Should I become a Mary Kay beauty consultant?

My friend is a Mary Kay beauty consultant and she took me to a meeting tonight to be her model. I love the products and you get to buy your own products for 50% off when you become a consultant, but you obviously have to sell the product to make money.


I have a teaching job that is 35 hours a week, but I could use the extra money by selling Mary Kay.


Are any of you out there Mary Kay consultants, past consultants, or know someone who is a consultant? If so, would you recommend becoming a consultant? Why or why not?Should I become a Mary Kay beauty consultant?
In theory, there are two ways to make money in Mary Kay.





i) Retail sales;


ii) Recruit people;





The average consultant sells less than $2,000 per year. Their net income from their Mary Kay business is a negative number.





Less than two percent of the consultants earn $15,000 or more per year, before expenses.





Mary Kay doesn't publish figures on consultant turnover. The MLM industry average is 95% of the consultants will be out of the MLM within 120 days of joining. There is no reason to believe that Mary Kay has a lower turnover. The evidence at UnitNet (before it was password protected) implies that Mary Kay consultant turnover is at least at the industry average, if not higher.





If you have the psychological profile to do retail sales, then it _might_ work for you, if you meet twenty people face to face every day, for the sole purpose of selling product to them. You will need to provide excellent customer service. That means being willing to locate products that have been discontinued. [There is a lot of product sitting in basements, because the consultant bought far more stock that she could reasonably expect to sell in a decade, much less a year.]





As a general rule, you can find product on eBay at less than ';wholesale';. Check the seller, and verify that the product hasn't expired, before making a bid. There are several reliable eBay retailers of Mary Kay products.





From a statistical point of view, you will make more money flipping burgers at minimum wage. As an investment, your return on investment will be higher playing double zero on the roulette wheel in Vegas.Should I become a Mary Kay beauty consultant?
Good choice Matty Lynn. I know jblake from a few Yahoo groups. He is always very accurate and informative... not to mention thought provoking. :-)





His response can also apply to any/all MLM's such as Arbonne, Tupperware, etc. Report Abuse

Maybe.





Go into this (like any major financial decision) with both eyes open and your emotions put away! Mary Kay is notorious for having their Directors pressure new consultants into placing a very large initial product order.





You will be told that if you buy product NOW (it is always NOW, not later) you can return it later and get 90% back. That is true, however, once you have it, you will get pressure to NOT send it back because then you can't ever be a consultant again.





If you think you will like direct sales, sure, purchase the starter kit for around $100. But DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT buy any inventory until you have done a few classes and decide if you like it. They will tell you, you can't sell the product if you don't have it on your shelf (or in your car). That just is not true because I have a friend who does just that!





Best of luck to you!
my friends mother is a mary kay consultant. its not that great because she has to travel a lot for meetings and such. but she enjoys it. she gets some free makeup and gets big discounts on others. i love their products.
DON'T DO IT! There are so many reasons, I don't know where to begin...





It's like a cult. They try to get you to change your thinking so that everything is about MK.





Many directors are sneaky. (Whether they realize it or not). As soon as you sign up, they are pressuring you to order ';inventory';. (Also known as frontloading). They will tell you that you need to stock your store and that you can't sell from an empty cart. That is the beginning of a cylce where you are ordering product to win cheap prizes, reach goals, etc. Regardless of whether you are selling anything.





They tell you how to dress. If you go to a meeting, class, or any MK function, you are REQUIRED to wear skirt, hose and closed toed PUMPS. Try to wear something else and you may find yourself being ridiculed by your director or other consultants.





They tell you that you are your own boss and can stay home. You spend more time making your director's goals and neglecting your family and your priorities get mixed up.





It has been shown to destroy families. Many women get so caught up in the pink fog that they order more and more inventory that sits on their shelves. Then hubby gets upset at this obvious waste of money, fights start, etc.





It's like a vaccuum sucking up your money.





There are more reasons not to do it, but I really have to go get some lunch. I'm hungry :-)
I'm a consultant. I love it!!! I think it would be a great opportunity for you. But, you have to make sure that it's something you really want to do. You have to work at it if you really want to see a sizeable income.





*It is not a cult. You do not have to make Mary Kay your life, you work your business around your personal and work schedule. Yes, there are many directors out there who will try to push you to order huge amounts of inventory for whatever reasons, but that doesn't mean that you have to do it. Don't get caught up in the prizes. If you focus on everything else, the prizes will come in time. Also, if your director is really looking out for your best interest, she will suggest other ways of getting around to your inventory if you let her know that you can't afford to place large wholesale orders. Above all else, trust your instincts. If to you it doesn't feel right, don't do it.





*True, you can find Mary Kay products on eBay but the sellers are not ';reliable';. If the seller is an active consultant, they are in violation of their Consultant Agreement and in my mind ';not reliable';. Many of the products that you find are out of date and some even discontinued from years ago. Mary Kay is in no way affiliated with eBay. If you are looking for products to buy, it is best to get it directly from a consultant.





I can answer any other questions you may have in detail, just send me an email anderson_daryn@yahoo.com
Have you ever considered arbonne?





http://www.gleamingskin.myarbonne.com





As a consulant, you get 35% (or more) off and not inventory required. you sell as little or as much as you want.


-Angela
yes sure
My wife was a consultant for 6 years. MK pushes you to buy inventory before you even have a customer base. They call this being a profit level, but you really are only in debt. You will find out the market is very saturated and once you have tapped out your family and close friends it's hard to compete. In our experience working the MK system only brought on debt and more debt. Recently we found out that we were not failing, but the whole MK system is really a MLM or multi level marketing company. With an MLM, only the few people at the top make money. Instead of trying to sell the product for a few extra dollars you will find yourself being pushed to recruit your friends and push them to also buy inventory. For more information please visit the following:





http://pinkcadillac.typepad.com/exposing鈥?/a>





http://www.smartmoney.com/smallbiz/asked鈥?/a>





http://www.upyourcadillac.com/index.htm





http://www.thepinkingshears.org
As a Director who has conducted years and years of meetings just like the one your friend took you to as her ';model'; I can only say, do not sign anything until you go to MKSurvivors.com and if that isn't an eye-opener for you, whatever you do, don't be pressured into purchasing inventory.





The turnover is tremendous,and what began as a good company has become filled with Directors who will tell you anything to get their production up. It's risky at best.
I think you should join the Yahoo Group MKSurvivors and you'll find your answer.
I have been a Mary Kay Consultant for almost 3 years now. It is a great way to meet new people and earn extra money while doing so. It does take some time to build up your customers, but once you do you can really make some money. If you have any questions feel free to email me at cathyelliott@marykay.com or visit my website at marykay.com/cathyelliott
Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Let me reiterate...DON'T DO IT. You will be sorry. You will be in debt. You will be shunned by your friends. You will be shunned by your co-workers. You will be shunned by your family. You will be in debt. You will be in debt. And you will be in MORE debt.





Go to the Yahoo group Mary Kay Survivors...a thousand FORMER consultants can't be wrong! The members of this group are not losers, quitters, or negative people...they are all people who joined MK, believing the hype, getting lost in the pink fog and who were sadly disappointed by the company's unethical tactics. They are smart, educated, fun and witty...and you'll be a lot better off spending some time with these ladies than wasting it at some fake ';meeting'; where you convince your friends to be a ';face model'; as an excuse to RECRUIT them into your fraudulent business.





Run...run like the wind!