HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE, I HOPE YOUR YEAR IS BLESSED WITH GOODNESS, FRIENDSHIPS, PEACE, PROSPERITY, AND MOST IMPORTANT, GOD'S GRACE & WISDOM!.........

Pink Truth: Mary Kay only focuses on recruiting

Pink Truth says that this copyright infringing piece of evidence is proof that Mary Kay directors aren't interested in helping their teams sell

What do you think?

I will point out this small part that perhaps Tracy missed... or chose to ignore... you decide:

"Preferably the groundwork has been already been laid for you to cross the finish line victoriously between your personal business activity & that of your unit in the last 28 days, & now all that is needed is focused followup on the phone."

Is it possible... on the outer edges of reality... that this is not the entire picture of what directors are encouraged to do? Is it possible that maybe this is just instructions for following up with your team that you have already worked with on all the other salient points of forming a successful team?

Can we really trust Ms. I-Hate-Mary-Kay Coenen to provide everything that this particular director wrote?

I suppose that it is a moot point to even argue the merits of such a piece if we don't know the whole story. And since Tracy notoriously does not provide the whole story, it is likely that this, too, is shrouded in her typical brand of deception.

Nonetheless, since there are no internet police to ensure any kind of accuracy in publication, and since (at least in appearance) there are still people buying into her nonsense, this will still be a place where anyone can present the 'other side' of the story.

On that note, I would like to take a moment to appeal to any of our readers that have a positive perspective on Mary Kay. Please share it. My goal here is to simply present what I find. I am not here to share about my wonderful experience with Mary Kay. I do not have one. My wife does. She loves it. I am happy that she has found something that she enjoys this much. I speak for her, and others like her, when I say that association with Mary Kay does not necessarily corrupt you. However, I have no interest in digging into information, details, experiences, etc. (on either side) about Mary Kay.

What I am trying to say is that this site is not very effective without your stories, examples, explanations and so on. Perhaps you feel like you don't know enough, perhaps you feel like you will say the wrong thing. Perhaps you feel like the minute that you say something the "anti-mkers" will pounce and say, "Ah-ha, see, they just proved our point(s)".

I hope that by now, I have established that this is not a place for playing "gotcha". We have been around for over a year now, and, to my knowledge, everyone is still intact! Please take the time to sign up for an account and chime in on some of the subjects that mean something to you. Feel free to tell other people that you know in Mary Kay about this site. Send me ideas about what would make this site better for you.

Keep in mind that I want this to be your answer to Pink Truth. They seem to feel that they are running unopposed in the race to be "Officiant of all things Mary Kay". This should not be. There are in the neighborhood of 700,000 women in Mary Kay in the U.S. It should not be a problem to come up with enough personal stories to demonstrate just how small the number of vehement naysayers they represent is.

Thanks

Pink Truth: Mary Kay Recruiting is stealing your own customers

Pink Truth Proclaims that Recruiting in Mary Kay is Bad

What do you think?

Pink Truth: We hate Mary Kay and people who hate people who hate Mary Kay

Pink Truth loves pointing out how extremely people disagree with them about Mary Kay

I wonder why?

Pink Truth: Mary Kay director insults Tracy, that makes Mary Kay bad... right?

Pink Truth thinks that insulting people and making sure they get the last word is proof that they are offering the truth

This kind of thinking bothers me. Anyone else?

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Before I get too busy with my Holiday festivities, I want to take a minute to wish all my internet friends of Balalnced and fellow bloggers, A Very Joyous, Merry, and Blessed Christmas.

I want to thank David for trusting in me to help write articles for his blog and thank everyone for the friendly (sometime even fiesty) discussion on our topics.

I hope you all enjoy the love and happiness that I enjoy in my life and realize how precious life truly is.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Pink Truth: Mary Kay Inventory... Pointless?

Pink Truth thinks Mary Kay went to all this effort just to "get" them.

"I know that the Kaybots are seething because we’re telling their potential recruits about this. They are able to frontload much more when the whole story isn’t out there!"

Right... because the problem they have with you inaccurately smearing their character must be because your illogical assumptions are hitting too close to home.

Pink Truth: Proof that Mary Kay is no good

Why Pink Truth will never realize their misunderstanding(s) about Mary Kay

There is a phenomenon that I have observed about people. I will not say most people, or in any way try to quantify how many (in terms of percentages) people are afflicted with this phenom. However, I have observed it in enough people to know that anyone who pays attention, at all, to the behaviors of the people around them will have observed it.

It is difficult to identify, except in its most extreme manifestations, but it lies under the surface of most extreme points of view and colors everything that it infects.

It is the cause of racism, it is the cause of extreme fanaticism, it is the basis for many of the most extreme and horrific atrocities that most civilized people cry out against.

It is the inability, once an assumption has been concluded to be truth, to consider any evidence to the contrary.

Consider the racist. Once they conclude that ALL members of a certain race are 'bad', any one that fits that mold is "proof" while anyone that challenges or even contradicts that belief is an anomaly, an 'exception that proves the rule'.

This error in thinking, this separation from reality is, to me, a very frightening and dangerous plague.

It is a major contribution to many of the problems that we hear about Mary Kay. It is, almost exclusively, the problem with everything Pink Truth 'publishes'. It is often the cause of relationships being destroyed... or worse, never forming.

So, my challenge to all of you, in addition to commenting on this post, is to think about ways that you are allowing your preconceived belief about something to cloud the way that you look at things. Family. Friends. Belief systems. Work ethic. Education. Raising Children.

Break out of the belief that you are right because you are right and make room for the idea that you may be wrong!

Pink Truth: If only WE could forget our Mary Kay experience... wait, that would mean not obsessing over it.

Short term Mary Kay Consultant rethinks opportunity.

This seems like a, more or less, mature response. I tried it. It freaked me out (A.K.A. "not my thing"). I left it behind me.

The question, I suppose, is will she actually follow through?

Or will she join the nonsense of obsessed ex-mk'ers and never-been-mk'ers in boorishly criticizing anything and everything that they deem "tainted" by **gasp** Mary Kay?

Only time will tell.

Friday Smile

My unit had been teasing my husband asking him if he would drive the Pink CTS when it got here. The "line" is: Do "REAL" men drive pink? - Just to give you a peak, mr. mk4me hunts with rifles and bows, fishes, loves his chainsaw and cutting wood (fortunately he doesn't chew - for you non-rednecks that would be skoal or chewing tobacco) -& jeans and boots is dressed up. Snowmobiling, atving, and motorcycle riding are also likes. So we have had the car for about a month now. The day we picked it up, I lost him at the dealership because he was looking at trading in our car on a dumptruck. He sat in the car at the dealership and that was the only time he has been in it until today! (Right now we have 4 vehicles between the two of us) - I had to go to the post office and make two quick deliveries and then I was treating him to his favorite - Chinese all you can eat. (oh and if we are on a date, I do not warm chat the waitress on anyone else for that matter because I feel there are times I just need to be "off". The worse part is, he nudges me and says, why didn't you say something to her? uggg...

There was a long line at the post office so I asked, "are you going to sit here and wait for me or do you want to run and pick up cigs at Puff's and run back and get me? That way you don't have to sit in the pink car in the busy parking lot by yourself." He thought that was a good idea. When I came out of the post office and hopped in the car, he said check that bag that you are giving to your customer because I took the catalogue out of it. (okay, whatever...) I ask "why"? -
He said that as he got into the car at the store, a woman jumped out of a car and asked him if his wife sold Mary Kay when he said yes she asked could she please have a catalogue! He said she will be calling me tomorrow. He said to me ..."great, I am now "MR. MK"! :) - He said, I guess you were right, I think this car will be good for business.

Next stop, I run into give my client her order, chat for a few minutes and run back to the car...... he is in seven heaven, he discovered the CTS has xm radio and he can listen to all the comedians. oyvey... I know better than to talk during a football game and now I have a feeling I better not be interrupting his comedians. He likes the heated seats, after the next delivery he started telling me about all the other stuff the car does. He has now decided that I can drive the Dodge Diesel 2500 Extended Cab truck and he will be using the Pink CTS. It would have gone to work with him tonight but they are saying we are going to be getting hit hard and heavy with a big winter storm starting during the night. So he changed his mind and took the vehicle with 4 wheel drive.
So the answer is "YES" real men will drive pink!

(And I finally on Tuesday got brave enough to activate onstar!) (I am still a little self-conscious when I am driving the "pink" car alone but I am starting to relax a little)
People have been so kind with their congratulations and many saying you have worked hard and been dedicated for a long time, it is deserved! Hearing that from the community is really the best reward of all.

Pink Truth: Does Mary Kay Target Mothers of Teens?

Pink Truth, jaded by irrational hatred for all things Mary Kay, sees mothers of teens as "targets"

What do you think?

Pink Truth: Mary Kay Director in Qualification Rules

Do Mary Kay DIQ's "regularly" break certain rules? Pink Truth say's it is so.

