Poor money management is one of the top reasons people do not succeed in this company.  The following was sent to me by VJ Hartnett, a Warfield Area Sales Director.   It is AWESOME!!!  Print it out and put it where you can read it daily.  Make sure everyone on your team, existing and future recruits, get a copy.  Our goal is to get everyone using good money management practices!

SALES DIRECTOR VJ HARTNETT - Ghent, NY

Here it is.  My Money Management System.  It works if you do it w/o fail every month.

The system works mid-month to mid-month.  So, one can only reinvest if they are selling....  Since I lost every thing I am a nag about savings.  Everyone must save a portion of their sales.  No and's, if's, or but's about it.  It is a MUST.  I believe every consultant should be writing a paycheck.  Why else did they come into this business?  No matter what the bottom line is, they came in to meet people, gain success, earn recognition, write a paycheck, and provide for their retirement thru savings (properly invested) and the Mary Kay retirement plan.  While all may not attain the goal of the Mary Kay Retirement Plan, all can be accountable for their own sales, reinvestment, savings, and their paycheck.

Let me tell you how to do that.  Let's review the Money Management Sheet.(click here)

1.  Time Frame:  always starts mid-month and ends mid-month.  There will be some months where the accountability period will be 5 weeks.  The time frame ends and starts between the 15th and 20th.

2.  Sales:  this sheet keeps people consistent.  No matter how new or seasoned you are, this system will keep you on track.  You want to be selling something every month.  If you came into Mary Kay to supplement your income with an additional 50 dollars per week then you are looking for 100 dollars weeks.  If you came into Mary Kay, as I did, to earn a living off Mary Kay, then you want to have a 10% growth in your sales every week by adding 2 new customers per week.  The goal is to add 100 new customers per year.  That is 2 per week for 50 weeks with 2 weeks off (for good behavior).  Weekly sales figures are entered in Col. 1.

3.  Reinvestment:  a must to be in business.  No matter what you sell you must reinvest a portion back into your business.  This sheet is based on a 50% reinvestment and assumes no sales are below 400 dollars per month.  If they are, then start to have weekly challenges with yourself to have a minimum 100 dollar week.  Sell 4 pamper sets.  Have someone who works in an office sell 10 lipsticks for you with her getting one free, etc.  Cost of what you sold is entered in Col. 3.

4.  Tax:  is always there if you have a sale.  You cannot spend your tax money nor count it in your sales figure.  Whatever you sold enter the tax figure in Col. 2.

5.  Savings:  a must if you sold.  No excuses accepted on this subject.  I have heard it too often, "I have no savings".  You should even if you sold a blending brush.  20 cents would be your savings.  Think that is silly?  It is not.  10% of what you sell must be applied to savings.  Enter that figure in Col. 4.

6.  Profit:  that is your paycheck.  If you sold then you have a paycheck.  It is not the whole amount you sold.  40% is your paycheck.  So, if you sold 100 dollars this week and you sold it in New York you will have $108.  $100 is the sales, 8 dollars is your tax, 50 dollars is the cost of what you sold (reinvestment), 10 dollars is your savings, and 40 dollars is your paycheck.  Profit col. is your paycheck and that amount is entered in Col. 5.

7.  Accountability:  another must to be success.  If you are not a good money manager this system will make you one.  I have adoptees in my area who were never taught money management.  Therefore, they had credit card debt, mis-managed inventory, and a sour taste towards Mary Kay.

Now I do not bend in this area.  Mary Kay did not create this problem.  I came into Mary Kay because I had lost all my money and valuables and built this business by having 300 dollars weeks and did 180's into the company every week.  Therefore, I have always been a star consultant w/o even thinking about it.  Also I did not have a credit card and it was not until 1995 before I earned one back thru proper money management and credit history.  So for 9 years I paid for all my orders, saved every month, and wrote myself a paycheck before I had a credit card.  Now 15 years doing this system and only use a credit card for the convenience of placing orders.

Let's review the Accountability section.  All the figures are taken from each col. from the month's totals.  If each consultant has sold a mimimum of 400 dollars for the month then a 200 dollars order must go into the company.  If not, why not?  What was done with the money?  Some will say I don't understand and that they needed the money.  Well, if you did not sell enough then you cannot have it all.  It is that simple.  And yes I do understand.  I had no car, no air conditioning (and I lived in Fla. at that time), no phone, and no credit card when I called the Company and said I wanted to join Mary Kay.  I had to find a way and make a way.  So I did.

No matter what size order your sheet shows you will have the tax for the order.  Order must be placed by date indicated.  No last minute rushes....  When these sheets are turned in on the date indicated in entry #8 under Accountbility those who are responsible will have placed their order into the company ....  Also, if consultants only place the portion allowed based on their sales, then you will not hear complaints about how Mary Kay took all their money.

I also insist on each consultants who chooses to be accountable to make a copy of their paycheck along with their savings check.  Each consultant can decide on whether they want a weekly check or will it be a monthly check.  Does not matter.  Numbers all come out the same.

Some important factors.  If you are new to Mary Kay and you'll want to make an investment in Mary Kay inventory either in the form of a loan or on a credit card.  I do not recommend using savings, paychecks, etc.  This is a business.  If you were to start up a store at the mall would you invest all your savings to open your store?  Would you use your pay checks to get started knowing you need your paycheck for your household?

The answer is NO.  So why do it with starting up your Mary Kay business.

Go get yourself a loan.  Decide how long it will be, etc.  You make your payment out of your paycheck.  Make weekly payments to stay disciplined.  Helps reduce the amount of interest you pay as well improves your credit history.

Now, just because you have a loan does not mean you do not reinvest in your business.  You reinvest the 50% portion allowed based on your sales.  You can even put it on your credit card providing that when the bill comes in you write immediately a check to the credit card.  You have the money.  If you don't either you sold nothing (or then you should not have placed the order) or you spent the money.

To properly manage your money every consultant should have 3 checking accounts.  One would be the one they had before Mary Kay.  The second will be their new Mary Kay account known as petty cash account or business account (some name to identify it) added below their name line.  The third account is a money market account for their savings.

Every month, if paying yourself monthly, you are writing 3 checks out of your Mary Kay business account.  One check for your monthly order either converted to a money order or written to the credit card.  You can write and mail immediately your check for the reinvestment order placed on your credit card after placing that order w/o adding to your credit card balance.  The only balance you are maintaining is your original order to start your business.  The second check is your pay check for the month.  This check is written to you and placed in your personal checking account that you had before joining Mary Kay.  And the third check is also written to you but placed in your money market account.  When that balance starts to hit 1000 dollars time to put it into an annuity account, etc.

If you decide to do things weekly as I did, then you are writing 3 checks every week and mailing a prorated amount every week for your original start up order.

Please remember any items you need on Section 2 comes out of your pay check and should not exceed 5% of the retail value of your order.