Of Course, Some People Do Go Both Ways

I hope you all have a warm, wonderful, safe Thanksgiving to share with family & friends, all the people you care the most about!

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Good news! The temp agency got me an assignment! It's 4 weeks, part-time (9 am -1 pm), and pays well. And since it's part-time, that gives me time to begin working my Mary Kay business, and also go on any auditions I may be asked to. (One of my classmates from the acting classes I took last summer had said that she was taking the morning classes because it was easier to schedule auditions in the afternoon and evening.)

I went to the weekly Mary Kay meeting last night, for the first time in forever, and I'm really glad I went. I learned a lot about personal growth that applied to both my acting and my Mary Kay business. One of the things that hit me while listening to the lecture, was that I pulled the money together to buy catalogs and product samples for my upcoming Mary Kay open houses, I spent $50 for that. And yet, I am constantly saying, "I can't afford the headshot prints", when I've found a place that I can get 100 for $75. It occured to me that if I'm willing and able to scrape the money together for Mary Kay, which I haven't even entirely committed to psychologically, then why the hell haven't I scraped the money together for the most important tool I need to really start moving my acting career forward, especially since my acting career means so much more to me?? Funny how our minds work sometimes, the obstacles we'll create for ourselves.

So, I have some money that I got for my birthday that I haven't spent yet. First thing after Thanksgiving, I'm going to use some of it to get my headshot prints so that I can start submitting myself on Now Casting again, make a business habit out of that, and also start mailing to CDs, production companies, and agents. I'm not gonna hold myself back anymore, I'm gonna get the hell out of my own way, and GO FOR IT!!

Another thing that was discussed at the Mary Kay meeting last night was self-discipline. Yup, I'm definitely lacking in that. And a lot of times the self-discipline is lacking is because we haven't decided what we really want, or that we really deserve it, and we allow fear to stand in the way of making that decision. And that hit the nail on the head for me with why I'm having such a hard time with Mary Kay. (Well, that and the baggage I have that any type of sales feels dishonest, but I can choose to approach my customers in an honest & straight forward manner.) I haven't decided that I really want to earn my VW Jetta Convertible. Or the monthly income that comes with earning it. And really, it's not the No's that I'll get that bother me, I know that's just part of the business. It's the people that say Yes to my face and then blow off the appointment they made without calling me. (I think that is so disrespectful, it makes me very angry.) It's the walking up to total strangers and talking to them about Mary Kay, giving them my business cards, aka "warm chatting".

Apparently the people blowing off appointments is an epidemic that is happening to all Mary Kay consultants, even the higher ups. At the meeting last night, the director suggested that we all need to change our tactics when setting up the appointments, make it clear that we are setting aside that appointment time especially for that customer, "I'm going to be there for you rain or shine. Can I count on you?" Which is something Mary Kay herself used to ask her customers.

As for the walking up to total strangers and "warm chatting" business cards, an alternative to that is putting holiday gift baskets into restaurants, with the restaurant manager's permission, of course. You create a beautiful gift basket with empty boxes in it, so if the basket gets stolen, nothing is lost. You leave raffle certificates that are compliments of the restaurant by the basket. One portion is for the customers to fill out and put in the entry box, and the other has the details of the raffle: Each entrant gets a free facial and free product, and one person will win the basket. The restaurant gets free advertising because the raffle ticket has their name on it, the ticket will usually be placed on the fridge with the other coupons, so the restaurant gets visibility, and it also creates a good image for the restaurant, the women will say, "I won a free facial [or gift basket] from the restaurant." And the Mary Kay consultant gets a ton of new leads to follow up on.

I also think I will try the Rose Bookings again, with a more direct approach. Because the actual going around giving out roses was a lot of fun. It made the women who I gave roses to feel good, it made me feel good.

All in all, I feel like I'm back on the right track, not stuck anymore. HOORAY!!