A Little Taste of Seminar
L J
Filed under Articles & News
Are you sad because you weren’t walking around Dallas in July’s 100+ heat wearing a “sharp” wool blazer?
Well wipe those tears, missy!
Here’s a little snippet of all the excitement and inspiration you missed at Seminar this year, complete with the final candlelight (pen light) ceremony.
Now can someone explain to me why those not-so-sharp guys in this video are dancing ?
Popularity: 5%
jess on 
KC on 
sherri on 
Water_Lili on 
Creepy. And culty.
I need a big bucket to barf in! UGH! Icky in a cult kind of way. There’s something truly wrong with that! Really, really wrong…..doesn’t it give you that bad feeling in the pit of your stomach?! ICK! UGH!
Such an elaborate barely legal pyramid scheme! It’s Pure Evil!
Those “not so sharp men” were dancing because they were happy seminar was almost over!
Didn’t miss being there, didn’t miss the charges on my credit card, that somehow never got paid off!
The candle ceremony always made me teary eyed…but now that I am out of the fog the tears would be for all the wasted money, credit card debt, time away from family and broken marriages.
Enriching women’s lives? No it is the endebting of American women!
Those guys were probably workers at the manufacturing plant (hence the jeans and t-shirts). The different areas in the plant put together a display and/or skit and then you’re supposed to vote for the best one at the end of the tour. Some of them go all out. I have a picture of a giant cardboard Pink Caddy one area made. At least that’s what they did at the Seminars I went to 5-6 yrs ago.
I thought those “sharp men” were the husbands of the “sharp MK women”?????
Those “sharp men” had inhaled too much of the gas fumes from the pink caddy in the arena! LOL! They were high on exhaust fumes!
those guys were indeed at the manufacturing plant. there was a walk-thru of 45 years and they were at one of the stops. i went, didn’t have any charges on my card, and probably totally spent (including the reg. fee) $350. that included hotel, sharing gas and meals. love getting away from my 5 children for awhile and having fun with my girlfriends.
Lisa…..you could take that $350 and spend it on you and your 5 children for a really fun weekend too….just a thought? Also when you use the word “girlfriends” I have to stop the bile that’s pooling at the back of my throat from becoming a full on vomit fest! UGH!
Lisa…I find it hard to believe you spent only $350. Registration alone is $175 and even if you spent the night in a hotel with 3 other girls and arrived on Day 1 not day 0, you would have had to spend at least $100 with room tax, parking, etc. I know you get breakfast and lunch included, with gas being $4.00 +/gal, you must live very close to Dallas and have brought a box of crackers and some cheese and ate that for dinner every night. Guess you didn’t buy anything from the vendors or even a souvenir of your visit to Seminar. You probably didn’t have an Area dinner and awards night to pay for either.
And I guess you walked to and from the CC daily even in your heels on Awards night. You are just the most phenomenal perfect, happy, gag-me-with a spoon Kaybot I have heard from! Oh Happy Day!!!! You are My Sunshine!
Sassy, can I borrow your Pepto Bismol…..
Lisa, I know all that was really rude, but you are so in the fog you wouldn’t know reality if it bit you on the A__!
Hahaha, Lisa couldn’t afford to pay for the sharp wool blazer on her back. That’s how tight her money was.
Lipstick I disagree with you!
What you said was NOT rude, it was the TRUTH! Love you! ;-D
OMG why spend even $350 away from your family?! Why not put that $350 into a college fund for your 5 children?! Or do you expect them to do Mary Kay as well? I agree with Sassy, why not spend that money and take your family on a small vacation somewhere where you can build memories with them?
Seriously, people here are going to criticize a woman for wanting a break from her 5 kids?!! Some people like the seminar experience and they enjoy the crazy pink aspects of seminar. If this person wasn’t pro-Mary Kay you would all be telling her she deserved a break and would never dare to tell her how she should spend her money to get it. I understand disliking Mary Kay, but I don’t get this mean girl attitude of ganging up on someone just because they disagree with your point of view. Not nice!
BMW, I don’t think it’s only Lisa being “pro-MK” as it is her transparent lie about seminar expenses. She’s downplaying it, as if there were some need to justify it and make it seem not that bad, not that expensive at all. Which makes me wonder this:
Lisa, why the need to justify or defend? If seminar cost you a whopping 2 grand and you have the extra $$ to spend and that’s what you want to do with it, well be my pink-fogged-up guest. I personally think it’s a waste but it’s your business what you do w/ your extra $$, assuming it’s extra $$.
