Pros
Working with Mary Kay Cosmetics has completely changed both who I am and how I view life. I am significantly more positive, confident, and able to carry and present myself. I feel so much more cared for and appreciated since joining the company. I also more positive view of life. I am not "stuck" in my situations any longer. I have the confidence (and now the ability) to dream, and dream big. I also have the ability to look at my dreams, and work backward from them, step-by-step, until I have "blue prints" on what I need to do or change to attain those dreams. Essentially I can now take my dreams and turn them into visions that are attainable and tangible, and I believe in my ability to accomplish those visions.
Another very important aspect of having my own Mary Kay business would be the relationships that I have built through it, both with my customers and my fellow consultants. They are invaluable. It's been said that you should only take advice from someone you would be willing to trade places with, and the number of Mary Kay consultants and directors I have met who I would gratefully take advice from is quite high. My fellow consultants are positive and encouraging, willing to advise me when they see fit, and genuinely care about my success. Our company was founded on the Golden Rule Policy and I am privileged to see it lived out every day within the company.
A few other things that I must share are the flexibility (being able to design my own work hours), the unlimited earning potential (over 200 National Sales Directors have earned over $1 Million in commissions; I personally know many consultants and directors who are earning thousands each month; when consultants decide they need a "raise" it is in their control to do so for themselves), the free cars (Pink Cadillac anyone?), the education we receive covers every aspect of our businesses and we can re-visit it again and again until we are confident in each area... all for free, and above all else Mary Kay Ash's personal and business priorities of God First, Family Second, and Career Third.
Cons
In her research of Work-From-Home businesses, ABC News' Tory Johnson wrote a report which included Mary Kay as one of the businesses she found to be genuine. I feel she puts very well one of the biggest struggles I face in my business with Mary Kay: "there's an entrepreneurial element to working from home - you have to show up to your desk and stay motivated on your own." This can be a challenge for many consultants, especially those of us who have worked for other people in the past and are now venturing out on our own and working from home. Fortunately we have great education within the company that helps us stay motivated and focused, and all consultants can have as much or as little "accountability" and "connection" with their sales director as they want, which helps tremendously with "showing up at your desk and staying motivated," even if your director simply asks you, "so what did you do with your business yesterday?"
