Educating my kids myself is my #1 priority. This comes before anything else. It has meant turning down jobs offered to me. It means saying "no" to certain activities. It means that before I commit to something, I have to ask myself if it fits with my decision to homeschool.
One criticism I have read over and over is that those who go above Director - NSD's for example - is that they do so by sacrificing family.
I don't have a problem saying no to things that interfere with my family time. With the constraints I have put on myself, I know that I have pretty much eliminated my chance of working for anyone - I need too much control over my time.
Realistically, I doubt I can be anything more than a Team Leader with the restraints I have set for myself, but that is my choice. When the kids are older, then I can decide if I want to work more hours.
I believe that if you have your priorities straight, you keep balanced. It doesn't matter if you are in MK, working a J-O-B or whatever.
So here are my discussion questions:
- Do you feel/were you told that you could go as high as you wanted to go in MK while only working 10 or so hours a week?
- Did you believe it? Why?
- Is Mary Kay to blame for the "stress" on families when in the higher levels or is it the fault of the consultant? (In other words, is the stress level is what you allow it to be, or is it inherent with the position?)
- Have you stepped down from Director to consultant in order to have less demand on your time, or is being a Director no big deal when it comes to time and stress?
- Do you have no desire to be anything more than a Consultant? If so, why?
Nothing follows.
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I am the consultant who thot that I wanted to be a Director, but I dropped out of DIQ when I was the only one doing production, and saw the debt I was getting myself into. I have since come to realize that I only wanted to be a director because my director said I had the potential, and the hype was all about becoming directors.
ReplyDeleteI am glad I did not realize that goal, because my children are in elementary school, and from what I see from the directors who are in my city, many of them work evenings and weekends, holding success meetings, thursday night makeovers, and Saturday morning muffins and more ( new consultant training).
I want to be home with my family on evenings and weekends. So for now, as I decide what my future looks like in Mk, 1 thing is for certain, I choose to remain a consultant.
I don't know why that post came up as anonymous, but it is from me, MKnomore4me???
ReplyDeleteI was not told / do not believe that you could go as high as you wanted to go in MK while only working 10 or so hours a week. You CANNOT make an executive income working part time! I don't know why anyone would believe that - there's no such thing as a free lunch! If that were true, we'd ALL be doing it!
ReplyDeleteIs Mary Kay to blame for "stress" on families in the higher levels?
I believe each person handles it differently. Coming from a consultant level only, I find that posting my weekly schedule on the fridge and reviewing it with hubby, in advance, and adding all events for the week, work & family, keeps us on tract and reduces the stress & confusion of who is supposed to be where with the kid(s).
Do you have any desire to be anything more than a Consultant? If so, why? Right now a consultant is fine, I'd like to move to red jacket and in a few years, possibly team leader. I set my priorities and work to meet my criteria. I currently have a job and do not consider MK a career. I simply do not have the time/energy/effort/desire to work MK as a career - and that's fine, I can work it at my pace (or lack of). It's not MK's fault if I don't put forth any effort during a week, it's mine.
Do you feel/were you told that you could go as high as you wanted to go in MK while only working 10 or so hours a week?
ReplyDelete*I was NOT told this at any point during my "opportunity chat" or from my recruiter. I was told that the opportunity was available to me to go as high as I wanted, but any mention of time worked (hours) was not attached to that statement.
Did you believe it? Why?
*I do NOT believe you can climb the ladder successfully by only working 10 hours a week. I work anywhere between 5-10 hours right now and tend to sell between 1000-1500 retail every month. My initial goal was just to bring in $400 a month. This is nowhere near the amount of time it would take to run an entire Unit. In fact, this week, I did nothing. Emphasis on the work "I". It is Holy Week and I was just too busy. Couldn't do that if I were a Director. I like that I don't necessarily have to work if I can't.
Is Mary Kay to blame for the "stress" on families when in the higher levels or is it the fault of the consultant? (In other words, is the stress level is what you allow it to be, or is it inherent with the position?)
*Hard for me to answer this as I really have no idea how many hours a director puts in. Plus, it would also depend on that person's stage of life. My adopted director has two grown children, is an empty nester, and thus, has an true 8 hour work day. I could never do this with two little one's. So, there are alot of variables here . . . stage of life, family structure, time management skills, etc.
Have you stepped down from Director to consultant in order to have less demand on your time, or is being a Director no big deal when it comes to time and stress?
*Not applicable.
Do you have no desire to be anything more than a Consultant? If so, why?
*At some point, yes I do. I am one team member away from my red jacket and would love to become a Team Leader, as I'm a good trainer (my background). Not sure I want to be a Director. I am a part of an incredible team and am just enjoying things day by day.
No, I was not told that you could go as high as you want by working only 10 hours a week. I was told that by doing 30 faces every 30 days, I could. I could do those faces one by one or in classes...therefore, I would determine the time I put in.
ReplyDeleteMy director homeschools her 2 girls and is a Caddy driver. However, she does work plenty of nights and weekends.
I plan to stay a very part time consultant because I work in an industry now (fine dining) that requires me to work nights and weekends. For a career goal, my main goal has become to NOT do that anymore. Let's be honest, people want to hold appointments on weekends and in the evenings. For some, that is perfect. They can be home with kids during the day, and work when hubby can take over watching them.
For me, I would prefer to be off duty when I am off. I do not want to get tons of work related calls in my off time or feel like I am always working. Directors get major kudos for handling that kind of stress.
I do think Directors also have the additional stress of making production, but if they are holding selling appointments as mine does, it is more of her personal goals. She has no problem making production, but she does have her own goals. To me, this is self-induced stress. However, it is most likely equally stressful to any corporate job, not more so.
I'm happy to be very part time and get my products FREE by using my profit for products for yours truly, with a little extra shoe money left over...or perhaps that new purse. Hmmmm, decisions decisions! ;)
I was told that I could get executive pay for part time hours. Did I believe it? No. Please. If that was the case, my director, who taught that nonsence, would be doing it. I did think it would be easier, though.
ReplyDeleteWe all handle stress differently. If you have a pushy director, always asking for you to "help" the unit, yes, you might be stressed. Women are naturally helpers. We can't let it go if someone is in distress.
I have no desire to be anything other than a constultant. If you have people under you then you have to work more. They will need help, guidance, directing. Less expenses as a consultant. Less $$, too, but also less stress to go with it. Some people are made to be bosses, some people are made to be workers. You have to know yourself.