I don’t agree one bit with Mary Kay’s manipulation and decietful tactics, and seminar is the epitomy of that. If you’re not taking money that your family needs for anything else, and this is really what you want to do, I can’t be mad at you for that.
I do think it’s a stupid way to spend your money, given that MK is fundamentally flawed and they lie straight to your face.
Anyone and everyone is welcome at PLH, even those still in MK who intend to stay there. By george, that’s who this site is for! There is a section on the discussion board for active consultants. “MKers” can find more info here, and sooner, than what MK will provide you with.
‘Nuff said.
PS: the rest of you aren’t out of line, you’re just telling it like it is.
There is absolutely NO WAY someone went to seminar and only spent $350! If Lisa can provide a detailed breakdown I will consider there is the very so slight probability.
My former director just got back from Seminar and I received the prestigious “dream catcher” award! Plus a pic of Mary Kay herself (which had to be taken…like in the 80’s) and our National Dir. There was some Spanish dressed man in the pic, too. Just what I always wanted for working my tail off, using our vacation $$ to buy inventory. Wow! I got the prize of a lifetime! Is there any wonder why women are seeing the light! I wonder how much that dream catcher cost? It honesty looks as cheap as the 45th anniversary ring! Actually, I think they went to a dollar tree and got it the dream catcher. I’ll have nightmares with that thing! UGH!
good gosh, most of you gals make me cry. i am not in a mary kay fog, i am not lying about my expenses, i don’t live near dallas, etc. etc. my reg. was indeed $175, we drove from missouri in a vw bug so my gas share was $25 (that was there and back), i paid $8 parking for one day (the other gals paid a day each), we stayed at the super 8 (my share was $90 for 4 nights), we ate out at smokey joe’s bbq one night for a total of $7.75 (that included tip), i spent $6 at the expo center on mary kay postcards, and we did take a cooler with drinks and goodies simply because the convention center is so expensive. i probably had spent about $10 on those drinks and goodies and then jack-in-the-box and mcD’s on the way down and cici’s pizza on the way back. i don’t have to justify, i was simply saying seminar can be done (i guess if not any further out than missouri, or with at least 3 or 4 gals in a car that gets great gas mileage) for about $350-$375. i have taken my 5 children on vacations, by the way; seminar is my time. i have one daughter that is a senior in college, which i am paying for and as a family, we’ve been to maine, st. louis, branson, lake of the ozarks and are planning a trip to new york this christmas. i have been in mary kay for 28 years and my best 2 friends are gals i met in mary kay. one of them has been to africa with me on a missions trip for 3 weeks. the first trip i made to africa was totally funded by mary kay sales (i had mary kay sales from about 8 months) and the giving of my unit for a total of about $6000. sorry sassyc that the thought of girlfriends makes you gag. i go to seminar every year for about $350 – this year i didn’t buy anything at the vendors as i had ordered some things throughout the year on-line. i wish you ladies the best. thank you for allowing me to post here. i truly wish you had the experiences i have had in my mary kay business.
Lisa, yeah I can see that it is possible to do all of that.
Now don’t get me wrong, I would still chose to spend time with family or at least go doing something other than seminar. I’m not against Mary Kay but I’m not for it either. I had some nice times while I was in the business but I also had some bad times. I maxed out my one credit card because of it and all my so called “friends” could tell me was “well you should try selling more products”. Do I still speak with these women? Heck no I don’t! I don’t need their fake cheerful attitudes; and that’s what I experienced with Mary Kay and learned that NO BODY is that freaking happy all the time. Unless your on medication (not that that is a bad thing).
When I think of vacation, I think about relaxing and being able to do what I feel like doing. I went to career conference and I when I got home, I was alot more tired than I was when I went.
The only reason I had said anything was because you said you loved getting away from your 5 kids. I understand that it’s a nice treat to be able to have some me time but I hate it when I’m gone for longer than 2 days away from my family.
Hope you have many more wonderful experiences with Mary Kay but don’t be shy when you want to fuss about it either. We’ve all done it
Lisa, you are probably a very nice person, and I am sure that those of us who have been burned in MK rub you the wrong way as much as we irritate you!
But it seems like every one of your posts is about how wonderful MK is and how much money you have made and how your pink world is so beautiful and we must be pitied because we have no beauty in our world.