Better late than never, I always say. Bonus points if anyone can guess where I am composing this post from.

Hint: It is snowing outside and I just ate at a deli.

Pink Truth: Mary Kay and Liquidators

Pink Truth seems to think they have a lot of business savvy... about Mary Kay?

... And we are back...

Didn't even miss a beat...

HA!!

Perhaps I will weave the long tale for you some day...

Ahhh I can picture it now. Warm fireplace inside. Cold.. snow falling.. outside. Hot cup of coffee next to me. In-laws 'cozy' 72" plasma screen gently displaying the best game of the season. Me, tapping out the long story of how it came to be that my laptop, disgustingly infected with some stupid virus/spyware/something-or-other nonsense, was gloriously redeemed to its original (factory) condition... and how after much consternation and animated conversation with customer*ahem*service the function and form thereof was restored.

But, as I said, that is a story for another time.

Back to talking about how great and wonderful, or, how insidious and outrageous Mary Kay is.

Are the liquidators the bad guys?

Is Mary Kay?

Is this just the way that businesses wrestle with each other to establish generally accepted and followed practices and guidelines?

Is a "normal" company (say Macy's for instance) "liquidating" their products the same thing as the Mary Kay liquidators that are being challenged?

That last one I honestly don't know myself. I know next to nothing about liquidation. I do suspect though that, like with most things, you can't just call yourself a liquidator and "viola" you are a liquidator.

What are your thoughts.

p.s. Thank you Miranda for sharing in my pain. It is somehow less painful knowing that someone else out there is pulling out their hair while attempting to dialogue with a non-moving progress bar... **cheers**

Pink Truth: It's only nonsense if you DON'T fall for it. (Our Mary Kay fabrications, that is.)

Oblivious, Pink Truth still doesn't get it

You have the link. Follow it to Pink Truth and let me know what you think.

It seems my computer has picked up a slight case of the uncontrollable pop-ups, so I am posting this real quick and then I will be doing the necessary operation(s) to get it to play nice with other computers in fun-internet-play-land. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, it is probably because I am staring at a window on my screen that is informing me of the progress of some computer operation or another.

In case you can't tell from my writing, I am NOT looking forward to this. But it must be done.

See you all on the other side.

Pink Truth: And the Aliens are Secretly Controlling Everything Too...

Pink Truth stumbles to new lows of incoherent nonsense

I really don't even know how someone could delude themselves as much as "raisinberry", the writer of this story, has.

Can anyone explain the logic of this to me? I mean that seriously. I can't even understand what she is trying to convey.

I know I don't often leave comments here... but I promise to try a little bit with this one. I am posting it on a Saturday... partially to catch up, partially because I might actually be able to have a conversation about this. So, do your best to translate to me what raisin is trying to say.

Thanks

Pink Truth: Mary the Mary Kay Director

Mary the Mary Kay Director

I will tell you, without reading any of this article myself, what the problem was.

"Mary is an ex-director who got caught up in the do-it-fast mentality."

The problem? Right there. The "do-it-fast mentality".

Done.

Next.

Your thoughts?

Pink Truth: Mary Kay is awful... in our minds...

Pink Truth loves stirring up controversy about Mary Kay

I pulled one comment at random for me to comment on. I know that I don't do this nearly as often as I used to... commenting on Pink Truth's arrogant ignorance was why I started this site... but such is life.

The commentator, in this case "stepping down", quoted the article, so the first part is from the article, the second is from stepping down.

they actually think that all they had to do was order the starter kit and then sit down and eat bon-bons and money would fall from the sky.

This is how MK is sold to people - they are told the product will fly off the shelf!!

If it were sold realistically, the expectations would be realistic.

This is exactly why I have such a hard time understanding whether Pink Truth is really and genuinely clueless, or if they realize how dumb they sound and do it just because they so loathe Mary Kay that they derive some twisted pleasure from feigning ignorance.

Are we to really believe that "stepping down" really bought into Mary Kay because she genuinely thought "fly off the shelf" meant "sit down and eat bon-bons and money would fall from the sky"? Really?

It is difficult to feel bad for any "mean" things that are directed at people that arrogantly wave their ignorance as the logic that proves that something is "bad".

Your thoughts?

A Letter to Balanced

It is always a great feeling to know you are helping others and well, Balanced has helped a prospect. With her permission I am sharing her email! We are helping! Her email is below and hopefully we will see her posting on our blog in the near future but if not, I will let you know what she decides to do, she told me she would let me know. - I did suggest she take some time and meet the director of the unit she was looking at joining.


Dec 8 (2 days ago)

Hi mk4me:

I just got done reading your Holiday Open House post on The Truth About Mary Kay blog. After reading many of your postings there and on the Scam Types blog, I wanted to contact you.

Recently, I have been seriously considering becoming a Mary Kay consultant. I met with an acquaintance who is currently a consultant and she gave me a TON of information (without and ounce of pressure, I might add). Still, though, I wanted to conduct my own research about Mary Kay. I have read one of Mary Kay Ash's books and am currently beginning another one. I also had been looking around on the internet to see what the general public had to say about the company. I, of course, found Pink Truth right away and must admit that I was a little scared off. Then I thankfully found The Truth About Mary Kay and have been checking in on quite a regular basis.

Right from the start, I liked what you had to say. You seem to be an honest and genuine person who is a shining example of one finding success with Mary Kay by being honest, truthful and sincerely interested in the customer as a person and not as a purchaser. I feel that I am a genuine and honest person and definitely do not fit the "salesman" mold. You have shown me that you really don't need to be conniving or nudging to be successful and that all you need to do is be yourself and be creative (I am so amazed at all the wonderful ideas that you just post up there on the internet!)

I guess that I just want to say thanks for sharing your experience, your opinions, and your ideas. There are people out there that are truly benefiting from what you are writing!

Thank you and have a blessed holiday!

(I sent her an email back) and then here is her reply to that:)

Thanks so much for your helpful information! I really appreciate it. I will especially be sure to meet my director-to-be before I do anything - Thanks for that tip! I initially thought that I would be dealing with the consultant that I know - but I now realize that I would be dealing with someone that I never even met! Thanks!

Of course you may forward my e-mail to David! Instead of my name he can sign it "ThinkingAboutMK." Then if I ever blog I can sign up under that name.

Pink Truth: Making fake Mary Kay craigslist posts? - or - Spending Free Time searching "Mary Kay" on Craigslist?

Pink Truth claims this craigslist post came from someone in Mary Kay

What do you think?

Is this a real Mary Kay IBC?

Should someone in Mary Kay do something like this? (Is it legit? If so, is it a 'good' idea?)

What do you think of her "pitch"?

Also, just for fun, feel free to create a list of things that would be a better use of Pink Truth's time than either creating fake craigslist posts or searching craigslist, endlessly looking for a Mary Kay 'slip'.

Perhaps, if the suggestions are good enough (read: creative enough), I will email them to Pink Truth and see if we can get it published!

Pink Truth: Mary Kay Letter Writer - or - Pink Truth Straw Man? You Decide

Pink Truth Posts "hate" Mail, supposedly from someone in Mary Kay... Think they would ever post something from this site?

So, is this a real letter from someone in Mary Kay?

Is it fabricated by the minds of Pink Truth?

Do you agree with the writer? A little? A lot?

What do YOU think about Pink Truth?

What do YOU think about Mary Kay?

Your REAL thoughts are always welcome here!

Pink Truth: Cult training 101 - repeat lies often to effectively wear down victim resistance

Oops. Did I say that? Pink Truth apparently wants to make sure that YOU think Mary Kay is a cult.

PART 3 - Pink Truth REALLY wants you to believe that Mary Kay is a cult

What do you think. Now that they have told you three times, are you a beeee-liever?

Seriously, now that they have concluded the cult series, any thoughts about their obsession with Mary Kay?

Send some comment love in the comments section.

Holiday Open House (or any open house)

I just had my 2 day Holiday Open House, wow, I just love this business and I love my clients. I saw over 60 clients and sales exceeded $4000 retail (not counting tax). Being able to visit and catch up on what is going on in each others' lives, wishing each other "happy holidays", munching on snacks, and looking at pictures of kids, pets, etc.. Seeing their appreciation for having cute gifts for their shopping ease, but most of all was seeing their happiness when they pulled into the parking lot to see the pink cts sitting there.
The "congratulations" were plenty but hearing them tell me that they were proud of me and that I deserved it and that they knew it was my dedication and the way I treated people like they are special was what made the difference, just made me realize how incredibly blessed my life is, I don't have clients, I have alot of friends that like Mary Kay and they way they came into my life was because of the MK conneciton . I have so many people that do care about me and realize that I am not just interested in their money.

Now, each quarter I do a two day open house in the city I use to reside until 5 years ago. I send out invitations just a week ahead of the date (too early and people forget about the event, too late, they already have plans) - the day before I send a short reminder email. I do not make reminder phone calls.
I put on the invitation if they can't make it, if they call or email me their order, they will still receive a 10% discount.


