For the first time in Prince George history, one of the city's Mary Kay consultants is driving one of the company's famed pink Cadillacs.
Others have earned other cars in the company's fleet of pink cars, used as rewards for hitting certain sales figures and team-member figures within certain time frames. The top of the line is the Cadillac. It was presented to Raven Hogue this week by Mary Kay Cosmetics company president Ray Patrick.
"This is my first trip to Prince George," said Patrick, who arrived Thursday from Mary Kay's Canadian headquarters in the Toronto area. "I'm here for several reasons, it is a time to celebrate in Prince George, and the really big thing is Raven's achievement. There are others doing very well in this area and I am here to support them."
Hogue took possession of the vehicle several weeks ago, in advance of Patrick's arrival. She said she was already seeing the results of this mobile billboard.
"I just had this little old man , so cute, come right up to me in a parking lot the other day and he said 'you must have worked very hard for that' which really touched me. He obviously knew about the Mary Kay brand and what the car represents," said Hogue.
She also uses it for her family transportation. She earned other pink cars in her ascent through the sales figures, but being the mom of two-year-old twins, she passed on the others (there is a cash incentive as an alternative) because they didn't accommodate her whole family. The Cadillac has the space she needs.
Hogue, 30, said she got involved in Mary Kay sales about five years ago because the demands of the company allowed her to earn an income for her family but not at the expense of time with her husband and children. It fit her lifestyle. She soon developed a passion for the products and the community involvement required to sell it. Before long she was developing a sales team under her supervision, and taking part in the optional leadership training offered by the company. She felt her life changing on the spot at one such seminar in Nashville in 2012.
"It touched my heart," she said. "I came out with a different view - to carry on the legacy of Mary Kay the person, and take action. Only 10 in Canada got to go to this training, I was so fortunate. We do training and seminars a lot, but this one was different. It was more about Mary Kay herself - her legend, her passions - presented by people who knew her personally. It inspires me to be a national sales director."
Patrick said Hogue was well situated to pursue her goals.
"The Mark Kay model works best in small cities and communities," he said. "The service provided by people like Raven is helped a lot when people know each other or have a sense of community. If you can personalize your service, if you do well one-on-one with people, you can really have as much success as you want. If you want to work at it part-time, that's OK, you'll earn part-time money, and that is just what some people want. If you really apply yourself full-time, there is room for that too, and your earning potential is really significant."