You like to point out how negative we are, but not really, when you’ve been burned, had promises made about how much money you can make, been cajoled into ordering more so somebody else can make more money and gotten really “cheesy” prizes.
We are really happy for anyone who can make it in MK or at any other job, but don’t throw it in our faces as if you are so smart and quick and wise and we must be morons or slackers because our experiences aren’t like yours.
We peacefully co-exist with active consultants in our forum and we love to cut up, talk about our kids, our homes, our husbands, the cost of living, our diets, our pets and any number of interesting topics.
Just please don’t act like our experience isn’t true and real and that our bad experience is due to the fact that we just aren’t as intelligent or wise as you are or we were slackers.
I spent 8-1/2 years in MK trying everything and spending more money than we had keeping up with all the changes and even quit a full time job thinking that if I just spent more time doing MK I could make it work.
I’ve been to seminar 4 times 2 with my husband and I now wish I had the money back! it cost us $1000 + the last 2 times, but it was mainly because we flew and I obviously didn’t share motel expenses with 4 girls because my husband was with me. We got cheap air fare that made it cheaper than driving 1600+ miles round trip. We stayed about a mile from the convention center so we weren’t staying in the most expensive of hotels.
We drove back and forth to the CS because of my bad knees and the distance we had to walk to catch the tram (I forget what they called it) and the distance you still had to walk to get to the CS from where it stopped.
You challenge everything we say 1) Tam’s 21 Lipstick challenge, idgirl’s 40th Anniversary ring,
how we word what we say about our expereiences.
You better believe we are going to answer you back, because we aren’t making anything up!
I’m sorry we don’t think it’s a positive experience getting jolted on an escalator that changes directions while it’s loaded. Our main concern would have been “Wow,I’m glad nobody got hurt”, not as was MKC quipped about”In true MK form everyone stayed positive”…what’s positive about falling and getting injured ?
Bottom line, is we put our pantyhose on 1 leg at a time just like you and if you got off your superiority soapbox and tried to sympathize with where we have been you might find that you like us and you could coexist with us!
We aren’t trying to be mean, but we definitely haven’t had a wonderful “pink bubble” experience either.
Is is just me because that video did not make me want to go to seminar at all! Those sharp guys dancing was the only part that looked kinda fun. The rest of it looks like one of those things that is Ok for the first 10 minutes then you spend the next 4 hours wishing it would hurry up and get over with.
YAY LIPPY! If we ever met, I’ll buy you any drink you want!
i am not on a superiority soapbox – i have only been trying to say that not all of mary kay is as bad as some of y’uns have experienced. i am trying to sympathize with you and haven’t questioned everything. i truly did not see the ring and was asking about it – i don’t receive the applause magazine and would have liked to see it. i questioned the lipstick challenge only because i thought the commentor was saying it was a yearlong challenge and i had not heard of that (again, if it was in the applause – i don’t get that). almost everyone has questioned me, telling me i’m in a pink fog, i’m lying, how dare i spend a few days away from my kids, etc. i don’t believe i’ve tried to imply that i’m smarter, quicker or wiser than anyone, and i’ve certainly never called anyone a moron or slacker. i don’t believe it was a positive experience for the ladies on the escalator and certainly everyone was thankful that no one was hurt – it’s just that afterwards some involved were even laughing and it didn’t look like anyone was mad, cursing or forming a line to sue someone. and, by the way, i don’t wear pantyhose.
Lisa, I am trying to understand and I am really listening. I have a few questions for you:
If you are consistently averaging $200-450 in sales each month, that would mean that you would have to order “in your words” less than $600 at least every 3-6 months. If you don’t order in 6 months, they cut you of from Applause magazine untless you order before you’re inactive for 1 year.
If you haven’t seen the January 2007 magazine or the 45th Anniversary ring, then you haven’t been receiving Applause for over a year, which would mean you have been terminated and no longer can order or participate as a consultant.
Are you a legitimate consultant or did one of your friends sign up and sign the agreement and you share her discount and order under her name?
I’m really trying to be fair and try to understand you, but your numbers just don’t add up. If you aren’t getting Applause how could you sign up and attend Seminar, did you sign up under somebody else’s name and go as one of your friends?
Please help me to understand and hear my heart. I’m reaching out to you!
