Written by Casey

I thank you so much for what you and everyone on your site is doing. I almost fell victim to the pink dream and the promises of earning that cruise, earning that car, or the false promise of working without needing transportation. I had my concerns after my first Trash It night, finding the whole experience fun and surreal at the same time. I have terrible social anxiety and I truly don’t like interacting with strangers.

Yet, somehow… I found myself growing curious, interested, and came out of my shell. Listening to the ‘sales pitch’ about how amazing and wonderful Mary Kay is… the more I began to think about how nice it would be to earn extra income. I had made a decision with my husband to open credit to purchase a new computer. Shortly after that one of my cats forced us down $3k at the start of the year. We knew we could manage it even if things might be tight for a while, but… if I could make money on the side we wouldn’t sacrifice much.

$100 can’t hurt right? It comes with so much product that I could easily sell for profit right? Plus that bonus makes the kit pay for itself, right?

I had questions. Despite the pretty words and pink haze starting to settle over my mind, I felt like something was strange. I think for me it was my ‘free gift’ (which is discontinued product I found out later) because the packaging looked… old to me. So… time passes and I attend another little event. A smaller crowd, but I found myself talking and sharing with strangers with confidence. It was nice, to not feel so bottled up and to share my experiences as a customer at the time. That day I sat down and did an ‘interview.’

I learned about 90% of my money back if I backed out. That I didn’t need to buy inventory, that I didn’t need to ‘put myself out there.’ I was tempted. I had things I wanted to get off my credit to make saving for a house easier. I told her I would talk it over with my husband, hear his thoughts since this is our money that would be going into this. I talked it over with him, shared my thoughts and the concerns I still had, mostly over taxes and that I would have support for getting started on my very own business!

He agreed, but asked instead if I would rather pursue self-publication through Amazon. (Something that I will be pursuing instead and not chasing a pink dream). After thinking it over some more, I decided why not try Mary Kay first? If I only make $25 extra… I only make $25 extra. It would be something and I wouldn’t have goals or pressure to do this while working 40 hr weeks. I could put in an hour or two a night or just 5 hours total for the week AND still work on getting self-published. This would be perfect.

I was invited to a meeting along with a friend who has been there with me from the start of my interactions with MK. She had been considering joining as well, but that morning I announced my decision to join. After all… I could just use social media and a website to build customers right? I sat through the meeting, watching my friend and some strangers do a facial and color thing. Went through the pinning ceremony while being extremely nervous and uncomfortable. I even received a gift from my consultant as thanks for joining.

Then… I was handed a packet. My kit was just ordered that morning. The director wanted to go over it with me the next night and over the phone. I thought this was good because I could review the material, see just what I had gotten myself into. I remember being told to ignore some of the stuff inside this folder which made me cautious. I went home that night, got into the website and started going through the packet.

AND LAUGHED! $30 for the website! $225 I needed to routinely spend in order to ACTUALLY GET MY 50% DISCOUNT. Not to mention $40 for business cards and other such things in a pack. I looked at my husband with panic in my eyes. What did I just do?! I had been told I don’t need inventory, the kit had everything I needed, and they made it seem like the site was offered for free.

I pulled back, confused and feeling like I had stepped into river of pink glass. This was nothing like I had been promised. Then the call. I had my call and listened to everything I was being told and these little goals to set for myself in order to succeed. Everything else I have seen posted on this site was parroted to me. When that call ended… I felt physically ill. I don’t want to call people. It gives me anxiety. Talking to strangers gives me anxiety. I can barely order in a fast food joint or ask a clerk for assistance. There was no way I can book 8 parties in the next 2 weeks. Then inventory! I felt pressured into buying inventory, but I already was thinking to myself… I wait for packages all the time. Product on hand is nice… but not necessary.

Red flags were everywhere in my mind. Feeling a little betrayed… I decided to do a simple search, changing my questions to more accurately reflect my concerns and found you. Unable to sleep with the realization of what that call told me and how to back out now… I spent the entire night reading stories and more from all of you. Boy have I learned a lot.

I told my friend who was still on the fence… run away and don’t look back. I’m just glad I saw the truth before I could get strong armed into buying inventory. My starter kit arrives tomorrow. Undecided if I just want to keep it, toss the materials, and donate the product to women’s shelters or send it back for full refund. Either way… I’m worried now about my information may be used against me to feed the dream for someone else.