Inventory

My job the last two days has to be one of the most aggravating, frustrating, disliked jobs that I do. No, it has nothing to do with Christmas or shopping - those would be good guesses. It's Mary Kay inventory time. Every year I review and spend a couple days wallowing in the facts of my inability as a businesswoman. I was not meant to sell make-up, or skin care products as I prefer to call them, and yet I continue to do so.

I like to think I gave it a pretty good shot for the first two years and I did get some valuable experience. I learned a lot about taking care of myself and wearing cosmetics and I learned quite a bit about being bold and pursuing people. I'm really not in regret about having those experiences but they certainly came at a cost. What I regret is that I didn't learn how to make money doing it. So here I am, seven years later, writing off several thousands of dollars worth of unsalable inventory, just to get it out of my life. It's not marketed anywhere so no one is ever going to ask for it and I can't possible use it all myself, so I'm going to make a donation to the crisis pregnancy center. Those girls could probably use a little free glamour.

At present I think of myself as a personal use consultant, which means I buy enough to get my own products at 50% of cost and provide a few regular customers with their needs. I have a few regular customers, as I said, but they are becoming fewer. I just went through my online data bank and deleted about two thirds of my contacts because they have 1) never bought anything or 2) they've died.  The remaining dozen or so are faithful Mary Kay users. I don't call them, or bother them to buy - they just call or e-mail me, which is good because I don't have time for much more than that. I'm out trying to earn money. It was a relief the minute I stopped looking at everyone I met as a potential customer, although I accidentally get about one new customer a year. I don't know how it happens.

I've gotten everything counted and the shelves are neat and organized again. I've got a donation box and a box of things I can give as gifts. I'm sitting here at the end of a long day with blue eyelids and raspberry ice lips and it's going to be a while before I want to think about Mary Kay again (unless, of course, somebody wants to buy something...).