My Decision to Quit MK
Written by Raisinberry
When I quit Mary Kay, it was mostly due to reading Pink Truth, and a validation of finally seeing in print, what I thought I alone suspected, all along. The words we were never able to utter, were plastered all over the comments and articles on these pages. I felt naked and exposed. I was looking at my screen, and seeing “me” in all my denial.
I always loved the women in my unit. I thought the world of them, and still do. Walking away was hard because I thought it would mean I would leave them defenseless. By the time I found Pink truth, I had already stopped the frontloading. I stopped recruiting guests/customers out from under my unit members who hadn’t even made a sale from them yet.
I was taking it slow with my unit. We were talking “selling.” Many directors I knew were saying the same thing. We were going to rebuild everybody’s customer base and offer the opportunity to only those who had already been hostesses, as Mary Kay herself had told us. We stopped the debuts that were really mini guest events, and stopped recruiting our new people’s people before they ever got a chance to hold a class.
We were beginning fresh. And in three months, we were tanking, barely pulling in the minimum wholesale to stay a unit. Eyes wide open, it was decision time for me.
My NSD was right. Production comes from new recruits, frontloaded with as much inventory as their little cards could handle. Anything ordered by existing unit members was extra. Let that sink in… orders from consultants who were selling were generally minimal. Oh sure, a unit here or there has someone who has been around a while and is consistently selling and reordering. But for the most part, directors can’t count on production for existing unit members.
It wasn’t really the production drop that pushed me over the edge when deciding to leave Mary Kay. I built my unit back up many times, but after I found Pink Truth, I couldn’t do it anymore. I knew too much.
Once a person starts reading this site and realizes how much is concealed, how “Positive Mental Attitude” is used to keep everyone in the dark, it just sickens the soul.
I had decided that my upline was just “pink fogged,” as I had been, and not malicious or self serving. I just couldn’t believe that she knew how deceptive Mary Kay really was. She had to be like me, fogged and in denial. Then I found out I was wrong. Wow, was that disappointing.
It is a painful thing to admit that I walked away and left my personal and unit recruits in the hands of a woman who is lying to them and lying to herself.
Once I left Mary Kay, it was is I had fallen into the clutches of the dark side of the force. Too bad. I was such a good Director. So sad. My mind was poisoned by truth.
What is truth? Are we at Pink Truth right, or did we just have many bad examples of the worst kind of behavior? Is Mary Kay right – in that this is just an opportunity and women with poor ethics rise to the top and teach others to do the same? How is that the opportunity’s fault – the company’s fault?
It takes a return to ethics and a long hard look in the mirror to realize that you have looked the other way for your own self serving gains… and maybe preservation. You have slanted the “truth” to accommodate what others may want to hear. You have omitted information to manipulate the perception of your listeners. Truth is truth.
But it’s perspective that decides what you will believe. As long as you won’t look at all the facts, you will live just short of the truth. That’s why Mary Kay and the NSDs and directors do not want you reading this site. You will have a major “perspective” change, and that will change your “truth.”
Mary Kay’s motive is profit. Never forget that. They have decades worth of former consultants and Directors who have attested to the truth we are posting here, and they do not care, nor change, what they do. Their goal is to prevent you from finding us, believing us, because the way things are currently done in Mary Kay, is simply too profitable.
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“Mary Kay’s motive is profit. Never forget that.” For sure, this is the message coming from the company today, to the detriment of the Consultants. Their recent decisions and infamous NSD appointment make all the more obvious, and they will never be able to walk it back.
What do you mean about the NSD appointments? Can you please elaborate?
Seb, I believe the “infamous NSD appointment” is in reference to Jaime Taylor.
Jamie admitted that she finished her national area by her downline sacrificing their profits to place inventory orders they didn’t need.
The real power of Pink Truth is learning that women in Mary Kay lie… about their successes, their income, their lifestyle. Once I realized that I wasn’t just a loser who couldn’t cut it, my perspective changed. Nobody else did very well either. For some (embarrassing) reason, I assumed these directors were honest. It did NOT occur to me that everyone would lie about such a thing. Lying (through words, half truths, etc.) to get people to spend money is the definition of a scammer.
