"I" Story

So, I don't exactly have a purpose of posting this on my blog...except to share it with you all, my friends and family.

But in Mary Kay, we have something called an "I" story. It's our own personal story about how we came into Mary Kay, why we did, why we stay, and anything else related to our Mary Kay career. So as Red Jackets at Julie's meeting, we are each getting the opportunity to share our story. One of us a week. And last night was my turn. I have worked on this for 2 weeks in preparation of sharing it. I read it to a few people, I read it to myself numerous times so that I would be comfortable with it. And when I read it to the group at the meeting...I still got emotional reading it. What can I say? Its near and dear to my heart.

I also got to teach about one of our products at the meeting last night. So...it was my night I guess! I loved teaching, that was so fun. I really thought that teaching was going to be harder than sharing my story, but boy was I wrong.

So anyway...here is my story if you want to read it.

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Let me start by saying that you honestly couldn’t have paid me enough to “do” Mary Kay. But only because I didn’t really know what this business is all about. I thought that it was only about going to people’s houses and selling makeup, neither of which I had any desire to do. But I have learned that being in Mary Kay is so much more than selling a product.

I have been building my business now for 5 years. Before I started my Mary Kay Business I was an Infant/Toddler teacher at a preschool in Massachusetts. I spent my days, usually without any makeup on -generally covered in baby food and spit up-which I couldn’t even blame on being a mother. For me it was an occupational hazard. I met Lisa, my recruiter (and now director) through this school because her sons were in the pre-k and kindergarten programs. I happened to be looking for a new Mary Kay lady, since mine had just stopped her business, and so the timing of our meeting was perfect. I booked a party, and allowed one of my roommates (of which I had 4 at the time) to be the hostess-since I had been to a few Mary Kay parties already in the past.

2 days before our party, I broke my nose playing softball. I was the pitcher on my church team and got hit by the ball-and had to get one stitch on my nose. So, the day of our party came, and Lisa walks in to see me with 2 black eyes. I decided that it wouldn’t be a good idea for me to participate in the class, since I didn’t want to be touching my face anyway and I knew that nothing would look right on me-nothing matches the icky color of a black eye-let alone two. Plus, I had been a faithful customer for a few years-so I already knew I loved the product. But I spent the evening helping Lisa (since there were about 15 people at this party), and at the end of the night, Lisa and I booked a one-on-one facial (since I really wanted the personal attention). I decided to make it for a few months out because I wanted to make sure my nose was completely healed first. So, I attended a few guest events in the meantime, and was able to experience how much fun these Mary Kay ladies had together. Yes, I thought they were all a little nuts…but something about them made me want to be with them. By the time the date of my facial came I had already decided that I wanted to give this “Mary Kay thing” a try. After we finished the makeup portion of my facial, I said to Lisa “So tell me more about Mary Kay, I think I might be interested in giving this a try”, to which she replied “I was going to ask you about that!”

I decided to join Mary Kay because I remember thinking that it seemed like a lot of fun, and that someday I would like to have the ability to stay home with my children. I understood that in this day and age, the likelihood was high of needing to have both my future husband and myself working. And after working in daycare, I didn’t see it as an option to put my children in it. I figured working something like Mary Kay from home, would be the best option-it would allow me to make an income, while caring for my children.

But, I think the real reason I joined Mary Kay is because I liked the shoes that Lisa was wearing at that first party. I remember thinking “I want to learn to wear shoes like that”. Okay, so maybe it’s not the real reason. But it definitely helped to get my attention.

So about a month after my facial with Lisa (because I don’t do anything quickly) I finally signed my agreement with Mary Kay in August 2002, a year after I graduated from college. I didn’t have any money at the time, so I spent the only $100 I had to order my starter kit. I didn’t have any means to borrow money, so a paycheck or two later, I used $200 to place an inventory order. And just a note about inventory, while I’m talking about it: although it was the right choice for me to build my inventory slowly, I wouldn’t recommend it to new consultants-it’s a very difficult way to start a business. So anyway, a few weeks after my agreement was accepted by the company, Lisa did my business debut and I booked my first few appointments that night! I was so excited! But 4 days after that, I ended up putting everything on hold because I took a 3 month old baby girl in to my home for emergency foster care. I am so thankful that Mary Kay offers that kind of flexibility and that I was able to make the choice to put this brand new business on the back burner. How I ended up with her is much too long of a story to share right now, but it is something that I like talking about because she changed my life. She very quickly became my baby. What was supposed to be about 5 days caring for her, ended up lasting for 2 months. Foster care was an experience that I’m not sure I can explain completely, it is a lot of very complex emotions, and I have gained a very real appreciation and respect for single mothers. After my baby was moved to a new home, I started slowly working on my business again. During the next year, I started a new job as a Program Director at a Gymnastics facility called The Little Gym. During that time I gained a customer here and there, but wasn’t doing anything consistent in my business and wasn’t attending my meetings regularly. But I didn’t have any doubt that I would continue in Mary Kay. I just needed to take my time figuring it all out.

When I moved back to my hometown of Freeport in 2004, my business really took off, and I have never looked back since. Within just a few months, my customer base grew from about 30 to about 100 and has continued to grow ever since. Currently I am the Sales and Marketing Manager at a Power Tool Company in Freeport. Yes, I said Power Tools as in Circular Saws and drills…and lots of other kinds of tools too. And yes, I know how to use them all AND I demonstrate them too! I have found that selling both tools and Mary Kay balances my personality very well, although I often miss working with children.

My life has changed dramatically since joining Mary Kay. The most noticeable difference is in my self esteem. Even though I was a master of looking confident on the outside, I rarely felt that way on the inside. And, would you believe that I was a very shy person? Before Mary Kay, I could never have stood in front of a group of people and talked-and look at me now! Through Mary Kay I have learned how to show to the world the woman that I always knew was there inside, but I never knew how to present. I have discovered that it is important to me to get recognition for my achievements, and for the first time ever- I feel like I have found what I want to do for the rest of my life (besides wanting to be a stay at home mom someday too).

And…I found that I have an incredible shoe fetish. I wonder where that came from.

My favorite thing about my Mary Kay business is all of the wonderful women that I meet. I didn’t join this company with the intent of making new friends. It wasn’t something that I was missing in my life. But what I’ve found is that the relationships I am building with my sister consultants are not only having a huge impact on who I am becoming, but I have discovered some amazing friendships and a support system that I never would have found otherwise. I love getting together with my customers, teaching them how to care for their skin and playing with makeup! I love the look on someone's face when she looks in the mirror and for the first time in a long time-or ever, is amazed by what she sees! I know I’m doing my job well when a woman opens up to me and tells me what is going on in her life. I love that I don't feel like I'm working when I'm in my “Mary Kay Mode”, and that I actually look forward to "going to work".

I am still single, and building my business as quickly as I can; which is probably still slow to most people. But I have big plans in this company, the first of which is to become a Sales Director and free car driver. And I am looking forward to continuing this adventure with the incredible women that I have met so far- and the women that I haven’t even met yet who will all travel with me down that path.