The most "off topic" post ever?

I would like to make it clear that I have no intention for this post to imply anything about Mary Kay at all.

It is off topic.

I get to do that because this is my blog. :D

I just got back from running. You know, exercising. I have been trying to do this more regularly. My dog (Meika) and I usually run together (as we did tonight). For about three months (give or take), we were running between 5 and 6 miles every morning. Then I got lazy for about a month.

She (Meika) is very good at giving me "that look" that says,

Meika: "Why don't we run anymore?"

Dave: "I know pups, we haven't run in a while have we? I have been REAL busy..."
(hoping she buys the "busy" line)

Meika: "Oh."

Meika: "Well we could run right now!"

Dave: "Sorry pups, now is just not a good time... maybe later."

Meika: "Later?! Like in an hour!?"

Dave: "mmm, not really... more like, 'not tonight'."

Meika: "Oh."

Meika: "Tomorrow than??!"

Dave: "I don't know, we will have to see when tomorrow comes..." (trailing off)

Meika: "Oh."

Meika: (((sad eyes)))

Meika: "OK"

So last night we ran (almost two miles - she gave up before I did)
And tonight we ran (a little better than three miles)

I feel SO good that I simply felt the need to share.

The salient points are these.

1. I ran past a food place. The kind where you can smell the food from the street. Normally, smelling the food would make me crave it. But it repulsed me. It was like the 'healthy' me was rejecting it on my behalf!

2. In place of the unhealthy, greasy food, I am craving water. Not flavored water. Not vitamin water. Water water. I am on my third tall glass of the cold, clear stuff. (not vodka... water.)

3. I sweat. It is still about 80 degrees outside right now (gotta love So Cal weather) so I was a sweaty mess when I got home. Sweating offers the wonderful feeling that impurities are being washed out of your body. Impurities like that panini sandwich I had for lunch. Not that the panini sandwich was impure, maybe just that tasty, cream-like filling that held the whole thing together.

So what is the point? I am not really sure.

Perhaps - "Exercise, it's not just good for you, it feels good too."

Or - "Here is a little something about me that you may not have known."

Or - "I have full conversations with my dog" (you can ask my wife about this one... she knows it's true!)

What does this have to do with Mary Kay?

Glad you asked.

But, I already told you... NOTHING.

Random enough for you?

Some Pink Food for Thought

Tracy said:

"...I've got to wonder what some publicity of this issue would do to Mary Kay. Do they really want the press getting hold of this? ..."

To which (a little later on) "thinkingpinkstinks" said:

"I understand how you feel Tracy, but unfortunately, at this juncture, I'm not sure what the publicity of this lawsuit would really do. Large corporations are known to be in lawsuits. I can think of a handful right now that have been mentioned in the paper recently. Would it stop me from doing business with them? I'm not sure. MK's position would be noted also, along with the Webers, and it is for the Court to decide."

Very gentle (on 'thinkingpinkstinks' part), but right on nonetheless. Put slightly more bluntly, "Tracy, you need to realize that when something gets "real" press coverage, both sides are presented with a little thing called 'objectivity'."

- just sayin' -

Bonus quote (no comment included)

"Day Radiance lover" said:

"Well, as for me, I would love to give them all of my PINK KRAP, and stop even selling MK, and let them make money off of it, to help their cause. ( I was thinking that, been then came to my senses.) If they would purchase my items, I would gladly sell it to them, and unload it, along with the prizes, and the pink guitar, and the pink piano. Wonder if they would want to sell that pink krap?

As long as we are on the subject, can we all get together, and contact ToP, that all of us will be character witness's for them against MK? Boy, that would be a hoot. I would love to stand in court and tell the real truth of how SD's and SSD's lie, cheat steal, and use other nameless beings with SS cards to climb to the ladder of suckcess.

MKC, HEAR US NOW. WE WILL NOT LET TOP DOWN, AND WE ARE WILLING TO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT MKC, AND HOW THEY TREAT US AND OUR CUSTOMERS.

he he heeeee"

((sigh))

Nigerian Scams reaches Mary Kay?

The Pink Truth (ahem) "detectives"... (ahem) have uncovered "shocking" news.

Apparently, not only can you secure untold fortunes from Nigerian businessmen that need your help - we have all gotten these emails, haven't we? - now you can also sell your Mary Kay products to Nigerian women for massive profits.

Except, instead of taking this information - and whatever genuine concern it seems to cause - to Mary Kay, they have decided to post about it on their smear blog, Pink Truth. Interestingly, even though most of them claim to be out of Mary Kay, somehow they feel wronged that people are being given the chance to cheat and get ahead in Mary Kay.

Their "evidence" amounts to little more than the ads you can STILL find on their site every day


Like suggesting a boycott on Nigerian Banks because of the emails that made the rounds, Pink Truth members (as they typically do) jump on the bandwagon of blaming the company, directors, and consultants for this behavior. Simultaneously they tell "us" those involved in Mary Kay that "we" should be offended and angered by this wrong.

It isn't until well into the post that we get this comment from 'magenta'

"when i think of nigeria I think of those sleezy email cons that ask you to help them by putting somemoney in an account and they will pay you richly.."

Except, instead of concluding the logical or natural conclusion, - namely that these things happen, anything that CAN be exploited, most likely will - she concludes that:

"Maybe a lot of letters need to go to headquarters...other ruby directors asking if they are gonna allow these foreigners to take all the QUeenie spots......"

I guess what is puzzling to me is that Pink Truth:

1. Finds controversy that they THINK we should care about
2. Make a big fuss about it AS THOUGH it matters to them
3. Suggest that WE should do something about it
4. Conclude that:
A. Mary Kay (the company and the consultants) are not doing anything about it
B. Mary Kay MUST be endorsing it (because of the assumption in A.)
C. Mary Kay is (as deleted suggests here) bad for you BY DESIGN.

Once again, the existence of people trying to (successfully or otherwise) exploit the Mary Kay system, is all the evidence they need to pronounce that Mary Kay is allowing this - which builds into intentionally ignoring this - which builds into encouraging this - which builds into promoting this.

Meanwhile, THEY actually ARE promoting these things DIRECTLY with the ads on their site. I wonder if WE should encourage them to form a protest/boycott against Tracy and infer that the reason they won't do that is because they know they will be banned if they do... oh wait, that is true!

Most Recent Poll

A good laugh for the weekend?

This will be brief I promise. To make up for the recent mini-novel.

"Suzy Q" one of the writers on Pink Truth (This site often talks about the website Pink Truth - to help make you aware of the half-truths and flat out lies they tell) recently wrote a post. I couldn't even tell you what the post was about (something about Mary Kay not really caring about consultants) and I really only read a few lines into it when I stumbled on this little quote,

"I mean, offering to plant a tree for each returned platinum compact is a nice, green thought, but… did you see the “size” of those trees?"

I am not really sure I need to say anything. I will leave you to ponder.

Your success in Mary Kay - Who is responsible?

I must warn you that this post is REALLY long. It is so long that I have hidden it behind the 'click here' link. Please, take a deep breath, tell your boss that you have important work to do, take your laptop out to the pool, or whatever you do and then join the discussion!



An absolutely fantastic discussion has begun on another post and I thought it appropriate to address it.

