From Being An Introvert To Doing Over 8 Figures Online Using Videos | ft.Michelle Cunningham | Th...

What's going on? What's going on, everyone who is watching this show right now? First of all, everyone, welcome to The Nikhil Sai Show, which is hosted by me, The Nikhil Sai. And guess what's going on today? We are back with another amazing True Karma Club interview. And guess who's actually joining the show today? This is a crazy story. She started as a sales representative in a Fortune 500 company. Then after working it 6 months, something like that, she didn't feel that it's for her because entrepreneurs really don't feel comfortable working 9 to 5. And then she found a route of joining MLM company and she went all in and made her first $1,000 within just a month. Then it just snowballed over and over and she loved the vibe and just scaled it where she actually made over 8 figures in sales, building a powerful team of over 1,000 people under her. So now let's not, let's not waste any time and welcome Michelle Cunningham, CEO at Simple MLM Secrets. Hey Michelle.

Hi, I'm so excited to be here. Thanks for having me on, Nikhil.

Absolutely, Michelle. We're glad that you actually joined us on time. Thank you so much for being here today. I appreciate it.

Awesome.

This is a crazy journey. Like, would you mind walking through, like, can you tell us your backstory? Like, how did all of this craziness started?

Yeah, I think, you know, a good backstory always kind of starts when you were born. And so just, you know, I grew up in, in America, in Connecticut, and, uh, my mom was a single mom. So my parents divorced when I was 6 years old, and so I come from very humble beginnings and I feel like for a big part of my life, I always felt less than those around me. I was the poor kid. I had dirty sneakers. I couldn't afford apples. I just wanted to be rich like kids that could afford big fresh apples and Pantene shampoo. And so, so much of my life was spent feeling less than those around me. But I actually look at that as a blessing because it made me motivated to work hard to make money so that I could fit in. Ended up paying my way through college, graduated college, landed my dream job as a pharmaceutical sales rep working for a company selling drugs to doctors. And like 6 months in, or maybe like 6 days in, I was like, what am I doing with my life? This is terrible. And, and I ended up staying there for a few years. But my coworker's wife said to me, hey, I sell for this other company. It's— we sell an MLM product. It's makeup and skincare. Do you want to go to this event with me? So I go to an event. There's a lady in the room claiming to make six figures. Another one's a millionaire. Another one's driving a free car. And I'm like 20, 23 years old. I'm like, this, this is awesome, right? So I go home and I tell my mom, and my mom thinks it sounds too good to be true. She thinks it's a scam. So I don't sign up. And then a week later I signed up and, and I was too shy and too nervous to do anything with that company. Kind of this complex of feeling less than those around me. And I didn't do anything for the next 6 years. And so, I stayed in safe corporate America and jobs that I sort of liked, but not really, knowing that I wanted to do something bigger with my life. But I was like, I don't know what it could be. And it wasn't until I was 29 years old that I was like, you know what? I am fed up enough. And I think that's the thing. We all get to a point where we're just fed up enough. And I was fed up enough. I knew one day I wanted to have kids. And I said, this life of working for someone else is not going to give me the life that I dream about. So, I'm going to take a step back. Like, I was willing to let go of— I was making 6 figures at that point. I was willing to let go of all of that to start over and build something that was going to grow exponentially beyond that. And so, that's what I did at 29. I said, I'm all— I'm going to go all in with this network marketing company. Like, I'm not dumb. I think I can figure this out. I'm going to treat it like a real business. And sure enough, 6 months later, I was driving a free car and making $5,000 a month. And I had built a downline of 50 reps. And I was like, huh. Maybe I'm onto something here. And so I continued to grow that. And while I was growing that, I also built a YouTube channel and shared my strategies with people, which inadvertently grew into an online brand, which takes us to this being here with you today.

Well, that's pretty amazing, Michelle. That's really awesome, right? And it's really motivating to see someone like this, right? Like coming from a different background and now actually living your life. And that's really like, you're an entrepreneur. Like we really see that in your blood. Right, you can't fit in that 9 to 5. You just don't like it, right? We don't feel alive when we're doing that, right? Even if that gives us 6 figures, even 7 figures, doesn't matter. It's just not, it's just not built for that. That's, that's pretty amazing. That's really motivational, Michelle. Thank you so much for amazing backstory. And Michelle, like, one of the things you're really expert at is personal branding, and especially personal branding. A lot of companies, even people in network marketing, they're really confused with sort of how they can leverage their personal branding. And you're doing it so well that there is no one else in the marketplace who is doing better than you, especially in MLM business. We would love to hear like how to actually leverage personal brand in business.

