More Mary Kay slogans… How many times will units hear about how things are “great in 2008” in Mary Kay? And how many times will consultants think they’re the only ones failing to get bookings and failing to sell products?

But here at Pink Truth they can have the truth. They, along with 1.1 million other women will suck wind in Mary Kay in 2008. They and 1.1 million other American women will lose money in Mary Kay. They and 1.1 million other American women will eventually quit Mary Kay, often with a closet full of inventory they have no hope of ever selling.

How do I know that it’s 1.1 million American women? That’s easy.

At the end of 2007, there were about 700,000 women in the U.S. who were Mary Kay consultants or directors. For the last few years, that number has stayed fairly consistent. The actual number may be up (or down!!!), but we won’t know until Mary Kay releases the actual numbers. But it’s pretty safe to say that the consultant count at the end of the year was about 700,000 in the U.S.

Mary Kay admits that 40,000 recruits are signed up each month , for a total of 480,000 new recruits that the company expects during 2008. (We hope to put another big dent in those numbers, but let’s just go with the company’s numbers for now.)

700,000 consultants at the beginning of the year, plus 480,000 consultants recruited throughout the year, equals 1,180,000 American women who will be in Mary Kay at some time during 2008.

About 600 of those women (at most) will make an “executive” income, because they are either a very top director or an NSD. Another 13,000 or so will make a small income as a sales director, with most making about $10,000 to $20,000 for the year, and maybe 500 making something on the order of $40,000 or $50,000 for the year. Then there will be a handful of consultants who will make a small profit from selling products, and that number is probably somewhere around 10,000 consultants.

Add those all up, and you’ve got about 24,000 people in Mary Kay who will earn a profit in 2008.

And the other 1,1 million Mary Kay consultants? They’ll lose money, and about half a million of them will quit in 2008. The other 600,000 or so women will hang around for another year or more, biding their time, maybe hoping that they’ll eventually make some money from Mary Kay.

Why do these 1.1 million American women lose money in Mary Kay? Could it be that they are all lazy losers who didn’t try hard enough or didn’t want to turn a profit? Or could it be that Mary Kay products are overpriced and next to impossible to retail in any volume that will turn a profit? I think we all know the answer.

So will you be one of the half million who decides to cut their losses this year and return their inventory to Mary Kay Inc.?