You Chose to Be Negative
It breaks my heart that all of you ladies have such a sad impression of Mary Kay. One of the things that you all don’t understand is that you don’t make full-time money in Mary Kay unless you have a full-time sales director position.
I know several top consultants personally, and they aren’t working 40 hours per week with their business right now. They have other jobs or are choosing to spend 5 hours per week with their business because that’s how much time they want to set aside. And they’re still making money!
Girlfriend time is one of my favorite parts of Mary Kay. Yes, there are events that we have to pay for, but the reason for that is because there are expenses related to putting on those events. The National isn’t “making money” off of the events by any means. But, if she’s going to plan a dinner for certain consultants who it specific goals, someone has to pay for the food, right? It’s only fair that the consultant attending should pay for the meal and the rental space if she is going to benefit in some way by means of training or other information.
My favorite kind of Mary Kay girlfriend time is when it’s unexpected. This past Christmas, I couldn’t fly back to Indiana to be with my family, and after a very emotional evening, I showed up on my director’s doorstep unannounced on Christmas Eve and she welcomed me with open arms. She could have turned me away and said that she was spending time with her family, but to her, I am “family.” We’ve gone to movies together, had several sushi dinners, and sat for hours just enjoying each other’s company…and this from my ADOPTED sales director who doesn’t gain anything from helping me with my business. (And she has helped me, immensely).
I know my comments are not going to change your opinions of Kim or of Mary Kay. Your comments, however true you may feel they are, do nothing but hurt people’s feelings and spread untrue statements. If you aren’t happy with Mary Kay, fine, own that. But, don’t smear other women because of your own insecurities.
If any of you truly gave your businesses an honest effort and didn’t make excuses, my guess is that you would have been successful. Instead, you chose to be negative and bring other people down with you. How sad. I hope you ladies learn what Mary Kay is really all about someday. Joining this company has been the best decision I’ve ever made in my 27 years on this planet, but that’s me. Best of luck to you all in your future endeavors.
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It breaks my heart that all of you ladies have such a sad impression of Mary Kay.
is that secretly worrying you? That successful directors are pointing out the flaws of the system.
One of the things that you all don’t understand is that you don’t make full-time money in Mary Kay unless you have a full-time sales director position.
Then why is the dream sold as “executive pay for part-time work”?? It can’t be both. 🤷♀️
I know several top consultants personally, and they aren’t working 40 hours per week with their business right now. They have other jobs or are choosing to spend 5 hours per week with their business because that’s how much time they want to set aside.
This is a rather telling piece of information. Admitting that MK isn’t what is keeping these women afloat.
And they’re still making money!
Do you have independent verification of this or are you bee-LIEving them?
Girlfriend time is one of my favorite parts of Mary Kay.
To each their own.
Yes, there are events that we have to pay for, but the reason for that is because there are expenses related to putting on those events.
The National isn’t “making money” off of the events by any means. But, if she’s going to plan a dinner for certain consultants who it specific goals, someone has to pay for the food, right? It’s only fair that the consultant attending should pay for the meal and the rental space if she is going to benefit in some way by means of training or other information.
No, the person making the invitation should be paying. that’s how it works in a real business situation. If, general, you has to pay for something; then most, if not all companies repay you especially if it is in their interest that you gain from the training or information acquired.
My favorite kind of Mary Kay girlfriend time is when it’s unexpected. This past Christmas, I couldn’t fly back to Indiana to be with my family, and after a very emotional evening, I showed up on my director’s doorstep unannounced on Christmas Eve and she welcomed me with open arms.
I’m sorry to hear that.
She could have turned me away and said that she was spending time with her family, but to her, I am “family.”
I had co-workers I would have done that for, it’s called being a decent human being. But I suppose you are the type to praise men for “baby-sitting” their own children.
We’ve gone to movies together, had several sushi dinners, and sat for hours just enjoying each other’s company
So just like lots of co-workers who socialise outside of work. Happens all the time.
…and this from my ADOPTED sales director who doesn’t gain anything from helping me with my business. (And she has helped me, immensely).
Sure, Jan GIF.
I know my comments are not going to change your opinions of Kim or of Mary Kay.
I don’t know who Kim is. But if she is high up in Mary Kay Wagner Rogers Eckman Weaver Louis Miller Hallenbeck Ash’s company, I have already pre-judged her.
Your comments, however true you may feel they are, do nothing but hurt people’s feelings and spread untrue statements.
Showing screen shots of what is being talked about behind the scenes, isn’t spreading untrue statements. It’s showing the rot under the Polished Pink façade of MK. And if our “I stories” hurt people’s feelings, then perhaps they need to look deeply into the Why that is.
If you aren’t happy with Mary Kay, fine, own that. But, don’t smear other women because of your own insecurities.
It has been “owned” frequently. There are no insecurities here.
If any of you truly gave your businesses an honest effort and didn’t make excuses, my guess is that you would have been successful.
If you have read anywhere here, you would see that many of the commentariat were successful by Mary Kay Wagner Rogers Eckman Weaver Louis Miller Hallenbeck Ash’s company’s standards.
