Monday, September 1, 2008

Pink Truth: Mary Kay Lies - a mini-series (Part 6 of 7) Executive income for part time hours

This is part 6 of a 7 part series. Pink Truth made a list of their favorite Mary Kay lies and we have been examining to see just how accurate it is for Pink Truth to call these lies.

While many of the "lies" we have examined so far are, well, "debatable" at best - and it seems that we have managed to point out more lies from the Pink Truth crowd, as they try to pin their unique spin on "all" or "the vast majority" of Mary Kay - this lie is (correct me if I am wrong) most certainly a lie.

Executive income for part time hours

Just as it’s a lie that you can do Mary Kay in a few hours a week, it’s an even bigger lie that you can make an executive income in Mary Kay with part-time hours. Almost no one makes an executive income in Mary Kay to begin with . And those who do are easily working 50 to 60 hours a week, most of that during what many would call prime “family time”… nights and weekends when the spouse and kids are not at work or school and would love to see mom.


Now again, it is (and I can't emphasize this enough) NOT a lie that you can "do" Mary Kay in a few hours a week. Don't expect to see any huge results, but beyond the shadow of a doubt, Pink Truth is LYING when they say that you CAN'T "do" Mary Kay in a few hours a week.

Another Pink Truth lie?

"Almost no one makes an executive income in Mary Kay to begin with ."


"Comparatively speaking", perhaps. Like, if you say, compared to the hundreds of thousands of women in Mary Kay, almost no one is making 'executive income'... however, just like many Mary Kay reps neglect to properly explain the "best selling brand" thing, they don't say that, do they? They say,

"Almost no one makes an executive income in Mary Kay to begin with ."


And that is a lie. Period. (sorry to be blunt, but since we are on the subject of lies..)

So, people do make executive income in Mary Kay.

Also, people can "do" Mary Kay in a few hours a week. (Again, please don't expect any fantastic results from this, but if that is the time input you would like to commit to, there are no rules barring you from doing so, and you most likely will see some results.)

So what is the lie here?

The lie is when you combine both of these elements. When you say, "You can earn an executive income with just a few hours a week." That is a lie.

But my question is:

How often is this really said? And how many people really believe it?

So far the only genuine "lie" that has been posited by the Pink Truth post called "My Favorite Mary Kay Lies" is this one. And whenever you really press an "anti-mker" about this one, this is not a real complaint. I really can't imagine that very many people actually try to convince people of this. And even harder to believe is that people really buy it.

Is it possible that people here "Mary Kay... blah blah blah ... executive income... blah blah blah ... Mary Kay ... blah blah blah ... part time hours ... blah blah blah ... Mary Kay" and, later, when they are processing everything they just heard, this somehow stitches together into "Mary Kay is awesome because you can earn an executive income with part time hours"?

How about it? Any of you ever heard someone say that you can earn an executive income working part time hours?

Were you told this?

Did you believe it?

Do you ever tell people one or the other of these? (Part time hours? Executive income?)

Does anyone know the actual statistic or the real truth behind any of the "more millionaires, more 6 figure incomes, etc" stories?

It does seem to me that most companies have one (1) CEO and maybe a few other well paid 'upper management' types, so while it is not as grandiose as it may seem, the fact that Mary Kay has paid "x" number of women "$yyy,yyy" they qualify to make this claim. Is this perhaps the grounds from which this selling point rises? Does anyone know?

*****

On a side note, did anyone else notice the incredibly powerful, borderline poisonous way in which Tracy manipulatively throws this one in:

"...easily working 50 to 60 hours a week, most of that during what many would call prime “family time”… nights and weekends when the spouse and kids are not at work or school and would love to see mom."


This may just be my own personal hatred (I know, strong word, but I really hate this) of manipulation and manipulative tactics. Whether it is an MK recruiter that uses the "shouldn't you spend more time with your kids" or the "I hate Mary Kay" misanthropist that uses it, it is ugly. Very ugly.

Is it just me? Did that bother anyone else?