I think that it can be summed up with – should Mary Kay Corporate track actual sales in awarding prizes or should they continue to award prizes based on ordering with the assumption that the orders are based on sales?

The question, in and of itself, is fairly benign. Ask anyone that is involved in any industry that distributes product and you will probably get a response in the order of, “huh… who cares?”

Warning, semi-boring but quite necessary ‘ground work’ to follow – I will isolate it so you can skim.

Typically speaking, any product that you are using will “get to you” by a channel similar to the following. I will use beverages in this case, and specifically the carbonated variety (Soda, Pop, or Coke depending on where you live) and even more specifically, because everyone is familiar with this brand, I will use Coca Cola brands/products.

First, there will be a concept. Someone, for instance, will say, “I have an idea… let’s make a carbonated beverage with lots of sugar and sell it. (Anyone who knows the story of the origins of Coca-Cola will know that it was not that simple, but please understand I am simplifying for illustration sake and will similarly simplify the roots of Mary Kay momentarily.) That person (or those people) will then begin ‘the process’ of bringing their concept to market. As they develop their business model, there will be many steps that overlap each other in many ways. All of these steps should be planned with their end consumer in mind.

They will have to develop the product. They will have to develop packaging for their product. They will need to develop a brand identity for their product. They will need to create a marketing plan for their product. They will need to advertise their product. Advertising and marketing, although similar and often combined are two different components. They will need to create a channel or method of distributing their product. Then, they will need to continuously evaluate and improve on all of those things in an effort to maintain the demand for their product.

Because of the multitude of various options available to a producer of a product, each one will take on a unique strategy that will set it apart as different – maybe better, maybe worse – from everyone/everything else available. Take McDonalds and Burger King for instance. It is rumored (I don’t have any source for this, but it certainly seems possible) that McDonalds spent millions or possibly billions of dollars studying the demographics of every area that they launched a new location to determine the absolute BEST physical location for that store. Burger King’s strategy? Build a Burger King next to (or across the street from) a McDonalds. I say it seems possible because there is almost always a Burger King a stones throw from a McDonalds. (If anyone know whether this is a myth or not, please let me know) I use this illustration, true or not, to demonstrate that everyone will employ different strategies to accomplish the same outcome.

For those of you that were skimming, we are back!

Mary Kay is no different from any other manufacturer in principle.

They have a product.
They manufacture that product.
They create packaging for that product.
They have a clearly developed brand and brand image.

Where they are unique (compared to many of the other products that we are familiar with) is that they combine their advertising, (a majority of their) marketing, and their distribution into one venue. That is, they entrust the distribution and promotion of their product to individual representatives.

National companies that go the route of advertising spend a lot of money on that venture. I mean A LOT of money goes into advertising on a national level.

Again, if you want, you can just skim the following

For instance, Proctor and Gamble spent $4.8 Billion in 2006 and $5.2 Billion in 2007 in the United States alone. Proctor and Gamble (if you are not familiar with that name) is; Olay, Crest, Pantene, Gillette, Cover Girl, Febreze, Swiffer, Tide, Prilosec (otc), Oral-B, Secret, Clairol, Dayquil, Nyquil, Mr. Clean, Duracell, Iams, Head & Shoulders, Pampers, Charmin, Always, Actonel Rx, Bounty, Herbal Essences, Dawn, Old Spice, Tampax, Downy, Vicks, Max Factor, Pur, Folgers, Aussie, Cascade, ThermaCare, Metamucil, Pepto-Bismol, Pringles, Dolce & Gabbana, Braun, Gain, Tag, Puffs, Cheer, Fibersure, Luvs, Bounce and Fixodent – by ‘megabrand’ ordered from most money spent to least. They spent $394 Million on their Olay brand and a comparatively modest $11.3 Million on the Fixodent name.

In 2007, AT&T spent $3.2 Billion and Verizon and GM each spent $3.0 Billion. L’Oreal spent $1.6 Billion.

A LOT OF MONEY GOES INTO ADVERTISING.

Mary Kay has chosen to invest (spend if you will) this money on their consultants instead of on TV, Radio, Newspaper, Magazines, etc. Citing (among other things) that they want their product to be demonstrated in a one-on-one setting with the accompanying personal attention to detail, they have for the most part shunned traditional advertising and methods of distribution.

Is anyone still with me? I hope so! Now we can get into the question.

The simple question of whether or not Mary Kay should distribute/market in this manner is not worth discussing, because it IS the way they do it, and any contrary suggestion should be brought up with them.

However, the question of whether Mary Kay should track individual sales (rather than simply inventory orders) boils down to a more direct and accusatory question. Who is responsible when a consultant loses money?

One point of view is very keenly summed up by commentator ‘Enesvy’ (previously known as ‘Black Nova’

My issue is more human. I see MKC as a bus. They built the bus, they maintain the bus, they even provide drivers. People board the bus believing it to be safe and trusting those who introduce them to it and convince them to get on. Naive? Yes. But I can't fault anyone for not being a complete cynic and believing what somone with supposed experience in riding and/or driving that bus has to say. So when that bus is in an accident because it's not well-built, it has flaws, people riding it get hurt. My point of view is that MKC should be doing everything it can to ensure that their IBCs aren't hurt by their business model.

The other point of view – expressed by me… composed ‘just now’ is

There is nothing wrong with the bus. There is adequate training and information available to potential drivers. Potential drivers are ‘tested’ before being allowed to drive. The problem comes when a driver decides that she has thought of an excellent shortcut or ignores her training and starts speeding and cutting corners. Mary Kay Corporate, upon discovering such renegade drivers will implement disciplinary action, but just like the police here in Los Angeles (God bless them, they have a hard job), they WILL NOT get everyone that breaks the law. Many people have been badly injured and even killed on the streets of L.A. IF the LAPD and CHP could do a perfect job of policing this city, that number would be drastically reduced (or hypothetically eliminated entirely). IF Mary Kay could be everywhere at all times and hear every presentation, they would similarly meet (or come close to) the standard of perfection where no one is ever hurt.

As you have hopefully picked up from this, there are a lot of variables, and it is easy to get distracted by one element or another.

But this conversation is very important to have, so let us establish what this discussion is about, and what it is not about.

Let us assume for this conversation that Mary Kay Corporate is NOT out to get consultants. Evil as they may seem to some, it is illogical to assume that a corporation would exist simply to torment and ruin the lives of thousands of women.

Further, let us understand that, like it or not, they ARE a business. They are not a non-profit organization. Their primary purpose and reason for existence is to make money. This is NOT a bad thing. It also does not contradict their goal of enriching women’s lives. However, they are not here to just GIVE money away. If you want a piece of this pie, you are going to have to earn it. Please notice that I did not say you are going to have to work hard for it. I could sign up for Mary Kay and then go in my back yard and dig holes all day and night for years (hard work for sure – right!) and still not EARN anything.

The question here, is, “Who is responsible for the wreckage?”

From one direction, you have the ‘personal responsibility’ crowd. No matter how tantalizing something looks, no matter how much you trust someone that is suggesting something to you, no matter how influential and convincing someone is, you should always evaluate whether or not it is a good match for you. “I trust everyone. It's the devil inside them I don't trust.”

From the other direction, you have the ‘corporate responsibility’ crowd. Mary Kay is making a lot of money. If even one person loses money so that they can line their pockets (the rich get richer while the poor get poorer) with MORE money, they should be ashamed of themselves and do everything they can to make it right.