Yeah. You know, I think that for me, my personal brand started not even me knowing I was building a brand. It started with, I'm going to start a YouTube channel. And the reason I started a YouTube channel was because people that I knew in my life wouldn't know I had it. Like, that's how much of an introvert I am. Like, if I go on YouTube, no one will know I'm over there because they won't know unless I tell them. And so I started over there. I started making videos and strangers started to find me online. And those strangers built my self-esteem. I know this might sound crazy, but they were like, wow, this video was amazing. I love you, Michelle. And I'm like, really? Like, and I couldn't believe it. I literally couldn't believe that people liked me. And I was like, this, this is awesome. And so I said, well, my people that are following me, I got like 30 people now or whatever it was. I better make them another video. I got my friends out there. And so it just started like that. I just kept putting out these free videos and helping people. And that then turned into— I took a marketing course and I paid a lot of money for this marketing course. And the one thing I learned from it, so you don't— it'll save you a lot of money, is build an email list. And I was like, I don't really even know. I'm not that techie. You're really techie. I'm not. I'm very like, I just like to make videos, right? So I was like, okay, I'm going to figure out on my cheesy Wix website how to collect emails. So I didn't know what to do, but I figured out before the fold, put this little thing. I think it was, I said something like, if you like my YouTubes and you want me to tell you every time I release a new one, just put your email here. And that simple action changed my life forever because 12,000 people opted in to that email list thing, right? And I didn't even know what to do with these emails. Like sometimes I'd email them, sometimes I'd take 6 months off. Like I was, a mess, like a total mess. And I share that because you can sometimes be a little clueless, but it's okay. Just collect emails and then you'll figure it out. And eventually you'll find some people that can help you, like, take it to the next level. But so I started collecting emails for 6 years. I didn't do anything consistently with them. And then I started to realize, gosh, I should put a pretty banner on my YouTube, right? So I eventually found someone on Fiverr. I'm like, oh, these people can design. And a few years ago, it was kind of hard to find, like, you didn't really know where to go. Now that we've got Canva, Canva changed the game for all of us. Where you can go on Canva, you can design just about anything awesome. But if you're not good at design at all, you can go to fiverr.com, find someone to make your YouTube banner to match your Facebook banner and get a cute little headshot. And I mean, I think those critical little things matter. And then the other piece of that is make sure that the colors are cohesive, right? My are pink. My world is pink. When I first started, my brand was like rainbow. It was like every color of the rainbow because I didn't know anything about branding. And then one day I was like, oh, a brand board. You mean I should have 5 colors? Got it. And so like, I literally was like, okay, I like pink and I like light pink and I like dark pink and I like white and I like gray. And those became my colors. And so it's pretty easy because in all that I do, I'm like Is it pink? Okay, sweet, it fits the brand. So, well, you don't really have to overthink it. Just pick a color you like and then that's your brand.

Wow, wow, Michelle, that's, that's really amazing, right? Like, you started way before so that you can actually— you never even realized that you were actually building something that's going to be this huge, right? And the best part is you, you didn't even have a hook or a story. You just say like, hey, if you like my YouTube videos, like, enter your email and you build a list, which is freaking amazing. And I definitely agree on the point being said, Michelle, which is like build email list no matter what, no matter the situation. Like, those— that, that exact asset is going to make you fortunes if you just use that the right way. So just make sure, no matter where you are in your business, just make sure to collect potential clients' email addresses because that's going to compound at a different level. Pretty amazing stuff, Michelle. So let's get to the next question, Michelle. This is pretty amazing. So like, a lot of MLM business owners, like even 2021, they'd be like, ah, there's no marketing events happening, like how can I grow? I go and try to sell my neighbors, knocking door to doors, like like they're still traditional, right? Would you mind— like, you're MLM king in my opinion— so would you mind telling me more about like what kind of role does digital marketing plays when it comes to growing an MLM business especially?

