you can support a wealthy corporation with a CEO with his 20 cars and 7th vacation home. ”
You mean like Ryan Rogers, with his private plane flying between his Dallas mansion and his Aspen ski chalet, or his Mexican beach house?
The money you spend to “support” your friend’s MLM venture goes mostly to the up-line and the management.
The only thing I can say for most of these dresses to describe them is THEATRICAL… And if you Liste to GMB => her “teaching – lecturing” style is THEATRICAL as well. She puts on a good show… She raps, she rhymes, she screams and she shouts. She Acts and she Acts “as if”…
So… THEATRICAL, THEATER, SHOW-BOAT and ACTING come to mind when I think of GMB.
Vanessa, why are you going to college? Mary Kay has free training which you could take instead as I assume that you are going to follow in your mother’s footsteps. In fact, why aren’t you a consultant right now?
Vanessa!
How on earth did you escape the pressure of not signing under your mom? OMG! I’ve got to hear about that! Did ya sign, try, then say it isn’t for you? Cause it wasn’t!
It must of been a real dilemma, maybe it still is!
When I see the daughters of the next generation of a SD to NSD join MK, I cringe. You have probably seen it go on all the time. Daughters joining. I wounder how on earth can their mama’s do that to them? Cold, just down right cold blooded.
(I remember the day when I thought, if I ever had a daughter, ( I have two sons) no way in hell will she ever join. I made a, come hell or high water, promise to myself, my sons would go to college. I started preachin’ “when yal’ go to college” at the age of three, they are now 33 and 35.)
That day came about after I had booked a 10 show week. The only one that held was the one on Friday. The hostess got so worked up about not having anyone come she was drunk when I arrived. You know the time and energy, anxiousness, money that was put into my efforts. No paycheck. Right? You hear about that right? Course I had made a big deal of all my bookings, to the guys. Now what do you think I did when I was asked, “howja do Mom?” I lied. But there wasn’t the celebration I had promised. Cause the money didn’t show. Bad, bad on my part. They learned it was okay to lie! That’s another story but kids do read your actions more that your words. You know what I’m talkin’ ’bout.
Through my 27 years of being in MKC I always wondered why haven’t Mary Kay’s family of women ever joined her company as a IBC? Ya know? Since the opportunity is the dream career.
All those women that come up to your mom at seminar? They are lovely-hearted women, thanking your mom for giving them hope that they will reach her position. However like you, they will arrive at this site when their hearts are deferred cause they will be, they’ll want answers. You wanted answers. Ya got wind of this site from the SDs or your mom huh? So there must be something to what this site is about? Is it affecting Seminar attendance? The SD are grumbling about their Units? Your mom’s paycheck maybe? Ya got here with your research. Keep going research to the end results.
Have ya ever wondered if this opportunity is so great, then why all the hullabaloo with bribes? Ya know the Star Consultant program, the trinkets, ribbons your mom has to provide? Why isn’t a good ole income, ya know, paycheck good enough? There ain’t one.
Most company’s provide cars, there is no earning a car. Business owners can sell their company by showing their profit and loss accounting. Can’t sell a MKC business even after 27 years of working it. Your mom has to keep going for income, no rest, bet she is tired. None of the People and love crap. What business keeps track of people and love stuff, profit and loss is what success is gauged by. It is an emotional ploy to distract the innocent IBC from keep track of production, good records. I always wonder about that but don’t anymore. I get it.
Now ya have to wonder why all of us have said what we have? Do your research. How do you think we have come to this conclusion?
Like you we wanted answers. It was difficult to explain how we have been scammed when so many women are perpetuating the lie right in front of the world. You can do something about this. Help us take this injustice down. Your mom is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Help her.
Sincerely.
I was a Mary Kay Consultant back when I was 23 (now 40). Now I own my own business as a consultant for Spanish speaking professional businesses.
Looking back I can honestly say that company changed my life.
I had an amazing mentor … I was a top recruiter and top sales person.
I never felt that I prey on anyone. I felt that I was honestly helping.
The company for me is amazing. You buy a product and you sell it. That’s called a business.
Why didn’t I continue? I was young and did’d know what I was doing. I just did it with passion and it sonehow worked!!
Of course, now that I look back I see that I was disciplined, I had drive, and a plan coupled with passion and consistency.
That combo has worked amazing for my current business.
I loved my clients … The products … And the opportunity to see that I can change my life if I work hard and with passion.
I do not know how it went for you when you were in Mary Kay. If it didn’t work … I am truly sorry.
For me? I am 100% responsible. I have the power to say no, to step up my game, and too see the basics of a simple “buy something at a price and sell it at a profit”.
That’s how it works anywhere!
Let’s stop pushing blames to outside sources. Noone has put a gun on our heads. We made the choice. You has a product, go out there and sell it.
I did’t have a car … I lived alone … No family near … Yet I was always number #1 in my unit because I did the work. Simple!
And I CARED about my customers and the people I recruited.
And although I believe there are some bad apples anywhere … I also believe that we shoukd take personal responsibility.
I am not here to defend the company. I am here to empower you guys to take responsibility too!
If this message gets deleted then I proved my case.
Diana – Mary Kay is not a business. The fact that you MAY have made money is an anomaly. 99% of people LOSE MONEY in MLM because it is not a business. It is a grand scam made to look legitimate via some products. No matter how hard people work, they are almost guaranteed to lose money in MLM.
And if you recruited people to MK, you DID prey on people. You brought them in with the lie that they could make money, when they have almost no chance of doing so. Don’t be proud of yourself for being a “top recruiter.”
Your comment proves my point.
How does her comment prove your point?
Sorry, we’ve heard all this before and we’re not impressed. As we like to say around here, “Show us your Schedule C.”
Quick question: If the company was so great and you were always #1, why did you leave Mary Kay? Many, many of us here worked nonstop in MK. We were the top of our units, and became car drivers and top directors. You left for the same reasons we did: Mary Kay is not a legitimate business, and no matter what we did, we could not make a decent income.
I was young. Although I had success … my mindset was not right.
I moved a lot. Running away from me! Trying to find myself in the proccess.
I lost myself. I had success because I was consistent. I failed because my mindset was not right.
I am 40 years old now … if i didn’t have the successful business that I have now, I will go back to MK.
Is not that hard. Jesus! Buy a product wholesale. If your directo tells you to buy buy buy, and YOU look at your finances and you see that you CAN’T, you say NO I can’t now. Period!
Full responsibility!
I cared about my customers and team members, too. I cried with my unit members when they had significant things happening in their lives or they missed a goal.
