The
minute I stepped off the plane, I had that feeling again, like a whole new world was
opening up for me. Of course, I've had that feeling ever since I decided to go into business
for myself. And now, two years later, here I am, a new director with Mary Kay Cosmetics,
in Dallas for a week of orientation. My mother came to visit just after I'd signed my agreement.
I couldn't wait to tell her about the new Mary Kay opportunity, and she was so excited
for me. I remember saying, go for it, Betty, it seems like a great career move. You know,
when she was my age, most women were homemakers. And those who wanted to work or needed to
work had very few choices when it came to jobs and careers. There were women role models
in sports, entertainment, of course, but not in business. Well, in 1963, if you had walked
into a bank and asked for a loan as a woman, they would laugh you right out the front door.
So I had to use my own entire life savings, $5,000, to start the company. But I was willing
to do that because I wanted so much to help women. In 63, you didn't have an opportunity.
There was no chance at all. It was scary, but it was something I wanted to do so much
that I was willing to risk it all. So starting this company gave me the opportunity to let
other women make their dreams come true and to find out how smart and how great they really
were. 30 years later, women have more career choices than ever before, but they often come
with limitations. Long hours, inflexible schedules, inequities in pay, limited chances to advance,
and uncertain future. No wonder women are asking themselves, is there really a career
that lets me have it all? Well, believe it or not, there is. And for more than 200,000
independent beauty consultants and sales directors, Mary Kay Cosmetics is that career. I wanted
to be able to be my own boss. I love that freedom and independence to call the shots.
Working for yourself. Owning, being the sole proprietor. Being independent. Make your own
hours when you need to work. Being able to advance at my own pace. And not having to
punch a clock. Write my own check. Have the time I wanted with my family. And get paid
what I was worth, rather than what a job was worth. Why are so many women attracted to
a Mary Kay career? Because it's a chance to make the career move that's right for you
at any given time in your life. A chance to advance on your own terms. At your own pace.
Manage your own hours. Balance your priorities. Maximize your earning potential. And take
charge of your life. Mary Kay can take you wherever you want to go. And you control every
career move you make. Well, I'm a former nurse. And I had worked all for about eight years
in that field. And I was working holidays and weekends and shifts. And discovered that
after four children, I was really having to compromise my family for my job. And so I
resigned my position at the hospital and became a full-time housewife. After a while at home,
I decided there must be something more. And that I really needed something for myself.
And so that's where I was when Mary Kay walked into my life. Before I was involved with Mary
Kay, I was riding around town on a 350 Honda as a secretary and freelance model. Very unhappy
with all of the above. And my music teacher at City College came to class one day. Her
skin looked so great, I asked her what she used. And she told me these two words, Mary
Kay. She came to my home about three days later and shared this wonderful facial with
me. I decided that I could not separate with the product and I wanted to be a part of it
and it a part of me. So immediately I decided to become a beauty consultant. I was a student
for a year in college at TCU and didn't have a job and was looking for something. It was
proposed to me that this would be a good line of work for me because of my personality.
It was wonderful. I was very impressed with the marketing plan and with the product. And
decided that very day that that was what I should do. As an independent beauty consultant,
you learn very quickly that a Mary Kay career is a journey of self-discovery. It's a process
of becoming more professional, more self-assured, becoming more independent. And I teach full
time. I've been teaching 22 years and two years ago I was introduced to the Mary Kay
opportunity. Being a single parent, I've always had to have an additional source of income
besides my teaching. And when Mary Kay came into my life, well this has definitely provided
me the additional source of income. I was working for the district government from nine
to five and at that time I was really doing Mary Kay part time. I say part time but I
was doing it everywhere I went. But what happened was two years ago the district government
had early out retirement and I took advantage of that and came out. So now I'm a full time
Mary Kay beauty consultant. As a school teacher of three years, I had been thinking anyway
about getting a summer part time job. And so that looked easy. It looked fun. And so
I went into it not seriously at all. I was going to do it for three months and quit at
the end of the three months. But at the end of that time I didn't want to quit. I was
having too much fun and making too much money. And so I went full time with my business.
Now 12 years later I make in a month what I made in an entire year of teaching school.