***

12 comments:

  1. I was not told this. I was told that it takes hard work however anything worth having takes hard work. The work is not hard and there is a difference. Anyway I think that once you get your MK busines up and running it gives you the FREEDOM to set your own hours. Even while you are building your business you have FREEDOM to do it when you want too. This is how I feel. You schedule your appointments when you want to schedule your appointments.

    About not being able to spend time with your husband and kids sometimes you have to make short term scarifices for long term benefits. That is the way it is. You are not going to get rich over night in any business, and there are always scarifices that are made. I think with working MK you are able like said to set your own hours.

    You can have your appointments scheduled at your own home. This business allows you that FREEDOM.

    I personally think that tracy is mad maybe because someone moved ahead of her or maybe she just has so much hate that she just wants to try and tear down this company. I think the more that people read over the more they see the bitterness and nastiness that comes from there. And if anyone is allowed to defend MK it is only there for a minute and then it is gone, unless tracy decides it is time to chew someone up and spit them out.

    We need to remember that the tongue is like a two edged sword and it can speak blessings or cursings, life or death basically. It is the only member of the body that can not be tamed. We need to remember this even if they are spewing whatever they spew I think that we should take the high road, saying that however it does upset me to see the lies that they tell. Take it with a grain of salt and we will tell the truth here and hopefully those consultants that are having a hard time will find this site too. Have a GREAT DAY

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  2. I was never told this either.

    When I weigh the options of putting my son in childcare while I work 9-5, or 7-7 (as is closer to the case with many folks), and getting a sitter for when my daughter gets home from school, I think, give me the extra Mary Kay cash anyday.

    No, I am certainly NOT making an executive income, but I doubt an executive position would allow me the time with my children that I crave.

    My 7 year old actually helps me with my business. I do the majority of the appointments in my home, so my children and my husband are a part of them. Husband makes tea, daughter helps set up. MOM IS HOME. A color coded plan sheet tells the family what is happening when. We are all involved.

    Maybe I just pull in $200 (profit) a week - so be it. I'll make it work for my family for at least I am home. And for us (please note that I am not knocking those women who do work in the executive world) working the executive hours just wouldn't work.

    Happy Labor Day.

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  3. No one ever told me that and I think if they had I would have rolled my eyes and said "next!"

    Pink Bren and Cuppa Jo are right...it's the flexibility. In the year and a half that I was working the job full time, which was after I got laid off from my office job, I pulled my son out of his after school program and did his homework with him myself. We started having home-cooked meals. I didn't miss baseball games that started at 4:00. I only scheduled appointments on nights he was at his dad's. And I never hired a babysitter. And most importantly, the only traveling for business were the MK seminars that I CHOSE to go to which happened on weekends. No more leaving for 4-5 days every month. For the first time I was in charge of my own schedule.

    Now that I've started back at an office, the evening "functions" are starting, of which I have no control, and I have to go to. I already told them NO TRAVELING.

    ReplyDelete
  4. "Pay" doesn't necessarily mean money. Pay is a system of currency. It doesn't have to mean dollars. For some it can be emotional. For some, having the freedom and/or flexibility to not have to live somebody else's timeline is worth the $15k "loss".

    Having the freedom and flexibility to set your own schedule and do things in your own time is, well, priceless. That kind of freedom is usually only reserved for the elite because they've "earned" it. Why not just take it? If having "less" means "more" then what's wrong with just taking it?

    What's that saying? Money doesn't buy you happiness?

    To each his own. You cannot measure success by somebody else's yard stick. Otherwise, you'll never "measure up"!

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  5. Bravo Flybye, you summarized my thoughts exactly.

    Yes, I do need to bring in $$$ for our household.

    I do NOT have the option of NOT working.

    Mary Kay is affording me the ability to pay some bills, and be home for my kids.

    They see more of me now than when I was working another business where I was out almost every night. Making more mula for sure, but missing dinner and bedtime at least 3 out of 5 week nights.

    For me, it works.

    Also, I wanted to add, that when it comes to recruiting, I do not approach every single person I see. I am very choosey and am thus moving very slowly. I have three active recruits and don't interview just anyone. Perhaps that is called "pre-judging", but as in a true job interview situation one looks for certain qualities in the team members with whom they will be working closely.