It is out of line to imply someone is doing the wrong thing by wanting a break from their kids. She has 5 kids and if she wants to spend $350 at seminar or $350 driving her car in circles with the radio turned up, it’s her choice and there’s nothing wrong with it. Where do people get off saying she should spend the money on a vacation with her kids or on their college fund? I bet she puts thousands into her kids and you want to begrudge her $350 because you don’t like MK and you think it’s a waste of money. “You are just the most phenomenal perfect, happy, gag-me-with a spoon Kaybot I have heard from! Oh Happy Day!!!! You are My Sunshine!” Out of line. “Also when you use the word “girlfriends” I have to stop the bile that’s pooling at the back of my throat from becoming a full on vomit fest! UGH!” Out of line. “Hahaha, Lisa couldn’t afford to pay for the sharp wool blazer on her back. That’s how tight her money was.” Out of line. Just my opinion, ignore it if you wish. Women should be nicer to other women. Nothing she has said on this thread has attacked anyone.
Lisa, I owe you an apology for the above post. I went back to Tam’s post and she said the 21 lipstick
challenge was in the December 2007 Applause.
But seriously when was the last time you ordered ,$600, cause they really do cut you off after 6 months of not ordering?
BMW, are you quite finished chastising everyone? It’s very annoying! People are entitled to their opinions. I stand by mine. I personally would rather spend time with my children (all 3 of em) than attend any kind of scaminar!
BMW..I don’t think anyone attacked Lisa for spending $350 or for getting away for a little girlfriend time…..it’s just the way she implied that we didn’t do MK the right way or we would have been successful like her. She never wasted HER money.
As for you I guess if you drive a BMW you can afford to drive your car around in circles wasting $350 and playing the radio. You don’t have to be anti-MK to think that’s wacko!
As Sassy said, you are entitled to your opinion and so are we, including Lisa. We just happen to put our priorities on our families and have chosen not to throw any more money into the MK pit!
You don’t say whether you are in MK or not, but maybe you are an Arbonne girl driving the “free” used BMW…they are all the same. MLM’s are all pyramid schemes designed to profit those at the top of the pyramid.
We have just “been there, done that, don’t want to ride the merry go round again!”
Bmw, after all, this IS an anti MKC website! We do get worked up when we think that someone is still in the pink cloud or teetering on it like you may be. We just know that we and many others were lied to and bullied into going to seminar. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen Bmw.
Um, not in MK anymore and didn’t like it when I was, so I’m not a “kaybot”. I don’t own a BMW-the name stands for my old maiden name initials. The comment about driving around was made to illustrate that that she could spend money however she chose, it wasn’t an actual suggestion or something that I do for fun. Kelly, I’m sorry that standing up for someone makes you feel the need to threaten me. I’m not mindless, nor am I a follower. I was just trying to be nice to someone that I felt was being ganged up on.
BMW, I have to agree. That last comment was out of line in my opinion and not in the spirit of this site. I deleted it. This site is NOT a site that allows posters to threaten others, so please don’t disseminate that false information. Discussions do get heated sometimes, but that’s different than threatening.
While this site is decidedly not pro-MK, we have never been purposely rude and hostile to those in MK.
We do, however, challenge comments and the typical “rah-rah” sales talk and questionable info that is taught by MK and directors. Some members here have little patience for some of the drivel and perpetuated myths in Mary Kay and other MLMs, so their posts do tend to get a little emotional.
LJ, if you would like to delete or edit my post to remove the comment about “allowing” that would be fine with me- especially since it is wrong. You moderated it quickly and I am sorry I jumped the gun in my assumption that it was going to be tolerated. Thank you.
Thanks LJ for deleting that comment, it did go way to far and made me feel icky too! LOL
BMW, we feel very strongly about MKC and sometimes we can get a little cranky. Pop on over to the forums and read some of our stories and you’ll see why. We welcome your thoughts, but just know that if they are too pro MK you might hear our STRONG opinions!
i have never suggested that anyone on this site didn’t do their business the right way. the reason i don’t get an applause magazine is that i have moved 2 times in the past 2 years and although i’ve changed my shipping address to receive my product, the applause never comes. i only have access to the library’s computer and that is only for one hour so i don’t spend the time to look at the applause on-line. the first time i moved i didn’t put in a change of address; the second time i did, but after only living in that house for 2 weeks, this past easter we had a housefire at 2:00 a.m. and lost everything. the post office stopped delivering mail there and now we live out of those city limits, so probably someone at the post office is reading them.
