We Saved Another One!
A note from a reader who almost became a consultant…
Hello, I just found your site today because I’m doing research on Mary Kay. I have a friendly acquaintance who is a consultant and I’ve gone to two of her events as a guest. I’m a housewife so the idea of having the kind of business they present sound appealing. Thankfully I’m a cautious person so I think carefully before committing.
The first time, about 3 months ago, it was a fleeting flirtation with the idea but I’m not the self starting rah-rah kind of gal, so I said ‘no thank you’ to becoming a consultant. This time, just the other night, I am actively looking for a way to make extra money to replenish our savings that got eaten up by a myriad of events this year. It was a serious consideration to me, but only because it sounds better than retail. My husband, the smart man that he is, didn’t think it sounded good when I said I was thinking of looking into it.
I wasn’t overjoyed with the idea because we don’t have the money to buy inventory. I don’t really use the products and I didn’t like the idea of not using what I would be selling. My friend is always exhausted when I see her and she tends to call me when trying to sell product. They are always trying to recruit me and always ask if I want to join which seems a little odd. My friend has a TON of products and I have to wonder how she affords to buy it. I don’t have a fleet of friends and it feels like I’d lose the ones I have if I’m always trying to sell to them. I’m not a pushy sales person and never will be. I’ve seen lots of MLMs fly through my group of friends like a hurricane and this seems very similar.
But I was still thinking about it which is a little insane. The dreams they give are tantalizing ones. So I decided to do what I do best, internet research. I found your site and they confirmed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, all the fears I have about going into this kind of business. And you mentioned several things I hadn’t even thought of. I will not be considering this ‘business’ again. I will be content to work in the bloody mall and actually make money. Thank you very much.
A happily informed reader.
Visit the
🙌 to you for doing your research and finding the dumpster fire behind the pink curtain.
🙌 To everyone who shares their stories here so people like today’s letter writer can avoid getting sucked in.
👎👎 To Mary Kay for still trying to sell this as a fabulous opportunity that does nothing but suck the life out of you.
I am SURE that there are many ladies (who are currently in Mary Kay to varying degrees) who have found this site and are quietly reading these posts, comments, and the boards.
I want to share something with this audience: while we may come across as very snarky and critical of any and everyone who gets involved with MK, it is not our attention to criticize you, your business acumen, your personal convictions, and your personal decisions.
We just want to be here for you and uncover as much as we can about the ways MK and your uplines are abusing you and lying to you. Please, please spend some time here reading posts that are relevant to you and your place in your MK journey.
We hope that here you will find not only the truth, but also a large group of (mostly) women who really do want the best for you. Read as much as you want, when you want, and hopefully you will learn about things that are otherwise hidden from you and how that might affect your life going forward.
We welcome you!
*intention, not attention. Sorry guys, I should’ve proofread better.
I save my snarcasm for the people who deserve it, the NSDs and wannabes, and the Friday Critics.
^ Yes! And since there are so many of them, we nearly have an infinite number of targets to snark on about. I’m right there with ya.
To add to this…I would say folks on this site are not critical of the “person” after all, but their actions. (Sometimes those actions are so egregious that the person needs criticism, such as Monique Anthony). Sadly, MLM can make people do things they would not otherwise do. Long stints in MLM can dampen one’s cringe self-radar to the point the MLMers have no idea how cringeworthy their actions have become (source: social media posts by MLMers).
I have some compassion for folks who fall for the deception initially. But I have disdain for folks who stay in once they understand that their success directly depends on the exploitation of their downline. That includes 100% of Mary Kay NSDs, by the way.
And I just wanted to mention that retail and fast food aren’t your only options for part-time work. Check out Indeed dot com – I saw listings for receptionist, child care, delivery driver, and a whole bunch more. You can filter by type of work and some positions are even remote.
Tutoring is a great part-time Mommy job as well! You can either set up shop on your own or work for a company like Sylvan. A company can be good if you’re just starting out because the curriculum is laid out for you. If you’re pretty confident, it’s easy enough to offer services, the local library can be a good place to start.
I worked for Sylvan a long time ago and it was a good experience. Two of my nieces are helping out with their college by tutoring.
Well done reader for not taking anything at face value. You’ve escaped the pink snare and are better off in the long run.
Well done PT’rs! Keep up the great work! 🙂
Great job in being a partner with your spouse and realizing that this is questionable at best and a scam at worst. I’m glad You didn’t fall for this. Keep reading the blog. Every day I’m learning something new about this scam and how I got sucked in. They have decades of experience in manipulating..