Mary Kay Director Termination
Earlier this month, former Mary Kay lifer Heather Wickstrom spilled the beans on her termination from Mary Kay in 2023. Her whole screed is at the bottom of this post, but the TLDR version is this…
Mary Kay was limiting Heather’s “coaching” business in some way. She says “limitations were placed on my role due to my level of influence.” She initially gave up her directorship, but then the company terminated her all together. Heather says the termination was due to a “misunderstanding.” She found out that she didn’t own her own business.
Now that she’s out of MK, Heather sees the light. Mary Kay is not fair or transparent. But her new MLM, Bellame, is different and wonderful.
If you continue in the comments to Heather’s post, you see that she say that the Mary Kay cars aren’t really free, and she paid a whole lot in taxes on the value of the car. She also says very few people in Mary Kay are making money.
So let me get this straight… Heather she was with MK for 22 years, but still didn’t know that:
- She didn’t own her own business
- The free car isn’t really free
- Almost no one is making money
How interesting that Mary Kay is a scam, and Heather recruited HUNDREDS of women into it over the years, but NOW we should trust her. Believe her when she says that Bellame is different.
Heather moved up fast in Bellame. How do you suppose she did that? Most likely by recruiting a whole bunch of her former Mary Kay unit members. How interesting that long-time (former) director McKenna McWherter now refers to Mary Kay as a cult.
Heather’s Original Post:
After much reflection, I feel it’s time to share my departure/realignment in the beauty industry this last year. My adventure in the beauty industry, especially within the realm of direct sales, has been both enriching and challenging. With over two decades of passion, commitment, and continuous learning (spending thousands on coaching, social selling, mastering reels, captions, and all facets of social media), I’ve grown immensely, both professionally and personally.
My career took an unexpected turn due to what I perceived as inconsistencies within company policies regarding coaching and the use of services. Although I initially received encouragement to pursue coaching, limitations were placed on my role due to my level of influence, leading me to resign from a position I held dear for 22 years. This decision was followed by a termination that felt misaligned with my understanding of our agreement. In other words, they took away my income, my team, and any future earnings I had developed over my 22-year career because I had too much “influence.” I discovered that “YOU” do not own your own business. 🤥
I’ve observed biased practices within the industry that blatantly contradicted the guidelines I was given, with top performers engaging in the sale of high-ticket items and services within the sales force, and even branching into leadership roles in other direct sales companies. This disparity has prompted me to question the fairness and transparency of the policies that led to the termination of my agreement/contract.
Despite the abrupt end to my tenure and the loss of connections and future earnings, it’s provided a clearer vision of my values and the importance of integrity in business. I share this not out of bitterness, but in the hope of fostering a dialogue about transparency, fairness, and support within our industry. It’s a call to those who’ve had similar experiences, and a reminder that our worth is not defined by our circumstances but by our resilience and the clarity of our conscience.
I’ve taken a significant step forward that has brought an incredible sense of fulfillment and alignment with my values. Partnering with Bellame has opened a new chapter for me, one where I truly am the brand, and where the support from the company is palpable in every aspect of the business. I FEEL HEARD. I FEEL VALUED.
Bellame stands out by allowing me the freedom to align with other companies of my choosing, fostering a community of support and empathy from new friends who understand and respect my journey. This supportive environment has propelled me to achieve milestones I never reached in my previous affiliation, including ranking up and earning my first of many incentive trips within just 7 months—a stark contrast to the 22 years without such recognition elsewhere,
What sets Bellame apart is not just the financial opportunities but the comprehensive support system in place from day one. With branded onboarding, an instantly updating back office, and systems designed for success, the transition has been seamless. The community here, my sideline sisters, extends support beyond direct lines, embodying a culture of inclusivity and collective success.<
Bellame’s CEO, Melissa Thompson, is revolutionizing the direct sales industry by eliminating the ‘ick’ factor, replacing it with integrity, transparency, and genuine support. The company takes care of necessities like recognitions, newsletters, and prizes, allowing me more time to focus on what truly matters. With a transparency, integrity, support and amazing compensation plan that generously gives back, I find myself spending less time and money on administrative tasks and outsourcing, and more on engaging in meaningful activities with my family, friends, and traveling.
I’ve never been as excited for what’s ahead. Stay tuned for more to come in 2024, it’s going to be a great year. Want to join me? Drop a ❤️ and I’d love to share how Bellame can fit into your life.
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“Bellame’s CEO, Melissa Thompson, is revolutionizing the direct sales industry by eliminating the ‘ick’ factor, replacing it with integrity, transparency, and genuine support.”
Lipstick on the MLM pig, Heather. At the end of the day, every Bellame downline is losing money in the aggregate, just like in Mary Kay and every other MLM. That’s the source of the “ick” as viewed from outside the MLM.
The reps pay for everything in MLM. That icky MLM smell can never be completely covered up.
Her level of influence lol. She averages 5 likes on an Instagram post and one of those is Heather herself.