While I agree with you there were things we carried away from our time in MK that could benefit us in a business elsewhere, what I think most of us on here is more passionate about is helping others that are being lied to or manipulated realize they aren’t alone. I was a Cadillac Director with offspring Directors, and YOU were manipulated. YOU were lied to. YOU were a victim. There’s rampant abuse of God and His teachings in MK, and there’s cheating everywhere. For example, if it’s such an ethical company and sales force, why are there people putting in Agreements under dead people?
Rather than “putting a gun to our head”, the force that’s used on us is manipulation, lying, stealing, and the HUGE desperation that a lot of people in MK have because they’re so miserable outside of MK that they hope MK success will cure it. This last force is very, very strong, and your own case proves it. A woman without a car is probably willing to do most anything to get herself out of that situation, so she is perfect bait.
I take full responsibility for my actions, but I don’t ignore the lies I was told or the way I was manipulated by the company and those above me.
While I agree with you there were things we carried away from our time in MK that could benefit us in a business elsewhere, what I think most of us on here is more passionate about is helping others that are being lied to or manipulated realize they aren’t alone.
What lie?
That you buy a product wholesale and sell it retail? Hello!
I was manipulated? That’s your belief. It changed my life! I was not a victim. It’s been 17 years since Mary Kay. Trust me! I was not lied to, or manipulated or a victim. That is what YOU want me to believe but for me that company changed my life.
I had to sell my body on the streets to be able to eat. My director helped me realize my purpose which was to serve others. I didn’t lie to sell. The women use skin care and make up, I just offered them another option. They bought, I made a profit.
The people I recruited? I just saw a vision for others just like a vision I saw. I was a prostitute for crying out loud! A prostitute!
I started selling and not recruiting. My customers were very happy with the product. Once I saw the potential for income and the positive changes I was going through … then I started sharing with others the opportunity.
If you didn’t have any money then I wouldn’t recruit you. Period!
If you had the money and didn’t do anything with the opportunity then YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE. Simple as that!
If someone lied to you … as an ADULT you say, “I am been lied to. Stop”. If you didn’t believe you were lied to because someone “brainwashed you” … shit happen. Take responsibility.
I was not lied to and i am NOT a victim.
I was raped by my father at the age of 11. I WAS A VICTIM THERE.
That company gave me what my family didn’t give me … HOPE. And all i had to do was sell a product and share the opportunity. The math is so simple yet people PREFER to blame others for their results.
You are not a child! You should know better. Don’t come to me saying that I was victim just like you do here telling others that they are victims. Please! Grow up and take full responsibility for your actions.
Think of your favorite company where you buy products and services. Do you think they are perfect?
Anywhere you will find bad apples. But don’t go around telling the world the WHOLE basket is bad because I am not a bad person.
I was a woman without a car with a desire to succeed! I was not a victim. Mary Kay didn’t find me. I didn’t go to a class. Nobody gave me a card. I was at home thinking that I needed to do something with my life and found MK.
I can be a perfect bait just like anyone. But I was not a bait because I am RESPONSIBLE for my life.
Jesus!
Stop the drama. All of you stop the drama. Take FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR LIFE.
I take full responsibility for my actions, but I don’t ignore the lies I was told or the way I was manipulated by the company and those above me.
The lies about Directors making an “executive income”. Did you know that only those doing the extend trip profit enough to be considered that level of income?
The lies that Laura Beitler told on 20/20 where she said it “rarely” happens that people overbuy inventory just to meet a contest they promote. She is an attorney! Who better than to put up there and defend the outrageously frequent drawers, rooms, and garages full of product?
The lies that Nationals told me personally as I finished DIQ. “Everybody does it.” What I was being taught was to cheat and become a Director by making up people, buying their Starter Kits, and packing on production by my own big orders.
To be very frank with you, I’m deeply offended by your repetitive use of Jesus’ name all in order for you to make a point. It’s tacky and very unbecoming. I commend you for being honest and taking responsibility for your actions as a prostitute, but I’m not logged on here to bash a company without hard, cold evidence from my own experiences and that of the hundreds I led as a Director. Since you didn’t recruit, you were never privy to the Director meetings or even the Red Jacket meetings where even more lies were spun. NSDS and Directors lie all the time, dear, but you CHOSE to never get yourself in as high as the rest of us on here.
Your lack of personal responsibility and blaming others doesn’t surprise me. I have heard it all in my life.
Take FULL RESPONSABILITY and stop blaming others for your success or failure.
I was a top recruiter also. And I don’t mean to use the word Jesus. I am an atheist but common …
Stop that already! You are not a victim. Stop that.
I take full responsibility for falling for the lie of what my Senior profited that I later learned was an impossible amount given what car she was driving. I take full responsibility for not resigning any earlier and perpetuating the same experience my unit members went through over and over.
A “top recruiter”, as you called yourself, would easily have been a Director, so it’s hard to help you see what we’re talking about on here. MKI lies and tells people they don’t do animal testing, but, in fact they do. In China, their #2 market as of now, it is mandatory for all cosmetics to be first tested on animals. They also do the “lies by ommission” in that they don’t tell you what your Director Agreement states until you’re already there and have to sign it. Did you know that we, as Directors, were charged money off our commission checks for Consultants in our offspring’s unit when they sent product back? Hundreds of dollars taken out because of someone you never even met.
I also take full responsibility for my college education, my finances, and my CHOICE to get out , send my Cadillac back, get a full refund on my inventory, and not regret a day of it.
Thank you for your input. I’ve nothing more to say to someone who hasn’t been in my shoes as a “top” Director.
Yes … continue to blame others. Nothing new. Different person. Good luck!
Take responsibility for what? Being lied to?
The entire MLM business plan is based on successfully lying to your recruits and your sales force. it may be a flat out lie, about how much money the recruiter is making, or a carefully concealed half-truth, or merely a pile of wishful thinking presented as if it were really possible.
Stop that already! Take full responsibility!
I am honest and direct. If i can’t help you I will tell you. if someone lied to you, which it can happen, thats a person, not the entire MK company.
Its like a family member. Some lie, some cheat and some are honest. Its not whole unit thats screwed.
And if the unit is screwed, like in the case of my family, I TOOK FULL RESPONSIBILITY and broke the mold.
Stop the pitty party.
Well bless your heart, Diana. It sounds like you found yourself a nice little niche: desperate women who used a lot of makeup.
I don’t suppose that you kept copies of your tax returns showing how much money you really earned after expenses, did you? Probably not… If you even filed tax returns back then.
Since you say you were a top recruiter who too FULL RESPONSIBILITY, did that include working hard to make sure your recruits were also top sellers? Or did your responsibility stop with making sure they had cash available to buy inventory? Because if you didn’t take responsibility for developing your recruits into top sellers, you were just another predator.
i take responsibility with doing my work. I can’t lead those who want to be lead.
