The Mary Kay Way

Oh No! Here comes that happy Mary Kay woman! Have you ever noticed how happy and energetic a Mary Kay consultant is? Well, I sure have. I will also tell you a little secret. I am a Mary Kay consultant and have been for almost 10 years now. I can not say that I have as much energy as some consultants but I will say that it is contagious if you hang out with the Mary Kay women enough. Mary Kay is not just a business. It is a way of life. I am not as actively involved in the business as much as I used to be. However, I will always be a consultant and keep the principles close to my heart.

Mary Kay Ashe started her business in 1963 at 45 years old. She had worked in sales for many years at various companies. She grew tired of watching men that she trained get promoted above her. She decided to start her own company and gear it toward women and help women achieve success. She started her business with an initial investment of $5,000.00 and a dream. She took this money and purchased skin care formulas with her son Richard Rogers. She started with nine sales people that she called consultants. They helped her promote and sell her products and philosophy. Her focus was selling at in home parties and one on one consultations with clients. Today there are almost 2 million sales consultants world wide. Mary Kay Ashe died in 2001 and will always be remembered for creating wonderful opportunities for women worldwide.

The Mary Kay business model is pretty simple. Products are purchased from the company at wholesale price and resold to clients at retail price. There is a 50% profit with these products! There is a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee on all products. If someone does not like the product for any reason, it will be taken back and refunded or given credit toward another product. The most baffling part of this to most people is that there are no sales territories. Mary Kay believed that women could sell product and be kind enough to her sister consultant to not take her customers. As a matter of fact, selling to another consultants customer is a big no no.

Consultants have the opportunity to recruit their own sales team. There are so many incentives along the way in the career of a consultant including the famous pink Cadillac. You receive this once you become a Director of your own unit and meet certain predetermined sales goals. There are so many incentives for every consultant with this company. It is all very goal oriented with you as the consultant setting your goals. Awards can range from free product to jewelry to cars and trips for you and your family. It is up to the individual consultant as to how successful she is. You are encouraged very early on the create a goal poster and keep it updated with new goals as you achieve others. Those that choose to stay in this business and grow their team have an unlimited money making potential. Some of the National Sales Directors make $80,000 to $90,000 per month. Yes, per month. It is not easy but they work hard, follow the guidelines given to them, grow their team and achieve financial freedom like you wouldn't believe.

Mary Kay laid down the Golden Rule for everyone in her company to follow. She urged all her consultants to follow the Golden Rule of: God First, Family Second, Career Third. With everything in this order, good things will come to you. This doesn't mean that your career is not important. It just means that with these other things in proper order or place, you will have time for your career and you will be successful at it. She also believed that you should treat others as you wanted to be treated. This is why she did not think it necessary to have sales territories. Women would not take their sister's customers because she would not want it done to her. To this day, that has amazingly worked out and been a successful business model.

As I mentioned, I am not currently as active as I used to be in my Mary Kay business. With four kids and up until recently a very stressful career, I could not make the time for my business. I continue to order the minimum amount required per quarter to still be considered a consultant. I use the product and give a lot of it away as gifts. I truly believe in the product or I could not have sold it. It is a great product but not for everyone. We all have our preference and as a consultant I could appreciate that. Being pushy doesn't get you anywhere. The business is always there for me when I feel the required drive to pick it back up and run with it.

I will have to say my biggest draw to the business is the motivational part of it. There are so many Directors and National Sales Directors that speak at engagements and put out motivational books and CDs. These are amazing. They are amazing. You can see why they make the money they make. They encourage you to be your best and always think positive about life. Things happen around you every day that can bring you down and affect you in a negative way. It is up to you how you handle it or think about it. There is always rejection in life. You have to get back up and go at it again because you will not be successful by just accepting things. If I am having a bad day I will put in a CD from Gloria Mayfield Banks, Mary Kay National Sales Director, and she will always uplift my spirits and get my blood pumping. She is truly an amazing woman that I love to follow. With these powerful women on my side, there is no limit to what I can achieve.

Mary Kay has played an important role not just in my life but in millions of others as well. Those 2 million consultants that are out there are all doing more than just selling a tube of lipstick. They are enriching women's lives everywhere. They are making women feel good about themselves everyday. Mary Kay would always say, “When I meet someone, I imagine her wearing an invisible sign that says, Make Me Feel Important!” This is what a consultant does for her clients. She is there to support her sister and make her feel good about herself. Mine made me feel so good that I signed up to be a consultant under her 10 years ago. She is a single mother, works a full time job, and works her Mary Kay business as she should. She is very successful at it and I admire what she has accomplished with her business. She is also one of my best friends and is always there to make me feel good when I am down. You develop some great relationships in this business and they last a lifetime!