Sounds like SD Eno Inoyo.
If you see 10 comments on her post, nine of them will be Eno congratulating herself.
Congratulations to Robbie on her two actual small businesses. I hope they’re both doing well for her.
Robbie is male. He was discouraged with the prizes MK had for males.
I seem to remember he was particularly annoyed with the pink heart and lips sealing wax set because it was A) not manly and B) stupid. And a lot of Kbots, including the ever kind and diplomatic Ellen Bowman Cox (hahahahahahahahahaha!) replied trying to convince him that it was a perfectly wonderful gift, like all company propaganda… I mean gifts.
Shoot, should have checked first. It was a different guy who had no use for the cheapo jewelry and other fripperies. I remembered Ellen correctly, though.
Hahaha that a company that makes products for women and recruits women to shill for them would have prizes for women. Any gentleman who is upset at that should maybe not be in Mary Kay.
Oops! Sorry to Robbie…I’d edit the pronouns if I could. (Shows what happens when I assume!) But the point still stands about his actual small businesses. : )
Trust me now!!!!
Downvote!
She’s been scamming people for 22 years but NOW wants everyone to trust her? The level of cringe in her whole situation is off the charts!
Her meteoric rise is already showing signs of slowing down now that she’s burned through her MK downline and customers. She’s offering the discounts and freebies that are the only way MLM huns can get sales, because the products are way overpriced and nothing to write home about. What’s going to happen when her Bellame career stalls out? The ick factor is still there; she just hasn’t encountered it yet.
The Bellame Comp Plan shows 12 levels. As of August 2023, her upline was gushing over Heather for having “promoted six times in her first month.” I don’t believe anything happened after that. She may have even lost rank.
So, after the initial rush, Heather is likely stuck somewhere in the middle.
She’s like a bottle rocket with Bellame. The pop and fizzle have already happened, and now she’s heading back to earth in a sprinkle of ashes.
And when she moves on from Bellame (as she will), then that *NEXT* fauxpportunity will have all the answers and make everyone sooo rich. 🙄 Sure thing. At what point do you realize you’re continuing to be scammed and that YOU continue to scam.
Isn’t she going to be pushing 60 soon? At what point does she realize she has nothing but debt, stacks of mediocre makeup and a shady reputation to fund her retirement years?
Omg, I totally forgot about this, and I’ll admit that I’m proud of myself given it was Oz. I headed over to BehindMLM today to check Oz’s info on Bellame and remembered his update, quoted below. I must give PT and its contributors credit too because the similarities with MK were driving my comments. I also mentioned PT .com in my comments:
“Update 16th July 2019 – In our original review as published, I mistook Bellame’s “place $300 in retail value orders” as a retail requirement. The best editor I can ask for are my readers. And so after considerable back and forth with Char in the comments below, I came to realize my mistake. Subsequently on July 16th I rewrote a substantial part of the conclusion of this review, specifically the parts that incorrectly referenced Bellame’s retail requirements (there are in fact none). Overall there’s nothing overtly of concern in Bellame’s compensation plan, but it is disappointing to see a missed retail incentive opportunity.”
I don’t agree with his last sentence. Oz tries very hard to remain neutral on MLM…when he can. The fact that you can buy your way into qualification with fake retail is definitively a concern.
No retail requirement to keep your downline? I doubt that. Can someone confirm one way or the other?
I’m confused by the question.
Wait, are you referring to this: …specifically the parts that incorrectly referenced Bellame’s retail requirements (there are in fact none).
He deems “retail” as sales to non-affiliate customers, gave them full credit for that, and that’s where he was confused in his original review. He did not understand that the quoted “retail credit/value”, like in MK, can also mean that the affiliate can order the products herself, and it gets counted as retail, fake retail.
The quote above is him saying there are no bonafide retail sales to real retail non-affiliate customers required.
Is that what you meant?
Yes I was referencing that. “There are in fact none.” That could be interpreted two ways. Either there are no requirements. Or there are no retail sales.
My bad for not providing enough context initially. Not my downvote.
So when we say things we’re just haters, but when she says things it’s a revelation. Even though they’re the same things. Hm. Funny.
Yes, funny, isn’t it?
AND ANOTHER THING. Now that she’s realized how shady Mary Kay is, will she apologize to the thousands of women she duped into it over her 22 years with the company???
she’s reaching out to them now…. to recruit them into her new “opportunity” as a way to apologize AND give them the financial freedom they were promised by her.
Bellame retail prices are obscene. A Bellame lip liner will cost you $21.00, plus $12.95 flat-rate shipping, plus tax.
Of course, it’s not about the products. CEO Melissa Thompson is a veteran of Direct Sales companies, including — as I saw on the ‘net — “…Avon, Shaklee, Belcorp, Stella and Dot, and others.” Her husband is Scott Thompson: “Founder Scott Thompson has his own career specialties, including digital marketing, technology and entrepreneurship.”
A match made in MLM heaven.
Ick.