I worked very hard… Called them… Listen to them… The stars that shine are those who take responsibility and do not wait. The rest?
Unresponsible people who live life blaming others.
Oh, I see. You recruited them without verifying anything more than their credit card balance.
Yeah, that’s a predator’s tactic.
You listened to them whine when your empty promises of easy money didn’t come true. Poor thing. That was soooo nice of you. Then you blamed them for not “working their business” the right way. “They didn’t want to be led… It’s not my fault!”
Aaawwwww. Liar.
If you’d properly screened them in the first place, you would have identified the ones who had no real potential, and NOT recruited them.
But instead you looked only at their potential generate commissions for you. Then you blamed your victims.
Predator.
“Oh, I see. You recruited them without verifying anything more than their credit card balance. Yeah, that’s a predator’s tactic.”
You see what I am saying? You are quick to judge and you don’t know shit.
If i couldn’t help you because you were short on money I will tell you, “I would love to help you but you need money to invest just like any other business. So when you are ready to invest, come to me and I can help you.”
See? Simple and honest.
“You listened to them whine when your empty promises of easy money didn’t come true. Poor thing. That was soooo nice of you. Then you blamed them for not “working their business” the right way. “They didn’t want to be led… It’s not my fault! Aaawwwww. Liar.”
So I am a liar and a predator? Girl … you poor thing. I feel really bad for you. Very sorry for you. You are responsible for your life and if you dont want to be led, I am not leading you. Simple. Its like if you don’t want me in your house, I ain’t going. No gun to the head.
“If you’d properly screened them in the first place, you would have identified the ones who had no real potential, and NOT recruited them.”
I did that. The point is that you don’t read. Quick to judge. Nothing new. I see that around here a lot. That doesn’t make you special.
“But instead you looked only at their potential generate commissions for you. Then you blamed your victims. Predator.”
You got me wrong there. Very wrong. If you really knew me and READ all the message I have posted, you will JUDGE me differently because It looks like you are good at judging. I imagine the judging you do to yourself for making mistakes and blaming others.
Grow up! You are better than that!
Speaking of drama…….
Drama everywhere!
Diana, you said, “Your lack of personal responsibility and blaming others doesn’t surprise me. I have heard it all in my life. Take FULL RESPONSABILITY and stop blaming others for your success or failure.”
OK. I take full responsibility for having the first party for my loved one.
I take full responsibility for signing up as a Personal Use consultant when she was in DIQ, even though I told her I had no intention of selling. (She just needed more bodies to finish DIQ.)
I take full responsibility for letting her talk me into $600.00 inventory. What PU consultant needs $1,200.00 retail of makeup?!?! (Years later it’s still rotting on a shelf because the NSD actually placed the order of stuff I didn’t use.)
I take full responsibility for keeping my mouth shut whenever I had misgivings about the things I heard her say, or saw her do, because I wanted to support her and I didn’t want to be negative.
I take full responsibility for assuming those in Mary Kay who were leading her had her best interest in mind. (Everything they told her to do benefited them, not her.)
I take full responsibility for bailing out her high interest debt, which unfortunately has prolonged the financial bleeding.
Finally, I found Pink Truth and discovered that it wasn’t just her. There are thousands of women who’s stories are just like hers.
Mary Kay and all other MLMs are barely legal pyramid schemes that rob 99% of participants for the benefit of the top 1% of the pyramid. This is a proven fact (whether you want to believe it or not is your responsibility). Check out any earnings representations of any MLM brave enough to post it. (MK isn’t brave enough to post it for the U.S, but Canada requires they do, so we have that info.) I’ve analyzed 16 years of MKCanada earnings reports. Half the sales directors don’t even make $20,000 yr. and they are supposed to be the top 2% in the company. Over 400,000 women have joined MK in Canada over the last 16 years, yet they only have 33,500 consultants in 2014, and only 3,886 have over 1 year in MK. The other 29,600 have less than 1 year in MK.
As you said, “And if the unit is screwed, like in the case of my family, I TOOK FULL RESPONSIBILITY and broke the mold.” Well in our case, the “unit” (MLM in general and Mary Kay specifically) is screwed. We on Pink Truth feel it’s our RESPONSIBILITY to “break the mold” of these barely legal pyramid schemes and truly empower women to think and see for themselves, rather than just looking at life with pink blinders on.
“I take full responsibility for signing up as a Personal Use consultant when she was in DIQ, even though I told her I had no intention of selling. (She just needed more bodies to finish DIQ.)”
Good Ran4fun. Forget about her. It’s not about her. You signed up as a Personal Use Consultant. Thats very good. The products are great.
“I take full responsibility for letting her talk me into $600.00 inventory.”
YES. You let her talk you into investing $600. Not her fault. That was your choice. No gun on your head for that. That is not lying. Thats someone offering you an opportunity. Take those products and sell them. Simple. Don’t want to sell them? Don’t order them. Nobody is forcing you. The problem is not taking full responsibility for YOUR action and passing the blame like you were a child.
“What PU consultant needs $1,200.00 retail of makeup?!?!”
Nobody needs that amount. But it was YOUR choice. See? No gun to your head. Stop acting like a victim.
“I take full responsibility for keeping my mouth shut whenever I had misgivings about the things I heard her say, or saw her do, because I wanted to support her and I didn’t want to be negative.”
Speak up. Stand for yourself. You don’t like it? Move on. Get another director who cares. Full responsability.
“I take full responsibility for assuming those in Mary Kay who were leading her had her best interest in mind. (Everything they told her to do benefited them, not her.)”
Yes.. you know everyone’s heart intention. On top of blaming others and not been fully responsible for your choices … you are also a physic who sees everyone’s intention. Stop that already!
“I take full responsibility for bailing out her high interest debt, which unfortunately has prolonged the financial bleeding.”
You did great here!! The unfortunate bleeding was of your making. Nothing wrong with that. We learn from our mistakes.
“Finally, I found Pink Truth and discovered that it wasn’t just her. There are thousands of women who’s stories are just like hers.”
No… you found a place where people who are not fully responsable for their choices, gather to blame others. That is what you found. This is not real. This is like the friends I used to have. All they did was blame others. Same shit, different place.
So … CHOOSING to invest without a gun on your head and CHOOSING to surround yourself with blamers is the same thing girl. Grow up!
“Mary Kay and all other MLMs are barely legal pyramid schemes that rob 99% of participants for the benefit of the top 1% of the pyramid. ”
99% that are not responsible for their lives thinking that something out there will save them. It only works if you work it. If it didn’t work try another strategy but stop blaming others.
If you are hungry and you don’t get food, you starve to death. Your choice. If you have products and you don’t go out to sell them, that too is your choice. Stop that already.
