Mary Kay Opinion – Bre Garcia
I am currently active in Mary Kay and have been for almost 2 years. While I enjoy looking through your site for the stories of why people have gotten out of Mary Kay and made my job so much easier, I also find it entertaining to see your take on things.
It’s all about perception, not deception. More of, glass half full, half empty really. If you are willing to WORK, if you are really ready to run a BUSINESS, then you’ll probably be ready to succeed. However, if you would rather WORK for someone ELSE, and answer to someone else, and let someone else take responsibility for everything that you do, then you are ready to make someone ELSE successful.
To the consultants that have stopped selling, I say thank you. It makes my job much easier.
Bre Garcia
Lipstick on 
Ann on 
Brooke on 
Tam on 
Haha, I quit MK but I still sell it. So does Ebay. So does Craigslist, and on and on. And my wallet was the half empty item, not my glass. MK recruits women on the premise that they will only have to work as much as they want or as much as they can and still make $$, not on the premise that it’s a real business. Unless the person being recruited wants that of course. The “business” talk is saved for the initial inventory purchase pressure-cooker, er, I mean meeting. Please check in every 5 yrs. and let us know how your MK flopportunity is doing! Hugs and Smooches, and PS: you shouldn’t hand out your full name online.
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“if you would rather WORK for someone ELSE, and answer to someone else, and let someone else take responsibility for everything that you do, then you are ready to make someone ELSE successful.”
Ugh, you are working for someone ELSE, MARY KAY CORPORATE. You don’t “own your own business” or you could sell it.
You answer to someone else, your SD & MKC;
let someone else take responsibility for everything that you do, – well, your recruiter is making $ off of what you do;
make someone ELSE successful – your recruiter went up a notch when you signed on, and maybe even your SD?
These are all a part of any JOB, IMO. The difference is some guarantee a paycheck, some do not.
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I understand what you’re saying – and I apologize for taking so long to respond.
Yes, my SD & MKC do make money off of what I do (by the way, i’m on my 3 year mark and still having a grand ol’ time) but even if you “own your own business” you’re making someone else money – you gotta buy your office supplies somewhere.
Again – I suppose its all on how you look at it. I never looked at it as a get-rich scheme or planned on trying to be a director or a national – good for those that do it, but I don’t want to put that much time into it.
I’m doing my thing, my way – and making my money. Sorry everyone seems so bitter here – but, i suppose we all have our reasons for doing what we do. Again – its all in your perception of things.
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Sigh…I get so sick of the “sorry you’re bitter” and similar comments from people like you who simply don’t get it.
I’m so glad you’re happy with MK. More power to you. It sounds like a hobby for you and that’s good because that’s about the only way MK works from what I’ve seen. Hobbys cost money, they don’t make money.
Sure, you can make a little income with MK, but don’t expect the super sonic miracle they present. It isn’t there.
I don’t care if you use your full name, Bre. I hope you don’t expect to get any business from it though!
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oh – and the reason I use my full name is the fact I have nothing to hide – unlike some people here – I’m not worried about my SD or MKC seeing my name, I’m not worried about you gooling me. I love it.
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If you are willing to WORK, if you are really ready to run a BUSINESS, then you’ll probably be ready to succeed. However, if you would rather WORK for someone ELSE, and answer to someone else, then you’ll probably be ready to succeed. However, if you would rather WORK for someone ELSE, and answer to someone else, and let someone else take responsibility for everything that you do, then you are ready to make someone ELSE successful.
Bre, have you checked your consultant agreement lately? You don’t get to run your own business and you are working for someone else, Mary Kay Corporate. When you break the rules, you’ll be answering to MK, even if nobody bothered to tell you when they recruited you that your business decisons are not yours to make.
Honey they are making more money from you then you will EVER make from MK, no matter how many hours you work!
Bre, we are not bitter, just honest about what
happened to us and willing to share how MK REALLY works instead of looking at an empty glass and trying to recruit somebody by deception, telling them that they can earn an executive income working 15 hours a week, owning their own busines.
When you truly own your own business, you get to make all the decisons about where and how you conduct your business, how and where you advertise, where you sell and to whom and what you wear when you are conducting business.
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If you are willing to WORK, if you are really ready to run a BUSINESS, then you’ll probably be ready to succeed. - Bre Garcia
Bre, you are not running your own business. Do you have a business license? Did you register a business name? Do you have business insurance? A business bank account? Are you free to sell your business?
You are an independent distributor subject to MK’s policies & restrictions. You are told what to say & when to say it. You are given scripts and training. Told where & how you can advertise. Where & how you can resell the product.
even if you “own your own business” you’re making someone else money – you gotta buy your office supplies somewhere. - Bre Gracia
A perfect straw man argument. The issue being discussed was whether as a non MK business owner we are directly benefiting anyone based on the amount of business we do. With the exception of the govemnment (I’m referring to income and sales tax) the answer is no.