OK BMW…I edited your post as well, as suggested. I think this is much better.
lisa, my goodness, I’m sorry your house burned and you lost everything…I hope nobody was hurt?
I think you have to put your change of address in InTouch under your profile change. It sounds like maybe you were just changing your shipping address for your orders, but I could be wrong.
You sound like a pretty smart gal and it sounds like you have worked your business wisely. You have been very lucky that you never encountered anyone who pushed inventory and spending on attending all the events, getting the web site and all the bells and whistles.
I am happy for you and if your unit chipped in the kind of money you mentioned in one of your other posts to help send you on a 3 week mission trip to Africa…they truly sound like Go-Give people!
Lets agree to disagree on the principles of MK. I had a bad experience and obviously yours was all good…but beware of the pitfalls!
How about we call a truce? I’m extending the hand of friendship. I don’t really like to argue and get catty, and I’m sure it wasn’t pleasnt for you either.
My bad experiences and those of many others on the forum can sometimes make us “prickly” when we think somebody is trying to pull a snow job and
making MK sound so “perfect”. And we are very protective if we think one of us is being attacked…but I guess you got that, right?
Lisa, I too hope that noone was injured and extend my sympathies to you and your family for your loss. It is rare (IME) for someone to have been in MK for so long as you without being deep into the MK Fog. It appears that you have figured a way to make your business work and I am happy for you.
Please feel free to join us in the forum – there’s SO much more to the site there!
thankfully, no one was hurt – we even were able to save the hermit crabs and hamsters. but this second move was into a home i thought i would be in till my 4 children still at home would be living till graduation. we painted, fixed things, let each pick out border and paint colors and stickers and stuff for the wall, etc. i was making my mary kay room to do my facials and boom! literally; there was a portable building right next to the side door of the laundry room that my 2 boys had made into a clubhouse. they had 2 friends over and were sleeping in that clubhouse; i had just checked on them at midnight and 1:00 to see if they were too cold (this was still march). i told them the front and side door was unlocked and to come in if it did get too cold, went back to bed, then heard a loud boom, ran to the window and saw that little house on fire. naturally, i was hysterical as i thought all 4 boys were in there – turns out the fire had woken them, they tried to put it out, and had come to the front of the house to come in just about the time i heard the boom and saw the fire from the back where my bedroom was. my mary kay unit completely furnished everything kitcheny as far as a microwave, dishes, silverware, pots n’ pans, etc. and my church filled the house with furniture once we found the place we’re in now. mary kay corporate also sent a “like” order of my last orders, that was $600 wholesale. gotta go
Lisa, I too am sorry to hear that you lost all your material things in a fire…..that is devastating! I’m really glad that on one was hurt! (((HUGS)))
Lipstick explained how many of us feel about MK very well…I echo what she wrote and I also would like to call a truce and not argue about MK anymore.
On the forum we talk about many other things, food, exercising, we laugh, joke and have fun. Do pop over if you’d like to join in the fun.
I understand that you have had a good experience with MK or surly after 28 years you would have left by now if it had been bad. Not all of us were that fortunate so please try to understand that side of the coin as well!
Cheers to letting bygones be bygones:)
P.S. I named myself well….sometimes I get a bit sassy…..;)
Lisa, I read the rest of your story and got cold chills. I’m so glad the children escaped the fire.
Material things are not important and they can be replaced, but your children and family are priceless!
Hugs and best wishes to you, and what a wonderful group of friends you have made in your MK unit. You must be one special lady yourself!
As Sassy and Tam said, we invite you to come into our forum, you’ll find that we really are a great bunch of ladies and MK makes up such a tiny portion of what we talk about. We even have a special section of our board for those wo are still active in MK.
My condolences for your awful hardship Lisa, and I’m glad you & your kiddos (and the animals too!) are OK.
I (and I think others here) thought your story sounded ficticious because seminar does usually cost way more than what you stated. There are women who come here, truly living in denial (aka “in a pink fog”), who will defend Mary Kay all the way to their own bankruptcy. We are used to that, so please understand I thought that yours was just another of the “quit talking bad about MK! It’s so great!” rah-rah propoganda-filled scripts we get.
Surely you must know that the way you describe how you do MK, esp. the details of how you went to seminar, aren’t the norm? Didn’t your upline(s) give you a verbal bashing for not participating in the luncheons and shared hotel rooms, etc.? The higher-ups count on the people under them to pay for X number of rooms so they can get theirs FREE. A former “sister consultant” of mine got yelled at so badly by the SD for not following suit that it almost brought her to tears.