A philosophical discussion to be sure.

I can predict right now that the majority of those claiming ‘personal responsibility’ will be well adjusted within the Mary Kay structure while those claiming ‘corporate responsibility’ will be those that (at best) did not do well with Mary Kay.

Although I am sure that it is quite clear which ‘side of the isle*’ I am on, I will leave the question open ended for now.

*I know that ‘aisle’ is the correct word here, but I wish I were on a beautiful island right now – so I felt it appropriate to express my view as a ‘side’ of the ‘isle’ that I am on in my mind!

Where do YOU stand?

Brain Child Magazine Article

This magazine is suppose to be a magazine for "thinking mothers". The article is basically the saga of an individual that tried an mlm and failed, so of course, any and all direct sales companies are now bad and for facts to back up these statements, they just use statements from other disgruntled people that didn't make money when they were involved in these companies. I like to try to stay objective in my articles and I promise to try with this one, however I feel this needs to be brought to light. PT/TC is just gloating over the mention of their site in an article against mlm's that was published in the above mentioned magazine. For your convenience, if it works, I inserted the link if you would like to read the whole article.
http://www.brainchildmag.com/essays/summer2008_schultz.asp
I know that personally, I have read often on that other site, the statement that "99% of all people in Mk loose money." I never could figure out where this "fact" came from. Well, I think I finally got my answer. Now the next several paragraphs are from the article (in italics) after I post it, I would like to point something out. - I changed the color of the text to red in the points I would like to "debate".

Billion-dollar companies like Herbalife, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and Arbonne International, to name just a few, are structured on the MLM model. Most operate roughly the same way. New recruits are required, or at least strongly urged, to buy inventory up front which they sell to their friends, relatives, and acquaintances, usually via parties held in their homes, or in the homes of friends. Selling the actual products is one revenue stream, but as Lopez’s Herbalife team told her, the real money is made when you convince others to sell, too. If you’re lucky enough to find two or three people to sell through you, and if they have the skills to find others to sell for them, you could be sitting at the peak of a nice mountain of revenue. With Herbalife, for instance, Lopez says, “Every time one of your recruits sells something you receive two percent. You’re receiving money from three people below you: the person you recruit, the person they recruit, and the person that person recruits.” A sweet setup, in theory. In reality? Not so much. “This is a deadly business model in which you are doomed to fail,” says Robert Fitzpatrick, president of Pyramid Scheme Alert, an Internet-based watchdog group located in Charlotte, North Carolina. “There’s a ninety-nine percent loss rate”—meaning the vast majority of people who start MLM businesses end up losing money. You’d have a better chance betting your life savings on a game of blackjack in Vegas, he says, than you would putting it all into a multi-level marketing home business.

Now, I may not know everything there is to know about MK but, a recruiter only gets a percentage of her personal team. (Yes, a director will get on a commission on her unit members) but a recruiter will not get a commission from "three people below you" - only the people she personally recruits and the theory is that is to help the "recruiter" and compensate her for the time she will spend mentouring her new team member, which will take time away from her time she could be spending selling. And even though this Robert Fitzpatrick has made this statement, there is no report or explantion to back up this statement. Ummmm..... okay, why is it okay for this entire article backed up only with an individual view points to slander Companies because some Joe Blow makes a statement, doesn't make it true. So after reading this, imho, PT has proved what MK people have said all along, we are not an mlm.

Further more, this article does nothing to help people from falling pray to the pitfalls of a direct sales or mlm company, and that focusing on sales as your primary objective and team building secondary will help you earn far more money than simply recruiting, it just shows how some people make very poor decisions. They also have a blog for discussing the article connected with the article, some interesting comments and of course, I put in my two cents.

And I would like to add, next time you want to have a debate with someone about the benefits of a Mary Kay career and they start arguing, please feel free to just tell them that, "mk4me states that if you treat your MK like a business and build your customer base strong and team build second, don't buy your recognition, sell your products - don't discount everything, provide good customer service, don't inflate claims, don't lie, stay informed about the products, and don't expect people to knock your door down because you are now "a MK consultant", and you are willing to leave your home and your children for more than 10 minutes, you will be able to make money in MK and the longer you stay in and continue to take care of your existing clients and continue to add more new clients, you will be able to continue to increase your income." Bam, end of arguement. How could they possible argue with mk4me, it has to be fact, I said it, right???

ATTENTION ANONYMOUS USERS

Due to the proliferation of anonymous users disregarding repeated requests to self identify, the policy regarding anonymous commentators will be changing.

This will be a slow process, starting with this announcement and ultimately ending with a policy that does not allow anonymous comments.

There will be a period of transition because (as I understand it) once I disallow anonymous commenting, all of the options are removed except for that you log in with either a blogger ID or a OpenID. This is not a difficult process by any means, but I know that it will take some of you a while to get it done because of time constraints.

WHAT AM I ASKING YOU TO DO RIGHT NOW?

Glad you asked.

Please get yourself an ID. OpenID supports many ID's including; wordpress, typepad, livejournal and even AIM. Blogger of course will allow you to use your google/gmail account.

Please begin this process immediately so that we all have time to recognize each others "new" ID's.

Thanks in advance, and please leave comments here regarding this topic. (questions, suggestions, etc.)

MK Like A Telephone???? Hmmm....

Exploiter or Exploitee?? Carrying over from the last post it hit me that if you step back and look the Company is neither. How so?

I happen to love the telephone, it does alot of good. It can save a life by getting help right away, it keeps up intouch with family and friends, it helps in many ways. It has also contributed to stolen identities, stolen credit card information, or harrassing phone calls. These things don't make the telephone bad. The telephone is simply the tool a bad person can use to take advantage of others. It is the instrument that is used to perpetuate some crimes but that doesn't mean I don't want a phone. We all learn not to give out certain information over the phone to protect ourselves. Many have been victimized by telelphone scams but it is up to us to make sure that we protect ourselves from telephone abuse. Some learn the hard way, and others read and learn and don't make the mistake.

The Company isn't bad or good, if all followed the rules, there wouldn't be any problems. In theory, if everyone was honest and truly lived by the go give spirit and ethics and morales, this Company would be the perfect opportunity. The problem isn't the Company, it is the flawed people.

The same arguement can be used with many medicines, in the right dosage, they help people, they can save a life, but.....in the wrong doses, they could kill a person. I am sure many would not want a perscription taken off the market because some people have abused the drug if it were helping their health and well being.

Another point is a gun is it bad?? Nope, not until you put it in the hands of a human being, a gun by itself can not load itself nor can it shoot itself. I am not here to get into a debate on guns but a gun by itself has never hurt anyone, until the human factor enters into the picture.

So, there you have my two cents on the situation, my humble opinion Mary Kay is neither the exploiter or the exploitee - it is simply a Company. What someone does with their involvement in Mary Kay is on the individual, not the Company.