Just so you know, we find you entertaining, thinking you own your own business and are actually profiting from your activity. You will never convince anyone (other than your helpful upline) of that without a proper breakdown of income vs. all related expenses.
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I understand these posts are old but I found them just now. I honestly don’t understand why all of you negative people out there try to make this company out to be these horrible blood sucking mutants of society. So we are distributors. I will give you that. But I don’t know what you were doing so terribly wrong or maybe how horrible of a director you might have had but I sell Mary Kay as a hobby. My hobby isn’t costing me anything. You might say it cost you money for bags and shipping. Oh ok so when I sell $200 worth of product $100 would go to my pocket yea I buy bags and pay shipping but by my calculation I still have $90 in my pocket that I did not before! I use it as spending cash in my pocket here and there. I am not in any debt from working this business. So yes MK corporate makes money off what we are doing. Can you please explain to me how that is different from any other corporate america job? And the people whining about choosing to purchase inventory. Nobody pressured you into anything and if you are going to use that excuse then you are not speaking very highly of yourself to let someone “make you” do something like that. What corporate america job do you know of that you put 100% off your effort into and get the equal pay? What Job can you go into in the morning thinking oh crap gotta pay the cable bill “hey mr. boss man can I please have an extra $200 today? Oh and by the way my nephew has a game today after school so I am not going to work after 2?” It does come down to perception and attidude. I know i have a bad attidude towards my “day” job when I have to sit here from 8am-5pm even if I don’t have anything to do because that is what I am paid to do instead of being productive with my life. I love Mary Kay. Have loved the products since I was a child and will continue to show people how this is a POSITIVE opportunity that I am blessed to be a part of.
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Ashley, ask yourself which job pays your bills, the boring 8-5 job with a regular pay check every week or the occasional $200 sale from MK that nets you $90? Can you honestly say with your attitude that you are giving 100% to your regular job? Aren’t they paying you anyway? Are you required to cold call people for sales and appts? Do they pay you when you are sick? Do you have paid vacations and paid insurance? Let’s compare apples to apples not a hand full of pipe dreams with an occasional payout. Try realistically comparing your boring job to MK!
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Very true Lipstick! And for the inventory thing, I was told $ 600 was MANDATORY inventory purchase so, yeah, there is pressure there!
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We were trained to tell new recruits that there was a minimum required inventory purchase. After they had signed up of course.
And there were directors in our area who trained Directors in Qualification to take no less than $1800 to 2400 initial inventories. They had things set up with quick lenders and everything so that new recruits had a way to get that money to purchase the inventory.
I can hear people saying “well, no one has to purchase anything. You’re an adult. You can say “no.” ” True. But as I’ve always said, that’s ignoring the emotion of the situation and the persuasive tactics. After all, new consultants want to be successful and they are told that this is the way to be successful. It’s a whole process . You can’t take the situation our of context and then tell people they should have just resisted.
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Well, I’ve been reading your site for a while & read it before I signed my consultant’s agreement. I believe that ur trying to inform people (kudos for including active/inactive…positives/negatives). BUT I also believe u have overstated the negatives, just like some overstate & oversimplify the positives. Your site actually encouraged me to go ahead & sign the agreement because even though a lot of people were negative, I heard a lot of “well, I love the product, but I hated trying to sell it.” So my 2 cents is that this IS for some people, but NOT for others. For those considering this opportunity be careful. There are shady directors and recruiters, just like in any walk of life (unscrupulous doctors, teachers, congressmen, clergymen etc..) but there are some WONDERFUL people in this business as well. It’s not a get rich quick scheme. It IS simple, but NOT easy. Only a small percentage will make it all the way to the top. You may have to keep your day job either for a while or permanently, but who is to say you may not be one of those that makes it to the top. Evaluate your circumstances carefully. Can you afford to start this business? Know yourself and your circumstances. There is risk, but there are some really great rewards.
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Hi Lunamom,
We frequently hear from consultants that there are “good and bad directors/consultants” or “there are a few bad apples.” To me, that is completely missing the point. What I want people to understand is the structure of the company and what you’re getting into when you sign up. It isn’t as obvious as it seems, and most of the little details are hidden by the “rah rah” of the company. That said, I do agree that you can make it what you want. If someone is happy making a few hundred dollars a month, fine. But you will probably spend more money and time making that few hundred than if you just worked a few hours a week at a part–time job. MK isn’t a get rich quick scheme, but it is often portrayed that way. You’ll rarely get the details from directors telling their story about how they made it to the top. It wasn’t about selling. And there were some long days and questionable tactics to be sure.
If it were simply sales, fine. But there’s another component — the MLM factor — that makes it even worse.
I’m glad you’re here, lunamom and I just posted your Mary Kay Consultant story here as well.
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