Mary Kay Co. Inspires A New Generation Of 'Caddy Daddy'
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - When you see an inordinate number of pink Cadillacs in North Texas, you know it's that time of year: the Mary Kay convention in downtown Dallas.
Most in attendance are women, but men also arrive to show support for their wives' work, though a few help to organize and run the home-based businesses. But when the wife earns a car, the husband become a special class in Mary Kay: the Caddy Daddy.
"I'm one of them," confesses Tim James. His wife exclaims "yeay!"
But James admits he likes driving is wife's pink Cadillac. "Someone gives me a hard time, I ask them what color their free car is. Works pretty well."
Earning a pink car means a woman has likely also sold enough Mary Kay products to be bringing in a comfortable income.
James' wife, September James, says it's a family affair. "And we are partners, it is our business. So he is as much a part of it as I am. I'm the face of it and he can be more of the business side." On the upside, Tim says, "It has allowed me to change careers...I was in banking and management and now I'm a teacher, so I'm giving back in a different way and it doesn't matter that I'm not making quite as much as before."
The Mary Kay business allows September to work a lot from home; an ideal situation with three kids and another on the way.
"Being a part of Gen-Y I've loved it," says September adding, "actually this past year, which I guess you could say has not been the best economically, has been the best year I've had in my business in 11-years even pregnant with a fourth." "So, I'm proud to be a Caddy Daddy," adds Tim.
Still, men like Tim and fellow Caddy Daddy John Hammett can come in for a bit of teasing, as a YouTube video suggests. In it, men in hoodie sweatshirts rap about their wives working from home, along with the kids. "I'm the Caddy Daddy, I'm the Caddy Daddy, throwing pink in my ride, I'm the Caddy Daddy," it goes.
John and Tawnee Hammett like their current situation. "We're living the dream, we have a great family and we both get to be home with our son quite a bit," says John. Tawnee adds, "Honestly, the economy has not effected my business. As a business owner, I don't know that a lot of people can say the same thing."
John understands the family is in a good place right now. "Because she does make great money through this company we're...I won't say recession-proof as a family, but we've had the comfort we've always been accustomed to, we haven't felt the pain very much."
John thinks Tawnee has great insight on the economics of cosmetics. "She's told me a hundred times, 'Cosmetics is recession-proof. Because no matter how bad a recession gets, women are still going to have their cosmetics.'"
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