More Proof-Don't Do it Wrong if You Want To Succeed

The more I read, the less I wonder why some individuals just don’t work out in Mary Kay, the post actual speaks for itself but the little statements in red are mine. PT is continuing to prove the viewpoint of Balanced MK. Do it right, honestly and ethical and sell the product and this business to work, cheat the system and you will fail.
From a Pink Truth reader: It started for me way back... I joined the unit of a woman that many adore. She's been a million dollar sales director multiple times in her over 20 years. But those of us in her unit found out really quickly how just absolutely selfish she is. My inventory call came pretty fast, right behind the agreement where I was told NOTHING about inventory. I didn't buy any. (hmmm… I guess she wasn’t frontloaded??) But I found myself soon wanting the praise and adoration. I was dishonest, I admit it. I wanted to be liked, and move up fast, and have people notice me. So I signed up my friends and bought their starter kits and purchased their $200 activating order. I sold it all on eBay. I even stretched on eBay to make Star Consultant! LOL! (And who even suggested she do this????)
The night I was finally fed up was the last day of seminar when I got about 50 emails telling me each hour where we were in wholesale, and could we stretch, just for the team, you need it don't you, you want to support us, you want me to walk on stage, you want me to get that trip, you want me, me, me, to get all that cash? So I faded. (Didn’t this writer also want the attention “praise and adoration” too?” – see above paragraph) Then I came back thinking she won't ruin my business! I will just do it without her. But that doesn't happen so easily, so I faded again. (hmmm.. how did her director ruin it the first time? Sending emails??) Then I signed up again years later down the road with someone new, young, and vivacious! She was hot to trot, and the entire seminar knew it. You even know it, you mention her name here in PT many times. If you ever figure out who it is, let me tell you from personal experience... I was NEVER told to do anything dishonest, or forced into inventory, and in fact, I was always scared to say I did things the sleazy way if I did do them, because she would not stand for it. She will never assume you are doing something wrong, but if she knows it for fact, she'll tell you to knock it off. (hmmm… and honest director by her own admission??)
As I went through MK again I became more and more disillusioned. I wasn't built to sell makeup. Some people are and they love it. I don't. I feel that I am built for something different. I was buying stuff just to make goals, I was recruiting ghosts, and those who weren't ghosts weren't working. (She didn’t learn the first time????) It all started to dawn on me when my best and brightest recruit wouldn't quit buying inventory and I just let her knowing full well that it was helping my DIQ and car totals, but she wasn't selling one bit of it. She bought around $8,000 in wholesale and I was letting her. And as she hit her one year mark all I did was pray that she didn't sell back because God forbid she did, I was going to be cut out from that much commission. How terrible, I valued her money over her friendship. I did it with all my recruits who purchased big. (Sounds like a character flaw to me)
Many paragraphs omitted because it is very long and the same thing…
And for you that think you're too hot to trot reading this, I don't care how much money you have or what jewelry you wear. Show me a job that really means something. That stay at home mom you make fun of is giving constant love to her kids. That job I took over your lipstick is providing national security to you here at home and needed information to the troops overseas. That job that many took after MK is paying off the debt you helped them build and giving them medical care they didn't have while you filled their heads up with air. (I can’t remember ever laughing at a stay at home mom, even if we could have afforded it, I don’t think I have the patience to do it, my hat is off to any SAHM. - and I am really fearful if this is the mentality level of the people that are protecting our Country and our troops) So you can keep your HIGHEST CHECK IN ONE MONTH kudos and your I make six figures bull. Because I do, too. ( I am happy so has found something she is enjoys, I hope she is happy, and I hope she is not embezzling from the payroll . )

Most Recent Poll

This poll was brought to you by somewhat regular commentator "deleted" (and the letter 'z').

Deleted wants to know whether my wife and I will be attending seminar this year. I asked all of you if you were going and it seems that 25% of the readers on this site will be at seminar this year!

While you are there, feel free to mention this site as a positive alternative to Pink Truth!!



Now I want to know from all of you...

Do you think that I should answer Deleted's inquiry?

Why are you attending seminar this year - or why not?

For someone who has not been to seminar, do you recommend it?

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL OUR DADS!

The 60/40 Money Management Split

I hope this will help many. You can run a great business if you handle your money properly. We all hear about the 60/40 split. This is recommended by the Company and it is a good way to run your Mary Kay business but it is important that you understand how it works. Poor money management is one of the biggest reasons we loose consultants. For making things simple, I am going to say at the end of the week I showed $1000 in sales on my weekly accomplishment sheet ( after discounts and not including taxes) that means you would take 60% of the sales which would be $600 to use to place your MK order to replace the product on your shelf. For the most part 50% - 55 % will be to replace Section 1 inventory (approx. $500) and the remaining 5 - 10% for Section 2 products.

Now the part that many get confused with, the remaining 40% is not yours to just go and spend. From that 40% or approx. $400 in this example will be split like this:
First you would make any credit card or loan payment, then you would want to set aside whatever portion you need to save to pay your quarterly taxes (now this will more than likely be directors more than consultants.) Now if you are going to go to Seminar or Career Conference, etc… figure out how much you should set aside in a savings account for these events. The best part of this is when you the event registration time approaches, you don’t have to worry about where the money is going to come from because you already have it in the bank.

Then, what is left is your paycheck. If you are not happy with the amount that is there for your paycheck, you don’t get to go over and take the money from the 60% side because you didn’t place your order yet, actually in the real world this would actually be consider “embezzling” and it is a very bad thing and can get one in a lot of trouble But you might ask “But, mk4me, what are you suppose to do?” The answer is simple, you increase the number at the top, the sales numbers.

I strongly encourage my unit to get in the habit of paying yourself at least wholesale when you will remove product for yourself, it will keep your money straight and please don’t think that “you personally” already paid for it, you didn’t your business did. We must realize to look at your business a real business.

It is also important that once you collect money don’t keep dipping into it because by the time you get to the bank to make your deposit, it will most certainly be gone.

It is very important to keep track of all your expenses and all your mileage, you will want to be able to take advantage of any and all benefits for self employed business owners. Another important point to remember is if you do have any amount financed, if you have money available, don’t let it sit in the bank until the pay date, pay 3 to 4 times a month, it might not be a lot, but paying frequently helps drop your balance on that we are accruing interest.

It is extremely helpful to have a checking account, savings account, and credit or debit card specifically for Mary Kay. That way you don’t intermix your personal money and your business money. I don’t leave a balance on my credit card but I do use one to place my orders. The one I use gives me frequent flier miles so I can usually earn one or two free airline tickets a year so the cost of Seminar and Leadership is greatly reduce.

Watch what you buy, I have heard people say, “oh well, it is a business expense, yeah…but…..your still gotta pay it. .

I am sure I missed many points I will probably end up adding after I get some sleep but right now, my eyes are closing on their own so I think I will call it a wrap and go post it!! Hope this service as a “help” for some.

Most Recent Poll

Here is the most recent poll. I am in NJ this week, so I will either be posting more than normal or less than normal. Or about the same!

Either way, thanks for voting.

What do Mary Kay Consultants have in common with College Professors?

For those of you that don't know this, I like to read. One opinion writer that I enjoy reading (because of his style and thought process, not necessarily because I agree with everything he says) is Stanley Fish. He recently wrote a piece about the correlation between professors in colleges and their political views. Specifically, whether or not their political views have any bearing on their job in the classroom. You can read the article I am talking about here. Although you will find that it is actually an article in response to responses he received about another article he wrote. Follow? Good!

So, what does this have to do with Mary Kay? Glad you asked!

