Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 8, 1993 TAG: 9304080412
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-16 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LYNN A. COYLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
MARY KAY CONSULTANT'S RISK PAID OFF
You better watch out for Susie Franklin or she'll recruit you for her Mary Kay Cosmetics business. After all, she recruited her own mother.She's so enthusiastic it's hard to get her to talk about herself and not the company.
Thirteen years ago, the Northwest Roanoke resident was a student at Virginia Western Community College when she accepted a free facial from a Mary Kay consultant, then heard the pitch about the business opportunities. "I'm always willing to take a risk," Franklin said.
Her first effort as a consultant was a two-hour skin-care class she held after working eight hours as a private-duty nurse. In those two hours she quadrupled what she had made in her nursing shift. "I had fun, and I wasn't tired," she recalled.
Franklin liked the Mary Kay philosophy: God first, family second, business third. And she liked the flexibility that allowed her to work around her job as a licensed practical nurse, and family and other priorities.
A few years ago, when she was living in Oklahoma, Franklin put Mary Kay on hold while she returned to school to become a registered nurse. Now she's back in her native Roanoke, working full time at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem and trying to rebuild the huge customer base she lost while she was away.
She's recommitted herself to Mary Kay, she says. "It's easy for a person to depend on a guaranteed income you know is coming in rather than depend on yourself."
Franklin recently got back her red jacket, a level earned by sponsoring others into the business. "Our red jacket is a symbol that you are serious about your career."
To start with Mary Kay today, Franklin said, the minimum investment is $104. That buys a beauty case containing more than $400 in products - everything needed to give a facial, she said.
After making the minimum investment, you net 40 percent of gross sales. A larger investment can net you up to 50 percent. Franklin can't remember exactly what the beauty case cost her 13 years ago, but she recalls turning a profit on that first skin-care class.
Franklin maintains a separate bank account for her Mary Kay business. Once a month she writes herself a check for 40 percent. Her net income averages $200 to $300 for working about 10 hours a month - an amount of time she was almost embarrassed to admit.
Is she driving a pink Cadillac?
"Not yet. I am working on a Grand Am, I hope," she said of company prizes. To win that Pontiac, she needs for herself and a minimum of five recruits to have combined sales of $3,600 monthly for three consecutive quarters.
She also wants to become a director - in charge of 24 to 36 consultants. To do that, every month she must sell $2,400 in products and bring in five recruits. She figures she can do that working 36 hours a month.
Are her goals realistic?
"Very realistic," she said. "It's just a matter of applying this."
Franklin said it frustrates her that her black friends can't grasp the opportunities in Mary Kay. "You can come in and in six months be a director if that's your choice . . . I have seen that done. There is no pressure. You make all the decisions. If you want a raise, you work harder. And you don't have to kill yourself. I think people didn't understand."
They didn't understand the products, either, thinking Mary Kay was only for white people, Franklin said.
Franklin said that's ridiculous. The makeup comes in shades for the lightest to the darkest skin colors. She's sold the products to white, black and Asian women. She said Richmond, where she used to live, is a lot more open-minded and has many successful blacks in the business.
Franklin said business is up for her and the company despite the recession. She noted that the television show "60 Minutes" has featured the company twice "and they had nothing negative to say. That's unusual for `60 Minutes.' "
"The influence that I have had in Mary Kay has helped me with my management skills in nursing," Franklin said. She's learned about dealing with people, being adaptable and flexible.
"And that really helps, especially in an emergency situation. With Mary Kay, you learn how to accept challenges and overcome obstacles," and that spills over into your personal life and helps you to be more adaptable, she said.
Before her mother got into the business, Franklin said, "She told me that it must be a good thing because she had noticed such a change in my personality and character. She thought it was a good influence on me."
Before that she had never commented, Franklin said. "I thought I was OK."
Susie Franklin can be reached at 345-5102.