Mary Kay

[LaLa]

I researched many home business and affiliate opportunities and I found that Mary Kay had the best commissions by a long shot for the new consultant with minimal startup and minimal requirements!

Their website: http://www.marykay.com/

It was about 50% discount, which is fantastic in comparision to many other similar style companies, and the minimum requirement was around $250 in products per year (I assume that was at the disounted rate, so aprox $500 retail? )

This would be a great way to get your products at discount if you were a Mary Kay user.

The downfall for me was that the market is very saturated with Mary Kay reps. It seems like there is one on every street, but with the good commissions and a product that keeps people coming back, there is still good opportunity for growth.

The website a consultant can purchase for minimal cost (I believe it is around $25 a year?)
is just wonderful. It is lovely, easy to navigate, rich in soft colors.
Their media is professional and beatiful. The products are guaranteed to the customers and all and all a very high quality company.

It is a Christian based company with references to God in some of the catalogs, but not in all of them...moreso just a brief reference in the intro to Mary Kay section for new members.
The consultants are asked to wear dresses and to look nice at all times, wear makeup etc, which seems a bit old school to me (the dress part) but makes sense considering they are selling an image with this company.

So my own view (and keep in mind i Have no real experience as I decided not to join after I researched several companies) was that this has great potential, especially if you have a good starting base of friends/family/co-workers/neighbors.
BUT that it will take some work!

I have no idea how career advancement works at MK and I'd love to hear more on that from some of you!

[pageta]

I've been a Mary Kay consultant for 8 1/2 years. As far as the market being saturated, I will say this. Mary Kay has been the best-selling brand of facial skin care and color cosmetics as long as I have been a consultant. However, 9 out of 10 women are using other brands. So the market is by no means saturated. They are coming out with great new products all the time, and I have no problems finding new customers. In fact, if you look at the numbers game most sales people have to play in order to make a sale (how many people you have to talk to, on average), Mary Kay numbers are extremely low. So I don't think the market is saturated at all.

[Boobs]

Another MK consultant here! I'm fairly, but I think it's a great company. Mary Kay Ash designed this company to work for women. The marketing plan is awesome and earning potential is unlimited.

I also don't think you can have too many consultants in one area. My National Director has two daughters and they are both Senior Sales Directors. They all live within a mile of one another in a very rural area in SE Ohio. We're talkin' out in the boonies! To be a director you have to have 30 consultants under you. So that means we have a lot of consultants in an area where the population is quite low. It still works. There are new baby girls born every day!

Anyway, I would recommend the Mary Kay opportunity to anybody who wants to work from home. I'm having a great time and getting a crash course in business management and PR and self-improvement. I'm also learning how to balance my priorities. It's been great so far, without even mentioning the money I've made and recognition I've received.

Tracie (who went to her first MK class when she was a newborn baby)

[martiesmom]

I am a Mary Kay consultant and am pleased to read your remarks about the company. It's pretty much on cue. Mary Kay does have the highest commission for direct marketing oppoutunities. Another advantage of Mary Kay is that you are selling a consumable product, which means that it runs out. Therefore there is a great re-order oppourtunity. In fact last year, I held no parties yet I still made $2,000 in taking reorders.

As far as MK being a Christian based company, they have moved to being more of a faith based company where it's more of a Golden Rule. Mary Kay Inc. has discouraged its consultants to make references to religion. There are plenty of consultants who are not Christian. The mission of Mary Kay is to enrich women's lives. I am proud of being a Mary Kay consultant, especially because of the Mary Kay Ash Charitable foundation which commits itself to fighting all cancers that affect women AND domestic violence. I'm a big fighter for domestic violence awareness, being a former victim.

As far as saturation, I have met so many women who have not even tried Mary Kay. Yet, they've heard of it. Basically as long as there are make-up counters in the department stores, and make-up aisles in drugstores - there are potential MK clients. Also there are no territories in Mary Kay, and you can move the business with you. Advancement is based on team building, but a majority of income is through sales.

It's a lot of fun. I've enjoyed meeting a lot of neat, funny, and interesting women through this oppourtunity.

[IfMamaAintHappy]

I have been a Mary Kay consultant since March of this year, and truthfully, it was the best decision I think I have ever made (outside of breastfeeding and homebirthing of course!).

