Don’t “Burn Your Bridges” for Mary Kay
Written by SuzyQ
Tracy’s Note: This is one of my favorite topics in Mary Kay. Your upline is notorious for telling you to “burn your bridges” so you can be fully committed to Mary Kay. Nowhere in the real professional world would anyone else tell you that. Got a CPA license? No one in their right mind will tell you to let it lapse because of a new career “opportunity.” They’ll tell you to keep it current because you never know when you might need it in the future. But not in May Kay. Common sense and business acumen are thrown out the window in an attempt to make sure you never leave the big pink cult!
As some of you know, I was a non-top director and was in MK for 10 years… had a wildly successful quarter and the rest of my career sort of sucked. I moved up fast because I loved the attention and the trinkets (and my credit score was perfect)… Ended up with 4 MK cars (the last one was towed away in a mildly dramatic manner), 35 some stars (mostly emeralds), and queen’s court of sales (got the ring that a jeweler bought for $50 for the gold, the stones weren’t worth anything.)I used Pink Truth’s form to return my huge inventory so my senior director would not find out (apparently she was hit with a huge chargeback in June of that year, oops, soooooorrrrryyyyy)
Anyway, I was the one who was told to “burn my(professional) bridges” so that I would be successful in MK, and in English that meant nursing and therapist credentials had to go– I had a bunch of initials after my name… I hadn’t kept up with CEU’s for 2 reasons; 1) No access to professional trainings/work and 2) No money for internet courses/conference attendance/time for clinical practice… so my new mantra at my meetings became “I lost 12 initials after my name and gained freedom because of my Mary Kay career” and I actually said that with a convincing smile.
Fast forward a few humbling years… I found Pink Truth (it was called MK Sucks at the time)got out of MK as a result of what I learned, and then found it hard to get a job without my professional credentials,so I was working alongside young college students (I am old) who were thrilled to be making $9.35/hr. I was not thrilled, but I WAS lucky to have a job.
I can’t begin to tell you how many applications I submitted for any job that might pay my bills. I can’t tell you how many times I cried on the phone talking to Raisinberry and Tracy…how did this happen? I thought I was smart? What am I supposed to do? I didn’t get hired because I had too much experience, there was the age thing, people assumed I would move up too quickly, one organization told me I was too smart. It was devastating and frightening. Fast forward again.
Happy ending… I landed the job of my dreams and Tracy sent me a gift card to get some new clothes for the new job, when does that ever happen in real life??? Sigh, what a blessing she has been for me! Anyway,the job is perfect for me… AND through the grace of God and some state legislative changes, hard work, refresher courses, doctoral level classes,and some money (which I have now, who knew???) I will have all of my licenses, registrations and certifications back within 3 months. And truth be told, I will have even more initials after September because job is paying for another level of credentialing.
That is all wonderful and all, happy ending to a typical horrible MK story BUT… I want you all to learn from my experience. The MK career myth is a LIE. That’s all there is to it. There is no good reason to “burn your bridges.” I was lucky, many aren’t. I had support and resources to get through this maze, many don’t. For those of you with professional credentials/licenses/registrations– do whatever it takes to keep them… you know how hard they were to get in the first place.
For those who have decent day jobs, keep them… there is no reason to stop working in the “corporate” world– remember you were told how you could replace your income with MK? It’s not true, because it is not going to be consistent. Trust me on this one. If Mary Kay was capable of producing a consistent executive level income, why would there be a need for quarterly infusions of pink foggery? Why wouldn’t you actually own your business? If having a JOB was so bad, why would people on PT continually write about all expense paid training opportunities that their JOB provides for them? Remember the myth of free training? Just sayin’.
I was paying over $600/month for health insurance when I was in MK. I have a pre-exisitng condition. The $600/month included a $10K deductible. (Ten thousand dollars, OMG.) I am paying $53/month now, with $750.00 deductible, I have a stable income, I get raises, I work with positive people, and I buy my Olay age-defying make-up at WalMart, based on Raisinberry’s expert advice
I want you all to pay attention because I am old and wise… For those of you getting out of MK, please know that it will be OK. There is a grief process as you say goodbye to that dream. Your success is not related to your activity level. MK is MLM and MLM’s exist to prosper those in first. You were not first, you will not prosper.
For those of you thinking about MK. Bad idea. Really. There is no way that the baloney they sell you isn’t past it’s expire date. Read on. Check out the archives on this site. Good stuff there, and remember, those of us who write on this site have nothing to gain. You are able to benefit from our experiences… pass it on.
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Comments (19)
NoMo MK
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All the seminar pics are starting to show up online. Some of my friends are actually deluded enough to think they are going to get a “free” car. I have one friend whose been this for 10 years and she’s still just a director! I wonder what she is truly making now! Hope she is okay!!
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Verity Rose
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Wow. SuzyQ, that was *amazing*. Thank you.