That 99% of people who don’t make it are the ones who are complaining and blaming others. Stop that crap you are telling yourself. Grow up! Take full responsibility.
“As you said, “And if the unit is screwed, like in the case of my family, I TOOK FULL RESPONSIBILITY and broke the mold.” Well in our case, the “unit” (MLM in general and Mary Kay specifically) is screwed. We on Pink Truth feel it’s our RESPONSIBILITY to “break the mold” of these barely legal pyramid schemes and truly empower women to think and see for themselves, rather than just looking at life with pink blinders on.”
You guys are not breaking any molds. You guys are blaming others for your lack of success in a company. Stop that crap already.
“If you have products and you don’t go out to sell them, that too is your choice.”
And if you have products, go out to sell them and find that the market is saturated, that there’s better products costing less money and that you’re pushing a business model which is outdated what happens then?
And if you have products but the products are changed and suddenly you’ve either got to sell things which no longer match the brand or buy $600 of new makeup with the new packaging/formula, what do you do then?
“Well that’s great. Providing you have customers. Providing your customers aren’t then recruited. Providing your market isn’t already saturated.”
If the market is saturated then go on and serve the underserved. There are many MK client not treated with love, respect and attention to details. Serve that underserved market. You can get rich serving them. Simple.
“The extra stuff …
Business expenses. That is what is called. All businesses have them.
If profits are low, sell more to make more profit. Simple math!
Probably if you werent selling enough. Simple!
See here’s the funny thing. I’ve never sold Mary Kay in my life.
My Mom on the other hand, has given it her all for the last two decades. No matter what she’s tried, she has yet to achieve this mystical success. And we’re talking about a woman who was literally working 12-15 hour days calling people, trying to book parties, going out and warm chatting people, doing the myriad of Mary Kay related things.
Didn’t stop there not being food on the table at times.
Yes every business has business expenses. The difference being that my job doesn’t take them out of my wages. I make what I make regardless of whether the copier exploded and needed replacing or if we just needed more paper.
Also I’m amused to see you follow the school of Mary Kay IBC’s who says it’s okay to steal other people’s clients (wasn’t there one NSD that did that). What happened to the golden rule and sister consultants.
“My Mom on the other hand, has given it her all for the last two decades. No matter what she’s tried, she has yet to achieve this mystical success. And we’re talking about a woman who was literally working 12-15 hour days calling people, trying to book parties, going out and warm chatting people, doing the myriad of Mary Kay related things. Didn’t stop there not being food on the table at times.”
Thats the price to pay for been a business owner. If you don’t like the hustle and the grind … then be an employee. Simple! If it didn’t work for her then change the plan, the strategy, the angle.
She was working to many hours! When that happens its most likely that she is not delegating. Get someone to do the follow up. Focus on selling, growing your clientele, hire help… its all part of been in business. Nothing wrong with that. She made the choice to work all those long hours. SHE MADE THE CHOICE!
There are other ways to do business without burning out. Its like putting your hand in the fire. You get burned, it hurts, but don’t put it in AGAIN! Learn from what doesn’t work!
“Yes every business has business expenses. The difference being that my job doesn’t take them out of my wages. I make what I make regardless of whether the copier exploded and needed replacing or if we just needed more paper.”
Exactly. You are an employee. Who pays for the broken copier? The owner!! That’s called business expenses and “shit happen”. Can’t take it? Don’t be an entrepreneur. Don’t own a business. Simple!
“Also I’m amused to see you follow the school of Mary Kay IBC’s who says it’s okay to steal other people’s clients (wasn’t there one NSD that did that). What happened to the golden rule and sister consultants.”
No. You got me all wrong. This is how I DID IT: I asked if they have a beauty consultant. If she says that she did, i will tell her to go to her consultant. If she refuses … hello!!! Why stay in a bad relationship? You go where you are treated with love, respect and attention. If you are not getting that from your Beauty Consultant, FIND ANOTHER ONE. End of story!
“Why didn’t I continue? I was young and did’d know what I was doing. I just did it with passion and it sonehow worked!!’ Calling you out on this statement. Just like all MK people you’ve lied by omission.”
Shit happen. I was young. Full of energy but with the wrong mindset.
How did i know i was successful even with the wrong mindset? I made money… I felt great… My team was growing… And i stopped selling my body on the streets. That IS success. Complaining and blaming? That is failure. Been 100% responsible? That is successful.
What is wrong with been 40 and doing something at 23?
Back then tgat is what i wanted to do. Then i moved to Puerto Rico and my priorities changed. So what?
But one thing that I dont do is the blaming and passing responsibility to others. Thats failure!
OWN your failures… And stop living life blaming outside forces because of it. Break the mold and lead others to do it too.
Not complaining. The people you love are watching your actions. Blaming others is not the best way to set tge example.
Wether you lije it or not… Wetger you kaugh at me or not … Is not about Pink Truth. Its 100% Full Responsibility Truth.
Well in our case, the “unit” (MLM in general and Mary Kay specifically) is screwed. We on Pink Truth feel it’s our RESPONSIBILITY to “break the mold” of these barely legal pyramid schemes and truly empower women to think and see for themselves, rather than just looking at life with pink blinders on.”
You guys are not breaking any molds. You guys are blaming others for your lack of success in a company. Stop that crap already.
I’ve never been in an MLM – I’ve always had one of those nasty J.O.B.s in Corporate America where the paycheck and the benefits arrive with utterly boring predictability. I’ve been having a lot of fun breaking MLMs down since someone tried to warm chat me several years ago.
The odds of success are stacked heavily against the participants. It’s the MLM business model to move money up the pyramid from the many at the bottom to the few at the top. Keep reading – several “successful” SDs have given breakdowns of their income and expenses. Despite having a lot of cash flowing in, they has so much flowing out they were not making any spendable money.
I analysed data from Mary Kay directors’ newsletters, giving them every possible break, using the estimates about expenses from the NSDs’ training materials and other statements … it was an eye opener. Only 119 of the 26,279 consultants (0.45%) were selling enough to equal or exceed the take-home pay of someone who works 40 hours a week as a minimum-wage cashier at a convenience store.
http://lazygardens.blogspot.com/2015/09/mary-kay-home-business-opportunity-or.html
I take responsibility too. It was embarrassing to realize that I purchased product and then the company changed the products immediately afterwards. Seemed to happen a lot. My SD wanted us to do make up on brides without any real training. She was good at recruiting but not make up. Also no matter where I tried to advertise I either wasn’t allowed or no one was interested. I did make a few sales and only bought what I could sell. I did see other women who did not have the mental capabilities and they had basements full of yellowed products. My SD seemed to recruit those on welfare and convince them to spend some of their grocery money on MK. The best thing that could have happened was that I got seriously ill. I could no longer sell and I had young children to care for. The company and my SD did not care that I was sick. I visited corp and my illness and inability to sell did not matter to them. This story of empowering women certainly didn’t apply when our health fails. Taking responsibility means warning other women about our own experiences. Maybe in the 1960’s or 1970’s this mlm worked. Nowadays there is too much water under the bridge and a few NSD’s who’ve left in disgrace.