Actually I was a registered dietician before I started my Mary Kay business and had worked
in that career for a number of years. Had earned the master's degree. Had really felt
like I had done everything there was to do in that career. When I came into Mary Kay
what I enjoyed so much was the variety of women that I met from all backgrounds and
all situations who were making a successful life through Mary Kay. And that really appealed
to me. They were positive women who were always excited about what they were doing. They were
women that I could learn from, that I could look up to. One of the reasons the Mary Kay
opportunity is so attractive is the company's marketing plan. A plan that incorporates a
number of important concepts. First, there are no assigned territories to limit where
we can sell or recruit. So we can take our business with us wherever we go. It's great
because you can travel anywhere and still keep your customers. I can share my product
with my aunt in California and I can share my opportunity with anybody in the United
States so that it really is an unlimited opportunity. Another feature of the marketing plan is that
everyone has the same opportunity to advance. And it's not a situation where you buy into
a position like a distributorship might be. It's based on your demonstrated sales ability
and leadership ability in teaching other women to be successful in your career. Every consultant
from the newest recruit to the most experienced director has the same income opportunity in
retail sales because we buy our products directly from the company and sell directly to customers
based on the same discount schedule. So we all make the same profit from our efforts
and that gives such a spirit. I think that contributes to that camaraderie and team spirit
we have because nobody has an extra edge. It's also great because you don't have to
be pushy with your product. There are no quotas in this business which is wonderful to me
because I am not a pushy person and it's important to me to be able to let the clients make their
own decisions and not have to push because I have to produce a certain amount. One of
the most important success factors in any retail business is this, the product itself.
And when it comes to product quality, safety and performance, Mary Kay Cosmetics sets the
industry standard. Unlike some companies, Mary Kay formulates its own products and with
very few exceptions, manufactures those products. I love sharing this product. I feel I personally
perform a miracle before the mirror every morning. We can serve as a person no matter
what type skin they have. I am totally impressed with the extensive line, glamour line that
she has and it's an old cliché that the product sells itself but it truly does. But I think
also the fact today that we are a leader. We are not just following, we are setting
the trends in the makeup industry. For Mary Kay Cosmetics, direct selling really means
direct service, meeting each and every customer's needs personally, professionally, face to
face. That's an area where traditional retailers have really fallen short but it's one of
our greatest strengths. People are looking for that personalized service that they don't
receive elsewhere. When you go to the retail store for cosmetics, you are seldom helped
twice in a row by the same person. They love the fact that when they talk to me every few
months that I am always asking them about how is their skin care and as the seasons
change as they do in this part of the country that I can personalize their skin care program
and make changes because I know what their individual skin type is. So I'm not just
someone that they purchase products from, I'm their personal beauty consultant. As Mary
Kay Consultants, our focus isn't selling, it's teaching skin care. Our market is usually
the home and our customer base starts with members of our own family, neighbors and friends.
We actually show women how to find their best skin care routine and best look by conducting
skin care classes and giving complimentary facials. I love doing skin care classes and
sharing this product, I really do. And to share this product and see the transformation
of other women is so fun and so exciting. With Mary Kay we take a teaching approach,
a helping approach. We actually teach and guide the customer to be able to apply the
cosmetics giving them personalized tips for their specific needs. My major concern when
I became a consultant was could I find customers. Terrified that if I asked somebody that they
would turn around and stick their tongue out at me and it was not a problem at all because
I started with a few people that I knew and they told people and the people that came
to the classes were so excited about the product and what it had to offer them that they told
all their friends and wanted them to get involved. When you become a Mary Kay Consultant, you're
going into business for yourself but not by yourself. There's someone to guide you every
step of the way. One of my concerns when I became a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant was that
I didn't have any beauty expertise. I had worked well with people previous to my experience
in Mary Kay but had not worked in a business sense with keeping books and things like that.
So I thought, wow, where will I learn all of this? It is so easy because you're trained
so well. Well, the company in the training that I received, it has helped me. It has
increased my confidence level 130%. I always share with new people, you know, the workbooks
have every word in them, what to say on the phone, what to say going in her front door,
what to say while you're there and what to say while you're leaving. You can take the
information in that showcase and teach yourself how to be a professional beauty consultant
right there. The support that the staff gives us is through seminars and workshops, glamour
workshops. We have management conferences and career conferences and ongoing events
throughout the years so that we are always kept abreast of the latest innovations in
the cosmetic industry. And it's ongoing training, it's there all of the time and that support
is there all of the time. I've always thought of Mary Kay as sort of going to modeling school,
getting your Masters of Business Administration and going to Dale Carnegie all at the same
time. At Mary Kay the learning never stops. But it's not just a matter of doing things
right. It's a matter of doing the right things. When I started Mary Kay Cosmetics I wanted
a company where everyone was treated fairly and equally and with honesty and integrity.
