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As a self-employed business woman, I've been a "target" for many MLM groups, and have learned to be discerning. It was revealing when an old friend from my past was reintroduced to me years after she'd become a Mary Kay Director. As much as I'd looked forward to catching up on our lives, our families, our interests, all she focused on during our reunion meal was recruiting me! I felt redirected many times during our meeting, being steered back to how much money she was making, how much money I could make with Mary Key. My point? Her inability to connect with me on any other level other than this big pink playing field was so sad that MK lost credibililty for me. I saw before me a woman who'd lost balance and perspective on Life, so steeped in her sole agenda of recruiting others that nothing else mattered. I would say to anyone joining any MLM organization: do you need to lose yourself to be successful and happy? Can you do the work well and remember who you are, without becoming what you are expected to be by the organization?


EllenStetson web search for EllenStetson - 03 Oct 2004

Ihadanincrediblysimilarexperience.doc (I had an incredibly similar experience)

I had an incredibly similar experience.

An old friend, that I looked up, wanted to get together. We had a falling out years ago, but at one time she was my very best friend. I, too, am an owner of a small service corporation.

The first thing she did was talk about her Mary Kay web site, she was excited about it. Then, we went to dinner and all I heard about was her ‘Mary Kay business’. I found myself suspicious immediately, because that term didn’t sit well with me, it felt like she was comparing my owning a corporation, no matter how small, to her ‘business’ I was not offended, but the red flag was flying high.

Who had her convinced that she had all this control and profit potential in her business. She didn’t understand she said, how MK made any money. Considering operating expenses and they pay fifty percent. Well, let me tell you, my concern for her allowed me to go to a MK meeting brunch with her, but my curiosity was limited to operations interest. How did they run independent contractors through the company, how did they compensate to keep track of them? Did they have (admittedly unenforceable) non-compete agreements for people to sign? I use independent contractors, so I asked a lot of questions.

And you know what? Ask some very specific business questions, personal tax liability questions, how much money they want for different services and within what period of time. You don’t have to dig very deep to figure out how MK makes money, it’s selling services and products to it’s consultants. Not just actual product inventory, though that’s part of it. They sell marketing tools and other services and products that may have some theoretical value or even actual value if you know what to buy and why.

As you can imagine, I made the district people rather…uncomfortable. Ask the consultants, how much they have actually ‘invested’ in their ‘business’ vs. how much they have actually made. And I’m here to tell you, MK makes at least a good portion of it’s income by coming up with new services and sales ‘helps’ to include their consultants in.

That said, there may very well be some income potential if you keep your investment low and work it as carefully as you would a business. Don’t pay for direct mailing ‘help’ until you calculate the potential value and cost savings of having them do that for you, vs. you stamping your own envelopes. That sort of thing.

But I think, that MK gets to people with little to no business experience and knowledge and plays up the need for additional products and services. I think they have two sides to their profits, actual product sales and sales to consultants of products and services, it would be fascinating to read the financials broken down by what those areas pull in. The other thing, was the pressure to ‘join’ was almost insulting. And to play up the ‘status’ of owning your own business. Well, anyone who buys into that perspective of the ‘easy’ route to riches by owning a business had never owned one. Trust me on that.

What I related to in this other person’s experience, is that to this day (this was several months ago) we can’t have a moment together as friends without MK and why I should join being part of the conversation. I’ve received e-mails from my old friend so focused on why I MUST join MK, that I wonder if they are form letters written and sold to her by MK for profit. It’s almost like she has been taken over by a mindset, so focused on MK and using any contact, any friend, any chance to get someone into it, that she has been borderline rude to me when I’ve asked not to talk about it. Followed by this odd, unnaturally sweet and considerate approach that turns out to be yet another attempt to recruit me. It may be the perfect thing, for the right person. But it’s disheartening to find an old friend, and discover she’s been ‘altered’ by MK.


Mary SR web search for Mary SR - 16 Oct 2004

Loved this quote: "Can you do the work well and remember who you are, without becoming what you are expected to be by the organization?"

THAT is exactly what I feel is wrong with Mary Kay: assimilation.
LyndaLucas web search for LyndaLucas - 13 Jan 2005

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 Ihadanincrediblysimilarexperience.doc view update 24576 14 Oct 2004 - 00:00 MarySR web search for MarySR I had an incredibly simmilar experience
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