There is a section in it that I would like to call attention to because he addresses people claiming that it is impossible for professors to separate their personal views from their role as teachers. The arguments made seem similar to the ones made on this site and on Pink Truth that it is impossible to "do" Mary Kay without lying and cheating. Because Mr. Fish has done such a great job addressing this, and because I would like to share a favorite author of mine with all of you, I present the following excerpt.

The most often voiced objection to my position is that it urges something no one could perform. R.C. declares that “faculty are indeed human and thus tend to inject their own opinions into their teaching.” Mark in A2 agrees: “People inevitably bring their personal politics (and other views) into their role as teachers” and “to say otherwise is either naïve or ignorant.”

Evidence for these assertions is largely anecdotal and is often accompanied by statements of incredulity: “It’s pretty clear that Stanley Fish has either been living under a rock for the past ten years or doesn’t know how to add 2 plus 2.” Haven’t I read about all those professors who inject their liberal biases into the classroom and insist on ideological conformity? Yes, I have. There is an entire apparatus dedicated to searching them out and making sure their sins are publicized. But this little “parade of horribles” does not stand for the whole and, as I have already noted, the responses to the column provide evidence (also anecdotal) in the other direction.

The non-anecdotal argument for the it-can’t-be-done objection is philosophical. Teachers come to their task burdened by religious and political commitments, moral philosophies and world views, and they can’t simply unburden themselves when they walk into the classroom. “It is a fallacy to think that the ‘academic’ world is or can be isolated from the political world.”

But isolation from the political world is not required. All that is required is the quite ordinary ability to distinguish between contexts and the decorums appropriate to them. When you enter an institutional setting — an office, a corporate boardroom, a cruise ship, a square dance, an athletic event — the concerns to which you are responsive belong to the setting, and you comport yourself accordingly. Rather then asking, “What do my political and religious views tell me to do?”, you ask, “What do the protocols of this particular endeavor or occasion tell me to do?”

The setting of the classroom is no different, even though the materials you encounter are often fraught with moral and political questions to which you would give very definite answers were you confronted by them in your life outside the academy. As long as you are in the classroom, and as long as you recognize the classroom as a place with its own constituitive demands, those questions will be seen as items in an intellectual landscape and not as challenges to which you directly and personally respond.

Of course, somewhere behind what you are doing will be the larger commitments and world views that make you what you are, but for the duration of your professional performance, those commitments will be on the back burner, exerting some influence to be sure (I am not insisting on purity), but not enough to blur the distinction, basic to the very rationale for higher education, between what you would do were you in the ballot box and what you are pledged to do by virtue of the contract you have signed and the salary you are paid.

That salary is provided on the assumption that in return you will carry out certain duties and refrain from others that belong to different enterprises. If you are unwilling to do so or believe that a general human infirmity prevents you from doing so — a belief that will follow from setting up an impossible standard and concluding from the general failure to live up to it that all distinctions are null and void — then in all conscience you should resign. You should not take the money while you run away from your responsibilities, and you should certainly not excuse yourself for having done so by saying, or thinking, “I couldn’t help it.” Yes you can. Hundreds of thousands do every day. As Susanne Woods put it, “Professionalism is professionalism whatever the profession, and a university professor who actively proselytizes (whatever the political beliefs) is not doing her job any more than a physician who insists on telling me about the virtues of the free market while I’m hooked to an EKG.”

Simply replace the professors with Mary Kay Consultants and the behavior of injecting personal political views with deceitful and manipulative practices and the words above amount to (for me) a resounding, "that is what I have been trying to say"!

I would like to highlight the following:

"Professionalism is professionalism whatever the profession..."

"But this little “parade of horribles” does not stand for the whole and, as I have already noted, the responses to the column provide evidence (also anecdotal) in the other direction."

What do you think?

About politics and professors.

About Stanley Fish - and this article.

About Mary Kay Consultants and ethics.

Mary Kay is a bridge

I would like to take a moment to discuss an illustration that was left in the comments section of this blog recently. I find illustrations to be an excellent way to convey to others the way you see certain things.

As such, when I read the following illustration, I had an insight into where our friend ‘deleted’ is coming from and why he is so insistent and determined to tell everyone about the evil he sees. Whether his motive is pure and simply uninformed or devious and Machiavellian is yet to be determined, but we can at least examine the incorrect perspective he has that leads him to post such bizarre and unwarranted warnings.

What follows is his illustration, followed by a response from me that should help explain why his perspective is flawed. I believe that the picture this illustration will paint does such a good job of explaining the nature of the disagreement between the pro-mk’ers and the anti-mk’ers and everyone in between that I will probably use this post as a starting point for people who have just stumbled upon this site.

So, grab something cozy to drink, snuggle up with your laptop and allow us to tell you a tale. A tale about a bridge – and whether or not that bridge exists!



Deleted (a commentator on this blog) said,

Imagine for a moment you’re driving down the road in the country at about 55 or 60 miles an hour. Near a bend in the road you notice some guy along the side of the road jumping up and down, waiving his arms and yelling at you. You can’t make out what he is yelling but he is unusually animated, seems overly excited, and he’s (you surmise) staring at you and your kids. The exasperated exclamation on his face is unmistakable. Your self-talk kicks into gear and you begin to wonder, “Is this guy maybe a mental health patient who has been off his medication”? Before you know anything more, your survival instincts prompt you to prepare to protect yourself from this person who could present an unknown level of danger to you and your family. Your natural survival instincts allow you to strongly consider the likelihood this raving, loud, harsh toned person on the side of the road is a nut you should avoid and, if possible, ignore. He’s obviously upset about something and he looks as though he has a negative attitude. Who has time for negative raving lunatics?

The good news (hopefully) is you’ve slowed down enough to at least stare at the raving nut on the side of the road. And as you round the bend in the road you see the bridge over the ravine is out. You have just enough time to throw your vehicle into a skid before driving off the cliff. I’m the raving nut on the side of the road. I’m trying to warm as many as possible about the danger just ahead.

Perhaps you’ve noticed, I’m not the only raving nut on the side of the road. There are so many of us; we all recently climbed out of the ravine. Our wreckage is strewn over the side of the cliff. The vast majority of us simply go home after crashing but many of us run back to the road and try to warn other drivers.

However interesting it may seem, I’m still astonished at the number of drivers who ignore our ranting and actually speed up when they see the bridge is out. These drivers face forward with both hands on the wheel. White knuckled and with a stark sense of resolute commitment on their face, they drive off the cliff muttering “...if I just beeeelieve in my dreams...” This would be even more astonishing if those of us along the road watching these crashes didn’t remember we too experienced this same delusional phenomena.

Deleted,

I find your illustration to be more accurate than perhaps you intended it to be. You say that any analogy will lose its effectiveness when pushed to an extreme. I say that as long as the analogy has clearly defined elements that correspond accurately with the real life element they are describing than the analogy will stand on its own.

I would like to seize on this opportunity to point out exactly what those of us on this blog have been trying to explain to you about the difference between your point of view regarding Mary Kay and the reality of the “big picture”.