Also on the invitation I put information for an event that I will do at the end of the first night (Friday) and ask for an rsvp. For example this time on Friday, the open house was from 11:00- 7:30 and then at 7:30 we were going to do facials with Holiday Color Looks. Then Saturday 9:00 am was muffins and makeovers, and the open house was from 9:00 - 4:00. (Please note, I do no recruiting at these open houses unless someone asks me.) Our focus is totally sales and satisfied clients.

I always have some snacks and drinks - but I keep it simple. Many will run over on their lunch break on Friday's so there is enough so that they don't have to take time to go else where for lunch ( ham salad sandwiches have won the vote)..

I do have select specials that are only available if one attends the open house for example at this past weekend the "SPECIAL" was with any purchase you could select your choice of a Satin hands pampering set or a brush set at 50% off. ( If you like this idea, you may want to put a disclaimer, such as, if your purchase is $50 or more you may select an item at 50% off), I switch it up to keep it fun, but there is always something that will be fun and exciting. - this gives them a reason to want to attend the open houses and not just call in an order.

Another note on the invitiation is if they bring a guest (non mker), there will be another surprise) - I switch it up all the time, 10% additional off your order, a gift certificate for $10, etc....

A donation to the Mary Kay Ash Charitable foundation gets them a small gift. I forgot to put it on my invite this year but last year and next year, it also gives them an extra 10% off their purchase if they bring a canned good or a small toy.
We collect these for a shelter and for the Toys for tots program. And then we make one big donation, often we set a date and many of us go and donate and then we go out for out cider or something.

I always have my phone and my email on the invite so they have the info right at their fingerstips for orders, my cellphone if they need directions to get to the open house, my name and my MK Websie address.

I have a door prize drawing and the front table always as the registration box for their ticket and all the prizes I am giving away from the drawing are displayed on the table. (IE: this time it was: The Oh So Soft bathrobe in a great pampering set (cooling eye mask (from dept store), bath sponges, bath glove) , a beautiful jewelry set I had purchased at a fund raiser, a travel rool up bag, and an electric makeup mirror and the Glistening Winterberry collection.

I added a new little twist to my invites this time and everyone including myself liked it.... I put a "lucky number" on the invitation. They were to bring the invite to see if their lucky number was truly a lucky number. ( I was hoping this would insure that everyone would not misplace their invitations and not miss the open house.) When my guests walked in the door at the registration table there was a picture frame and in the picture frame, there were the lucky numbers and the prize associated with that number, so they could pick up their prize right away. I was so surprised and I will be doing it for every open house, 48 of the invites came with its owner. They held onto the invite to check the number, I think this did help the turnout I had.

At the end of the open house we also draw a prize from the slips of paper that I have the guests fill out (when they arrive)that has on it, their name, address, email, or phone number - so even if they didn 't have a lucky number, they all know, there is still one more shot at winning something. (I also use these slips to double check my client's information to make sure it is all up to date.
Often an email address will change and they have not thought to mention it to you or they have decided they don't need a landline anymore so they are going to only use cellphones, just an easy was to keep information up to date.

Now, I would do this for my clients no matter what, but since I have everything all set up and supplied, I always invite my unit members to invite their clients to the open house. They do not need to stay the whole time, if they only want to do one day for four hours, that is all they put on their invite. This has worked well for my unit members. First, many of them don't have enough to set up a disply like wowsa but I already did it so I want them to work smart not hard. Their client walks in and then places the order with her consultant.
(Now, can being a consultant get much easier? Send an invite to your customer and smile!) I will have everything all set up and she will come in and look and then give the order to her consultant. ) I wish my director would have been willing to do stuff like this for me when I was young.

This year I wanted to do something special so I had CD's of holiday music made with my info and they were in the Christmas cards that I passed out to the clients that attended the open house. It was great seeing their appreciation. Many said, aww, I am going to go pop it right in the cd player on the way home as soon as they got back to their car. (Many said, wow, how nice, this is sooo cool!)
(By handing them out it also helped me to make sure I kept my expense down, of course, I will be mailing alot of them but when there is a way to save money, - save money)

I do haul all my products with me because I want to be able to service them then a there and maximize time. Not one person left without every single item they wanted.

Warning: Your first open house, second, and even possible your third may want to make you never want to have one again,but don't quit, I can tell you I am happy I never gave up. It is import to that the ones that have attended because they understand how fun it is, but make sure you are selling the open house at your classes, parties, facials, etc.....(every year my open houses just get better and better and I would like to continue that trend.

I also started working on the new year. Everyone that booked a show in January will receive and extra hostess gift. I also book several "Get a New Look for a New Year Look" because they fit a description in the portfolio book and wanted to get in it. And several asked me to give them a call in January.

Each open house just seems to get better and better for me, but this was by far the best.

One client was so cute, she said she thought the lucky number was the order eveyone got to go for a ride in the car because they were ready to line up - and then one of my fav's started laughing and said, oh dog gone it, I thought the CTS was going to be the prize for the door prize drawing! ( We did have a great laugh on that one.)

(Oh, I am also only 5 clients ($100 purchases) away from the customer count challenge too, how are you doing on the Customers Count Challenge?? My goal was to have the 36 and prove I could do it legitamatelly. (Can't expect my unit to do it if I don't do it myself)

Well it has been a long weekend and I am starting to get tired, I am going to try and do a first open house in the city that is about 15 miles from me on just Sunday next weekend because I just got invited to display at a winter exravaganzza on Saturday. (I am sure I will be picking up a few new leads, but my big focus at that event is going to be to book events like Holiday Coffees & Shopping, etc..

I am pumped, this is such a wonderful time of year.

Don't miss these opportunites to really let your clients see all your products.

(and I guess there are still a few people who want to buy Mary Kay!!)

I can't wait to see what my total sales are for December, I had sales before the opne house ( dynamite open house sales) and the rest of the month to keep selling!

Make sure you start thinking about your next open house. If you can't do it with your director or she doesn't do them, you may want to get a couple of consutants to join you and work together.

Make sure you report back on any open house you do and let us know how you made out!!

Pink Truth: "I Needed To Be Taught To Want To Wear A Skirt" - TC

Pink Truth on a Mary Kay sales director on the issue of pants

As some of you may have noticed... I was sent another DMCA take-down notice because Tracy objected to the content - here. I took down the "allegedly" infringing content, but because blogger doesn't even bother to check, or for that matter request, details of what is and what is not infringing, it will probably be gone soon.

I really could care less. I am actually impressed that Tracy is keeping tabs on me! It is a very (and I don't really use the word "very" very much) good feeling.

:)

Nonetheless, I am incredulous at the way that she flippantly sends out DMCA take-down notices (A very real threat to the purpose that Act was created for... more on that later) and yet continues, almost daily, to post content that is for the most part not hers. I might just be bemused enough by this erratic behavior to write a post about it soon. Look for that in the near future.

Anyway, skirts, pants, whatever... we have talked about it here before, but perhaps some of the new folks want to get in on it. What would be the "ideal" policy for Mary Kay to have towards this? "No Policy" is as good an answer as any other.

What say you?

Pink Truth: If You Don't Believe That Mary Kay is Bad, We Will Try To Convince You It's A Cult

By Pink Truth's standards, that softball team you joined is "like a cult".

As the title and the link suggest, Pink Truth would have you believe that Mary Kay is a cult... or at least that it has "cult-like tendencies".

Unfortunately, as the "evidence" they produce to support this would apply equally to just about any social gathering... chess club, softball team, fraternity/sorority, church group, office carpool, etc, etc, etc... on and on... the reader is left asking, "so?"

Ooooh noooos.... they are preoccupied with bringing in new members?!?! THE HORROR!!!!

I mean really --- **gasp** --- call teh priest for an exorcism...

meh, whatevers. So my wife is in what Pink Truth would consider a cult... or an organization with "cult-like tendencies". I guess that gives me a good excuse to go out with the guys once in a while, eh? I'll have to try that on for size one of these days.

me: "Hey babe, goin' out with 'da boyz'"
babe: "I don't want you to"
me: "But I already told them I would"
babe: "But I told you a month ago that tonight is our anniversary"
me: "Yeah, but Pink Truth says your in a cult. How do I know this isn't something they brainwashed into your mind?"

Clear winner on that one, eh? --- right. (Incidentally, I don't go out with 'da boyz', I don't talk like that, my wife would be excited for me to have a fun evening out, I wouldn't forget our anniversary, and the whole conversation was fiction... in case you are visiting from Pink Truth and have a difficult time grasping the difference between reality and illusion...)

That's all for now... but remember... what do we always say?

Mary Kay is just a company.

;D

Pink Truth: Mary Kay is a cult... no wait maybe it's not...

Pink Truth says, "Mary Kay - Not a cult"

Interestingly, Pink Truth (or as someone recently opined, Pink Cud) actually had this to say about the subject:

"Is Mary Kay a cult? No."

