Harpers article on Mary Kay

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Lambkin
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Harpers article on Mary Kay

Post by Lambkin »

Virginia Sole-Smith discusses her article on WBUR Radio's On Point:

http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/07/23/mary-kay

Synopsis:

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2012/07/hbc-90008718
Most of today’s Mary Kay ladies are struggling, though, even as the company flourishes at their expense. Tracy Coenen, a financial-fraud investigator and the founder of the online community Pink Truth, estimates that Mary Kay consultants can hope to clear $25,000 per year, at best. Most who make money earn about minimum wage, while fewer than 300 of the 600,000 Mary Kay ladies in the United States net a six-figure income. The women I interviewed for “The Pink Pyramid Scheme” told me stories about struggling to patch together daycare or to survive high-risk pregnancies while working long hours scouting prospects and hosting parties without any guarantee of a sale. Debts mounted, marriages failed. They couldn’t have it all because Mary Kay’s business model (like that of any multilevel-marketing enterprise) is designed primarily to profit from, rather than enrich, its workforce.
The article is for sale in the August issue of Harpers: http://harpers.org/archive/2012/08/0084009
Kestrel
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Re: Harpers article on Mary Kay

Post by Kestrel »

Lambkin wrote:
Most of today’s Mary Kay ladies are struggling, though, even as the company flourishes at their expense. Tracy Coenen, a financial-fraud investigator and the founder of the online community Pink Truth, estimates that Mary Kay consultants can hope to clear $25,000 per year, at best. Most who make money earn about minimum wage, while fewer than 300 of the 600,000 Mary Kay ladies in the United States net a six-figure income. The women I interviewed for “The Pink Pyramid Scheme” told me stories about struggling to patch together daycare or to survive high-risk pregnancies while working long hours scouting prospects and hosting parties without any guarantee of a sale. Debts mounted, marriages failed. They couldn’t have it all because Mary Kay’s business model (like that of any multilevel-marketing enterprise) is designed primarily to profit from, rather than enrich, its workforce.
Here's the anti-Mary Kay website run by Tracy Coenen: Pink Truth
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notorial dissent
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Re: Harpers article on Mary Kay

Post by notorial dissent »

I can't imagine the article exactly endeared the author to either the Mary Kay empire, or to some of its adherents, particularly as it is pretty much spot on. They are at least if not more out there than the Amway peddlers.
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Cathulhu
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Re: Harpers article on Mary Kay

Post by Cathulhu »

Mary Kay is crappy makeup anyhow. Nasty, oily stuff. If you need to wear any, Clinique is much better.
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