Instead, you chose to be negative and bring other people down with you.
Revealing the truth is never negative, unless it impacts some-one else deeply enough to shake the foundations of their belief.
How sad.
The truth is never sad, uncomfortable if you are not used to being confronted by it.
I hope you ladies learn what Mary Kay is really all about someday.
We do now what it is really about. Which is why we see the red flags for what they are as we are not wearing rose coloured glasses.
Joining this company has been the best decision I’ve ever made in my 27 years on this planet, but that’s me.
27 years and you are not an NSD?? Guess your Deserve Level isn’t high enough. I’m sure there is some MK rousing speech I could pull out to encourage you to Name It and Claim It.
Best of luck to you all in your future endeavors.
And to you. I hope you actually read the posts here and discover that there are a great many truths here, loose in the open spaces of the internet to open your eyes a fraction and lead you to discover the real meaning of Mary Kay Wagner Rogers Eckman Weaver Louis Miller Hallenbeck Ash’s company.
“This past Christmas, I couldn’t fly back to Indiana to be with my family, and after a very emotional evening, I showed up on my director’s doorstep unannounced on Christmas Eve and she welcomed me with open arms. She could have turned me away and said that she was spending time with her family, but to her, I am “family.” We’ve gone to movies together, had several sushi dinners, and sat for hours just enjoying each other’s company…and this from my ADOPTED sales director who doesn’t gain anything from helping me with my business. ”
Oh, land of Goshen, so many red flags in one little paragraph.
The most excellent and business-savvy Alison Green, of the Ask a Manager blog, has two relevant pieces of advice here. She advises people to run like the wind from any company that calls itself “a family” because it’s guaranteed they’ll blur the lines between work and personal life, not to mention a big helping of the drah-mah and toxic dynamics a family can bring you. Basically, you never get to disengage, and work takes over your life.
Regarding Mary Kay and in fact all MLM, they WANT that inability to disengage because it keeps you focused on them to the point where you eat, breathe, and live your job 24/7. It promulgates the “us vs. the haters” mentality that you’re showing us here like a giant red baboon butt, and because it makes you easier to control and lessens the likelihood that you’ll listen to criticism. The other cheek of that baboon butt is also nicely on display here.
Second, you CANNOT be friends with your superior at work (or someone who has authority over you in some other capacity, ie teacher/student.) For starters, the power dynamic prevents you from being equals right from the jump. Second, it creates the appearance of favoritism and cronyism – that you’re getting your rewards based on being Bossbabe’s bestie rather than earning them on your own merits. They’re not allowed to show it because “no negativity allowed” but I’ll bet the other consultants are seething with jealousy and resentment towards you because of your relationship with your director. I’m sure her family is already sick of how much time she spends on MK and having to put up with it even on Christmas really stuck in their craw, because they can’t escape it even on holidays.
And if you think this doesn’t benefit your director, adopted or not, I’m Sofia Vergara. It’s reinforcing your loyalty to her so you’ll never believe anything bad about her. It means you’ll always be front and center cheering her on at any unit event (which will drag the others into line, since they can’t be seen being not team players). It means you’ll always be willing to spend more… I mean go above and beyond to support her. It means you’ll always make or exceed production, whether or not you need the stuff, and that’s a valuable asset to her.
HOWEVER, regardless of any personal fondness she might have for you, if you miss production, if you have an emergency or get sick and can’t attend a meeting, you’re going to get a nasty surprise. Loyalty and friendship are transactional in MK. You don’t believe it; don’t want to hear it. Never forget it. Just ask one of the many MK veterans here whose MK “sisters” and “besties” turned on them as soon as they quit drinking the pink Kool-Aid.
I’m sure your heartwrenching story of the lonely waif with nowhere to go on Christmas brings on the sobs at your unit meetings, but all it brings out in me is a question: “Hasn’t she got any friends who aren’t in MK?”
Have you been told you don’t need friends, you’ve got “sisters”? Did you have friends you were convinced not to talk to because they were “negative Nellies”? Did you decide yourself that they were “unsupportive” or otherwise harshing your mellow?
A classic tactic of both abusers and cults is to isolate the target from any outside support who might point out how dysfunctional things are. Their power lies in keeping the target dependent on the abuser/cult and making them tie up their own self image and self worth with that of the abuser/cult. (I’m using target here instead of victim because our correspondent doesn’t see herself as a victim and I”m trying to avoid loaded language.)
You’re 27. You could have 60-70 years ahead of you. Do you want to spend them being someone else’s idea of what they want you to be?
She showed up on someone’s doorstep on Christmas Eve uninvited? Feel like that’s the tip of the iceberg of how far from reality this woman lives.
I took the 27 years comment to mean she’s 27 years old. Not sure how long she’s been in the pink fog.
“If any of you truly gave your businesses an honest effort and didn’t make excuses, my guess is that you would have been successful.”