    Maybe I'm just doing this my own way . . . but it's the way I choose to work.

    Love chatting with you all!

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  6. I know an Executive Senior Sales Director who says she makes an executive income putting in part time hours. I believe her, though. She has five offspring directors and drives a Pink Caddie. She has nearly 200 unit members. I do believe that once you reach a certain level in your business, less time is required. She describes her days. She can send her kids off to school and she holds a couple of appointments during the day. I doubt she is working less than 20 hrs per week, but I would venture she works less than 40. She's been in business for 20 years. She admits it took her 3 years to consistently hold 2 to 3 appointments per week. She put the time in early and now she does not have to put in as many hours. She does assert, however, than she CANNOT stop working. She hasn't stopped working, but she has a reorder business that allows her to not have to hold as many appointments as she used to. She has crates of customer profiles; all of whom she services. When you reach that level of customer base, unit size, and offspring, I suspect less time would be required of you. Some of the legwork we do at the consultant level becomes more automated over time. If that makes sense. The problem I see is if someone unfamiliar with MK hears this, they might get the wrong idea; as though it does happen quickly. Never mind that she said she's been in business 20 years and has built it over time. Someone might only remember, "Mary Kay...executive income...part time hours...always at home." And some people forget that part time can mean 32 hrs.

    For me personally, I have to figure out how to condense my MK worktime into less than 40 hrs. I spend 40 hrs per week at another full time job. I find the pockets of time in which I can squeeze in some phone calls. I have my appointment times blocked out on my calendar.

    I've learned that a lot can get accomplished in a one hour lunch break! Multiply that by 5 and that is five hours of productivity making booking calls! And my husband doesn't miss me because I'm already at my day job.

    I use my meetings as customer appointment times and this has been working, too. My meetings are approximately 2 hours once a week. So, I'm up to 7 hours per week dedicated to MK. I have Saturdays blocked out for my appointments, but I'm open to Fridays for people who live near my job. That way, I'm already out there and if it gets late, I don't have to worry about getting up at 6:00 the next day. I could potentially put 14-21 hrs per week into my business. Since I'm in growth mode, I'm flexible and open to the time commitment.

    I don't make an executive income at my day job, but I know that I could replace that income by working consistently as I have been. It's not going to happen overnight. I do believe I can make it happen by Spring 2009 or sooner. And I might have to squeeze my MK into a 32 hr work week around my day job; time will tell. Perfectly doable, though I will be very very busy! But I like being busy like that. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Another interesting thought, I overheard a conversation in a fast food place the other day where they employee was complaining because she had no benefits because she only worked 38-39 hours a week and because of that, she was classified as a part- timer.

    So I guees according to the business and industry standards, anything less than 40 hours a week could be considered part time.

    (This isn't what I would consider part time hours but.... according to those standards - there is alot of room for discussion)

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  8. Hi...yes, in Corporate America, anything under a 40 hour work week is part-time.

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  9. Yes. Here at my day job you don't qualify for health benefits if you have less than 40 hours. You can get them, but you have to pay full price. Other places I worked gave zero benefits to part timers under 40 hrs.

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  10. So I guess, it not not lying if you say you work part time for executive pay, if you work less than 40 hours a week. (and are making an executive income, which, by the way, I can not find any where, the figure that equates to an executive income.) It seems like it varies greatly in different parts of the Country.

    Now, personally, I feel this statement would be misleading but it would not be a lie, would it??

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  11. I think it gives the wrong impression. I do not think it is a lie in the case I have mentioned. If I went around telling people I personally make an executive income I would be lying. But I don't do that. I hope to replace my NON-executive income with my business within 6 months and surpass it within a year (or less).

    Really, once you determine how to do that, (replace current income with MK) you're on the road to financial freedom. That's my opinion.

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  12. I'll add that replacing current income doesn't mean executive income. It just means you can replace your current wage with MK. ;)

    ReplyDelete

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This Week On Pink Truth - Click Here
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First Post - Why I Started This Blog
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