As some people have pointed out, your illustration is flawed. If the bridge in this illustration represents Mary Kay and the cliff is financial ruin then the cliff is a danger to all people that are alive and there are many bridges that offer varying levels of safe or risky passage to financial security. (In fact, many people will elect to cross over multiple bridges in hopes of reaching various ‘higher’ or ‘better’ levels of financial achievement.) On the “safe” end of the spectrum, the bridge may be a 9-5 minimum wage job that, although not glamorous (and certainly not able to create a luxurious lifestyle), is at least a guaranteed way to survive. The “downside” of this bridge is that it may never reach “the other side”; you may spend your entire life “on the bridge”. On the “risky” end of the spectrum, the bridge may be moving to Hollywood to be an actor, or Nashville to be a famous country singer. Without a doubt, starting a business (be it a franchise or a unique entrepreneurial endeavor) is on the “high risk” side of the spectrum. This of course would include Mary Kay.

Now, let’s examine the “lunatic”. In your illustration, the “lunatic” is you. You make the point that the lunatic is justified in his actions by the fact that he is warning people of impending doom. But is doom really unavoidable? Is the bridge really gone? Is the lunatic still a “hero” if he is lying about the state of the bridge?

Now pay attention, because this is where our philosophies diverge. I believe that the Mary Kay “bridge” is not out. It is what could be called a “high risk” bridge that some unscrupulous individuals in Mary Kay represent as being a “safe” bridge in hopes of profiting off the naïveté of their victims. The impending doom of which you speak results from something other than the cause you cite, and is not guaranteed as you would have passing motorists believe. First, the bridge is not in fact “out”. The bridge is still there. However, the bridge warrants an extra level of caution. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the Mary Kay bridge (like other entrepreneurial endeavors) requires that one park the car and start off on foot. The phrase “learn to walk before you run” is a fairly good descriptor here. Interestingly, there are signs on this bridge. Very clearly written instructions that describe the manner in which safe (or at least safer) crossing may be achieved. (These are often spoken of here – InTouch, the Consultant Agreement, etc.) The reason that many are “driving into the ravine” is that they fail to read the instructions. The reason they fail to read the instructions (in some cases) is that they are misled to believe that it is an easy bridge to cross and reading the instructions is unnecessary. “Just trust me” some seem to suggest, “If you only do this, you will be successful.”

It is for this reason, that there even needs to be someone offering a warning.

Let’s put another character out on the road. Me. Or, more accurately, us. With this blog. I am standing on the other side of the road, in the shoulder, almost in the lane of oncoming traffic with both hands in the air signaling motorists to stop so that I can talk to them. I am making eye contact with as many drivers as I can. The ones that pull over to find out what is going on are told, “The bridge ahead has a few risks you should know about.” My presence there would not be necessary if there weren’t people sending these drivers down the road with the impression that crossing the “financial ruin” pit via the Mary Kay bridge guarantees safety or that they can do it at full speed.

So, now we have a very crowded roadway.

There are people telling the motorists, “Go full speed!!! Just Beee- lieeeve!!!” There are those (like you) saying, “Don’t even try. The bridge is out. There is no chance that you will ever make it.” (Some in this category also add things like, “The clothes they make you wear are ridiculous. The prizes are dumb. Why would you want to cross THAT bridge if you have to wear THAT?”.) And then there are those (on this blog and elsewhere) saying, “Hold on a second. We are talking about a business opportunity here. There are risks involved and your best bet is to start small and slow. Don’t quit your day job. Don’t buy thousands of dollars of inventory that you may or may not be able to sell. And for crying out loud, read the instructions and don’t believe everything you are told. But by all means, if you want a shot at creating something that you can be proud of, here is a great way to do it.”

Now the question becomes, “Who is right?”

We can plainly see from the testimonies on Pink Truth (and even some who have come here and told their story) that the “go full speed, just beeeelieeeeve!” folks are wrong – and causing people misery “in fifty forms”. The so called “lunatic(s)” that say no one can make it are proved wrong by the fact that there are so many that are making it. Some of them are on this site. So if some people ARE making it, and some people ARE NOT making it, it seems that the one saying, “some people WILL make it and some WILL NOT make it” is the one that has it right. I wish that everyone who enticed someone to join Mary Kay was straightforward with their description. I wish that no one would lie and say that making money with Mary Kay is as easy as buying lots of product and “believing”. But that will never be the case. Dishonest people will be dishonest whether they are selling cosmetics or train parts or nuclear weapons. No industry, no company, no place on earth is immune from the devastation that dishonest people bring to the table.

This leads me to the question I have for ‘deleted’ and those on Pink Truth is, “Why do YOU choose to be dishonest in your approach of warning people?” Do you not realize people don’t consider you a lunatic because you are warning them, but because your warning is deceitful? You tell them, “The bridge is out”, then they go up to where the bridge is and come back and say, “No, the bridge is still there”. When they (we) try to inform you that you are wrong, that there is a bridge, and that there are people making it to the other side you continue to tell us that WE are the crazy ones. You insist that “there is no bridge” and “the only thing keeping us from realizing that there is no bridge is lack of experience”. We (they) take a look at the bridge, look back at you, back at the bridge, back at you and say something like, “You mean that bridge? That bridge that we are both looking at… is… not there?” You are either delusional and truly believe that there is no bridge or you have some ulterior motive, some hidden agenda that leads you to intentionally deceive people. I genuinely wonder which one is fueling this passionate deception.

Regardless, from this point, there is an internal conflict. On the one hand, we want to walk you over to the bridge. Point out the people that are at various points on the bridge. Show you the instructions that are posted. Ask you where you went off the bridge so that we can adjust the instructions to help those coming behind you avoid making the same mistake you made. On the other hand, every time we try to do this, you make cryptic, sarcastic statements that have nothing to do with the bridge, nothing to do with us and then start screaming at the people approaching the bridge again. At some point, we have to just let you believe that there is no bridge or resign ourselves to allowing you to spread your variety of deceptive manipulation. And, since there are some people that are lying about how perfectly safe and secure the bridge is, and people (like you) that are lying about there being no bridge, we must resume our task of explaining the whole mess to people that are looking at a very crowded road and saying, “What the heck is going on here?”

As long as you come and talk to us, we will try to point out that THERE IS A BRIDGE and try to get you to come see it for yourself. We will keep asking you to tell us where you went wrong, what caused your dilemma, in hopes of helping others not make the same mistake. We will not join you in telling people there is no bridge. We will not join the “JUST BEEEE-LIEEEEEVE” types in sending people into a frightening spiral of racking up debt to earn undeserved recognition either. We will continue to slow people down, point out the instructions and try our best to paint a more realistic picture of what the bridge will be like so that they can choose for themselves whether this opportunity is a match for them or not.

Now some will say, “If the Mary Kay bridge is so risky and fraught with danger, shouldn’t everyone avoid it?” I submit to those of you that feel that way that you should make up your own mind and let everyone else make up their mind about that. Life is exactly what you make of it. If you like the idea of stepping out and taking a risk on something like this, and you have the opportunity, and you really like the products – go for it. You can plainly see that the reward is worth the risk. But take heed. There are many who don’t make it. Be prepared to work hard, pour your blood, sweat and tears into this and come to realize that “it just doesn’t work” for you. But, whether you choose to take the bridge, or choose to look for another bridge that is better suited to your talents and passions, please don’t tell someone else that they will not make it. Don’t lie and say “there is no bridge, you will never make it”. Just find something that does work for you and do that with all your heart. If you truly want to save people from coming to the same fate you came to, join US in telling them the truth. Speak openly and honestly about the specific lies that were told to you, the specific mistakes that you made and so add to the testimony of “dos” and “don’ts” that make up the “big picture” that we are trying to present here.

