Lindsey Keyes, Chelsea sophomore, became an independent Mary Kay consultant when she was a first-year student. Making it her goal to get on track to drive a Mary Kay car, Keyes recruited new Mary Kay employees to create a team of 12 consultants, and met the qualifying criteria for a production of $18,000 in four months. Production refers to wholesale order consultants and team members placed with Mary Kay. With a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu parked in the driveway, Keyes sat down with the Pleiad to discuss her part-time job as consultant director for Mary Kay.
Pleiad (P): How did you decide to become a consultant for Mary Kay?
Keyes (K) : Last February, I went home and happened to run into my old babysitter, Lisa Zimmerman, at CVS. She had two college degrees from Michigan State, and had previously been working nine-to-five with a fifteen minute lunch break in the corporate world – which wasn’t for her. We were surprised to learn that now Mary Kay was her full time career. When I ran into her, I had just joined Alpha Xi Delta, and she offered to host a skincare party for me and my friends at Albion. I signed up right on the spot to start selling products, and in my first few weeks as a consultant sold products to friends and family, making anywhere from $200 to $300 weekly.
P: How did you go from hosting skincare parties to driving a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu?
K: It’s just a big snowball effect basically. My grandma started buying products from me, and my aunts started buying makeup from me… Mary Kay has no territories, so you can sell anywhere in the United States. I sent an email to all my family in California, Florida, North Carolina and New York, and they started buying from me since Mary Kay provides free shipping. In June, Mary Kay replaced my other job, and I had already recruited two team members. I told my director (Zimmerman) that I wanted to get on track to earn a Mary Kay car, and I earned my car in about 15 days, which is the fastest out of anyone in our national area. It wasn’t easy, but it was simple. I really concentrated to see who this business could help, and then through that we met production and I earned my car, leased by Mary Kay free for 24 months. It took a couple months for the car to be made, and then it was delivered to the closest Chevy dealer near me with one mile on the odometer.
P: Do you have any other goals you plan on reaching as an employee for Mary Kay cosmetics?
K: I just returned from an all-expenses paid vacation to Myrtle Beach, and I am on target to earn a diamond ring next year, since Mary Kay always said you don’t need a man to put a diamond on your finger. I’m slowing down a bit now to help my other team mates reach their goals, which still helps me because I earn 26 percent commission off of any of my teammates inventory purchases. Right now, two of my friends from Michigan State want to get on target to earn Mary Kay cars by December. I’m at a point now where I only plan on hosting two big skincare parties a month, and where I am making a profit off of reorders and commission. Each month I receive a pink check from Mary Kay that goes directly into my savings account. Every quarter, you also get to pick a prize based on your sales that range from Tiffany’s jewelry and Michael Kors bags to pink electric guitars. The lowest prize last quarter was a Dooney and Bourke clutch. It’s always fun to get the prizes.
P: Do you have plans after college to work for Mary Kay full-time as a career?
K: I’m working on making that decision right now. It’s definitely a lot of fun. Working for Mary Kay is something that I love, and I am interested in getting into sales and marketing. I’m in Gerstacker, and so one of my internships I am planning on working in California and still selling products there to family while fulfilling my internship. Working for Mary Kay is something that I can do for the rest of my life, even if it is only something I participate in part-time on the side.
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