Yeah, you know what was interesting about my journey is that I was a home party rep, which meant I went to people's homes and I showed them my goods, they tried it on, and then they'd buy it from me. But in doing that, I was taking time away from my kids who at the time were 3 and, and a a baby, right? They were little, and I hated leaving. I did. And I would, I would go and I'd do, and I'd be gone for 2 or 3 hours. And I was like, gosh, I wish I could generate business online. And what is so interesting about my YouTube channel, where I was just going, I was posting these videos to help people that were doing what I was doing. I was just sharing, like, here's what I said at my party that made me sell 300. Those little videos, what I didn't know is it was attracting new people to me. And those people were following my videos and then they would say things like, I've been following you for the last 6 months and I like you and the company I'm with, I don't think it's as easy. I want to join your team. And so like, sometimes people think they have to like reel people in. But what I was doing that I didn't know that I was doing was what I call friendship marketing, where I was just like being a friend and just like, hey friend, if you want some helpful information, here it is. And those people felt like they were my friend. And today they are my friends. Like when they're live, I'm like, friends, hey friends. And so my friends then reached out to me and I, I'll never forget a girl reached out to me from Florida and she said, hey, I'm a single girl. I work, I own a cooking company. I'm just tired of it. What you do looks easier. I'm going to join your team and I'm going to be a rock star. And I'm like, okay, Like, on the phone, I was like, yeah, right. Like, no one is a rock star. But she found me because of my YouTube channel. But either way, this girl joined my team. She added over 700 people to my downline, did millions and millions of dollars in revenue. And the secret sauce was that because I consistently put out YouTube videos, she was watching me and analyzing and then deciding she liked me. And so if you really want to open up your personality for people to find, you start serving. And I think there's a book, it's called Jab, Jab, Right Hook, but it basically just says like, just serve, just love, just give. Like, I give so many awesome things out and I didn't— I just did that because I like, liked to, but I didn't know that that was actually going to attract people to my business. People would reach out to me and want to buy products from me and it's super effective. So for me, I'm a— I love YouTube and I love Facebook Live and that's where I hang out. I know there's a lot of different platforms, but I think at the end of the day, the platform that you give the most attention to is the one that will grow the biggest. And so my YouTube platform has grown the biggest because I've given it the most attention. Wow.

Wow. That's a real great action plan for anyone who's just trying to set up digital marketing for their business. That's, that's amazing, Michelle. Thank you so much for that.

Absolutely. Yeah.

So let's get to the next week question, Michelle. Like, We have seen MLM business, especially people who are joining MLM, right? They just be like, after they see an event or a video, they'll be like, yeah, I'm gonna make a million dollars, I'm gonna join 10,000 people under me. But then later a week, they'll be like, uh, maybe this isn't working, maybe this is not for me. Like, they doubt themselves and they just go into that kind of implode nature, right? So like, and again, comes down to like building an effective team who actually runs your business for you, right? That's what marketing is about, right? So would you mind giving us your two cents on how How to build a team who runs with the same vision as you do, like this motivated, hyperactive, no matter what, just go and show up kind of team?

Yeah, I think, you know, for me, like sometimes I recruited people that were super duper motivated and sometimes I didn't. And when I look at the people that joined me that were super duper motivated, they were the people that when I presented my story, I was really inspirational. Like I inspired them and I gave them hope. And when someone joins your team that's inspired and they have hope, they act differently, they behave differently, they become intrinsically motivated to want to do so many things. And so, there was a period in my business where I didn't really share a motivational story, partially because I felt like I didn't have one at that point or because I was tired or, you know, just wasn't good. But when I changed my story to be like robust and really inspirational and it had a lot of emotion, those people joined my team and they were like, girl, you inspired me. Like, I'm ready to do this because I'm so inspired. And it was so, it was interesting because they were ready to take off with it. And so, you know, I would say to anybody that feels like they're not bringing on inspired people is change your story. And it doesn't matter what level you're at right now. Make your story super inspirational. It could be that you are leading one of the fastest growing teams in the area. You could have 2 people on your team, right? But you are leading one of the fastest growing teams in the area, and you are going to the top, and you're taking people with you that are highly motivated, that want to do this. But this is going to change people's lives. When you get super fired up, you bring on super fired up people, and you also get rid of people that are not fired up. And so I think that that really matters. Your energy is going to feed your team. And with that being said, I still brought on some people that were like, oh, I'm inspired, and then they were not inspired the next day, and they they drifted away. It's not like everyone that joined your team is going to be a rock star, but you got to go out and just shuffle through until you find the people that really get the vision like you do.

True, true, Michelle. I think, I think that's, that's really amazing. Like, you just need a handful of people who are just as good as you so that they will run it for you. And as you just mentioned, like, like, your prospects, or maybe your potential team, is less excited than you are. Like, if you're just like that guy who's just saying like, hey, go through my link, buy my stuff, like Nobody does that. You should always be telling great stories. I think that, that story thing, it really attracted me. Like, it's gonna give a lot of business owners popping up multiple ideas that your story is what sells, right? Like, why do you think Apple is so big and Amazon is so big? That's because they are very great at storytelling and offering their products and services well. That's, that's pretty amazing, Michelle. So let's get into the next quick question. I love the vibe on this podcast today. So yeah, let's get to the next quick question, Michelle. Like We've seen MLM business owners, especially the beginners, they just do crazy stuff that we couldn't resist ourselves to stop them or laugh at them, right? And would you mind telling us like the 3 common mistakes every small, uh, or beginner MLM business owner makes?