Raisin, this is just so succinctly said. From years on this site, I know your story. However, this is probably the most effect thing you have written about why you left. The matter-of-fact way you wrote this will speak to someone who cannot process this scam any other way. Thank you for taking the time and effort to distill it down to speak to those who need to read it that way.
Another excellent article by Raisinberry.
“Production comes from new recruits, frontloaded with as much inventory as their little cards could handle. Anything ordered by existing unit members was extra.” —
This is the MLM model. Mary Kay is an MLM company. I’ve noticed not many people post on the MLM specific articles. Why?
(Picking brains)
To Raisin: Back then, did you realize MK was MLM? Interestingly, you tried to do it traditionally; and that didn’t work, of course. Thank you for proving this:
As Nay says, there is no way to do MLM ethically and be successful. MLM is inherently flawed as a product resale business for the consultant/MLMer.
Open to anyone: I’m curious: Do ex-consultants subconsciously regard MK as different, better, not like those ‘other’ MLM companies?
– How many ex-consultants here understand the MLM model?
– When sharing about the MK scam, do you include all MLM?
Idk, I feel like there is some disconnect to MLM on here. Maybe it’s just because this is primarily a MK site, and that would be fair enough. But is there something more? Please comment.
“Do ex-consultants subconsciously regard MK as different, better, not like those ‘other’ MLM companies?” Yes. Consciencely. MK had higher “profit” we were told. “We didn’t do…… but….(other mlm) does. We’re not like….(other mlm).
Thank you for answering.
Often they bring up the age of the company, as if 50+ years makes it not an MLM.
And the “godly” image of Mary Kay herself … although if they read her books carefully they would realize she was not a saint.
And the “50% profit” (ignoring that it’s not profit, it’s just a markup from which profit might be squeezed out)
I wonder what they think of Amway? Not an MLM company too? Lol
Do they realize that all MLM companies have their “ gods”? That it is the very nature of MLM to create a hierarchy that is idolized by brainwashed followers. Every MLM company does it. Every.Single.One. So creepy. My favorite: Mark Pentecost, yes Pentecost, of ItWorks.
Gosh I’d love to know the reasoning behind that dislike!
Some of the consultants interviewed on Lularich were totally idolizing the Stidhams. It was worrying how much at times.
When I left MK, at first I did think it was better than other Direct Sales, because of the 50% “profit”. But, I also thought MK really exaggerated how great it was. I realize now they weren’t exaggerating. They were lying. I didn’t hear the term MLM or understand what it meant until I read Pink Truth, which was about a year after I stopped trying to sell MK for personal use.
For a short time I thought I could find the right “opportunity”, something new to my area that wasn’t over-saturated yet. Now, I lump all MLMs together when talking about them. It’s interesting, when I left MK there was a lot less MLMs than there is now & less negative info out there compared to now. I think because of social media.
Raisinprune, your story could have been written by so many, including me. We TRIED to do it honestly and the “right way,” and we found out that we couldn’t. There was no way we could do it the supposed right way.
When I walked away, my horrible senior was somewhat gleeful at the unit members she would gain. (In reality, SHE carried almost all of the unit production as she was/is one of the company’s top “sellers.”) In less than six months, none of my former team/unit were active, and every single one was gone by the end of the year. Here it is – 14 years-ish later – and so many of my SD friends and consultants are out of MK. They fortunately saw the light and walked away.
Lol, on what basis did TWO of our pro-MK lurkers decide to downvote your comment? I see that most every comment here has earned at least one downvote…but how did you manage to be the special princess to garner TWO? You deserve a prize. Let me dig into my Dollar General bag for something with a bee on it.
(Not that you need it Heather, but lurkers might, so here’s the universal “sarcasm font” sign…/s)
Downvoted you so you wouldn’t feel left out.