This is part one of their three part series. If ever there was a subject that keeps those at Pink Truth from being on the same page, it is this one. Some insist that Mary Kay, in fact, is a cult. Others gently suggest that it is "like" a cult... or that it has "cult-like tendencies".

I am not one to lump all of "them" into one stereotypical bunch, but I will say that anyone who claims "cult-like tendencies" in Mary Kay as their excuse for doing things they now regret is really stretching for a scapegoat.

Allow me to repeat the "official" position of Balanced Mary Kay (this site) on what Mary Kay is... and is not.

Mary Kay is a company.
Mary Kay sells cosmetics and skin care products.

If the opportunity to sell these products on behalf of this company "works for you", then do what you do and enjoy it.

If the opportunity looks like it is not going to work for you, quit. Cut your losses and get out. We all (should) try as many different things as we can in life. Some will work out, some will not. If you have not met failure in your endeavors, you are probably not endeavoring very much. (Maybe this is good, maybe not.) Point is, Mary Kay may work, it may not. If it does not, this is not a bad reflection on you. It just isn't a match. Move on. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. (Mary Kay 'peeps' or Pink Truth 'peeps')

If the opportunity would be better if you could just twist the truth a little, or just ignore your conscience one or two times, or just sacrifice this (or that) priority that you said was nonnegotiable... than it is NOT the opportunity for you. Funny thing, this applies to ANYthing in life. Any job. Any relationship. Any situation you find yourself in. YOU. YOU. YOU. And only YOU are responsible for the decisions YOU make.

Are you one of those people that made poor decisions that led to more poor decisions that led to really bad decisions. Join ALL of the rest of us. We have all, at one time or another, screwed up really big. It is a fact of life. You do not need to blame anyone else. You did it. Be a man (oops, sorry, a woman) and own it. Then move on. It is in the past. You can't change the past. It won't change by blaming someone else. If you need to make amends, do it. Call the people that you manipulated, tell them how you feel you wronged them and ask them to forgive you. Posting about how manipulative you were on an anonymous website aimed at destroying the credibility of the people that, day in and day out, make the right decisions will not fix YOUR credibility. You know who you did wrong by. You don't need to seek the sympathy of an anonymous forum. Make it right and move on to the next wonderful phase of your life.

......

That is all for now.

Pink Truth: Creating Tax Fraud in Mary Kay

Commit Tax Fraud with Pink Truth

Intrigued by the link?

Here is my logic.

Pink Truth says that Mary Kay is committing (or encouraging) tax fraud.

Pink Truth has no evidence that Mary Kay is committing (or encouraging) tax fraud.

If Pink Truth can do it (accuse Mary Kay of something they have no evidence for), then I will do it as well... simply to point out how ridiculous this is.

Now the question is this,

Should a Mary Kay trip be considered a business expense or a personal expense.

As, no doubt, you will all explain quickly that it depends on a lot of factors and should be determined by your tax professional before making any assumptions, I will simply leave you to describe some ideas that you have had/come across that are good/bad/legit/etc.

I will leave you with this:

Rachel said:
Hmmm... the rules seem to be complicated, but from what I read here http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/, it sounds like if there is a seminar/convention, its purpose truly is related to your business, and you can show you attended classes/meetings, it counts (for you but not any family you might want to bring.)

While the Mary Kay cruise thing sounds questionable, it sounds like the stuff tps's friends do might very well be okay.

TRACY said:
From the IRS:

Trip Primarily for Personal Reasons

If your trip was primarily for personal reasons, such as a vacation, the entire cost of the trip is a nondeductible personal expense. However, you can deduct any expenses you have while at your destination that are directly related to your business.

A trip to a resort or on a cruise ship may be a vacation even if the promoter advertises that it is primarily for business. The scheduling of incidental business activities during a trip, such as viewing videotapes or attending lectures dealing with general subjects, will not change what is really a vacation into a business trip

I find it quite... what is the word... enlightening I think works... about Tracy's way of thinking.

If you are interested, click the link above and follow Tracy's comments throughout. There is a distinct, "nobody is going to get away with anything that I don't approve of" vibe that comes out.

She has decided that this trip is a personal trip and therefore can't be a business trip and therefore doesn't qualify as a business expense. Since that is how she sees it, that is how it is. So don't question it.

I think this is the issue at the core of what irritates me so much about Pink Truth that I keep this blog going. The internet is a big place, and I am aware of (and am overwhelmed by) the glut of misinformation that exists. But the fact that I can't "protest" all of it does not mean that I can't protest part of it.

So, for my part, I will continue to protest Pink Truth's hideous distortion of the truth. Will they ever recant? Will they ever eliminate the sensational falsehoods they propagate? Will they, failing those things, at least present their site as "fiction" that is based on experiences that happened?

Probably not.

But at least I can say that I did my part.

And all of you can be proud that you were a part of it.

Pink Truth: *yawn* ...Mary Kay

More Pink Truth Nonsense about Mary Kay

Anyone, anyone? Bueller?

Your comments are always welcome and requested.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

In light of the fantastic opportunity afforded to us to be thankful for all the many blessings we have, Balanced Mary Kay will be taking an enjoyable reprieve from the standard eye-rolling and sighing over the childish nonsense on Pink Truth.

This just means that I will not be putting out any posts for the next 4 days. Feel free to leave comments, get conversations going, or even become an author and pen some of your own thoughts during the holiday... just make sure your relatives don't catch wind of how boring you obviously find them!

And make sure to 'tune in' next week as we have fun trying to make sense of the "logic" that Pink Truth uses to, get this, 'prove' that Mary Kay is a cult.

Good times.

See you all next week.

Pink Truth: Tirelessly hating on Mary Kay

Pink Truth sets up, and knocks down, more straw men

It is so easy to prove what a terrible company Mary Kay is when you don't allow anybody to critique what you say.

"DupedByPinkFriend" perhaps should do a little research into the sub-cult-ure that she is devoting herself to now.

Please feel free to comment... or write anything.

I don't mind keeping the site 'going' by posting these daily links, but if no-one is really interested, than it is sort of pointless.

I know that there is no real need to point out how much psychobabble goes on at Pink Truth as almost anyone with a brain can see right through it.

Does that mean that this is the end of this site? Should it stay or should it go?

Let me know.

Non MK -Information on Store Closings/Weekend Stuff

Subject: List of Stores Closing

For the most part, I just delete "Fwds" and often don't even read them, but I thought this was very useful to share, it might be a good idea when shopping to know if you are going to be able to exchange a gift, or a defective product. - Hope this info is helpful to everyone.

It seems there are lots of stores that are closing due to the "recession" and the fact that people are not shopping. If you have any "gift cards" from these stores, make sure you use them, or you will lose them!

Watch those store money cards and gift cards...and credit slips! These are stores that informed the Security Exchange of closing plans between October 2008 and January 2009.

Circuit City stores... most recent (? how many), Ann Taylor... 117 stores nationwide,( Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug and Catherine's to close 150 store nationwide), Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January,
Cache will close all stores, Talbots closing all stores, J. Jill closing all stores, GAP closing 85 stores, Footlocker closing 140 stores, more to close after January, Wickes Furniture closing, Levitz closing remaining stores,
Bombay closing remaining stores, Zales closing 82 stores and 105 after January, Whitehall closing all stores, Piercing Pagoda closing all stores,
Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January, Home Depot closing 15 stores, Macy's to close 9 stores after January, Linens and Things closing all stores, Movie Galley closing all stores, Pacific Sunware closing stores, Pep Boys closing 33 stores, Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores,
JC Penney closing a number of stores after January, Ethan Allen closing 12 stores, Wilson Leather closing all stores, Sharper Image closing all stores,
K B Toys closing 356 stores, Lowe's to close some stores, Dillard's to close some stores, Harold's to close most stores

Pink Truth: Mary Kay can't help you get out of debt - heres a better idea... do nothing

Does Pink Truth seriously still wonder why people say they are "negative" when they say stuff like this?

Don't get me wrong, it is clear that you don't stand a chance of "making" $1 for every $1 invested. Yes, when you make the math as simple as possible, the equation is that you buy $2 worth of merchandise for $1.

As I mentioned yesterday, this is one business option out of many. It may work out great for you, it may not.

The 'basics' that are laid out by this NSD (That Pink Truth liberally copy/pasted... copyright infringement anyone?) are correct.

Overly simplistic. Perhaps.

I noticed though, that no one managed to point out that she repeatedly says "SELL" not "ORDER".

My thought process about that? Glad you asked. I know (from talking to my wife's director) that there are some people that, no matter how many times she tells them not to 'just order to get a prize', talk excitedly about how they are going to "win" this prize or that prize. (Implied is that they are planning on ordering even though they don't need to.)

Conversation goes something like this.