Same story. You are blaming others for your lack of success in a company.
This model is pretty simple:
You buy a product at wholesale and you sell it at retail for a profit. Simple!
If your SD wasn’t the best, go out there and find yourself someone that care and if you don’t find someone … go on and become an SD and care with all your heart! Simple.
But please … stop blaming others. That SD is who she is. You can’t change that. What you can change is your belief system that keeps you stuck in a life of regret.
Move on. There is no one to save. Just save yourself from the words that you keep repeating to yourself, “this person or that person”. That’s not personal responsibility.
“You buy a product at wholesale and you sell it at retail for a profit. Simple!”
Well that’s great. Providing you have customers. Providing your customers aren’t then recruited. Providing your market isn’t already saturated.
Oh and then you have all the extra stuff you have to throw in to get people to buy the stuff. The freebies, the discounts, gas to get there, miscellaneous little expenses like product trays and cotton swabs and gift baskets. That all gets deducted from your profit. And if after that you’ve averaged out over minimum wage on your parties or event or whatever then I will be surprised.
I probably made more when I worked fast food.
First, those of us that really studied and understood the marketing plan know that you can’t change Directors as this person advises.
Secondly, one of the best things I did take from my years in MK was that we should never take advice from someone who hasn’t been in our shoes or who’d we not gladly exchange places with. This person admitted said she was never a Director, admits to being a prostitute at one time in her life, and calls herself an atheist while exclaiming “Jesus!” in her replies.
I don’t know about you, but I self-funded my bachelors degree, worked 1-2 jobs nearly full-time hours during college, and I’ve no desire to hear advice from someone that chose to be a prostitute or acts as unladylike as this person. As we Directors, who clearly worked the business and weren’t early quitters like she, taught our units…”NEXT!”
You see what your problem is …
My past choices bother you because you cant take that you tried and failed.
I made my choices … I have failed … And there is no one to blame.
But you?
A failure who do not accept it.
I dont have to be a lady to someone who judges that i was a prostitue. Thats called life and there are many more out there lost. You dont help …
You pass judgement and you know why?
Because you judge yourself by your failures.
I dont care if you self funded your education .. You are not special in that sense.
You failed? Great! Get up, take full responsibility and prove others that you are better than that.
Unbelievable. I get sick. Can’t sell the products. Can’t change directors because Corp won’t let me and you say take responsibility. Take responsibility for getting too sick to sell product. Nice. I think you are still selling product and PT is interfering with your sales. I doubt if you actually did make any real sales. You certainly used women and treated them like numbers. As I said I took responsibility, got sick, focused on my health and had no choice to quit MK and return products. I was absolutely delighted when I found PT and could tell others to avoid brainwashed women like you. Let’s keep shouting. Take responsibility. Take responsibility to everyone. Yes that solves everything. Whatever you do don’t ever get sick. If you get “Cancer”…take responsibility and sell those amazing MK products from your chemo bed… Diana told me to take responsibility. I am to blame for surviving being sick and not selling the MK products. Small children to care for…Diana says who cares…take responsibility…sell MK and who cares about children. By the way Diana…getting a new director doesn’t work because corp won’t let you. Yes…all my fault Diana…wow…no empathy from you and that’s why this mlm MK is great for you. No one is even allowed to get sick …their getting sick is their fault.
“Unbelievable. I get sick. Can’t sell the products. Can’t change directors because Corp won’t let me and you say take responsibility. Take responsibility for getting too sick to sell product. ”
If you got sick and couldn’t sell products and had to leave the company then that is ok Cindylu. Nothing wrong with that. You have to take care of your health.
“Nice. I think you are still selling product and PT is interfering with your sales. I doubt if you actually did make any real sales. ”
I don’t sell Mary Kay anymore.
“You certainly used women and treated them like numbers. ”
That is where you got it wrong. I love people and i love helping people. But you won’t know that because you don’t know me so you cant say “certainly” if you dont me.
“As I said I took responsibility, got sick, focused on my health and had no choice to quit MK and return products.”
That is great! Nothing wrong with that.
“I was absolutely delighted when I found PT and could tell others to avoid brainwashed women like you.”
What does getting sick have to do with brainwashing women? Is it because you allow your director to brainwash you? If that is the case … then you are not a victim.
“Let’s keep shouting. Take responsibility. Take responsibility to everyone. Yes that solves everything.”
That is a great mantra to live by.
“Whatever you do don’t ever get sick. If you get “Cancer”…take responsibility and sell those amazing MK products from your chemo bed… Diana told me to take responsibility. I am to blame for surviving being sick and not selling the MK products.”
You got it twisted here. If you are sick why continue selling Mary Kay? Get healthy! That should be your number #1 priority!
“Small children to care for…Diana says who cares…take responsibility…sell MK and who cares about children. ”
Your taking things out of context. READ all my comments.
“By the way Diana… getting a new director doesn’t work because corp won’t let you. ”
You dont have to sign up with a new one. Go to another unit. So what if your recruiting director keeps the commissions. That shouldn’t be the focus. If you are sick then take care of yourself. But if you are not sick, to hell if you couldn’t drop your director. Just find an adopting director. Simple!
“Yes…all my fault Diana…wow…no empathy from you and that’s why this mlm MK is great for you. No one is even allowed to get sick …their getting sick is their fault.”
You got me all wrong! If you get sick, take care of your health. It should be your first priority. If your director sucks get an adopting director who cares and believes in helping others. Simple!
“Move on. There is no one to save. ”
Oh yes – there are all those people who were sucked in by the same lies that can be helped to the exit.
‘Why didn’t I continue? I was young and did’d know what I was doing. I just did it with passion and it sonehow worked!!’
Calling you out on this statement.
Just like all MK people you’ve lied by omission.
It worked? Oh I get it! You worked the scam with passion and were very successful!
‘I was young. Although I had success … my mindset was not right.’
Calling you out on those statements too.
If your mindset wasn’t right then how do you know you were successful!
Oh! Got it, you were successful working the scam but you felt guilty, so you quit.
So ‘didn’t know what I was doing, somehow it worked even though my mindset wasn’t right!?
and you call that is successful?
It is clear to all of us here, I can’t help for laughing, you don’t know what you are talking about.