Ok, enough about this illustration from me. What do all of you think of “the bridge” that Mary Kay represents? Is it safe? Should people avoid it? Should they “face forward with both hands on the wheel, white knuckled and with a stark sense of resolute commitment on their face”, floor it? If you recommend that they proceed, what caution would you offer? What hazards are personally important enough to you that you would like to point them out? Here is YOUR chance to describe how you see Mary Kay! Please don’t be shy!

The Secret to getting loyal customers

Is there a secret formula to make your customers stay loyal to you? Is there a secret place where all the loyal customers hang out?

One of our readers and commentators, Kare submitted the following to me recently and I thought it appropriate to share.

One thing we all want as consultants is customer loyalty. How do we get that? One way is by providing excellent customer service, so that said customer never has any desire to go elsewhere. And one of the most important ways to provide that all-important customer service is by listening to the customer and to what her needs and wishes are.

I was reminded of that this week. About a year ago, I conducted a spa class. While filling out the profile card, one of the guests looked at the section where it asked for "preferred method of contact." A strange look crossed her face, and she looked up at me. We know each other socially as well as through MK, so her words were something like this, "You can call or email me any time you just want to talk, but please don't ever call me about this!" I assured her that if she marked on the form "Customer will initiate contact," I would honor her wishes. She bought over $50 of product that day, and I did call her to deliver her order (no, I don't have full inventory). But after that, I did as she requested and did not call again. I had her permission to send her The Look each quarter, so that was my only "business contact" with her.

What happened might not be what you would expect. She has continued to get in touch with me to order when she runs low on product. And last week, at a social engagement, she introduced me to her sister. "This is my Mary Kay rep that I was telling you about!" she said enthusiastically. The sister gave me a resigned smile and said, "Would you believe I held a Mary Kay party recently, trying to help out a friend of mine, and my own sister would not place an order?! She told me she already had a consultant, and she would only buy from you!"

I was thrilled to be the recipient of such staunch loyalty. But I truly believe that the fact that I listened to her when she requested not to be phoned or emailed is a large part of what inspired that loyalty. I'm not naive; I know it very easily could have gone the other way, and I could have never heard from her again after that party. But I believe I did the right thing by honoring her wishes, and I believe that she appreciates that. Had I ignored her, I might have lost her business completely.

Kare

Well said Kare, and thanks for sharing. I would like to point out here, that the "secret" is NOT about whether or not Kare called her customer/acquaintance, it is that she listened to what was asked of her. Some people like you to call them because they will forget that skin care exists if someone is not reminding them. Others know exactly what they want/need, when they want/need it, and want it to be on their terms. As mkhonesty will attest, knowing what your customer wants/needs is crucial and will vary on a case to case basis.

Remember that you are all invited to send your thoughts/ideas/stories to balancedmarykay@gmail.com

STOP THE MADNESS!

I am breaking so many of my own "rules" here it's not even funny, but I just had to give this the recognition it deserves.

STRT just made the following comment and I thought it needed to "go live", so here it is.

I was at Target yesterday. Yes, there with t-shirt, hat, no makeup, my son in his swimshorts and rash guard shirt on.

I looked up and saw this lady and she gave me a slight smile. I thought that I recognized her. Yes, it was her. I looked back to see her talking to another gal who was wearing a MK name badge. Oh my gosh, they aren't! Yes, they were.

They were rolling buggies around, pretending to be shopping, and interrupting other shoppers. Just straight up, rolling up to them, and giving them a spiel! I could not believe my eyes. Part of me wishes that I had reported them to security myself. I was embarrassed for MK and for that poor consultant. I wanted to walk up and say, "Just stop it, please! You are giving us all a bad name and this is no way to teach this consultant to work her business."

When I was leaving the parking lot, I drove down the middle land to see if I saw her Pink Caddy. No, but the consultant was getting into her car. I slowed down so that she would pull up behind me as we left the parking lot. I wanted her to see that I am driving a MK car, but that I am NOT going through the Target like a ding-a-ling.

I empathize with that consultant, I really do. Who in their right mind thinks this really works? Why would you put someone through that type of stress and humiliation? And what do they think that those who are accosted think? It's not good ladies. How would you react?

Please, stop the madness! Stop accosting people. If you meet someone in public and talk to them about MK, that is one thing, running people down in the aisle at Target is another. And that goes for standing at the mall doing surveys. Do you really think that people trust you or feel warm to you when approached that way? Get real! Stop encouraging consultants to order too much inventory and stop recruiting their mom and 2 sisters for them before they even hold their first party. Stop offering my consultants the opportunity to hear you speak, for a $20-100 ticket. Stop offering my consultants your CDs and other materials. Please stop telling everyone that you meet that they would be great in Mary Kay. You don't even know her, she could be a meth addicted call girl! Please, stop!

Thanks STRT, and please consider becoming an author - so that you can cut out the middle man (me) that may or may not be very quick to get a gem like this 'live'. Ask mk4me, shay or shades of pink... it really is painless!

The Buyback Opportunity

This is going to be a reference piece. I know the information can be found on Intouch and many other places but since it comes up quite a bit and I have noticed, that sometime one is more inclined to read a blog than training material, I thought it would make for a good info post.

One of the benefits of trying a Mary Kay Career and we do talk about it at the interview is that if Mary Kay doesn't work for you, you can return your product to the Company and receive 90% of wholesale (the cost you purchased the product for) from the Company. With this option, it makes taking a chance on Mary Kay virtually a risk free decision, where as if you find you can't sell the product, you can actually recoup most of your cost of the product.

Now, this part of the information is pretty straightforward, the misunderstanding seems to come in regarding the time period that this option is available. The buyback option is available to any consultant at anytime - it is a rolling one year window. This does not mean that you have one year from joining the Company to exercise this option. This means that you at anytime during your MK career exercise this option but the amount eligible for the buyback will be one year back from the date you return the product. I feel this is a very generous option.

Personally, I don't understand why a director or recruiter would want a consultant to think it is only available for one year because at the one year mark, a consultant that maybe joined and didn't get out of the starting gate very fast might feel that instead of taking more time to get going, they better utilize the buyback since they will loose it after that year.

From my years in MK, I have often watched a consultant not move very fast at first and am glad that at the end of a year, they didn't quit because things can change (life) and with more time, many have become quite productive consultants. If they had made that decision at the one year mark, they wouldn't have gone on to to become a great consultant. From my own experience, I did nothing for the first year and half in the Company except order my own personal items. Then somethings happened in my life and I need to make a change and I started working my business. I am very glad that nobody made me make a decision at the one year mark because I probably would have given up MK.

IMHO, it does not do any good for anyone to feel they must make a decision at the one year mark. I also admit, it seems there are even directors that don't understand the "rolling" one year window. At anytime in your Mary Kay career if you wonder how much you are eligible to return, one phone call to the repurchase department and you will have the figure.

I also feel it is counterproductive if a consultant is brought in with a large inventory and she hasn't gotten to the point she is really moving product, it does come to a do or die choice at that one year mark. That is why it is smart not to frontload a consultant. If she is building her inventory with her customer base her inventory can stay level thru her career.