Consultant: OMG, Ms. Director, I am so excited about this prize. I am going to place an order for x,xxx. That will be enough for me to win this prize!!!
Director: That is great Ms. Consultant, but do you need those products? Are you sure that ordering them right now is a good business decision?
Consultant: OF COURSE it is a good idea. I will win this prize.
Director: I understand that you are excited about the prize, but if you haven't sold the other items that you already have in your inventory, this is going to do more damage than good.
Consultant: OH DON'T WORRY about that... I will sell it all. I BEEEElieve!!!! I just have to have faith.
Director: That's not really how that wor...
Consultant: OH I KNEW you wouldn't understand. You don't really care about me anyway. I thought you were supposed to be there to help me. **click**

(This was a 'creative' rendering based on the recollection of a few conversations that I have had with several people in Mary Kay and should not be viewed as an actual conversation)

I am not saying that all (or for that matter, any) PTers are/were like this. What I am saying is that any time Mary Kay has a document that uses the word "order" in it, they get all gang-buster with their "look, look, see.... I told you... all they care about is ordering". It would not surprise me to see them get up in arms when they go through the drive through and the speaker-box says "may I take your order?". Sorry, I am cracking myself up with the image of r-berry kung-fu kicking a McD's speaker-box and screaming, "I know you are one of them"...

... ahhh .... whew ....

... and were back folks,

Seriously now, what do you think of this get out of debt plan?

Seriously hogwash? OR legitimately possible?

Pink Truth: Mary Kay Husbands are weak and easily manipulated

Mary Kaybots shouldn't tell their husbands how to act... that is Pink Truth's job

I know that this conversation already started a bit - see here.

But for what it is worth, here are my two cents.

Followed, hopefully, by yours.

I think that there is a good, right, healthy manner in which a husband and wife should operate together. Considering current divorce rates, it is clear that in addition to not being able to agree about what that good, right, healthy relationship looks like, a lot of people are unable to 'get it right'.

If there are problems with your relationship, Mary Kay will, it seems, most likely magnify them. By contrast, it seems, that some people have reported Mary Kay magnifying the things that are 'right' with their relationship.

There comes a point (many times actually) in any relationship that things 'get sideways'. Perhaps I don't agree with my one of my wife's decisions. Perhaps the other way around. Perhaps this has happened with some of you?

How you deal with it is important. Supremely so. I will not offer advice on marriage here... I don't think it is my place, and this is neither the time nor the place. I am very happy with my marriage and love my wife very much. If you want advice, or want to ask a question, please feel free to email me... I love helping people. (And no, I will not try to get you to join my '4 1/2 steps to a successful marriage' MLM!!!) Seriously. I make no promises except that I will give my best effort to be of some help.

But this is not about my marriage or yours. This is about the tireless manner in which Pink Truth continues to make up whatever they want to about Mary Kay.

Follow the link above and then tell me how you answer Tracy's question at the end:

"Can you read between the lines to see the truth about Mary Kay?"

I will tell you how I answer.

Stop trying to read messages between lines that don't exist. There is no massive conspiracy behind Mary Kay. It is a cosmetics company that sells skin care and cosmetics. If you don't like their style you are under no obligation to be a part of it. You don't have to buy their products. You don't have to sell their products.

If you feel strongly enough that their products are inferior or that their business model is poor, you should feel free to express those feelings.

But for the sake of your own journalistic integrity and conscience, stop making up lies, smearing the names of good women (and men), and dragging down otherwise upstanding women into your mire of conspiracy minded nonsense and bitter, vitriolic, hate-filled gossip.

...

You were saying?

Pink Truth: Mary Kay tactics - It takes one to know one

Excelently timed, Pink Truth posits their opinion of the D.I.S.C technique

Okay look, we all know that Pink Truth thinks that anything Mary Kay does (or Mary Kay people do) is manipulation, or greedy, or insincere. We all know that this forgone conclusion is based on outrageous circular reasoning, hatched together with, at best, anecdotal evidence.

They will see anything Mary Kay does as manipulative and "bad".

The question I want everyone to answer today is not whether or not the D.I.S.C. 'tool' is manipulative.

I am pretty sure that everyone here (or at least most) are mature enough to realize that this is simply a truthful observation of the way different personalities respond to different stimuli. Studying it and understanding it and even utilizing it in improving your communication is not (in and of itself) manipulative or "bad".

The question I want you to consider and respond to, if you would be so kind, is:

At what point does it become manipulative?

At what point, does understanding and using these principles cease to be simply a means to improve ones communication and becomes something much more insidious?

Or, is it impervious to being used this way?

Something to consider that may help put it in a different light, there are certain things that most guys don't understand about women. Understanding these things can help a man better express his love to a particular woman. It can also be used, allegedly, to manipulate women. But the question is, at what point does one use stop and the other begin? And, more importantly, how can you tell which is which?

Ah, these are the questions that I like!

Pink Truth: We publish stories about Mary Kay - as long as they back up our preconceived conclusion

Pink Truth claim - this 1 story (out of hundreds of thousands) is the universal truth about Mary Kay

Don't take my word for it, here's a comment from Tracy:

"Disillusionedpinkie wrote:

The saddest/scariest part is that your story is not the exception but rather the rule in MK.

Amen, sister. So often we at PT are accused of being involved with (or actually being) the minority who had high debt and little profit. From the thousands of women I've talked with about MK, and from their experiences with hundreds of others in MK... I'm quite confident that they are the rule, not the exception. There are a very, very small number who are profitable at an "executive" level. The remaining vast majority are struggling and not earning a living wage (most actually losing money and self-esteem)."

Hmmm... what about all those other women that try to talk to you about their experience but you delete and ban them? How many thousands of them are accounted for in this conclusion?

Just wondering.

Pink Truth: We are genuine, Mary Kay is not genuine... because we said so.

Pink Truthers are better than Mary Kaybots because we are genuine and they are sneaky

From Tracy:

"Now... I get the concept of "networking." I've done it to build my personal business. But I've done it in a genuine way, not with these tricky little methods. I haven't contacted anyone to pretend to "reconnect." I've told people about my company in the context of a legitimate, genuine conversation... not because I want to recruit them or sell them something."

Tracy, any 'method' of networking can be done genuinely or disingenuously.

I can guarantee you that if you told us about any of your so called "legitimate and genuine" 'methods' of promoting your 'personal business', we could point out how sneakily they could be used.

The very example you use (of Mary Kay) -

"And if you doubt that... Just remember that one of the key teachings in Mary Kay is "work the numbers." Have you been told: "Some will, some won't, who's next!"??? These things demonstrate how the goal of Mary Kay isn't sincere interaction with women. It's about playing a numbers game and moving on to the next person with skin who might be interested."

of necessity is one that you must use yourself.

What do you do when you are telling someone about your business, and they are not interested? Do you never tell anyone else about your business until you have convinced that person to be interested in you? Or do you move on to the "next" person?

Not only is this concept not diabolical, it doesn't even make sense to protest it. Some will. Some will really dig what you are doing (whatever it is). Some won't. Some simply are not interested in what you are doing (never will be). So, after you have talked to someone (and they have either responded favorably or unfavorably) who will you talk to next?

What is so insincere about this?

Weekend Humor - Non MK

I love sharing and helping others as many of you have figured out. I thought I would share a very valuable lesson I learned last night and into today. When getting together with your friends for your monthly nickle/dime/quarter poker night where it is manadotory if I want to play I must supply my "famous" devilied eggs, one should not decide since it is chilly outside and spitting snow that making homemade chilli for the guests who are drinking beer and eating pepperjack cheese is a good idea. I will spare you the pain - just don't do it! :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!!

Pink Truth: Never miss an opportunity to gloat about... erm, that is to say, "We aren't gloating about Mary Kay".

Where does Pink Truth find their assumptions about Mary Kay

Anyone?

If you have something to say about this, you know where to put it... in the comments section.

Pink Truth: "But we like having our nose in Mary Kay's Business

Pink Truth analyzes and offers advice to Mary Kay director?

Oh, and what's this? If you are not careful, you may miss the one piece of advice from Pink Truth that may be worth noticing.

Tracy says:

"That is great advice. When I started my accounting business 9 years ago, I had no clients and no money. I started temping right away to get money in the door, but was able to be flexible with it so that I could still start establishing my own business. It worked out great!"

Not sure if all will agree here, but this is really great advice. If you need cash coming in, don't expect Mary Kay (especially ordering a bunch of product) to be a magical solution. You may find that you are a stellar sales person that just oozes sales right out the gate. But chances are that you will have to build up to a respectable, regular income. In the meantime, if you need cash now you need to find a way to earn it.

If you have something to say about this, you know where to put it... in the comments section.

D-I-S-C PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT/QUIZ

D-I-S-C PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT

Attached is the assessment, my results even though I thought I was a "high C" turned out the my S was one point higher than my C, I scored lowest in I but the D was almost as low.

