Real Entrepreneurs vs Mary Kay
I love it when Mary Kay sales directors and national sales directors admit that the scam they’re running has nothing to do with the real business world! They just prove my point for me!
What???? I’m saying that being a Mary Kay consultant isn’t a real business? No kidding! Of course that’s what I’m saying.
A document from a Mary Kay NSD went through all the ways that MK is so much better than a real business. But with her document, my point is proven for me. She even goes so far as to call this “Mary Kay vs. Real Life.” Here are a few of my favorite excerpts from the nonsense, with my comments in italics…
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Entrepreneurs need a team of people that they pay for various services: advertising department, graphic artists, website administrators, etc.
Mary Kay provides us with all the tools: PCP, our Personal Web Site, Research & Development, Marketing Placement, Medical Relations, etc.
Mary Kay consultants pay for PCP and the websites. MK doesn’t “provide” these things, they’re paid for by consultants. They’re also encouraged to pay for office help. Mary Kay does some advertising and marketing, but the market is so saturated with desperate consultants, that you’re unlikely to receive any tangible benefits from these.
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Entrepreneurs have to go to the bank and borrow anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000 or more to get their business off the ground. And if their business doesn’t work out, they lose everything they put in.
We borrow a maximum of $5,000 to start our business,including stocking our “store.” And if it doesn’t work out, Mary Kay gives us a 90% buy-back guarantee!
Consultants and Directors routinely put more than $5,000 into Mary Kay, and I’ve seen plenty of women NOT get their 90% back because of time limits. Your director will lie and mislead in the hope that you won’t return your inventory, and once your time is up, that inventory is stuck on your shelf no matter what. Consultants incur plenty of costs that can never be recovered (postage, travel, event fees, supplies, etc), and billing MK as a “no risk” or “low risk” venture is beyond dishonest.
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Entrepreneurs pay for every piece of training they get – to the tune of $1500 to $5000 per “must attend” event or conference.
Mary Kay consultants get weekly training for free. Company events such as Career Conference and Seminar cost less than $250 (and we get brand new product to cover part of the cost!)
No Mary Kay events are free. Ever. Consultants pay for meetings, guest events, and any sort of “training” events you can think of. MK conferences and Seminar are a waste of time and money. There is very little real training, unless you count recycling the same tired scripts and stalking suggestions. These events are not for your benefit… they are for the benefit of MK and your upline who want you to recruit. Stay home and shake your pom-poms for free!
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Entrepreneurs often work on an “Accounts Receivable” model where they get paid 30 to 90 days after delivering their products.
We have no Accounts Receivable – we get paid the moment we deliver our product (and we have an instant 50% profit)!
You have virtually no sales, so there is nothing to receive. And even when Mary Kay consultants do sell a little, they do NOT have a 50% profit. Not even close.
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Entrepreneurs work extremely long hours to get their businesses started up – and have no weekends, no days off, no vacation and no breaks. They need to understand that they will not see very much of their family during start-up.
We hold three classes a week (approximately 10 hours per week) to have a very profitable business. We work our business around our family and can still take vacations and days off.
Ha! Mary Kay hours can be just as long, and time away from the family is just as bad if you are trying to “move up” in MK. And exactly who is holding those three classes? Most everyone is too busy stalking people who don’t want to hold classes, and recruiting those few who do, so in the end there are no product sales and the only income is from recruiting women who buy inventory.The reality is that sales directors work 40 to 60 hours per week to earn $15,000 to $25,000 per year. That’s minimum wage (or less).
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Most entrepreneurs will not see a profit for 2 to 4 years (if their business survives). They may have to work a full-time job while starting their own business (which equals carrying two fulltime jobs).
With correct money management, a new consultant can see a profit her first month in business and definitely in her first year.
More than 99% of Mary Kay consultants will never profit one thin dime from Mary Kay. Ever.
Misrepresentations in recruiting literature…. how they abound in Mary Kay.
Visit the
6:00 am. On a beach vacation. That’s what time I was working because a customer simply NEEDED her Day Solution right this very minute. And don’t even think about vacationing in June at risk of being shunned forevermore for your lack of dedication!
Save it with the 10 hours and be your own boss. In this “business,” you’re always working and every customer and recruit is your boss. And, as Tracy points out, if you’re making anything, it’s less than minimum wage.
This comparison is silly on its face. There is nothing entrepreneurial about becoming a sales rep for an MLM company. You are doing the exact same thing as tens if not hundreds of thousands of others.
You also can’t compare MLM to franchising. Franchise companies provide territorial protection to the franchisee to protect them from internal competition. MLMs, meanwhile, are famous for having more salespeople than the number of regular outside customers.
Lastly, the cash flow. In regular businesses, cash flow comes from outside customers. In MLMs like Mary Kay, cash flow comes primarily from the inside…from the pockets of the sales force.
This is a lie … “Entrepreneurs pay for every piece of training they get – to the tune of $1500 to $5000 per “must attend” event or conference.” There is plenty of free advice on the Internet, from government sources and private companies, about business practices, promotion, website building, etc.
Real entrepreneurs are free to market their business any way they please. Mary Kay consultants and directors have restrictions because it is not their business, it’s Mary Kay Corporate’s business and you follow their rules or risk being terminated (fired!). A real entrepreneur who creates a skincare and cosmetic line can patent their product. Mary Kay already owns the patents on their products so you cannot repackage them and sell them as yours.
Mary Kay consultants and directors are simply sales representatives for a very large corporation who recruit more sales representatives for their corporation. There is nothing entrepreneurial about it.
“Company events such as Career Conference and Seminar cost less than $250 (and we get brand new product to cover part of the cost!)”
Well, sure, if you don’t count the cost of hotels, meals, transportation (airfare, gas, cabs, Uber, etc.), child care/pet boarding, additional events like Area Awards Night, etc. None of those accept payment in brand new product.
Im pretty sure they’ve severely limited the Free product you receive at seminar ~ and I don’t believe free products are given at Career conference anymore.. the hotels are usually done by blocks with each NSD reserving rooms for her area… and the rate is maybe $10 less than what someone off the street pays…but don’t worry, the hotel will add in those security deposits for each guest each night…charge that up front and have up to 7 days to refund… real economical for consultants who aren’t prepared for the surprise charges upon arrival at seminar~ Omni used to charge $50 a night per guest in the room… on top of $330 a night… although it was attached to the convention center.. that was the only plus of staying there..and if you’re in a national area, you don’t get to pick where you stay~ you have to stay in your national’s block…you have to pay for the banquet even if you don’t want to eat the crappy food… it’s quite the racket.. all so the national can have her banquet room and directors meeting room…