I commend you for separating yourself from the herd mentality. I will ask this of you: Since you now know how badly most women in MK are deceived & manipulated, please teach everyone around you to ”leave the herd” and just do what’s best for them. No one joins MK with a plan to support their SD’s or recruiters commission, or to “stretch by throwing their heart (er, wallet) over the line”. They join thinking it will be beneficial to themselves financially. Please share your tips and ideas with the many women out there being duped. Most don’t have an upline that will be 100% truthful. I may get burned for having suggested this, but I think that consultants hearing that the way they are being taught is only beneficial to their upline is a step in the right direction.
ladies – thank you for your condolences – i mean that from the bottom of my heart! i also mean from the bottom of my heart that i’m sorry that alot of you lost lots of money and time that you’ll never get back. i’m not computer literate, so i don’t know how to join this forum you speak of. i once got in a chat room and couldn’t get out! i apologize for setting off sparks; i just was not used to any (although i have heard of such things) of the experiences you have shared on this site. i am on a quest, again, to fund my ‘09 missions trip to uganda with mary kay sales, so it doesn’t take from my family. i don’t know if any of you have ever heard of or seen the watoto children’s choir (they’re ugandan children that come to the states and other countries to raise support for the ministry and sponsorship for the children), but that is the ministry i’m involved in and the adults go over and build the homes, schools, teachers’ housing, etc. for these homeless, orphaned children. you can see more if you’d like on watoto.com. thanks again ladies for letting me jump in here. best wishes to all!
Lisa, I hope you come back again. You can enter the forum by clicking on the word forum at the top of the page.
You’ll then need to click on register, fill in the form and an activation email will be sent to your mail box, once you reply to that you can login with your login ID and password each time you visit.
You don’t have to post, there are all kinds of topics and categories that you can read previous posts and replies to. There is a lot of interesting information not only about MK but other topics as well.
You will quickly be able to see that we aren’t bitter and we definitely don’t spend all of our time talking about Mary Kay!
Hope to see you around. I will go visit the watoto site and see what it is all about too!
Lisa,
I am so sorry for your losses. I just had to add that I know of a couple of people who are still having difficulties in getting their Applause after moving (i.e. every month calling to get addresses changed). You can call corpse and ask them to send you a copy of all the old issues you have not gotten. You are an active consultant and are entitled to the back issues. They can send them to you in one packet. I did that when I moved from MD to NC and they were happy to do so….as I was just as happy to send all my dreck back. Be blessed.
All of your comments reflect how jealous you all are because you are not in your own business, you are not being recognized for your efforts. There is no cult stuff here. Our moto is God first, family second, business third. Those “crazy men” are VP’s of the company, trying to have a little fun. This is the only company that gives you a car based on “your efforts”. Do you know how difficult it is to find a customer, much less a 100 or more. I challenge you all to it. Seminar is a place to celebrate your efforts of owning your own business, getting those customers to be loyal ones, and being recognized that you are working your business as well as all the other women out there doing what you are doing, too.
This is a wonderful company, a wonderful product, and wonderful people who still recognize the “Golden Rule”.
MaryAnne, read your consultant agreement. You don’t have a business! Mary Kay has control of any aspect of your business that could possibly make you any money.
Read the rules of car production MK doesn’t “give” you a car. If you fail to make the specified amount of production they will charge you a copay. This is called leasing a car. If you fail to bring your production back up to the specified level within a certain period of time, you will not be allowed to continue making the lease payments, they will come and take the car away from you!
Mary Kay does not really subscribe to their motto God first, family second and career third. Just tell your SD you won’t be able to attend your weekly meeting or a MK event because you have to go to church or because of some family event and you will find out where those priorities lie.
We tried the MK way and it doesn’t work. Yes I had 100+ customers and a team of 8, but I still wasn’t making money.
Those tax advantages they speak of are REAL expenses and you spent money on them that could have gone to your family.
I am not jealous of you. I actually feel sorry for your that you are so fogged by MK, that you don’t see thereality that MK is a MLM, a pyramid scheme, and I pray that you won’t put your family’s financial future in jeopardy for your MK “business”.
“All of your comments reflect how jealous you all are because you are not in your own business”
Ha Ha Ha! Had to pick myself up off of the floor after reading that one.