Having that moving window should help all because if a consultant doesn't ever get overwhelmed with inventory, she won't use the buyback as a reaction to a crisis situation. As long as you are managing your inventory, your business can go with the ups and downs of your life. The minute a consultant gets so much inventory she can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, that is when the product goes back and often a consultant that may have had a great part/fulltime business is lost.

I have seen good consultant become "paralyzed" when there is too much product and it seems like if you MUST sell product, it is the time you are least likely too. I think the "hunger" for the sale shows more than the love of the product. When you switch into the "I need to sell" mentality instead of the show the product and "let the customer buy the product", everything just seems to go downhill.

The buyback should work as a caution to all directors/recruiters that you should encourage your unit/team members to be selling not just ordering. A consultant just ordering is going to quit and then you are going to have to deal with whatever happens aka the chargebacks.

So to me it makes sense, order product when you are selling product, don't order product to earn prizes. Provide great customer service by having what your clients order on hand but you don't need to have a year's worth of product on your shelf.

Make sound business decisions when ordering. Keep a balanced inventory, and don't get caught up in how "successful" you look, just be successful. ...And if your goal is to earn $50/week for the kiddos lunch money and that is what you are doing, you ARE successful.

Being successful doesn't mean you have to earn a car or become a director.
Success is acheiving your goal. YOUR goal, not someone else's goal for you.

Inspiration

My first post is going to be a little different, I really am excited to put together some original ones but it has been a very busy (but fun) week. I happened to read this and found it to be quite powerful and thought I would like to share it in light of all the "interesting" things we have been reading that people will do (or won't do) because of pressure or manipulation. I won't make every post inspirational or deep, but this one spoke volumes and felt it was worth sharing.


A matter of choice:
Immaturity is thinking that you have all the answers. Wisdom is knowing that you don't.
Weakness is wanting to control everything around you. Strength is gracefully accepting and valuing what is.
Insecurity is the constant, gnawing desire to have more and more. Confidence is knowing that you already are enough.
Failure is thinking that you can advance yourself by pushing others down. Success is understanding that the more you lift others up, the more you'll be lifted yourself.
Despair is committing yourself to shallow, superficial things that too soon will wither and die. Joy is filling your world and your life with the things that truly matter.
Every moment, you are fully capable of living with wisdom, strength, confidence, success and joy. It's not a matter of chance, but always a matter of choice.
And you can make the choices now that will surely take you there.
-- Ralph Marston

Attention

There was a "flurry" of activity at the end of this weekend so make sure that you see ALL of the posts from Saturday and Sunday. There is a poll results, a request for help an introduction of a new team member and our new team members first post and a "regular" post about Mary Kay Husbands. Please check them all out! Also please notice that we now have a google search bar for all you searching needs and a new poll!

Thanks

Newbie on the Keyboard

David asked me so nicely, and I do believe in our blog, so I decided to accept his offer. I think I am now an "official" author on our super blog. I can't promsie tons of articles but I will do my best. I also will try to maintain the level of integrity that we all expect from our blog.

I had sent Dave something I had read that I thought was deep and powerful so I guess that will be my first post, once he sees I actually got this far following the directions on how to sign up to by an author. Guess we will find out!! Your loyal fellow blogger, mk4me

Now all I will end with, it is a great new month and my unit and I am planning on having a Jumpin', Jammin', and Joyous June, we have spa parties booked, pedicure parties, hairy scary leg parties booked and alot of twists on these to make sure summer stays fun and with these demonstrations, your clients get to try other products that they normally would not get to try.

So on this note (and to see if I did this right) - I bid you adue and pink dreams!! mk4me

Balanced Mary Kay welcomes new author mk4me

As most of you are (hopefully) already aware, I am actively seeking new authors for this site. Shay and Shades of Pink have both come on board and as you can see from their activity, there is no minimum or maximum required regarding posts.

Today I am pleased to announce that I finally talked mk4me into becoming the fourth author for this site. I am excited because I believe that her perspective and thoughts regarding Mary Kay will greatly enhance the material this site has to offer!

In case you missed it, or forgot, you can read up on mk4me here at her profile

If you want to create your own profile and let us all know a little more about you Click Here
*note - there may be a few of you that have posted a profile and I haven't generated your own page yet... I will try to look into that soon, but I digress.

I am very serious about adding different perspectives and again emphasize that if you would like to be an author, let me know. It would be preferable if you have some experience with blogging (esp. on blogger) because it will come very simply for you. Also, I do want to see that you have been participating on this site already.

Welcome mk4me and we are all looking forward to hearing from you on a regular or semi-regular basis!

I need a volunteer

I am looking for a volunteer. As you all know, I am always looking to add authors to this site so that we can have a healthy variety of quality content. I am excited to let you know that I will be announcing a new author very soon so keep your eyes open for that.

But right now, I am looking for anywhere from one to five volunteers to help with the creation of a very simple but important element of this blog.

From time to time, we discuss the various topics that come up on Pink Truth and other so called "anti-Mary Kay" sites. In fact, the premise of bringing up what is discussed there and adding "the other side" to it is the primary reason that this blog was created in the first place.

Although the thought of spending time on sites such as Pink Truth is hardly appealing and the lies that are strewn about in those places hardly affect anyone here, the truth is that for someone trying to dig a little deeper and find out what Mary Kay is "really about" Pink Truth may be the only "truth" they find. In order for this site to effectively offer the "other pink truth", we really need to be consistent in our effort to point out their inaccuracies and lies.

In order to truly offer this kind of 'counter-intelligence', I would like to have several people devoted to:

1. Visiting Pink Truth on a daily or weekly basis
2. Choosing a post from the main page
3. Summarizing the main point of the 'article' using quotes as appropriate
4. Adding your "take" or "opinion"
5. Posting all of this as a post on this blog so that members and readers here can comment and add their responses to it.

It is very important that we not simply copy and paste their post into this blog. It is also very important that whoever does this takes the time to do a good job. We do not want to misrepresent/misquote what they are saying and so criticize a non-existent flaw in their thinking. Because I want each volunteer to do the best possible job with each piece that they handle, I am looking for several people. If you can commit to finding, editing and authoring one such post per week or even per month, I am calling on you to help out. I do not have the time to proofread/edit your work, so I am asking that you be willing to compose this in Word (or some other word processing program) and ensure the quality yourself. I know that most of you are very busy with working your business and in some cases a full or part time job as well as being with your family. If this is not something that fits your schedule at this time, don't feel bad about sitting this one out.

As always, you can reach me at balancedmarykay@gmail.com - but I do seem to lose some emails to that address (in spam or cyberspace) so if I don't respond quick enough, please leave a comment on this post letting me know that you sent me an email!

I would love to see a "today on Pink Truth" post every day of the week, so I am thinking that 5 people committing to 1 post per week would about cover the typical work week. They seem to be pretty dead over the weekend over there so this would be a great start.

Please let me know your thoughts about this. Including if you feel that this is a bad idea. But if you don't like this idea, please be prepared to explain why!

Thanks

Most Recent Poll

Ok, what "other" music do you like that I didn't mention?

I mean, I know that I love some good polka music - and the Ska/Reggae groove is an ever present comfort in the 'low' times - but let me have it, what did I miss?