The former Mary Kay beauty consultants at Pink Truth have discovered the real reason for their lack of business success: Mary Kay is a pink-tinted cult.
According to the Web site, the company has no actual products, but is instead dedicated to parting people from their money by selling a faux business opportunity. Women are frontloaded with acres of beauty products and trapped in their pink-painted basements, forced to continue feeding their business with personal credit cards to maintain their status within the company.
Wow, and I thought Mary Kay was just makeup. Maybe mind control is the new “hot seasonal trend.”
Let’s acknowledge upfront that some backwaters of direct selling do exist, in which unethical leaders promise you can get rich in hours a day. These recruiters encourage people to continue to buy products they can’t afford and won’t sell. They manipulate their recruits and refuse to supply information that could hurt their own interests: such as the existence of a 90% buyback program. Work from home is as popular a spam topic as discount Viagra.
Given all that, the real pink truth is that people do make money in direct selling without selling their souls. And working from home can work. But before it can be effective, you have to rid yourself of ideas that are incompatible with having a successful home business.
- If you’re looking for someone to blame, get a job. “Mary Kay made me do it” is an excuse, not a sufficient reason, for business failure. Same for “the economy,” “taxes,” “bad employees,” and “the franchisor.” The bottom line is that you are the reason for your results, good or bad. Once you own that idea, you’re ready for self employment.
- Know your goals and metrics. What does success look like to you? Is it being able to stay home with your family? How much money would it take to do that? Can your business opportunity provide that for you within a reasonable timeframe? Ultimately, if you’re looking for increased financial resources to pay off debt, don’t start a business with high overhead using a credit card. Don’t stay in a direct selling business to spare someone’s feelings.
- Look for a business that fits your life. Pick something you like to do or sell. Don’t start a business just because it’s “the next big thing.” For a cautionary case study, read Meal Assembly Watch. If you’re looking for a part time business, shop among opportunities; don’t just sign the dotted line based on your friend’s say-so.
- Examine the positives and the negatives. I am a specialized freelance. The upside is excellent income and work I enjoy. The downside is constant insecurity about the need to make the numbers (ie, earn enough to help feed the family) and the invasion of my nights and weekends.
- No business opportunity is foolproof or failproof. The best you can do is find or create a business you believe in, and work at it with all your heart. If one doesn’t work, cut your losses and move to the next opportunity, while remaining positive. Staying stuck in blame is a waste. The energy and intelligence going into the pinktruth site could have been used to power a successful business.
- Don’t be afraid to fail. Entrepreneurs don’t mind fast failures, which are important learning opportunities when you’re creating a successful business. However, continuing to commit your resources to an enterprise which is losing money without making tweaks is foolish. Learn the lesson and move on.
- Don’t go “all in.” As noted by financial talk show host Dave Ramsey, a home business should make money, not drain your resources. To be able to take the risks to start a successful business, you need room to grow and make mistakes. To be able to do that, you should test ideas on a small scale. Don’t go into large amounts of debt. Don’t tap your home equity. Don’t take on huge overhead with a storefront lease. Start small and go slow. Reinvest the profits to grow your business. This ensures you can afford to fail.
At home entrepreneurs, what are your best success secrets for starting and growing your business?
–Andie
Tags: Direct Selling, success secrets