No Executive Income in This Mary Kay Area
Today I’m ranting again about the lack of the “executive income” in Mary Kay. Oh, I know the arguments by the Kaybots…. but what if women really don’t WANT to make an executive income.
I heard so many women recruited with the promise of executive income and I heard so many women in Mary Kay talking about wanting to make an executive income… that I believe there are many, many women in Mary Kay who would like to be able to do it!
The fact is, almost no one is making that executive income. If they say they are, they’re probably lying.
You could pick any national area and do this kind of exercise. So that’s exactly what I did. There are currently 21 directors in the area. And the top 10 provide some very interesting information. I took the commission and year-to-date personal retail orders through January (the last month that was posted) to see how much these women are making.
Any time I criticize the low commissions earned by most of the directors, I’m told that they’re selling zillions of dollars of products to supplement that. Well, here’s the (un)proof.
Below are the numbers for the area.
Based on the results for the area, I’ve calculated annual commissions for the top ten. I’ve subtracted 35% for unit expenses that must be paid out of that commission. Frankly, I almost always see the unit expenses eating up 40% to 60% of the commission checks, but just to play it safe, I’ve used an even smaller number (35%) to estimate expenses.
Then we’ve got the product sales. The number 3 director is always tops in personal retail ordered, and I do think she sells most of her products. But even as “smokin” as she is, she’ll only profit about $22k from product sales this year… if she keeps her expenses very low and sells everything at full price (to net her a profit of 40% on the product sales).
You’ll also see that a couple of directors (including the top one) have a figure of $11k for retail orders with a star next to them. That’s because they’re not even in the top ten for sales, and the most they could have ordered based upon #10 on the retail order list, is about $11k. Wow… they’re really “working their personal business,” aren’t they? That’s about $350 a week in retail sales.
Add up the profit from commission and the profit from product sales, and you see that the top dog makes only about $42,000 per year. The next best sales director is #3, making $39k per year. I find that hilarious because #3 always brags about how she can stay home with her kids and make an executive income. This director gives the impression of being very ethical and working Mary Kay “the right way. ” How sad that the truth behind the claim of “executive income,” is that she has been lying all along and not earning the executive income she claims.
Notice that bottom 3 of the 10 on this chart are making only $20k per year as a director. And there are 11 more directors in the area who are making even less than that.
Hello!!!! 14 directors out of 21 in an area (67%) are making $20k or less per year as a Mary Kay director. And while this is a small area, I don’t think the statistics for the larger areas are any better. They may have more directors, but I bet 67% of the directors in those areas are also making $20k or less per year.
How pathetic.
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Even if “MK Math” is used, the top earner is only at $72k for the year – still not executive income!
That is definitely sad. I’m in a MLM that doesn’t have any of the problems stated that Mary Kay has. Our earners are making great money. I couldn’t imagine doing all of that purchasing and only bringing on 30-40K a month. Contact me for a better way.
Yes, Christi, your MLM has all the same problems as MK. All MLMs are the same.
And get the hell out of here with recruiting on this site. No one is contacting you for your $5 jewelry scam.
A “no inventory” MLM isn’t a better MLM. They just use an alternate route to empty your wallet.
Anytime your success and advancement is based on building a pyramid shaped down line of buyers, each of whom also has to build a pyramid of buyers, and each of the recruit’s recruits also has to build a pyramid of buyers, you have an unsustainable system. You will lose.
Typically a “no inventory” MLM requires subscription purchases: you and your down line together have to buy a minimum quota of products, and if your down line doesn’t the company sticks you with the bill.
Thanks Christi for highlighting why this fraudulent method has been able to dupe so many people for so long AND even multiple times.
“I’m in a MLM” – You are not “in” an MLM. You are an MLMer committing the act of MLMing aka endless-chain recruiting aka pyramid scheming. This is a fraudulent method which always has the same definition no matter which company uses it, and no matter where you do it.
Selling things at full price. Yeah — right. Some stuff never sells and most everything else you have to put “on sale” somehow, so you can make even just a tiny profit — very rarely the full 50%. UGH!
Why would anyone pay full price for MK? So many ‘sisters’ are your competition and they all need to move product at ANY price just to keep food on the table. So very sad.
The many costs incurred within MK are simply NOT worth it. I saw a local NSD’s house decades ago and it was no better than my own home. So much for the so called NSD millionaire after the 1990’s. Now there are business cards, web sites and other advertising. When doing facials the products used mean a loss in profits. Then the cost of returning products many decide they don’t want. The open house including decorations, coffee, tea etc. are a waste of time. Those limited items at Christmas and the men’s products are a huge waste. The final insult is when I became a new consultant and months later the entire product line changed and I was stuck with stuff I hadn’t even had a chance to sell. For decades the few customers out there have known they never ever have to buy at full price.
And now every Consultant is going to be stuck with TimeWise and Miracle Sets that are going to be outdated.
I know…I feel like I am scaling my business down just in time. Now that we know the entire TimeWise line is eventually going to be repackaged to match the new Miracle Set 3D, why would I keep replenishing the current packaging on my shelf?
And once customers find out a new formula is coming, why would they want to purchase the old stuff? It’s a lose-lose situation. And not one ounce of TimeWise is worth its cost compared to what I’ve worn elsewhere.
No offense and I’m being genuine, but I don’t understand your post. Have you not read the articles on this site?
-You know that MLMing isn’t a business, right?
-You know that “you” have already purchased the sets – as the real customer. Whether you are able to double retail it matters not to MK.
Seriously, I’m confused. Surely you are not supporting a pyramid scheme that exploits women?