Yeah, I mean, I think it's, it's a few things because for me, I, I struggled in MLM for 6 years before I got started. So I'll tell you the mistakes I made. Number 1, I was too scared to approach people, right? So I did everything but approach people, which is the one thing that's the scary thing to do, but that was the thing that was going to move my business forward. So I wasted my time organizing my inventory, laminating ideas, searching Google for ideas on how to talk to people. Like I did everything to avoid talking to humans for 6 solid years. So like, don't do that. That was a bad use of time. Okay. That's number 1. Number 2 is they, they watch other people so closely that they start comparing. And I think that at the end of the day, you got to be your own train on your own track. You don't look to the left, don't look to the right, because when you compare is to despair. It just doesn't bring you any good energy. So that's the number 2 thing that I see happening. And the 3rd thing is that— gosh, there's a lot of different ones I'd say here, but I would probably say that you just need to take action. Like, I didn't take action. Number one, I was taking zero action. But when I finally decided to just ask that first person and, and I finally got some, like, traction, things started to happen. But, but for me, like, because I'm shy and an introvert and I don't like to approach strangers, I had to figure out how to do it in my own way. So take action that works for you at your self-esteem level. People would say to me, You can't build this business by Facebook. You can't build this business with text message. And I'm like, well, watch me. And so I actually earned the top-level car in our company, never picking up the phone, never approaching strangers. It became kind of my thing. I texted people. So I figured out how could I get someone's phone number? So I put little jars around my town. I was doing some crazy stuff, right? I also figured out how to do this online, but I got people to give me their phone number so I could then text them. And now you can do it with Facebook. You can do so many different things, but 6 years ago is a bit different. So, um, so that stuff really— it worked super, super well. And, uh, and so find something that works for you at your confidence level that you're currently at.

Wow, Michelle, those are great learnings, especially come from the mistakes you have made. I think that's gonna cut short a lot of learning curve for all of the viewers on this podcast. Thank you so much for sharing them. Pretty amazing stuff. And let's get into the next question, Michelle. Like, again, when it comes to MLM business, we see nerds talking about like, oh, like, just hearing the keyword like MLM, they'll be like, oh, that's a scam, or that's just like a lot of hype and a lot of other things, right? So I would love to hear, like, what do you think as you're one of the top guys in the MLM space? Like, what are the major myths and the truths of MLM businesses in 2021 specifically? Because you see a lot of stuff happening back then, but yeah, what about right now?

Yeah, I mean, I think, I think people that are not in the industry, they just assume it's a scam. I mean, that was my mom. And so You know, a scam, it doesn't exist for 50 years or 60 years if it's truly a scam. It gets shut down, right? And so, you know, and I always said that when people are like, I don't want to join your company, I think it's a scam, like, well, we've been around since, you know, it was a company from the 1960s. I'm like, been around that long, so it was a scam, it was going to get shut down. So, um, so I think, you know, that, that's a big one. But, but it's like when you actually start to follow people that have change their entire life. Like, the industry changed my entire life. Like, it gave me confidence, and I learned so much in the industry. And, you know, the reason I got involved in this industry was because I read a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. And in that book— it's a great book if you haven't read it, I recommend it to every entrepreneur— but he said there's 3 ways you can make money. You can start your own small business, you can invest in real estate, or if you don't have a lot of money or capital, start in network marketing and learn from there. And truly network marketing teaches you with very little investment how to run a business, how to talk to customers, how to manage customers, how to, how to deal with inventory. Like it taught me all the basics of business. So then I got this like superpower that made me believe, well, I could do this with any other business. And so it's a great starting ground for anybody. And that's, that's the truth about MLM is it's one of the best places for anybody to start who feels like, I don't know where to start. I would say pick an MLM company, direct sales company, a network marketing company. They all call themselves different things, but find one and, and dive right in and learn it, and, uh, it'll change your life. It's pretty crazy.