Honey, I have two businesses of my own and they actually ARE mine, not an MLM franchise like Mary Kay.
“Do you know how difficult it is to find a customer, much less a 100 or more. I challenge you all to it.“
Yes, I do. We all do. That’s one of the things we try to expose here.
This comment of yours is so significant I had to put it in bold. It IS difficult to find customers for a variety of reasons, although those trying to recruit you will never tell you that.
You don’t want to challenge me, however because I already met your challenge and then some when I was in MK. My customer base was over 400 — far more than any other consultant I knew.
“Seminar is a place to celebrate your efforts of owning your own business,…”
No, Seminar’s entire purpose is to keep you in Mary Kay. It’s designed to keep you excited.
Mary Kay is sales. Sales isn’t easy for most. You have to be constantly energized in order to keep going. These events keep people pumped up and make them put aside their doubts and their critical thinking.
Maryanne, You really are in a pink fog if you think Mary Kay is going to give you a car! There are a lot of companies that allow use of a company vehicle. Mary Kay is one of those companies. They allow you the use of one of their vehicles. They don’t give it away…sorry, but the stuff that they “give away” is very cheap and gaudy to say the least. I got rather sick of working hard to get the cheap gifts that they offer. Mary Kay is not God first…it’s “god” (the Mary Kay god) first. It only took me 3 months to see the light and I was well on my way to becoming a director because of how well I was doing…but who wants to be away from their families 3-4 nights a week or have classes cancel at the last minute when you’re planning on making $400 at one class. Seminar looks to me like a cult. Some of us are just smart enough to see it for what it really is…and no…I’m certainly not jealous over the class cancelations, spending time away from my family and church activities, spending my vacation money on inventory at the insistance of my director. I love being at home at nights and being free to attend my church activities. Jealous???? Don’t think so!
MaryAnne Latham,
You have been blinded by MK’s lies. MK does not give you anything based on anything you’ve done, they give out cheap, cheesy prizes and lease you a car based on how much you and your team order! It’s all about their profit, and they don’t keep track of your actual sales to customers or your actual profit after expenses. I had accumulated well over 100 customers when I left MK, but it’s hard to make a profit with even that many. Many of them only order 1 small thing once a year, no matter how much time you spend “updating them on newly released products” or whatever. Ya, I know how hard it is, and after 3 years of big LOSS, although I knew how to do $500-$1,000 classes (which doesn’t typically happen btw) and although my SD told me I was on her special list of people she wanted to be Directors under her, hounding me w/ emails and special audio CD’s about it, etc… I saw that it was nothing more than a deceptive money pit and GOT OUT. I just thank God I got out before she convinced me to “stretch” or “throw my heart, er, that is, wallet over the line” and enter DIQ. I almost did that only 4 months after joining. So glad for my family that I didn’t. And no, women AREN’T recognized for their efforts in MK. A “sister consultant” of mine who was doing DIQ stood up in a meeting & was saying how much sacrifice she was making, but was sure it’d be worth it in the long run. No one had told her she’d have to keep up that pace to remain a director once she got it. She was stating some things about all the time she was spending away from her daughter and missing out on church activities to be able to do MK classes, and our director interrupted her mid-sentence, and said “But it’s easy right?” with a big smile and a nodding head. How’s that for being upfront and transparent?
MaryAnne, I’d have to agree with LJ, Lipstick, id girl and RTP. I have witnessed the Golden Rule being bent to the point of collapse by my recruiter, EESD and NSD!
The car is for your use as long as production is met and you follow MKC rules. As far as MK being the only company to provide vehicles, my relative is in construction & drives a company vehicle, PAID FOR BY THE COMPANY, with a COMPANY GAS CARD, and COMPANY PROVIDED MAINTENANCE. The only requirement is to remain employed by the company.
There are current and former IBC’s as well as former SD’s on this site and many former car drivers! Some of the women on this site were involved with MK for decades! We know how hard it is to establish a customer base, schedule classes, etc. When you add up the actual time spent, not the amount of time quoted at sales meetings, and the actual expenses, we all came to the same figure! Tax deductions do not purchase groceries!
No one is jealous of a “business” that you don’t own because you can’t sell it or leave it to your heirs when you die. Basically, you have the right to conduct business selling MK products, as long as you follow their rules, until you die.
I wish you much luck in your ‘business’ and sincerely hope that you are not financing it with cc!