I meet so many stay at home moms who simply don't think of themselves. They do and do and do and spend and spend and spend for their families, even their friends, but never think of taking the time to do anything that makes them feel pretty, or pampered. I mean, I am still living in the "can't go the bathroom by yourself or get a full night's sleep out of your 18 month old" stage, so I know it's hard to get a moment! I love having the opportunity to spend one on one time with women giving them a facial, making them feel special, and talking about skincare and how much fun doing skincare classes is! Nearly everyone who fills out feedback for me at the end remarks that their favorite part of the facial was the one on one consultation (usually right above the satin hands and satin lips products!). The classes are really fun, I get a wide variety of women from devout Lancome and Estee users to "I've worn makeup twice in my life" ladies. I instruct them in proper skincare, and then we play in makeup! And this is my job!?! It is easy to find women who are interested in trying products, I have only met one other woman out and about in my town filled with MK consultants who have identified themselves as consultants or who are wearing their MK pin, and random people from my town go to my website and place product orders who don't even know me! It does not seem saturated at all to me.

My favorite thing about Mary Kay as a company is the support system. You are in business for yourself but not by yourself. The information to print out or save online from the national sales director and sales director websites is invaulable... invitations, scripts, flyers, placemats, it's all free for us to download and use! Every Tuesday night, I attend a meeting where we spend 1 1/2 hrs in training, and then another 45 minutes to an hour crowing about our sales for the week and getting challenges to complete for the next week.

If you like people, enjoy Mary Kay products, and are willing to learn, then Mary Kay is looking for a woman like you to be a beauty consultant. It's really that simple. For me, the reasons I have enjoyed it so far are: It makes me want to look nicer, dress better, be more active in "real life" activities, it has inspired me to set weekly, monthly, and quarterly personal and financial goals for myself, I have learned how to manage my money for the first time in my life, and to GET ORGANIZED! Of course, I love that Mary Kay is an established company that many women have hard of and already enjoy products from, and that when I have to work away from my family, I am well compensated for my time!

I will let someone else discuss the advancement in the company, but here is a short overview with my just starting out, somewhat limited understanding:

at one team member, you move to senior independent beauty consultant
at 3, you are a star recruiter
at 5 you are a team leader and may qualify to drive a free pontiac vibe if you and your team maintain a certain sales level each month.
at 8 you can choose to move into director in qualification, which means you have 4 months to grow your team from 8 to 30, and you must meet certain sales goals each month in that period to achieve director.
Its also around this point that you can qualify to drive a pontiac grand prix.

Once you are a director, the number of directors under you determines your promotion from director to senior sales director, to executive, to elite executive, to national sales director.

FYI: Of all the people in the United States that make over $100K a year, only ONE percent of them are women. Seventy five percent of that 1% are in Mary Kay Cosmetics.

[momatheart23]

I just joined Mary Kay and although I am new, I also feel it is one of the best decisions I have made(also not surpassing breastfeeding or APing) I went from someone who hasn't worn makeup since highschool to wearing it and loving it, not because I am "painted" which is why I stopped wearing it years ago. There makeup is light and it looks natural. Their skin care products make my skin feel wonderful, and I love taking the time in the morning to "pamper" myself because it makes me feel better all day. I am even losing weight without actually trying, and I think it is because I feel more beautiful so I don't want to put that sugar in to me to feel less depressed. Since it is my job to reach out and talk to other women I am making more friends and meeting a great bunch of women and intoducing them to a great product as well as a great job opportunity. I didn't originally want to do sales because I didn't want to "push" products on my friends and family, but I am finding as I just show them to people and use them myself people are just wanting to get them. I am stopping doing my daycare business because I enjoy this SO much more and can also do it while being home with my kids. I also love all the support their is. I am trained by a great, knowledgable director instead of the woman who recruited me who is new like me. Their motto is "enriching women's lives" and I really think that it is true. The skirt wearing at first seemed old school sexist to me, but I think now it is just about embracing your femininity, and remembering it which for alot of SAHM is lost. I mean Mary Kay was one of the original feminist companies in that it offered a great salary to women without leaving your kids in daycare. She started it because she couldn't stand watching her mom work 14 hour day for 50 cents to every dollar a man was making. I love the statistics that ging-ging said and I will remember them. Mary Kay is all about having it all, your beautiful femininity as well as your own business with unlimited income potential right along with being home with your kids. I feel I will be making enough for my DH to stay home and write like he wants to. So their in no sexism going on here. The more of the products I use, the more I love them too.

[fromscatteredtribe]

lizc,
I totally empathize with the no money to place an order and no alone time to do facials. I am not a single parent but my husbadn works two jobs (one full time and the other 20-40 hours unloading trucks at kohl's on nights and weekends) and we are still declaring bankruptcy. I am the 24-7 parent of four kids 7 and under. I am almost one year without a reorder, but the advantage is in resigning up I will get a new starter kit and the newer products to start classes.

