Mary Kay - Kansas City,MO

My mom and 2 sisters are a faithful users. My mother and one sister both "sell" it, but it seems they sell it to themselves. They are not big at hosting party to make the sell. They love the product so they get the kickback on being a sells person.

My neighbor dabbles in it but she doesn't have the customer base to make a full time go of it.
She was hoping for more high school age girls buying stuff but they don't have a regular income or want to spend their cash on cheaper cosmetics or other stuff.
People will buy makeup as they use stuff up (perhaps monthly) or want to try new products or at holiday time.
You'll have regular customers, have demos and parties to hopefully get new customers and a web site I think is a good idea so search engines can point people to you who wouldn't ordinarily know you are there and what you are selling.

The timing of this... Haha! I just went through and deleted about 30 ppl off my Facebook! Please don't unmercifully harass your friends... I have a rule about buying NOTHING from MLMs, so make sure you'd have a client base that doesn't involve friends you want to keep :)

I cannot answer your specific question. I have a friend who was selling MK and recently quit. She was doing it in addition to her hairdressing business. She quit because she learned MK has recently restarted their animal testing practices in order to be able to sell their product in China, where animal testing is required by law. As this becomes more known, it may impact your sales / income ....

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kay

Do it if you have the client base or as a hobby but don't subject your friends to the endless parties and specials.

My best friend works in a corporate situation right now and there is a girl who does MK on the side and drives them all crazy. She is seriously in jeopardy of losing a good job because of her pushy MLM methods.

I do not mix my business with friends meaning I do not participate in any MLM's, door to door sales (unless girl scouts or children I know) and I unfriend people who have endless parties on FB. I am not on FB to help sustain someone else's business venture.

I am not saying ALL people like are like this. Some people love sales and do well with it. If it is your thing, good luck. EVERYTIME something like this is posted and I state my view there is one person on here who will respond slamming me for my views.

I don't have experience in MLM's nor have I had a bad experience with MLM. I just hate pushy salespeople who prey on me and other unsuspecting people to make a buck and enhance their own income by recruiting.

ETA: I didn't know they tested on animals either. Shame.

I used to sell Southern Living at Home products in my early 20's. It was great, but it was hard. I am NOT a natural sales person and only did it about 18 months. I have a lot of great stuff in my house from the parties though :).

But yes, I did not reach out to my friends more than letting them know I sold it if they were interested. It's very hard to do. I would never recommend it to anyone, honestly.

I didn't read all the answers yet but I've done MK for 3 years and I love it. I don't do it full time by any means but I constant reorders so it's a nice little trickle of extra income without a lot of time invested.

Also MK does not animal test in any country EXCEPT China where it is required to sell THERE. So the MK products you buy here in the U.S. are manufactured in Texas and never tested on animals. They are very open about it and you can tour the factory!

I'm sure some people have had a bad experience if they pour thousands of dollars in without planning ahead. My "inventory" order was about $1000 and I sold it all within 2 months.

I keep my profits in a separate checking account and use it to buy myself special treats that don't come out of our family's budget. If I didn't have little ones at home or if I wanted to do 3-4 parties a week, I could make more, but that's not my priority right now.

If you have any specific questions feel free to message me!

MK really only works well for you financially if you are able to bring on a bunch of new people under you, which essentially turns it into a pyramid scheme.

Just going about your business selling stuff (without pulling in new salespeople) is unlikely to create enough cash flow to quit a job.

ish. you can find way better cosmetics for far less money than mary kay. i dragged myself to a couple of parties, and even got thumbscrewed into having one- everyone ended up looking like cleopatra in drag.
even more important, i dislike their squishy ethics when it comes to animal testing. there are so many great companies that actually walk the walk. why buy from anyone who's okay with the systematic torture of animals?
as for the pyramid comment, yes, actual pyramid schemes are illegal, and MLM isn't technically a pyramid because there is an actual product being marketed underneath all the layers of profit. but direct sales is both more cost-effective and less obnoxious to all your friends and family, as it removes the ever-escalating up-lines.
i hear about MLM people who make their livings at it, but the far, far greater majority make a pittance. it's fine if you just want access to the products at a discount, but you should know going in that most people quit, not because they're quitters (as they'll tell you at the rah rah rallies) but because quite simply you can make more money by getting an actual job. there will be a few folks who are happy with a little part-time income on the side and they may do it for years. the pink car people are incredibly rare.
and good for them! but i've done MLM and i will testify as to what an exhausting, largely dishonest racket it is.
khairete
S.

Some people make it work... If you are a BORN salesperson, you may be able to.

I will say that I have known six separate friends who tried to sell it, and eventually all gave it up. (Same with other friends selling things like Scentsy, Pure romance, etc.)

MK is work. You understand you'll be giving up your evenings and weekends right? It's not "money comes in all by itself and I don't have to work a real job".

You have to have parties, people who have money to spend work. So they have parties in the evenings and on weekends. Those are the hours you'll be employed, not days.

You won't be building retirement through a company that matches your savings amount. You won't be getting group insurance, no taxes being paid automatically. You'll be running your own business and it's hard.

If you love MK and think you can push it onto all your friends and family so they'll support you income wise and slowly build this into a profitable income then go for it. It can happen but DO NOT think you will be only working part time.