One more thing. You are 40 now and you did mary kay when you were 23.
Whose leg do you thinking your pulling. Not ours.
Diana keeps telling us we need to take responsibility. I admire her tenacity to rise above the bad things that happened to her in the past, but I’m sure she would agree that moving on without warning others going down the same path would be irresponsible. At least I hope she would want to warn others about avoiding some of the choices she made in her past. I believe warning people about things that harm them is a responsible thing to do. We know that’s what we do here. Apparently the truths of our experiences aren’t relevant to Diana, so we should just move on and not warn others about the pitfalls of MLMs. No amount of facts or personal stories will dissuade her from her conclusions about us.
No .. You got me all wrong.
Some people here think that the company is completely evil, that all NSD’s are evil and that all prey on others.
I don’t do that.
In this website i have called a liar, that i prey on others AND judged for been a prostitute by someone tgat thinks that by getting a bachelis she is smarter, wiser and have God’s kingdom by tge hand.
I dont care what you were. I care about the now because your past doesnt define you.
Take full responsibility and warn others of the mistakes YOU MADE.
If someone asks for my opinion about starting MK, i will say: take it easy, invest slowly, watch your finances and work hard.
But if you come to this website to blame an outside force (the company, the director, the product, etc) then you are not taking full responsibility.
I was writing from my cell phone so many typos. I am waiting for the “Write Police” to define me based on my writing.
“No amount of facts or personal stories will dissuade her from her conclusions about us.”
This comment is interesting. I have place anyone of you on a box and I am NOT the enemy here.
The real enemy is believing that an outside source is responsible.
Let me tell you a quick story:
I lived in North Carolina. Young. I was doing Mary Kay but like i said. I was not right in my mind, so i met a man online who promised me a future. I told him that I didn’t want a man. He said not to worry. That I should move with him and he will help me.
A total stranger!
I packed my bags and drove for almost 3 days to Los Angeles, Ca. All by myself. There, this man after a couple of days wanted to sleep with me. I said no and hell started. Very dark place I was in. Mindset and physically wise.
Now that I look back I see this as a great lesson. It taught me to think before I act. To put my shit on a balance to see if what I am about to do haves consequences and benefits.
I don’t blame the dude who my life a living hell. Everything I went through passed and I am better for it.
Take for example my 3 brothers:
One is an alcoholic and the other 2 are drug addicts.
Ask them why are they like that and they will blame someone or something (my dad hit me, my mom didn’t love me, nobody gave me a change and i was not loved).
Ask me and my answer is: Because I was not loved, and my dad hit me and we were so poor, I MADE the decision to rise above that. It took me a while to find myself and feel comfortable in my skin and to start loving myself more but since I can remember, i have always take FULL RESPONSIBILITY.
This gal is really kind of fun. Poke her and she spews. Now she’s starting to curse at us too.
Ah cursing… The mark of a limited vocabulary, and a lack of self-control.
She knows nothing about us, but she can already tell we’re all the same. We’re just a bunch of irresponsible whiners, and by golly she’s going to set us all straight!
I’ve seen more Mary Kay scripted zingers tossed at us in one afternoon than we’ve gotten in months. But here, at least, we recognize those zingers for what they are: blame-the-victim lies.
Sweet Diana, in case you haven’t figured it out, I’m laughing at you. You’ve proven nothing here except how arrogantly self-righteous you are.
But you go ahead and keep doing that. I could use some more good laughs tonight.
“Ah cursing… The mark of a limited vocabulary, and a lack of self-control.”
Tell that to Tony Robbins who is worth $480 million dollars and curses a lot! Please stop the drama. You are not smarter than me just because I curse or have a limited vocabulary. Do you know Spanish? If not … then you have a limited vocabulary.
Let me say in Spanish…
No tomas responsabilidad de tu vida y culpas a los demás por eso. Madura!
“She knows nothing about us, but she can already tell we’re all the same. We’re just a bunch of irresponsible whiners, and by golly she’s going to set us all straight!”
And you know nothing of me. And yes … you are a whiner. Simple.
“blame-the-victim lies”
The truth hurts. It really is difficult to accept the truth that you are responsible for you life. Not outside forces. Now if you live in the third world county and couldn’t get out … then I might consider your story. But you? With two legs, two arms, oxigen to breath, a mouth to blame others and fingers to point others instead of been responsible? No thank you. Grow up.
“Sweet Diana, in case you haven’t figured it out, I’m laughing at you. You’ve proven nothing here except how arrogantly self-righteous you are.”
It doesn’t matter. Your laugh or your cries don’t affect me, MLM Radar. You don’t add or substract. This is a public forum and I have all the rights to say what I want just like you guys do!
“But you go ahead and keep doing that. I could use some more good laughs tonight.”
I hope I made you laugh with this. Want more? Tell me.
Diana … Tome las ventas reportadas por Mary Kay corporativa y se dividen por el número de IBC que tienen activa. Miles de millones en ventas suena impresionante hasta que empiece a dividir ese pastel en miles y miles de rodajas.
It’s a rebanada delgada … muy delgada.
Ese no es el punto. El punto es tomar responsabilidad personal. Simple!
Con tanta gente, claro que al partir la tajada es mas chica para cada uno.
Pero si vendo, me. ENFOCO y tengo disciplina diaria, puedo generar dinero.
Esto de las ventas no es para todo el mundo. Simple!
Hi Diana…I am the one who went to corp about my director. They didn’t care. I found another 2 directors. They too didn’t care. You see they weren’t getting commissions and sadly they didn’t care about me. When I got well enough I found better and better jobs. A few years later I got sick again. I got a pay raise back pay, visits to the hospital and flowers. Some of those co workers are still my friends. In MK I got shunned. No one cared that I was sick. As to Tony Robbins…yes he is worth 480 million. He also lost his first few millions and had to sell bogus tapes and go on bogus motivational conferences. I once went to one of his conferences and he was manic as usual and was all about himself. Anthony talked about one of his charities but when asked how we could help, he didn’t respond. He is lucky he started his business 35 years ago before the internet. My niece recently started with an mlm business. She couldn’t make sales because no one anymore believes in: MK, Tupperware, Amway, Scentsy, Pampered Chef, Stella and Dot, Avon, Weekender, Cutco etc. We have been to those horrid make up & Jewelry parties 30 years ago and we now know those pyramid schemes are a joke. You say take responsibility. So you Diana take responsibility for pretending to be an expert on mlm & MK. You were only 23 and that was decades ago before the internet. Take responsibility Diana for judging me when MK would NOT let me change directors. Take responsibility Diana for pretending you are an expert in knowing about MK in the year 2016 when you haven’t sold MK for 17 years. Take responsibility Diana for pretending women are to blame for not being able to sell MK in Dallas, New Jersey, California, or in the areas with dozens of Directors or NSD’s. Also why would any woman in my area sell MK when our NSD and our top directors live in tiny houses. These are the same Top directors who claim to be millionaires. I took responsibility after I got sick. I went where I made money and my co workers cared. I had time for my children and eventually great benefits. In MK I was shunned for getting sick. Take responsibility Diana for defending a mlm that shuns sick women who leave. As to languages I have learned 3 others. I know this isn’t easy for you. However, be responsible as a human being Diana for recognizing that 17 years later MK is being run by men who are focused on profit, profit, profit. Yes corporate America takes advantage of women for profit. Those women at least get minimum wage. Diana take responsibility for blaming consultants for buying products and then the company changes the product line. Thank you for blaming me when I had just bought old products. Diana…you have not sold MK in 17 years and yet you scream take responsibility for this MK company that makes things so difficult today in 2016, not 20 years ago. Take responsibility for pretending to be an expert in MK.
