- 12 Apr 2004
Hi Ruthy,
It sounds as if you are most interested in an objective assessment of potential profitability, much less concerned with MK corporate culture/ethics/practices; so, below are two views on the profitability question, copied and pasted here in their entirety, as found on another MK forum:
The first comment also references the "husband issue;" the second addresses some additional matters that may be of little or no consequence to you, but, as it was posted by a CPA, it may be worth reading for that reason alone;
= begin c&p text =
1)
My poor husband stood by me and funded my losing Mary Kay business for over a year. He kept asking when I was planning on actually making a profit. After doing our taxes he told me that MK had cost our family over $3500. Plus I was doing facials and classes every week and paying for babysitting or leaving them with him at night.
If you are considering doing this business, let me break it down to you: 1. The numbers (dollar amounts you should make if you work say 20 hrs per week) that your recruiter gives your are inflated, not conservative. Ask to see her personal weekly performance sheets for the past three months.
2. For every $100 in sales you make... $50 went towards paying for your inventory you just sold $10 went to pay for the section 2 items (samples) $10 went to pay for the babysitter (more or less) $5-10 went to pay for the free goodies "thank you's" to the hostess That leaves you with about $20 in your pocket. You must pay income taxes for that $20.
Your director would say "Golly, that's $20 you didn't have before! You are getting paid $20 an hour!!! Buy more inventory!!!"
What my husband said was "That's $20 to find a susceptible stranger, convince her to give you a phone number, call her during dinner like a telemarketer, get her to let you come in her door, spend an hour giving a free facial where she may or may not purchase anything, then drive back to your place. That's a lot of time and effort for $20!!"
2)
I can understand what everyone is saying about MK, claiming that all the tools are in the box, but I used to be in it, and I think there is more to it than that.
Mary Kay prays on people that are not business savvy at all. I am a CPA, and I was bored with my job, and I did it for the tax write offs. But I also attended the seminars, and listened to the ** they were trying to push.
For one, my director was a ***** liar. Two, they do not run the place like a business. The seminars are so disorganized, they come running after you asking you if you actually paid. The cosmetics are **. I've been buying make up all my life, and never have the containers actually break before the product ran out. When I got my 90% refund, it was more like 50%. When you order the product, it is amazing how the stuff does not come inventoried so you can actually calculate the amount you get back. They give you a bunch of "free product" that you did not ask for. I would rather take the money back.
Oh, and this is the funniest one. They like to tell you are in business for yourself, but then they hound you about what to wear, badgering people to wear a skirt to their stupid meetings. The meetings are usually after work, and I work in the city. I wear pants on that day, just so if I have to run to my car, in a dark parking garage, I can do so wearing pants, not a skirt. The stupid directors got on my case about wearing pants. (Even though it was a business suit)
They tell people they are making a profit, but then I had to educate my director, showing her on paper, that the BEST you could ever hope for is to break even, given the suggested prices. You can only make money by tormenting other people to be in it with you. Very unsophisticated.
The training is also a joke, and just a bunch of badly made up women, trying to pawn off more product for you to buy, and they "train" you to sell the product they have by telling you to give it away. Discounting is a known business practice, but usually that goes for businesses that sell the stuff wholesale. MK is already making a profit off the women they claim to help. Training people to give it away, only amounts to lost profits.
The people I see high up in MK are so badly made up. What is up with that!!! How come they badger people to wear skirts, and they do not badger the directors to get a professional make up job!!! It is ridiculous how clownish some people look. I can spot a MK woman from a mile away.
That is what I do not like about MK. It is such a joke. Anyone associated with that group, immediately loses any credibility they once had as a person. And if people are making a living at this **, that is just a living they have thrown away, had they taken that same effort, and actually put it into something worth while.
= end c&p text =
Don't know if the above will be helpful, and your first thought might be that, since both views are negative, this presents a skewed picture; the problem was, I couldn't find a positive assessment of potential (or actual) profitability posted by anyone who is not "selling" the opportunity, therefore none (that I found) could be considered truly objective. If I find such, will post here.
best of luck to you.
Ruthy, Mary Kay is all in what you make of it. It works if you do. For some women, the business comes easy. For others, such as myself, I've had to work a little harder at it, but I have not ever, and will not ever, give up. I am not pushy, but persistent. If you have a bad attitude (like the info. in the above post), of course it will not work. The comment about Mary Kay women losing credibility because they are part of the sales force is so untrue. My husband, & others who are close to me, have seen a major change in my attitude, determination & people skills over the past 3 years.
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