Part time means just a few hours per week. MK is full time, you'll be out there pushing it onto everyone you come into contact with. Always on.

I sold MK a long time ago and loved it. I didn't do well because I'm not a party person...I like going to parties and planning them but I don't care to be the person up front doing the talking.

If you want to try this then do it with your eyes open. YOU CAN make pocket money, that's true. But it takes real honest hard work with a BUNCH of people under you making sales to be able to make a livable wage.

So take it on, have some fun, but don't expect it to be your retirement plan. IF you do well and you do end up being able to live off the income count your blessings.

I think all Jennifer T. was saying is that usually it is your friends you contact first if you are trying to sell something. It can be really irritating when someone contacts you to try and get them to set up a party or buy products and you aren't interested but feel bad about saying "no".

MK is a pyramid scheme, the top sales people make a portion of what everyone below them sells. If you sign someone up to sell you'll make a portion of what they sell.

I used Mary Kay years ago, but decided to become more educated about ingredients in the cosmetics I was using. Please educate yourself about some of the ingredients these large companies use that are not safe and are actually banned in other countries! The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a great place to start. http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=281

Last time I checked, Mary Kay was a member of the Direct Selling Association, which is a watchdog group for network marketing companies. Only about 200 companies out of the 5000+ are invited in, after a year of their books being scrutinized, their compensation plan reviewed, distributors interviewed, etc. People throw out terms like "pyramid scheme" but those are illegal! Any company that trades on the major stock exchanges has open books.

There are fewer "layers" or levels in most MLMs than in most corporations, so there is a lot less tacking on of fees to support a whole ton of people. So products aren't marked up as much in most MLMs (at least the good ones) as in most stores. They are badmouthed by corporations who compete with them, but it's not based on anything concrete, assuming of course that it's a good network marketing company. But that's no different than wanting to patronize a good store, see a good movie, go to a good restaurant. Just because a few are bad doesn't mean you write off the entire category.

Are you making a commission on what your downline sells? Of course! But how is that different from the CEO, senior VPs, middle management, janitors, secretaries, human resources personnel, and payroll staff at Target's headquarters (or Hallmark's, or Staples', or IBM) making salary on what other people are selling in the stores? It's not. In fact, you're paying fewer people in network marketing than in all those mega-corporations. You just don't see it with corporate America.

If a company has been around for a long time, they're doing something right. Look at distributor loyalty/longevity, and look at monthly order requirements/quotas. Look at the downline structure - if you can only sign up 2 people and then they have to sign up the next batch (a binary structure), you'll never make any money. But if you ran a store or a car dealership or a sandwich place, you'd only make money if you had enough salespeople selling enough product every day.

A cosmetics company has the plus of selling a consumable product - it gets used up so people want to buy more. That's good. What makes it tough is you can only sell to women, and within that group to women who wear make-up or at least use a lot of skin creams. You almost have to work with people in your area (so you can match the shade of their skin or let them physically try products) so it's hard to build a nationwide or worldwide customer base. If someone moves, they remain your customer though, but you aren't going to run webinars or anything else to get new people in other states. So your market is limited .

You don't have to harass friends! That's really not allowed in the Direct Selling Association, so companies that encourage that get booted out of the DSA. There are always a few salespeople who slip through the cracks and do something unethical, but they don't make money.

Look into whether the starter kit is fixed, or whether you can buy different things than the next salesperson. That's a good sign. Look into monthly minimums - that's a bad sign. Look into the start up costs. Is there a business guarantee (such as a 90% buyback within 1 year)? That's the sign of an excellent company.

You have to love what you're doing, you have to be a fun and go-to person who really listens to customers and isn't trying to force something on them to make a monthly quota, and you have to put a ton of time into it just like any other job. Only you can decide if it's right for you.

Ultimately it is a sales job. If you are great at sales and have a strong client base and can build the number of people who sell under you it will go well.

It;s business so you will have to put the time and effort into it. Not everyone can be a great sales person but some people are a natural at it.

I sell 31 and have a few friends who do home businesses like MK & 31. You can definitely make enough money to make it a full time job. My senior executive director has about 1300 consultants under her. She makes enough that her husband just quit his job to be her assistant. Another friend quit her teaching job to sell MK full-time. She does very well and brings in more money than she did teaching (which is kind of sad because she was a REALLY great teacher!). BUT, a couple things: most consultants don't do this well, it takes a minimum of 2-3 years to be able to replace your current income (If you're even able to do it at all), and these consultants work their butts off!!! They have a lot of flexibility, but the ones making $50k, $75k, $100k, probably work more than 40 hours a week. They are constantly hosting parties, training consultants, etc.

I've been a SAHM for 9 years and wanted to do 31 because I love the products. I figured I could do a party or 2 a month and get some free bags. Right now it is not my desire to 'work' my business to actually make real money. That may change some day.

Do your research. Some consultants make more money than others. We just had our 31 consultant meeting and the company says 31 consultants make an average of 4x more than consultants of other home businesses.

So, short answer: Yes, it is totally possible!

I like this web site: www.pinktruth.com

ETA: ^^and what TF said.