You dont understand…
Business basics are the same anywhere in any company in the world.
You buy something for a price and you sell It higher to make a profit. What is so dificult to understand about that?
No directors wanted to help? Send them to hell and move on.
I am still in sales for my own home business. Same rules apply. I buy facebooks ads … A lot of people click … Out of those numbers i look for the one that i honestly can help and i sell the service at a higher price than the ads expenditure.
Simple!
If you had people that didnt care … Such is life! Get used to it!
Move on. Look for better pastures, leave Mary Kay… Nothing wrong with that.
But to tell me that your results where because of an outside force… That is NOT taking full responsibility.
Diana,
I went to your website and since I read, write and speak Spanish & 4 other languages as well I decided to see what your about……… that being said my conclusion is this ………….. you yourself started a scam selling people bogus ideas and other crap so in my opinion you are no better than any other MLM. In fact I think you created your own MLM and of course you wouldn’t like what is being said here on Pink Truth because that hurts your business……… you are NOT an expert on Mary Kay as you only had a very limited experience with it…… since you were NEVER a Director then you don’t know how directors are taught…….. You don’t know the ugly side of Mary Kay because you didn’t stick around long enough to become part of the “top 2%” so stop telling everyone to “TAKE RESPONSIBILITY” until you have walked in our high heels!!!! And in spanish let me say ” no me hodas!!”
Yeah yeah. Keep believing your own story.
You dont even know the service i offer. Go to dianafontanez.com/testimonios and read all the wonderful testimonials i have for serving others.
You guys attack me in my speech, my business, my past choices. I have been called a liar and a scam.
I have just said that tge only way to live a life of no regret is by taking full responsibility. There were no guns involved in the MK business. Stop the drama!
Hello Diana.
First, I’d like to acknowledge a few of the things you’ve mentioned over the myriad posts.
You were raped as a child. I am so sorry that happened to you. It was not right, and is not your fault. Your philosophy of putting the past in the past is an admirable one, but only when not taken to extremes. I hope that you received help for the traumas that you endured. If you haven’t, I hope you one day seek out that help.
You said you were a prostitute. Again, many times this course of life is chosen for a person, rather than by the person. Prostitution, in itself, is not evil. Abuse is, however. You obviously attach bad connotations to your experience, and I again hope you have gotten some sort of help in dealing with them. Trauma is trauma, and never deserved.
As a fellow atheist, I personally find your overuse of a taboo religious epithet rude. I am a a former sailor and I have the unique ability to dive deep into vulgar language, but it is disrespectful and unprofessional to do so. Slinging around language like that gives off the impression of a lower intellect, regardless of what may actually be the case. Just a tip for the future, considering you’ve said you are a professional business coach.
Now, to get into the point of my post. I come from a less emotional background than a lot of the ladies here, because I have not been personally traumatized (see that word again?) by the predatory practices of the general MLM structure, or of Mary Kay in particular. My analysis here is logical.
You have said that in order to make a Mary Kay independent contractor outfit work, you must simply buy at wholesale, and sell at a profit, because that is what entrepreneurs do.
Well, let me back you up a bit, because this statement is far to simple and broad to actually provide relevant advice.
An entrepreneur is a person who has the desire to enter a market and an idea that might have the potential to take market share. Now, there are a lot – and I mean, a LOT – of very successful entrepreneurs. Yet for every success, there are dozens of failures. Most entrepreneurs have suffered failures and closures before hitting their groove. Most entrepreneurs never actually succeed.
A successful entrepreneur is a problem solver. He or she keeps tabs on their industry of choice, the competition, and the customer base. Before even entering the market, she does what is known as market research.
Market research answers three basic questions.
Who is the incumbent competitor?
The competitor in the market already, that is. In this case, it would be Sephora, MAC, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, and Mary Kay, because Mary Kay has no defined territories.
What is my target consumer?
Mary Kay tries to market itself to the younger twenty-somethings, but if I recall correctly the actual market is women older than 40. Also, MKI itself targets stay-at-home-moms and those who are under-educated and under-employed, such as the poor and the first generation immigrants. The consultants rarely engage in market research, so they end up targeting the same people that MKI targets because those people are their contemporaries, which only perpetuates the cycle of financial trauma. As it has been said by many a consultant, “Do you have a pulse and skin? Then Mary Kay is for you!”
All told, that strategy is unfocused and vague. It does not lead to a good ability to move product.
What does my target consumer want in my industry’s product?
People who use skincare and makeup tend to buy from many brands at once. If they get it from big box stores, they probably don’t want to go through a long engagement to receive their items – they want to get bread, milk, and eggs, and pick up a lipstick in pharmacy before they check out.
If they go to a place like Sephora or MAC, they are consumers of a higher grade of product than MK can compete with, and MK cannot make inroads into that market with their current model and retail strategy, as well as product quality and reputation.
An entrepreneur is not a contractor to a single organization. Business 101 will tell you that keeping your supplier lines diverse is the best way to be able to anticipate and react to fluctuations in the market. Someone who opens a small town beauty shop with products from multiple beauty manufacturers is an entrepreneur. A person who signs an exclusivity agreement and sells the single product via strict methods that they are not allowed to change AT ALL is not an entrepreneur. They are a contracted reseller. They don’t have a boss, sure, but they also don’t own their business when the agreement is weighted very heavily in the favor of the manufacturer and can be revoked with little warning or reason.
Wholesale is defined as the price paid for a product, taking into account only the materials used and the overhead required to manufacture it. This is not true in Mary Kay, as the wholesale price also includes commission markups that you never actually see on your invoices.
In other words, Mary Kay retails a product to its consultants, because they make a profit above the margin that they would if they were truly engaging in wholesale.