I wanted it to be a company where everyone applied the golden rule because that's the
greatest rule in the whole world. It's the golden rule, do unto others as you would have
them do unto you. And believe me, if you will do that in your personal life and in your
business life you will be successful and you will help others to become successful too.
When you join Mary Kay you become part of a wonderfully supportive network. People who
want to help you be the best you can be. They'll willingly share their experience, enthusiasm
and energy with any Mary Kay consultant who wants and needs their help. Great camaraderie.
One of the highlights of the business is attending your Monday night sales meetings or whatever
night you go out. But we call ours Monday Night Live. And you know the ladies come in
from their jobs and very often they're tired, a little worn out. But by the time that they
leave they're up on the ceiling. When was the last time your boss thanked you for doing
a good job? Not any time lately, right? Well at Mary Kay no achievement is insignificant.
No success goes unrecognized. The rewards are tangible and can take many forms but they
all go out of product sales and from sharing the Mary Kay opportunity. Well you know the
first thing that impressed me was the winning of prizes because as I think about it I stopped
winning when I left school. It's like Christmas all the time in Mary Kay because you're always
receiving the rewards. Every quarter we receive prizes according to your production. Clocks,
luggage, china, diamond rings, typewriter, answering machine, gorgeous pink Cadillacs.
My first pink Cadillac was earned in 1978 and I've had a total of seven to this point.
I received a 1991 red Grand Am. An Alante, do you know what kind of a price tag an Alante
has? Over $60,000. That's more than our first three homes cost and it has afforded me the
additional income so that we can take little trips to the shopping mall and get you know
whatever little extras they would like. It has enabled us to be able to go out to eat
more often. Enjoying world class trips, providing college educations for our children and enjoying
financial security and independence that most people just dare to dream about. Most of us
will tell you that one of the biggest rewards of a Mary Kay career is Seminar, a yearly
extravaganza and business meeting that celebrates success. It is a celebration of life. It truly
is. I get goosebumps when I think about it. I do. It truly is exciting. It's like a Broadway
show, a Miss America pageant and the Academy Awards all wrapped into one. It gives you
the big picture of how big our company is. Walk across the stage and thousands of people
are clapping for you and hollering for you. It's beautiful. And there was something about
putting on a long sequined gown and waltzing across that stage at Seminar and being presented
a one carat diamond ring but it was not nearly as exciting as getting on the stage and waving
at my husband. Beyond all the wonderful prizes, beyond the spotlight
of Seminar, it's the intangible rewards. Feeling good about yourself, making the most
of your abilities. That's what makes this business so worthwhile. It's great to have
a career that you can work around the family. Now I see so many things that I've learned
in Mary Kay that have such a giant payoff in the way I raise my children. I know that
I am so much better of a mother because of my Mary Kay training. I'm able to be really
an executive woman or an executive income but yet I'm also able to be there in the
morning and fix my children breakfast and put them on the bus in the morning and then
be home when they get home and hear about all their school day and their school papers
and again over the years I've been able to make my business flexible around where my
family was at. Our marriage was not worn out, it was just
a little uneventful but Mary Kay walked in and it was a whole new dimension that we could
share together and enrich our marriage even more.
Mary Kay's been really a family affair. We as a family have set goals together, we've
worked together. It's been a very tremendous, meaningful experience, Mary Kay for us, for
the family. A career that with it of course has all of
the financial and monetary rewards but there's so much more than that. I don't know that
there can be a greater joy than in helping other women discover and develop their God
given potential and abilities. So where do you go from here? What's the
next step in becoming a Mary Kay success? It's simple. You sign your agreement, purchase
your Mary Kay showcase and you're on your way. It will change your life for the better.
It will make you feel better about yourself, it will make you feel better about what you
have to offer other people. If you're a single person and you have other
things in your life, if you're a mother with young children, if you're a grown woman who
has parents to take care of, I mean we as women wear so many different hats and the
fact that you actually can design your life the way you want it rather than the way it
is for most women where the priorities are job, job, job.
Mary Kay is more than just a way to make a living. Mary Kay is a way to make a life.
Why not take the first step toward becoming all that you want to be and make your next
career move, Mary Kay.