A couple of options I can think of is phone facials (a friend who is DIQ recommended them). Basically you hand out the samples with your kids and then schedule ten minutes on the phone guiding the potential customer through their own facial.

I think if you can find childcare just for the meetings (some people "pay" their babysitters in product) you can meet other consultants (there are other single parents I'm sure) and perhaps you can trade childcare one night a week. I also used to bring guests for facials to the meetings or the special facial nights they would have at the meeting locations. This way you can do more than one facial with just that one night a week.

When you meet others you can do that discouraged by the company swapping, etc, that has helped me through the past year.

just my thoughts. i think MK is far from free money. It takes a lot of determination and organization and hard work.

[Izzybee]

After reading the reviews here and talking to some people I signed up to be a MK consultant. You have to buy $200 worth of products every 3 months to stay active (someone correct me if this is inaccurate). After your first $200 order you are active for a year and you get the 50% off discount. After 3 months, you have to place another $200 order to get the 50% off discount. So unless you are selling their products, YOU are spending $$, not making it. Unless you can really devote some time to it, don't waste your time like I did.
MK products are great, but the whole pyramid scheme is designed so the people at the top are making $$, which I'm sure they deserve, but don't plan on getting rich selling MK products

[fromscatteredtribe]

not to be defensive, because I am not totally into the MK culture, but Mary Kay is SO different than a pyramid scheme that it is a business plan taught by the Harvard Business School for many years. In a pyramid the people at the tope RECEIVE money from the people at the bottom and get a greater discount. In Mary Kay we all get a 50% discount for the month we order and the two months following, and we only ever pay the company directly. any commissions or bonuses earned are paid directly from the company's funds, not the consultant.

Don't get me wrong, you HAVE to work HARD if you want to be a MK millionaire, but if you keep your other costs to a minimum and order only product you know will sell (or trade if you have to) and use your time wisely you can make GOOD profit, better than most companies that sell you wholesale stuff to resell.

good luck, ladies.

[fromscatteredtribe]

the other thing is the inactive part doesn't really mean a whole lot/ after three months you don't get the 50 percent discount until you come up with the 400 wholesale order (costs you 200 plus tax on the whole 400 price and shipping of 7.95 no matter the size of the order...something like that) it can be six or eight months or longer (just not a full year or you have to sign a new agreement for 25 dollars. When you are inactive you can still use the company's website to get updates, go to meetings, gather orders from friends to try to get together a big order, hand out a business card at the park. I never pretend I am totally OUT no matter my status. I think once you DECIDE to really make an effort this should NOT be your goal. SOme people do do the facials and classes in their own homes even with their own children there; i've brought my babe if i had to.

[christianmomof3]

I sell Discovery Toys and was recently invited to a Mary Kay meeting as a guest. I was also given time to share my products as were some other guests there. It was before Christmas and I had done a booth earlier that day and wound up selling some toys that were still in the back of my van! I thought it was neat that they allow other companies to share at their meetings. I was very impressed with the company. They are well run and well planned out. They did a make over on me and the make up made my eyes hurt though - I am very sensitive and it may have been the sunscreen in the base makeup stuff. I usually do not wear makeup, so this is not the company for me, but if I was into skin care and make up, I would choose this company because they seem like a great company to be a rep for!

[BodoGirl]

I've been a MK Consultant for 2.5 years. So far I really love it. You do have to work to make your business grow! But, if things happen and you have to take time off, your customer base you had prior to your 'slow down' should still be consistent on reorders.

I love my business and in fact just got home from Seminar in Dallas 2005. I love it and it actually helped re-energize me to get back into it full-time before my twins come.

Wish me luck!

Peace all!

Christy S inTX
Due Nov 2005
1st time momma to B/G twins

[forty's_wifey]

I have been a MK consultant for about 2 months now, and theres nothing else i love more. My mother and grandmother are both consultants, and my mom is the one who got me into it. I have 4 kids and im 7 months pregnant, and even though i was down about not having time or money, you be surprised how much time i made and how much money i made back. I was upset about investing in it, but i made my money right back. I read the book, Mary Kay book Miracles Happen, and i was so uplifted and encourage and enthusiastic about it, that it made me so confident. That and going to weekly unit meetings. I have found it a great opportunity. And there are 3 consultants living within a couple blocks from me! My moms next door neighbor has a cadillac, and my mom has qualified for the first car already after a year of being a consultant. Every week she getsw pins and jewelry and the prizes are amazing for participating in challenges. I highly recommend MK as a home business.