Watching Seminar From a Distance
Written by SuzyQ
I am 19 years out of Mary Kay and I still read and contribute Pink Truth. Pink Truth saved my life as I publicly imploded as a director on the site in 2007.
I am watching the changes to Seminar and it is heart-wrenching. The things that matter haven’t changed… being honest about the fact that MK is a MLM and 90+% of people will lose money, etc. But the usual fanfare of Seminar and the recognition of accomplishments has changed.
The royalty reception used to always include the “fancy” mashed potatoes in a champagne glass and lots of fancy appetizers. (With tall tables and no chairs and nowhere to put your purse.) Jowdy used to do the photography and we were able to view all the photos they took and buy the ones we wanted. (I remember I had at least 3 to choose from for my stage walk.) We could review all the photos from all the seminars and see other women we knew, or women we wanted to emulate.
We either earned lunches or we ate in the cattle call lunchroom. The earned lunches were passable, but always included chicken. If we ate in the cattle call lunchroom it was not uncommon to buy $6 hotdogs and $4 water from the vendors. (That was a lot in 2000!)
There were so many added expenses for Seminar. One year our wanna-be-area had a banquet at the hotel we were staying in. (at our national’s request) We served salad. I mean that is all we served. Salad. That was all we could afford to pay for. As a special touch, we had a horse’s head at the serving table reminiscent of “The Godfather” scene, we had a denim and diamonds theme, and somehow the hotel thought this was an appropriate decoration. The “dinner” was at least $35 for consultants.
When I was attending Seminars, the goal was to have the most ribbons attached to your name tag as possible. The longer the string of ribbons, the better you were. I remember seeing Lisa Allison at a seminar. We debuted as millennium (1999) directors together and she was at my DIQ training. At seminar in 2000, she said she was some super dooper director and had just broken a nail and she was very upset… I didn’t know how to respond and left the room.
I would really like to bring this post to a logical conclusion, but I think about nsd Mary Kay Raynor calling me a “baby Christian” (and retired after 5 years) and Marlys Skillings (former nsd) sent me birthday cards for a least 5 years after I quit, wishing me my best MK year ever, and Amie Gamboian (former nsd) who got honest for once in her life and “retired” after 5 years because the hamster wheel went on and on. And Stacy James who I idolized and until she moved to Oklahoma was local so I attended her events.
And my BFFs forever who are still in Mary Kay, pursuing this stupid goal, and probably going to Seminar this year for the 10th, 20th maybe 30th time. Wasting time, money and self-respect for a dream that will never happen. Ever.
Some things never change. But I’m so happy I got out when I did.
Visit the
I just don’t understand how people who have been in for a long time don’t see how things are getting worse, and not get out themselves. 🤷🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤪
So after spending all of June maxing out credit cards and begging for sales to finish the year, consultants now get to scramble to fund every aspect of this miserable, useless convention. Returning home exhausted to more debt and the requirement to start the whole process over sounds miserable.
Thank you for sharing SuzyQ. Reading these first-hand accounts always amazes me. Having traveled myself for business on and off for decades, how can these ladies think Seminar is anything close to “normal” business travel?
The closest analogy for me would be association gatherings such as Comic Con, auto/boat shows, Consumer Electonics Show or other elective/hobby groups. What does that say about the seriousness of MK as a business?
My guess is Comic Con attendees have a far more satisfying experience than Seminar attendees. They get to stay where they want, see what they want, eat what they want, and interact with people who share their passion but expect nothing from them.
Face it. Mary Kay participation is a very expensive hobby masquerading as a business opportunity. Ladies, try out a Comic Con or Consumer Electronics Show to see what you are missing out on! No one will recruit you or judge you for how you dress!
(And for kicks, watch the movie “Paul” starring Seth Rogan and Simon Pegg to get a glimpse of these passions in the extreme)
OMG, so spot-on Suz! My first Seminar, I was a DIQ and utterly lost in the pink fog. I walked the stage, picked up my first Queen’s Court ring and thought that this company was the best thing for women EVER. All the glitz and glam, the Friends of Time performances, the sneak peeks of new products, the sugar-sharp directors and NSDs who I wanted to emulate. It was a peak experience for me.
Fast forward to my last seminar as a director. It was exhausting, financially draining and just more of the same-old, same-old. I truly believed that I had to project the Mary Kay enthusiasm to my unit and be the “speed of the leader.” But it all felt so pointless. I felt bad for my consultants who spent a muck ton of money to be there just to see the same dog-and-pony show with no useful information to take home with them.
I cannot possibly imagine myself trying to convince anyone to attend Seminar this year while it’s painfully obvious that Mary Kay as we all knew it is circling the drain. When MK goes affiliate – or whatever it’s going to do – it will be devastating to so many.
My ex loved the Consumer Electronics Show and we probably went every year for 15 years, at least. I had (and have) very little interest in computers BUT the Consumer Electronics Show still had a LOT more interesting stuff going on (that I enjoyed) than any MaryKay seminar.
Take a look at all that has changed since I wrote this! It gets worse, much worse. I am with you PP, my first seminar I was a consultant. By my second one I was a director. So wrapped up in everything MK. Makes me sick to think about it . All of these years later PP, I’ll bet we could still recruit someone- we were that good. I am so so SO glad this is coming to the inevitable, messy end. Thank you Tracy, and all of you writers and readers, for your relentless pursuit of the truth!