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skeptigal
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Suggesting that women ‘burn their professional bridges’ to have success in Mary Kay is a clear-cut example of the cult-like manipulation and control tactics that are the hallmark of the MK way . To think that this could benefit a person in sales is beyond absurd. This policy only serves to make MK reps more dependent on the Mary Kay scam. If you are a MK rep – even if you’ve only signed on to be a personal use consultant – run. Run far, far away and don’t look back. Don’t be fooled by all the feel-good, rah-rah, we’re -so- positive -and- happy meadow muffins they are trying to serve you.
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Pleiades
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Thanks for this story. I’m glad yours has a happy ending.
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raisinberry
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SuzyQ…you rock and you will always rock! God rewards a heart of gold.
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b0bab0ey
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My wife is a MK Consultant, but I think she’s just now starting to see the light. Of course, that wasn’t until after they had conned her out of thousands of dollars, and now she has boxes of MK everywhere and doesn’t know what to do with them. And she didn’t even get any free costume jewelry that you can get for 25 cent out of a bubblegum machine. Sighs.
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Lazy Gardens
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b0bab0ey … click the tab at the top that says “Retuning inventory” and follow the directions.
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Keyta
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bObabOey—-did she order it less than a year ago? If so, this sight gives directions for doing that. If not, search for an MK liquidator.
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Tracy Neill
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A heart of gold…unbelievable. A whole entire website full of ‘woe is me’.
Incredible.
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TRACY
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No, Tracy. It’s a “whole entire website” full of THE TRUTH about Mary Kay. We’re glad you stopped by, though!
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exIBC78
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Where is the “oh woe is me”? That she has an amazing job now she loves? This article is pointing out that burning bridges is never a good idea. Please give me an example of when it is smart to burn a work bridge or to let your certs expire?
This was an example of one of the things that bothered me about the culture of MK. It went against everything my father taught me.
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Moosemama
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Yeah I’d like to know where the Woe is Me in this story? Considering you are fairly new to MK I know you havnt seen much yet, but you will and when you are ready we will be here, have fun on the pink hamster wheel
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SuzyQ
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Gosh, thanks Tracy! Keep reading and let us know when you finally figure this out. Good times ahead for you.
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Briansmama
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SuzyQ – great story. I’m so glad yours has a happy ending. Funny how they advise you to burn those bridges, but when talking you out of returning your inventory, they strongly advise you NOT to burn your bridges, in case you every want to come back to MK.
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Pinkiu
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Your article reminds me of how grateful for my “now” life. I went on to get my master’s degree in my field and now teach at a university. Just in this past year I was PAID to travel to Hawaii, Washington D.C., and St Louis to present and train others in the field – all expenses paid. I get to turn in all of my business receipts for reimbursement (including mileage) and also get free trips to wonderful cities in our beautiful country.
Since I was in St. Louis this week for my J.O.B. I got to go up the Arch, visit the free museums and enjoy great food. Best of all, I didn’t feel stress one bit or feel guilty that I wasn’t warm stalking. I was proud to share my business/reason for being in the city. People respected me and my reason for being there. In fact, I was invited to be on a local radio show because of my expertise in the field.
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raisinberry
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briansmama…that was brilliant! Yea you wouldn’t want to burn that bridge back into Mary Kay by returning your inventory! Start to finish…MK is nothing but hypocrisy.
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Awakened
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Suzy Q, your story is an inspiration to so many. I am so happy that your dreams are coming true again as you deserve. Mary Kay could never supplement the humanity that has been received here. Tracy was instrumental in helping me when I made my decision to leave MK; she helped me recover 1 1/2 years of the life that I lost with my young son and I am forever grateful to her for helping me in the steps that I needed to take to get my life back. Congratulations to you and best wishes for your future success.
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IWASGULLLIBLE
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Who says this is a negative site!?
This site gives hope, a true reality check and clarity!
I don’t read here everyday but when I get to the point of “maybe I could buy something to help out my friend” or ” I could sign up again and just order for myself”, I come here to remember why I got out….to question myself as to “why am I feeling this way again?”
Reading this article has helped me more than anything. Thank you so much for being vulnerable and sharing, Suzy Q.
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Christine
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I am sooo glad that I found this site. I recently was roped into joining MK. I was completely against it at first (should have listened to my gut) but then I tried the eye primer and I LOVED it. That apparently was all it took for me… (bows head down in shame).
I have been dealing with all these emotions that come from being convinced that you need to buy a huge inventory even though the bottom line is, I CAN’T afford it. I can’t believe that I lugged my husband and kids around while I applied for credit cards today just so I could purchase inventory that in my heart of hearts I know I probably won’t go through. Thank goodness I didn’t get approved immediately for any of the credit cards. I guess that’s one upside to having some dings on my credit rating.
I am also glad that I never started harassing any of my friends or family members. After reading this article it has become very clear to me that it IS NOT worth it!
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