Many women with families desire the fulfillment of a career, but require something that enables them to easily balance between home and work. For years, Mary Kay Cosmetics has been offering women a way to be successful and at the same time, giving them the freedom to tend to their families.

Mary Kay is similar to other companies in that it needs representatives to go out and market their products. The upside is that they spend less on advertising, thus enabling them to pay the women more in sales and commission. You work from home; products are delivered to your door and it is then up to you to sell them. Consultants have come up with many different ways to go about selling products, and you will receive plenty of information on how to do so.

One of the best aspects Mary Kay provides its Beauty Consultants is freedom to set her own hours. Even a mother of three can set aside an hour a week to host a party of six women and possibly earn over $100 in that single hour. She does not even need to leave the house; if the hostess who made the appointment for the party prefers, the party can be held at the consultant's house. So the consultant has just made over $100 and did not spend a penny on gas.

Even if you are out and about busy running errands, you can perform quick, on the go demonstrations with other women you meet. These brief product demonstrations showing may lead to a sale or even a request for a full party.

Advancement in the Mary Kay world rests entirely on the consultant's shoulders. If you wish to become a Sales Director, it is up to you to do so. Even though you will start out with a director of your own, it is not up to the director whether or not you can advance, as is the case with other companies. The director is to act as your guide and mentor in the Mary Kay company; she is not your boss and does not dictate your actions. Your advancement depends on your sales and number of team members. The more team members a consultant has, the more commission she earns from their order placements with the company (not direct sales the team member makes herself).

Enough advancement can lead to the use of a car the company decides upon at the time (in 2003 it was a red Pontiac Vibe; usually the color of the first car is red), eventually leading up to the famed Pink Cadillac. These cars are free so as long as the consultant continues to have a certain number of team members and makes a strong profit, thus being able to continue placing orders to total a certain amount that allows her the use of the car. However, by this time usually she is so self-sufficient she has no problem making such profits and can easily keep the car.

As with many businesses, there is a startup cost. For Mary Kay Cosmetics, the startup cost is $100 plus any products you wish to buy at that moment in time to have on hand for immediate delivery to customers. The $100 startup cost earns a new consultant a huge carrying case of Mary Kay cosmetics, which is a mix of full-sized products as well as numerous sample products. The purchase of products to have on hand is completely optional. A new consultant can always do several demonstrations and then put in an order once she has enough orders and has a better idea on what to buy for the future as she will often have returning customers.

There is a requirement to remain an active Mary Kay consultant after the initial $100 is to place a wholesale order of at least $200 every three months. However, this can easily act as a motivator to sell at least that amount of products within three months. Oftentimes a new consultant's director will give her materials to calculate how many hours she should work in order to create that kind of income. A good director will also give her detailed information on how to handle financial matters, such as managing income, expenses, tax deductions, and ways to keep all such information organized.

Different directors create different ideas on how to work the Mary Kay business, often coming up with creative initiatives to promote new products or gain a boost in sales. They will share these ideas with their new consultants, as a consultant that does well shows proof of the director's abilities and also means extra income for that director. It is a win-win situation for everyone.

You do not have to walk door to door as a Mary Kay consultant. All it takes is a little word of mouth information, some warm chatter, a healthy attitude, and the desire to run your own business from the comfort of your home and your town.

The staff at www.homebasedbusiness.com regularly updates the 'Home Based Business' website with new information on the up and coming work at home jobs and other Internet based home businesses opportunities.