Instructions: In the spaces below, rank the traits listed on each of the 6 lines. Working left to right you should assign a "4" to the word which is MOST like you: "3" points to the word LIKE you, "2" points to the word that is SOMEWHAT like you, and "1" to the word LEAST like you. Figure your totals for each vertical column and fill in the boxes marked "TOTAL". The combined score of all four columns should equal 60.

______COLUMN 1 ____COLUMN 2_____COLUMN 3_____COLUMN 4


____ COMPETITIVE ___INSPIRING_______STEADY______CAUTIOUS

____SELF CERTAIN____OPTIMISTIC____DELIBERATE____EXACTING

____ADVENTUROUS___ENTHUSIASTIC___FRIENDLY_____EXACTING

____DECISIVE_________FLEXIBLE_______PATIENT________STRICT

____ASSERTIVE_______IMPULSIVE______STABILIZING_____PRECISE

____VIGOROUS____RESPONSIVE____SYMPATHETIC_____FACTUAL

_____TOTAL___________TOTAL _________TOTAL ________TOTAL
"D" .................... "I" ....................."S"..................... "C"............

Circle the highest total and note which letter appears in the box with your
highest. (Either D, I, S, or C)
and remember this is just for fun.

Pink Truth: You can hate Mary Kay here, but only if you blindly agree with everything we say

Pink Truth, ignoring the rational opposing opinions presented to them, posts inciting "hate mail"

PinkPeace says:

"...for when she decides to join us after finding out the truth about MK on her own..."

But pinkpeace, I wonder, what will you do when you find out the truth about Pink Truth on your own?

If you have something to say about this, you know where to put it... in the comments section.

UNDERSTANDING D-I-S-C

When working with people it is always helpful to understand that not everyone is like us. There are many different personality studies. One that is frequently used is the D-I-S-C System. By no means is this complete and to fully understand it would take alot of time but attached is a chart that breaks down the four different styles. D is Dominant, I is Influencing, S is Steady, and C-Conscientious
Because I couldn't get it to post in a table format (not very computer savy) I have color coded the different types.

I would like to mention that we all possess all four qualities, just in different degrees. The other thing is your "style" may differ because of the situation, ie: you may be one style at work because you must do a certain job but might be very different in your personal life. The goal would be to work on areas that are weaker to become more "balanced".

As one looks this over, it might help us to understand why some people end up in not happy situations and why there can be major communication breakdowns or misunderstandings, especially when it comes to situation in emails, etc. where there are no facial expressions, body language, or tones to assist in the message.

In a seperate post I will provide a little Assessment to help you see where you fall in the chart. (As I prefaced, it is by no means complete but it is a glimps into the system).

Style D -I -S- C

Basic Tendencies:
D: Fast-Paced and Task Oriented
I: Fast-Paced and People Oriented
S: Slower-Paced and People Oriented
C: Slower-Paced and Task Oriented

Greatest Strengths:
D: Decisive Action, Takes Charge, Gets Results, Self Confident, Independent, Risk Taker
I: Fun-Loving, Involved W/Others, Enthusiastic, Emotional, Optimistic, Good Communicator
S: Patient , Easy Going, Team Player, Calming Influence, Steady/Stable, Good Follow Through
C: Accurate, Analytical, Attentive to Key Details, High Standards, Intuitive, Controlled


Natural Limitations:
D: Impatient, Stubborn, Harsh or Blunt
I: Disorganized, Non-Detail-Oriented, Unrealistic
S: Indecisive, Over-Accommodating, Too Passive, Sensitive
C: Too Critical, Perfectionist, Overly Sarcastic

Communication:
D: One-Way, Direct, "Bottom Line"
I: Positive, Inspiritng, Persuasive
S: Two-Way, Best Listener, Empathetic, Feedback
C: Diplomatic, Keen Observer, Provides Details


Fears:
D: Being Taken Advantage of
I: Loss of Social Approval
S: Loss of Stability
C: Irrational Acts Criticism of their Work

Love Language:
D: Admiration
I: Acceptance & Approval
S: Appreciation
C: Affirmation

Under Pressure:
D: Autocratic, Aggresive, Demanding
I: Emotional Attach (But May Avoid Public Confrontation)
S: Acquiesces, Tolerates, Complies
C: Avoids, Withdraws, Plans Strategy to Get Even

Money Viewed As A Means Of:
D: Power
I: Freedom
S: Showing Love
C: Insuring Security

Decision Making:
D: Quick, Result-Focused, Very Few Facts
I: Impulsive, Whether it "Feels Right"
S: Relational, Trust in Others
C: Reluctant, Needs a Lot of Information

Greatest Needs:
D: Challenges, Change, Choices, Direct Answers
I: Fun Activities, Social Recognition, Freedom from Details
S: Status Quo/Stability, Time to Adjust to Changes, Sincere Appreciation
C: Time to do Quality Work, Work, Facts, Time to Analyze

Recharge:
D: Physical Activity
I: Social Time
S: “Nothing” Time
C: Private Time

CM Awards are on 8:00

Don't forget to tune in and and watch the Country Music Awards!

Pink Truth: Maybe if we hold our breath long enough, Mary Kay will go down

Pink Truth and Mary Kay - So Happy Together...

Your comments are what keep this site jumping... so jump on in, oh, and don't forget to keep it real.

Pink Truth: A valuable resource for Mary Kay

Pink Truth, irrelevant yesterday, irrelevant today

If you have something to say about this, you know where to put it... in the comments section.

Pink Truth: Mary Kay's Number 1 Recruiting Tool

I am bored of pointing things out about PT.

I have said a lot about Mary Kay and Pink Truth.

You can easily research my feelings on most of these things. I had hoped at some point to put together an easy to follow guide that breaks down the points and counterpoints of the myriad issues on both sides of this discussion.

However, I simply don't have the time, energy or drive to do all that. At this point, I have decided that the one thing that I will continue is providing a place where your opinions, thoughts and contradictions to Pink Truth can be heard.

I will keep posting daily links to what Pink Truth is talking about. My offer still stands that anyone who would like to become an official author of this site can express interest by sending me an email. Otherwise, feel free to leave your point of view in the comments section.

Weak from being irrelevant, Pink Truth copies Mary Kay... Again.

If you have something to say about this, you know where to put it... in the comments section.

The Brush Set

Mary Kay® Brush Collection

This luxurious makeup brush set includes a Powder Brush, Cheek Brush, Eye Definer Brush, Eye Crease Brush and Eyeliner/Eyebrow Brush – all with sleek black wooden handles. The set also includes the Mary Kay® Cosmetic Organizer bag, so you can just roll up your makeup brush collection and go! It's even roomy enough to add your Mary Kay® Compact, lip gloss, mascara, other makeup applicators and more!

Use them. love them. Love the mineral foundation powder brush but agree we could use an eyeliner brush (thinner and stiffer then the one we have) and a full size lip brush since all we have is the little purse size one.
If you would like to see pics since I have no clue or patience to figure out how to post them, just visit www.marykay.com .

Pink Truth recommends sleazy ways to succeed in Mary Kay

Well after a series of fully plagiarized and shamelessly copied posts directly from Mary Kay, Pink Truth finally offers some content of their own.

Look how shady we would be if we were in Mary Kay

I would not be surprised to learn that this happens in Mary Kay. There are plenty of people in this world that will do anything if they think that they can make a quick buck doing it.

However, I find it more than a little curious that while Tracy has plenty of innocuous advice from Mary Kay to copy and paste at will, she has not one line to quote from any reputable source that this is encouraged in Mary Kay.

Rest assured though, she, with all the authority a fraud investigator can muster, puts your mind at ease with this:

"You see this practice with the credit card going on a lot, especially if a director is struggling to meet production or finish a car. Corporate is aware of the practice, but looks the other way. (As with many of the other practices that are not on the up-and-up, but corporate ignores them becuase they generate wholesale orders.)"

1. "YOU" see this a lot? Who is the "you" in that equation? I don't see it a lot. In fact, I don't see it at all.

2. If a director is struggling (esp. on a regular basis) to perform the thing that she is being paid to do, she should step down to a role that does not cause her to struggle. And certainly she should do so if her current role is causing her to practice such reprehensible practices as are outlined here.

3. Corporate is aware of this? Really? You know this, how? Do you mean that you have some inside information that indicates this is the reason some of those 900 directors were terminated? Oh wait, that would mean they don't look the other way. Perhaps the fact that they wait until they have this little thing called 'evidence' or 'proof' before they take action is all that it takes for you, who doesn't let bothersome things like "no evidence" and "no proof" get in the way of making accusations, to decide that they "look the other way".

4. Ignoring unethical behavior that goes against company policy for the sake of making a quick buck from a wholesale order that will most likely eventually get returned or sold via a liquidator is not a good business model (remember that from yesterday) for Mary Kay corporate. If this is a corporate practice at Mary Kay (and I can't emphasize enough how magnificently I doubt that it is), it will not last long. (Either the practice will stop or Mary Kay will.)