Dear OP, there is something you are missing about MLM. The loss rates are built into the MK MLM model…there is no way to improve on those. Even if you replaced every consultant in Mary Kay with a clone of the most successful xSD or consultant, the loss rates would be the same. No amount of effort on the part of the down-line can change the loss rates. For every “winner”, there must be many corresponding “losers.” This is a fundamental characteristic of pay-to-play endless-chain recruiting schemes like Mary Kay.
This is why it is impossible to create a profitable down-line in Mary Kay. No matter how hard everyone works, the down-line will spend more than the down-line makes, in aggregate. It is not “negative” to point this out. Rather, it is important to point out the “dishonesty” in claims that Mary Kay provides an ethical business opportunity, in light of the reality that every MK down-line loses money in the aggregate.
Mary Kay could be honest by saying, “Every one of our down-lines loses money…but we have so much fun doing it! Would you like to join us, knowing less than 1% of you will ever make more than you spend on your Mary Kay ‘business’? It’s all about the sisterhood, right?”
That would be honest, but would it meet your requirements for being “positive”? Do you (and Mary Kay) really prefer positivity at the expense of honesty, especially when this positivity serves to hide the very real financial damage done in every Mary Kay down-line?
The endless recruiting ensures that the individual consultant’s “slice of the pie” can’t increase. For every IBC who sells more, one has to sell less. It’s a “zero sum game”. A zero-sum game is a situation where, if one party gains, the other party loses, and the net change in wealth is zero. A real business brings in wealth from outside customers.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/z/zero-sumgame.asp
In fact, those slices are getting smaller and smaller: 1993 “sales” were over $613 million and sales force of 300,000 … which works out to an average of about $2,000 per consultant. The 2017 figures (latest I could quickly find) give $3.7 billion and 2.5 million consultants, for an average of $1480 per consultant. To keep up with inflation it should have been $3300.
Good points LG. To be more specific, MLM is even worse than zero sum. In a naked pyramid scheme, 100% of the “buy in” gets paid out to the participants higher in the pyramid. In MLM, there is product cost that creates a drag on upline cash flow. Only a portion of what goes into the pyramid comes back out, since the Corp MLM is skimming half or more of that revenue from the pyramid cash flow.
Jon Taylor broke down the odds, and naked pyramid schemes produce much, much better payout odds than MLM. He even showed that common casino games like roulette outperform MLM (for the participant). Casinos would love to have the “take” that MLMs are able to sustain. Alas, if there was such a game so blatantly tilted to “the house”, folks would simply not play. Similarly, if the public only knew the poor “odds” in MLM, they would steer clear. But thanks to decades of fine tuning of the misleading marketing pitch, combined with a continous stream of young blood like OP maturing into the marketplace, MLM continues to pay off!
“Girlfriend time is one of my favorite parts of Mary Kay. Yes, there are events that we have to pay for”.
Last week I had Girlfriend time too, there was a FREE yoga class. Cost us nothing, zero no expectations of me or any of my friends paying for another one of us to get something. It’s the craziest thing as I often hang out with friends and it costs all of us NOTHING…
Sadly I don’t think you have the family in MK you think you have.
I’m gonna be real with you. You are only 27 years old and have lots of life ahead of you. Please do not waste your life and potential on this endeavor. Not even “full-time directors” are making livable wages.
Maybe you are like me; I graduated college at the height of the recession, I was underemployed at a golf course and still lived with my parents until I was 27. It’s not too late to start a new life.
Thanks to my now-husband, he pushed me to finally apply to full-time professional positions. It took me a while to build up my confidence, but I did and my lessons working customer service paid off with my first professional job.
Fast forward 10 years; I’m burned out with a job I’d been at for 9 years (different job; I had moved states) and didn’t see a way out. I even contemplated suicide. My husband again encouraged me to find another job because no job is worth losing your life over. Luckily, a job that I was perfectly suited for had an opening but it closed the same day I found it. I went to work, quickly applying as fast as I could; finishing in 1.5 hours. Now I’m in a job I love and enjoy, at a much more supportive and appreciative employer.
It’s never too late to start over. Yes, starting is scary and uncomfortable but it is completely worth it. Be open to the possibilities of a traditional 9-5, where you get a regular wage, health insurance (I was out of health insurance for 4 years), a 401K, and other benefits. I get that this life isn’t for everyone but MLM is not the solution, it will only make things worse. Please give yourself a chance.
I feel like this exact same comment was submitted years ago…
Just as a quick aside regarding consultants paying for “training”. I have worked a lot of retail in my life and have never been expected to pay for training. I’ve also always been paid my wages for training because that’s how businesses work.
The last time I did training our trainer asked us to pick up our own supplies such as a binder, highlighters etc. we were expected to bring our receipt with us for reimbursement which was dispensed the next day.
Employees do not pay for training and must be paid for their time. Same goes for staff meetings, holiday parties (should your company hold them) etc. It is only in MK that I have ever paid for “training”.
MLMs like Mary Kay use common words but with a different meaning. In this case, what they call “training” is more accurately called indoctrination. Having you pay for it is part of setting expectations that you will be paying for everything in Mary Kay. That’s the MLM business model after all!
Get used to it. Mary Kay does not have any other revenue source.