Getting Real About the Losing Proposition of Mary Kay
In the last year or so, we have seen a number of “top directors” in Mary Kay quit the company. Whether it was by choice (voluntarily quitting) or by force (getting kicked out by MK), the common denominator seems to be starting some sort of “coaching” business or trying to be a social media influencer.
Women like Kelly Brock are now trying to sell their services to MLM participants. And it makes sense because that’s where all of their contacts are.
But I’m wondering when they’ll get real about what a loser of a “business” Mary Kay is?
Let’s think about this. After almost 10 years in Mary Kay, Kelly’s income was stagnant at about $8,000 per month (before subtracting any business expenses). She was pushing toward NSD, and like almost every big shot director who blathers about their “future area” that will become a reality this year or next year, she made no sustainable headway toward that the last several years.
Kelly knows the truth: Almost no one becomes an NSD. (Only half of those who get to million dollar unit club are going to get to NSD.) Even if you do become an NSD, you have a 46% chance of not even making $10,000 per month.
And so Kelly Brock left Mary Kay to start her personal coaching business, currently selling primarily to MLM participants.
Her goal is to make $15,000 per month (#8 below), which is nearly double her Mary Kay income. 
I can’t help but think she saw the writing on the wall. Not only did she see that her MK career was at a standstill and her chances of making big money as a NSD were slim, she may have also understood that Mary Kay Inc. is struggling financially.
And yet… her new business is STILL unethical because she will not be honest with MLM participants that this is a loser of a business. That’s it’s not really a business at all. But that even if it is a business, you still have almost no chance of making that executive income they brag about.
Kelly cannot tell this truth because her coaching business relies on MLM participants. If she was truthful about MK, she’d have no coaching clients, would she? So basically she has gone from one unethical business to another, all in the name of helping and uplifting women. When will Kelly (and the other “coaches” who left MK) get real with the people they’re supposed to be helping?
Visit the 
I know personally, having never “made it” past red jacket, my stomach becomes paralyzed when I travel back to West Virginia and someone inevitably asks “You still doing mk? Did you ever get that free car?”
I hate that question because people don’t typically want to know why, they just want to know if they can get an old shade of foundation that doesn’t exist anymore, and they remember that you used to really try to find everything on their list of impossible items. You didn’t even seem to care about making a profit because you were willing to drive so far and trade with a director you’d never heard of—Anyone else do this?
From that tiny perspective, I would imagine these nearly NSDs and NSDs feel like their lie is too big to fail. Easier for me, I had nothing except an ugly jacket to show for. I didn’t have cars that I’d driven through my hometown for a decade.
I think they’re so far into denial, they can’t handle the abrupt transition. Aside from having nothing resume worthy for the past ten years, I would think it’s all still too much to process.
Maybe a few of these women will use this as a baby step out of denial. Maybe it will be easier for them to say they realized the coaching business is over saturated, and there’s a lot of work you don’t get paid for, than it was to admit that about mk. I know I used mk products for 6 months after I left as my baby step. For some reason I wasn’t ready to recognize how bad they were. And you know my director wanted me to at least be a customer.
The huge difference of course being that I’m not encouraging others to stay in an mlm. And I didn’t join another mlm or create a coaching business. But I have to admit, I wasn’t in as deep. It’s hard to say what I would have done, especially since I started at 18 and never knew what a normal job felt like in comparison. A part of me feels really bad for these women (once I get past the rage and disgust of their actions). They’re manipulating their own mind, and that’s a whole other mess to crawl out of.
It’s hard to admit you were part of a gigantic con and that you profited from it. It’s also hard to basically wipe out your entire market for your coaching services if you tell them they have no hope.
I’m in WV (northern panhandle) and have seen a pink caddy only once (since I moved back in 2012). So this director from this post was a WV director? Can you say what part of the state she’s from? Just curious.
Wait, I might have misread your comment, you didn’t know this director personally. Sorry about that!
Misread, but no worries! I don’t know where that Director was from. But my up line was in Clarksburg, WV. She always had a pink caddy and missed NSD by a few directors before aging out. Last I checked she only had maybe two.
She’s in Charlotte, NC.
All she knows how to do is to semi-successfully run an MLM scam (never made NSD, remember), so she has to pretend MLM is a genuine opportunity. What else is she going to coach?
Is she still brainwashed and in denial, or just mercenary? It doesn’t speak well of her credentials as a life coach either way.
I bet there was some chatter on the Top Director Trip that made her leave. Her posts look like everything was normal until they got back.
I left Mary Kay about 15 years ago and it still haunts me. When I left Mary Kay, the Director, who is now a consultant, had me stalked and raped by her brother, Tommy. Valerie tried hard to get me to spend money on Mary Kay inventory. She even stood outside my window one night and shouted through the screen, “Buy inventory so I can get some money”. It was frightful. I wrote Mary Kay about Valerie Beck’s behavior and what she had done to me, but corporate never responded. Most Mary Kay consultants and other titles are nothing more than stewardesses that is why there is a high level of unprofessionalism. How can someone who pulls a pop tab for a living understand what it takes to run a business. Valerie Beck lived by the “fake it till you make it” theory. She was a phony from the start. The harder I pulled away from her, the harder she tried to get to me. She followed me wherever i went. Valerie Beck even went into stores and told them she was me. When i found out, i went to the stores and showed them my driver’s license to clear up any confusion. Mary Kay only caused me problems. It is a con and a scam.
I am so sorry Gina. That is the most disturbing thing I have heard to date. I hope you have gotten away from this situation.
Thank you for the kind words. I am still being stalked by Valerie Beck. I left Chicago to get away from her. Even so, I am still having problems. I spent a lot of money on Mary Kay and Valerie Beck would go behind my back and meet with my recruits. After they met her, they dropped out of Mary Kay. One time I was at Valerie Beck’s apartment, I accidentally opened a door I was not supposed to open. To my dismay, tons of Mary Kay product was stacked up to the ceiling. Valerie Beck bought the minimum product, but did not sell it. Her style was all about recruiting and not selling the product.
Recruiting has and always will be the biggest money maker in MK. Few make $100K/year in it, but even fewer sell that much.