I know all you PTers and assorted other Anti-mkers would like to think that the reason for your lack of success in Mary Kay was Mary Kay itself. If it wasn't your recruiter, it was her director. If it wasn't the director, it was the NSD. If it was nothing to do with the wonderful, innocent women that comprise the sales force, NSD to lowly consultant, it must have been corporate. If you are "blessed", it was the, how did he used to put it?

What was it that he said 'victimized' everyone that laid eyes on Mary Kay?

...great... now I have to go look it up. (hold on)

Oh yeah, it was "MK MLM Victim". It is the MLM's fault.

Anyway, it isn't your fault that this opportunity did not work out for you. Perhaps it is a female trait that I can't understand that keeps you from saying, "oh well, that's not a match for me, what else can I try" but rather forces you to find someone else to blame so that you can wash your hands of it as though you could have done it if it wasn't for the stinking, rotting corpse that held you back.

If that is what it takes, I have to warn you, you are going to have to stare daggers at the "Mary Kay Ship" for a long time, because from where I am sitting, they look pretty solid.

Pink Truth Regurgitates more "Truth" about Mary Kay

Well, Pink Truth seems to think that they can infringe on any material they would like to, but as most of you know, they have no problem manipulating the DMCA to force bloggers hand to take down any post here that even quotes their site. So, while I would like to point out the glaring foolishness in "raisinberry's" post by quoting and then responding, I don't want to provide any fuel for more bullying.

So check out the post here - Pink Truth and Common Sense... a combination not likely to be seen

And match the corresponding responses:
1. Phrase not meant to be taken literally
2. If you are not selling that much, are you really "selling" at all?
3. Did you really think they would just give you a $25,000 car for "earning" $18,000? Really?
4. Have you ever heard of a motivating expression? Note to "raisinberry", "You're on fire" does not mean that you should frantically look for an extinguisher.
5. Unless someone told you that filling out a worksheet was the same thing as having a business plan... and you believed it... this point makes no sense.
6. Has anyone heard this one? It seems like it may have been a grotesquely stretched 'saying' that was taken horrifically out of context. Regardless, not having a customer base and/or sales income does not mean you have to order on credit. It means you should not order. Honestly.
7. Perhaps this one should be (or more likely "is") rephrased - "Reinvest until you are at the profit level you want to be at.
8. Ummm not sure what this is meant to prove. Is this statistic oft repeated in MK? I think its more like 700K, but either way, is that a small number? Seems like a lot of women like Mary Kay to me. How many of you (pt types) are there that hate it? I think you are outnumbered.
9. So, by your math, 14,000 (actually you said 1 MIL, so 20K, but whose counting) women in MK are making more than 50,000. I have not heard this statistic that you say MK-bots repeat, but it would seem that there is a good chance that there are no other companies paying out $50K + to 14,000 of their 'sales force'. Perhaps, 'raisinberry', you could name a few?
10. Operative word here, can. You can do it too. Not "you will" not "it will be easy", "you can. Forget the whole fame and fortune thing and just focus on selling the product. This is not a scheme unless you make it one. You are selling cosmetics for crying out loud. Get out there and sell them. Be assertive. If selling cosmetics is not for you, find something else you are good at.
11. I am not sure how this one was presented to you, but if you signed up for something because someone told you it was "taught at Harvard", I question your judgment. Perhaps a polite, "that's nice" would have sufficed. And if you passed this information on to others without verifying the validity of it and understanding it, shame on you. You perpetuated the problem. Way to be proud of that.
12. "To walk with confidence" is exactly what this (here comes that phrase again) motivating expression is supposed to inspire. That you took it to mean lie says something. Doesn't it.
13. Again, motivating expression. NOT excuse to do wrong.
14. Motivating expression. (And I seriously hope the floating on milk thing was your own addition to this) Look, as you found out, "loading up other women in CC debt" doesn't work for the long term anyway. So why do you keep insisting that this is the way the "successful" ones do it. "Their end is (as yours was) in disaster".
15. Show me these "statistics". By the way, 20/80 'rule' is just a guide that fits into almost any scenario you can imagine. 20% of the ______ do/consume/spend/etc. 80% of the _______. It has been used to apply to just about anything... and almost always rings true to a certain degree. 20% of the idiots in the world create 80% of the problems for the rest of us. See, now you try it. It will always work. 20% of the words I type on this blog tell 80% of the story. Oh, and I am pretty sure that mk4me expects to make money training consultants. My wife's director does too. MK corporate seems to invest a good deal of money into this as well.
16. *sigh* You can go ahead an "buy" your stupid ribbon if you want. You can stick it to your pile of inventory. The rest of those beaming winners... earned it. Maybe. Thing is, you don't know. But, simply put, yes... MK rewards activity. And, yes, if you want to fake it, you can. But for the love of all that is holy and pure, why would you?
17. Motivating expression. Misused, I am sure. Easy to see through? Should be.
18. I am sure that some people will disagree with me, but this one and the one before it should really not be taken as literally as some people seem to make it. If you are not making enough money to comfortably pay for an event from your profit, you are not making enough money to make it worth your time. Get back to work and earn that trip.
19. The secret to your success was obviously getting out of Mary Kay. Honestly, if these were "secrets" you were looking for and waiting for, you would have been in a long time. What exactly did you think was meant by, "it takes a lot of hard work"? A shovel maybe? Hammer and nails?
20. Motivating expression. And, whoa, did you just zone out at every Mary Kay event/training/etc. and substitute your own ideas for what they were saying? The whole point of this motivating expression is that your attitude is extremely important. I am not sure if you even noticed that the wording implies that you can do everything wrong and still succeed.
21. Motivating expression. (I swear, I feel like a 2nd grade teacher explaining these) This one is meant to encourage you not to quit. Sometimes things get tough. You shouldn't let these things make you quit. You should be strong. This doesn't mean that if you are not making money and you are unhappy that you should keep bashing your head against the wall hoping that the bruise you are giving yourself will turn into sweet ice cream.
22. I can honestly say that I am genuinely impressed at your ability to assume that because you had limited success with Mary Kay that it must be that way for all of Mary Kay. Your blissful unawareness of the most basic of life principles leaves me in awe. Congratulations.

Your arrogance, "You owe us nothing" makes me wonder if you were one of those consultants that suggested to her clients that the 'blessing of your presence' ought to be considered prize enough in exchange for whatever you were asking them to do.

You should probably go back to sleep now. It is a much happier place there, I am sure, than in this big scary world where... oh wait a minute, that must be why "negative" comments like this one aren't allowed on your site. Only Pink Truth can be negative. And only about Mary Kay. And we don't call it "negative". We prefer to call it "The Truth". It has a much nicer ring that way.

Another glimpse at what Pink Truth considers the "truth" about Mary Kay to be

Do you have some free time right now? If you do, great, today's "truth", brought to you by the letter *sigh* and our friends at Pink Truth, is a long one. If you don't, then don't even bother checking out A Canadian Mary Kay Defector Decries Mary Kay Practices. Weighing in at just under 4,000 words, this one is jam packed with everything from the obvious, "Mary Kay isn't a match for me so I am quitting" to the bizarre.

To be perfectly honest with you, I just don't have the time to analyze everything she has to say. She makes some good points. But overall, I am left wondering what the point is. Perhaps it is because I am not in her shoes. Perhaps it is because when I don't like something, even if it was a mistake I made to get me "into it", I simply move on. I don't know. If you have the time (I know some of you already have an have been waiting for this post) check it out and share your thoughts.

Here are a few of mine.

"Platinum" (the author of the piece) says:

We were also told at a workshop by a National that if we wanted to become Nationals we would need to build our team in several different areas within a 2 to 8 hour radius depending on the density of the population so I determined to travel to cities within an 8 hour trip one way, and other places that would require lots of travel time to work towards my long term goals.

This is, hands down, one of the greatest examples of putting the cart before the horse that I have ever heard. I once had an idea to borrow money from my credit card (cash advance style) to invest in an interest earning account. (Of course the idea was to borrow at the promotional 0% interest rate and invest in something safe - say 4% money market) But what if the "deal" would be 18% interest on the credit card and 1.5% on the money market? Wouldn't you "abandon ship"? If driving 8 hours - one way!!!! was putting such a strain on things why why why would you keep doing that?! She also mentions elsewhere (and I hear this a lot from the "Mary Kay is evil" crowd) that all the events were a serious drain on potential profit. If that is the case, DON'T GO. Does anyone really believe that when you meet a Mary Kay lady your ability to say "NO" goes out the door?

A little later she continues:

Plus we tend to put the million dollar Directors and Nationals on huge pedestals. This is also before expences. Did you know that if you had a regular job and were earning $50,000 for 20 years, that you would have earned 1 million dollars? You have spent it on rent, vacations, food, clothes, car, gas, etc., etc., but you've earned a million dollars! If MK is viewed as a business and a replacement for a different job, the Nationals would be using their earnings to pay bills and regular family expenses as well as any extras just like any "executive" would have to. Or did you think they just save it all up for a "rainy day"?