You must also take into account the demand of your customers. If there is no demand, then there is no marketability. What people are discovering is that they have ordered a large amount of product while not having the onhand demand to justify it. Why would they do that?
Because the mentorship that is offered is telling them to. In any industry, we all look to mentors to show us techniques and best practices. When a person’s mentor has a direct gain from convincing their mentee (downline) to make a large purchase, that is a conflict of interest. Because of the personal nature of the customer pool in MLMs, it is very hard to divorce business from personal life, and a personal friend or relative has a lot of social capital to leverage to convince their downline to spend money.
This compounds into an abuse of that social capital. A contractor for MK is far more likely to convince a friend or relative to join in on the scheme and then perpetuate it because of the sway they hold. Did someone hold a gun to their head? Of course not. But there is the manipulation at play here, and you don’t have to have a threat to your life to be compelled to take actions contrary to your interests.
You said that everyone needs to take responsibility. Good advice. The thing is, you cannot take responsibility for being the victim of savvy manipulation. Remember, as someone who has also suffered abuse, you tend to not think the same way when you are actively being harmed. Many abuse survivors (myself included) internalize the abuse and then normalize it, and then excuse it. And then some people project judgment onto others – “If you didn’t say no, then you obviously wanted it.”, “If you kept ordering even when it was the wrong choice, that’s your fault”, “I never told my downline to order more, but the ones who did are winners while the ones who stopped were losers.”
People who are vulnerable to this manipulation are typically desperate to keep the so-called ‘friends’ who make them feel so welcome and understood. For so many people, the price of buying that camaraderie for $600 a month is worth it – otherwise, they would be alone again. It creates a codependency that maps right along with domestic abusers. In other words, as long as the target is doing what is expected, they are praised. When they cease being led, they are shunned.
So, let me close by saying that though I have more to say on the subject, I am getting ready for an interview in the morning and must run. But please, reconsider the idea that people who have been manipulated are responsible for that manipulation.
Best,
Skeptical Frog
You make a great point.
Others here? Attack me for my life choices and make fun of the way people dress.
I have been through a lot of shit and i dont make fun of people.
Ive been at my business for 10 years.
My success is simple: you want something you go get it.
No need to nanipulate. The right person with the right mindset will come as ling as i do publicity.
I apologize to anyone who felt attacked by my comments. I had no intention of causing harm.
The problem here? Most think they are doing a service by warning others but on this same pos, they make fun of another person. They mock the way Gloria Mayfield dresses.
That is not a service! Its like the group of friends i had…
They will get together at 7 pm everynight to make fun of others like their lives where perfect.
If you guys truly want to make a great service, get rid of the bad apples and MAYBE the market will take notice.
The way it is now it seems like a bunch of whiners.
Diana, Diana, Diana,
Your defense of MK is sick. No one needs to take responsibility for the lies they were told or the decisions they made based on those lies. Despite that, I see many women on this site taking responsibility for getting involved and staying involved. People like you are part of the problem. You are promoting a scam in which almost no one makes money, and you want to pretend it’s all their fault. It’s not the consultant’s fault when they’ve been conned into a non-business by women who profit from their participation. Get over yourself.
I am not defending MK. I can care less for that company.
I care about a person who makes a mistake (which is normal) and blames it on another person.
THAT is crazy!
I suffered so much in my life Tracy. I am successful now for taking FULL responsibility. Simple!
Diana – I think your work here is done. You have shown that you have no ability to understand the truth behind MK: It is a grand scam foisted upon women. You fell for it, so much that you still defend the company. We get it. You think this is a real business and if you just work hard enough, you can succeed. We know the truth. 99% of participants in MLM fail because it is not a real business. The products are nearly impossible to sell for a profit, and the only way you “make money” is by recruiting women and getting them to buy inventory that they have almost no chance of profiting from. Therefore, no matter how hard they work, they will never succeed. They have better odds of making money at a craps table in Las Vegas. Best of luck to you.
Tracy, it is really a shame that Diana spent so much time playing with you and the rest of the Volasa Raptors on this professional victim site. That was a huge exercise in futility.
I came across this site while searching Gloria Mayfield Banks on Google. I saw a YouTube video of an interview with her and Eric Worre.
I am not now or have I ever been with Mary Kay. But you see, this is not about Mary Kay.
This is about a full-on attack on the entire industry of network marketing and direct sales. It’s an attack on an industry that is dominated by 80% women. God forbid that women should be given an opportunity to get ahead in life instead of being held back and down by a male-dominated business model where the CEO’s of corporations are still mostly males and the lowest echelons are still women.
The barrier of entry is low compared to a traditional business which in my experience has as much or more probability of failing. I have run both traditional businesses as well as direct sales businesses and they both require skills, time, effort, persistence and belief.
Oh Donna – This site is about education, not about being professional victims. More than 99% of people who get involved in MLM lose money. That’s not a business, that’s a scam. I’m here to educate people.
MLM doesn’t help women get ahead. It does the opposite. You’ve bought into their lie, and that’s a shame.
I’m happy to be female, but you really come across as an angry, bitter woman. The kind NO ONE wants to hire or promote.
Wow.
You’re defending the entire Direct Sales industry. Can you name five Direct Sales companies that don’t prey on their sales force? Four? Can you even name three or two?
The Direct Selling Association (DSA) membership list names 130+ companies as members. Every one of them is a known predator. Every. Single. One.
“God forbid that women should be given an opportunity to get ahead in life instead of being held back and down by a male-dominated business model where the CEO’s of corporations are still mostly males and the lowest echelons are still women.”
Have you seen the upper management of Mary Kay? Pretty heavy on the Y-chromosomes.
Just so you know, the term is veloci-raptors, not Volasa Raptors.
Your insults will be more effective if people know what you’re talking about.
Never, truly never, have I ever seen such ignorance of correct spelling and usage as amongst the Mary Kay documents DISTRIBUTED by the Not So Hot Director people. I am not even referencing grammar, JUST SPELLING AND USAGE OF WORDS! And in the OFFICIAL PROMO MATERIALS though not with the prevalence as these ”leaders” are spreading around. And it is so true as I read just a few moments ago about how those who ”succeed” are only ”successful” because of a LACK OF CONSCIENCE aka sociopaths, formerly known as psychopaths.
Their grammar, attire, hair, and makeup are horrendous. It’s one of the reasons I was embarrassed to be a part of MK and got out.
This reminds me of a text comment my daughter made about some homemade soup – “It has cabasa in it!” Cute 🙂 On the other hand, I have spent years innoculating my two daughters against MLM’s. They know that they are ripoffs and entirely predatory against women. So, one of my jobs is done.