Mary Kay Review – What Skin Care Product Do You Use?

 

The Mary Kay business opportunity represents a significant portion of the $100 billion dollar per year direct sales industry. In 2006, sales of Mary Kayproducts exceeded $2.25 billion in wholesale sales, according to the company web site. Thousands of women will enroll as Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants each and every year, hoping to find their path to successful entrepreneurship.

I thought it would be helpful to look at the actual upfront costs, as well as ongoing costs, for doing this business.

 

Mary Kay Review: Start Business with Mary Kay

To begin, the initial starter kit for all new consultants is $100. This gets you enrolled in the network, with an associate ID, and supplies you with an online storefront. While Mary Kay does not require consultants to purchase product immediately, you will need to maintain at least a modest inventory of products for direct sales to clients. And since there is no way to know in advance what colors or products will be most popular with your clientele, you may need to spend $200-$500/monthly for your inventory. (This will be wholesale cost, which is 50% of retail)

Home parties are the best way to move retail product directly. This will naturally require time for planning and a budget for snacks and soft drinks. Some repeat customers will eventually order product from the online storefront, but others will still prefer obtaining it from you personally.

Mary Kay Review: Pros and Cons

Pros:
Popular and high quality cosmetics, with a recognizable brand name to assist with your sales; Company buy-back program (90% of your cost for the inventory) limits the financial risk; bring in enough reps and you get that famous Mary Kay ‘Grand Achiever Car’. (Pink Cadillac, anyone?)

Cons:
Considerable amount of money will be required to maintain a decent product inventory…some reps suggest this will cost as much as $1,000 per month; as with any
mlm, it’s all about huge amounts of retail product customers and building massive down lines. While many women will become successful with this company, it’s certainly not something that is highly automated or internet-only.