First of all, where are the speling (int. mispelled) critics when "one of their own" spells expenses "expences"? Again, not that I care... it is "blogland" and no one checks their spelling or grammar, but it was a point I made in a recent post because of a comment angrily spewed by a PTer towards an MKers "grammer" (if you recall) and I wonder, where is that critic now?

But moving on from the petty, is this a joke? Do any of you really think that earning millions of dollars is so that you can stash it all away, taking it out occasionally to admire its "prettiness"? Money is earned so that it can be used. Spent, wasted, invested, whatever! If you are making $50K a year for 20 years, congrats, you made a million dollars. The way she asks, "Or did you think they just save it all up for a "rainy day"?" makes me think that she thought this. I mean seriously, are there people out there recruiting with lines like, "Once you get into Mary Kay, not only will you be making a ton of money immediately, but you will no longer have any expenses... those bills you are paying now will grow wings and fly away to the place where bills go when they die."???? What is that? Mary Kay puts their top achievers on a pedestal. SO WHAT!!!!

More...

Mary Kay said that "You can achieve anything you want if you want it badly enough and are willing to pay the price." I'm just not willing to pay the price anymore. How about you? Success is always "just around the corner", but for most of us that corner will never come, it's perpetual.

I got news for you... this "problem" is not exclusive to Mary Kay. No matter what you are aspiring to in life; a certain salary, a bank account balance, a new car, a spouse, children, a life of luxury, a life of leisure... there will be a price. What you have to do is figure out what priority each thing holds for you and make your decisions based on that. Don't let the Mary Kay lady tell you what your priorities are. Don't let the (scary) Pink Truth lady tell you what your priorities are. They are Your priorities. You choose them. You stick to them. And if you believe in God, and have any common sense in you, you let Him choose them!

And finally,

Head office might terminate me when they catch wind of this email,

Probably not

and that's okay. It will just prove that my story is correct all the more and that they want to keep us from speaking the truth about what is really going on.

Probably not, and even if she were terminated it would likely not be an attempt to *gasp* hide the truth (duhduhduhhhhh).

It makes their job difficult you know!

Not really, no. If anything, those consultants will finally call the corporate headquarters (like they should have in the first place) and get their questions sorted out. I know Pink Truth doesn't seem to have the ability to grasp this, but a company like Mary Kay wants to know the problems their sales force is having so they can fix those problems. It amazes me the density of some people's thinking.

And they're in it for the $$ and that is on their consciences.

Profound. They are in it for the money?! Get out!!!! You have got to be ******* me.

But wait just a tic. Why did you join?

Anyone here feel like Mary Kay would be a better place if they gave up trying to make money?

Pink Truth: Mary Kay directors are so cheap they treat their assistants decently

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. If you are going to make a statement it should either be an opinion/speculation that is clearly presented as such or you should explain what fact/source you used to come to the conclusion that you are presenting.

Pink Truth, as all my readers are well aware, does not hold this same conviction. They operate under a different model altogether. I think it can best be described as, "Say whatever you want, tell everyone that it is the truth, delete and ban anyone that disagrees."

Case in point - Pink Truth copies Mary Kay directors survey.

Pink Truth Premise: Mary Kay directors don't make any money (or at the very least 'barely any' money)
Supporting fact: They pay their assistants anywhere from $8 to $12 per hour.

Now if you, like me, are scratching your head, saying, "Wait a tic, don't they have to be making money in order to pay someone else money?" than you are in luck... Tracy has this genius explanation.

"I guess none of these sound too bad, especially considering that in my area, directors only "paid with product." That's because they really couldn't afford to pay anything at all, with what little they were making as MK directors."

Am I the only one confused?

Accusation - Mary Kay directors can't afford to pay assistants because they don't make enough money.
Proof - Mary Kay directors (in this example that we are providing for proof of our accusation) pay their assistants, in most cases better than most retail/part time jobs.

I just can't get it to add up. Can anyone help me with this?

Pink Truth - Twist things much?

Today's post should resurrect a conversation we had here over the weekend. See the comments here to get caught up to speed.

Then you can check out Pink Truth's post Mary Kay Bans Asking Questions?

Now, because we already started this conversation and because I want to invite more people to join in and weigh in, I will keep this brief... I hope.

Basically what Pink Truth (in this case the author is "sadnpink") is suggesting is that Mary Kay attempts to create an atmosphere where questions are not allowed to be asked, concerns are not allowed to be expressed, and anyone who does any of these things is relegated to the minions of "negative-nellies" who should be avoided at all costs.

However, what they often offer as evidence (as is the case here) are typically things that do nothing to prove this accusation.

Consider:

"...I was supposed to look upline to those who had achieved more if I needed advice..."

This seems like REALLY good advice to me. In fact, consider how "sadnpink" herself opens this post.

"Having been trained in the field of communication, I know how crucial it is to keep lines of communication open when working a business. Even in relationships, this is a key ingredient to success."

I am confused. Isn't this keeping the lines of communication open? Isn't this encouraging exactly what she says is being discouraged?

This is crucial here, pay close attention to what I am about to say. If a Mary Kay director is smart, she will WANT to know what the struggles of her downline are. She will WANT to know the problems they are having. Because until the "lines of communication" are flowing and she knows what the problem(s) is(are) she can do nothing to help.

The problem with this usually comes in when the downline discuss amongst themselves, or with clients or with their downline the "problems" because those individuals (clients, downline, each other) may be more willing to commiserate with them rather than help light a fire under them than the people above them are.

In other words, for the sake of illustration, allow me to create a simple problem.... one that "sadnpink" used.

Problem - “No one wants to have a class”.
Solution - (again this is just for illustration, your solution may vary) You haven't called all of the leads that you have to ask people to book a class.

Now, if you - as prescribed by the aforementioned "only talk to your upline for advice" formula - call your director and say, “No one wants to have a class”. She is going to probe a little (hopefully). How many people have you called? Did you talk to them or just leave messages? Do you have leads you have not called? The solution may not be pleasant, but if she is a good director, a good leader, she will probably come up with a clear and concise plan that you will now have to follow through with and do in order to find the someone who does want to have a class.

However, if you - as Pink Truth seems to prefer - log onto an anonymous forum and complain about how no one wants to book a class, or get together a small group from your team to sit around and complain about how no one wants to book a class, or commiserate in whatever way you commiserate... A. she has no idea that you are having trouble booking classes and... B. you are no closer to arriving at the solution than you were before. In fact, if anything (because you probably slammed on how pretentious the director - the one person that can help you - is, and how she thinks she knows it all...) you have probably further cemented your resolve to not do the one thing that you need to do if you want to make your business more successful.

And this is why I think it is so important to establish the difference between a good director and a bad one.

If your director is likely to light a fire under you, challenge you to do the work that you don't want to do, or help you think of ideas that you didn't have, and the only reason you don't want to call her is because you actually don't want to do the hard work that it takes to become successful than you should quit Mary Kay, return your product for whatever money you can get, and be done with it. Mary Kay is obviously not for you.

If however your director is likely to say that “No one wants to have a class” is negative talk and don't bother me with that nonsense - click -, than you have a bad director. If you want to have a solid chance at making a go of Mary Kay, you should either bail on that director completely and sign up in a unit that has a director that will light a fire under you - or - stay with that director "on paper" and find a director that does push and challenge you that you can call when you are feeling discouraged, overwhelmed, frustrated, etc.

Nothing that I have seen thus far indicates that Mary Kay encourages the abysmal "ignore reality and pretend everything is good" that Pink Truth wants everyone to believe that they do. If you read any of the official literature, if you call the 800 numbers, you will not see this doctrine, as Pink Truth claims they preach it, anywhere.

Now again, this is not to say that there are not directors (executive, elite, national or whatever) that do preach these things. And it is certainly not to say that the perception of what is being said can really go way off the course of what someone actually was trying to communicate. Consider how often on this blog I say something, someone says, "how dare you" or the equivalent and we sort it out to realize that I did not mean anywhere near what they thought I meant. Except remove the dialogue part of that, because a lot of times, in places like Pink Truth, there is no dialogue allowed. It is either "rip on what the Mary Kay person said" or be deleted. Similarly, picture the cluster of Mary Kay team members that are talking doom and gloom and how ignorant their director is when someone pipes up, "actually, I thought what she said was right on and very helpful... it sure motivated me!" Who do you think will not be invited to the next "chat" session?

When Mary Kay (I am talking about the "official" Mary Kay that I am quasi-familiar with and the Mary Kay that I have observed in my wife's unit) says, "Don't talk negative and don't associate with people that do", this is what they are talking about. The problem is not that you have a problem. The problem becomes a problem when you declare with certainty that your problem is unresolvable and start declaring that your unresolvable problem is a Truth... a Fact... abut Mary Kay. Now you really do have a problem that can't be resolved. But for someone else, this problem is nothing more than the motivation they need to work through to the next level.

Whew... like I said, this will be a short post!!!!

;)