That's, that's 100% true, Michelle. I think the perspective is perfect here, right? And again, like, it's the perspective of where you are actually, like, who you're trying to attract, right? If you're trying to, like, attract someone who's already making a million dollar months to join an MLM, like, that doesn't make any sense until or unless they're in the same niche with a huge audience. But if you're talking about like a teenager who has no clue what to do, who's very introverted, just like how you started, I think I personally seen a lot of my friends like who were actually nowhere, they were just like that silent guy in the class, to actually being able to speak and go talk to the strangers and, you know, start selling the products. Even though they made money or not, that just, that's just something, it depends on their performance and stuff like that, but they get the confidence level to build up a next level of team management skills, sales skills, and the kind of ability to open up their mind. And the best part, I think, in the MLM business is you have access to the most beginners to the people who are actually making millions of dollars in, in on the same stage, right? I think that's a great place to network together. That, that's why it's called like network marketing, right? It's pretty amazing stuff. So I think that's definitely recommended for someone who's just getting started. Thank you so much, Michelle. That, that was just on point. So Michelle, like, let's get into the next quick question. Like, you get so much stuff done, especially when it comes to content, you know, growing your business, selling courses and stuff like that, which pretty awesome, right? We would love to hear what kind of tools and, you know, management software you use to manage your productivity, stuff like that, internally in your team and your clients.

Yeah, you know, I'm a, I'm a Google Drive girl, and so we manage a ton in Google Drive. Like, I know that people have Trello and they do all these fancy things. I'm like, how can we do this in Google? So we actually have a Google Drive where, you know, when I film a video— I was just, right before I came live, I was, I was filming videos on this phone with my little microphone, and I take the video, edit it in here, and I would shoot it right into into the Drive folder for my Facebook ad team to grab and for my funnel guy to add to my sales page. And so we park so many things inside of there, even like content that we're putting out. I did a video for free today that we're gonna make into a YouTube, but those, we organize them in a Google Doc. When was it released? When can we reuse it? Here's the thumbnail for it. Here's the link to it. Here's the freebie that went with it. And so I know people use a lot of really fancy things, but I'm a Google Drive girl and I love it 'cause it's easy and I can share it with my team and we love it. I love it.

So yeah, that's, that's pretty amazing, Michelle. And yeah, I think like keeping things simple on a straight platter, I think that's going to eliminate a lot of confusion because we've seen teams who use 7 different softwares to communicate and it's like just crazy to have all of the things ahead, right? And I think that's gonna make it so simple. And people who are claiming that they don't have the right resources or paid tools to run your business, check out Michelle, right? She's using Google Drive. It's free to use. No excuse. Please, right?

Yeah, that's mine's always the non-techie version. That's how I roll, Nikhil. You're like really techie and I'm like really not. And so I'm like, what's the simplest way we can do that to like generate the most revenue? Okay, cool, Google Drive.

Yeah, true, true. That, that's amazing. Yeah, it's not about like being techie or not, but it's more about like how can you make things so simple so that anyone and everyone can understand and take the next step, which is just formulating the funnel, right? That's, that's pretty amazing, Vishal. That's awesome. So yeah, the all— everything we're trying to do is to just to make the life simpler, easier, and without any tedious procedures. That's, that's amazing, Michelle. So let's get to the next quick question, Michelle. Like, you've been from nowhere, working in a job and struggling in MLM business, to now actually helping tens of thousands of people learn how they can start and build their own businesses, which is freaking awesome. We would love to know more about like your daily routines or any kind of rituals you personally follow for your success.

Yeah, that's a great question. So I, you know, I think my daily routine is like I wake up at 8:30. I know some people get up at 5 AM. Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I have to answer that door. There's guys picking up furniture. Can I go open the door real quick?

Yeah, sure, no problem.

We can edit this real quick.

Okay, 100%, no problem.

Okay, he's just picking up a piece of furniture right by the door. I'll be back in one minute. If those guys can pick up that furniture, you can just give it to them. Thanks. Sorry, I'm back.

Okay, no problem, no problem. This is a recorded session, that's why I do recording.

Even though—

yeah, exactly, I can chop it off and I can make it cleaner. Good. So let me ask the question again. Okay, that's amazing, Michelle. So let's get to the next question, which is, would you mind telling us more about like your daily routine for all the success you've been achieving?

Yeah, so the daily routine is basically we get up at 8:30. I've got 2 kids, they're 5 and they're 9. So we get up at 8:30, I drive them to school, they get to school by 9:15, and then I come home. Today I went on a 3-mile run. I'm a workout girl, so I gotta get in at least 30 minutes to an hour a day. Did my 3-mile run, got ready, threw on makeup, and then depending on if I'm editing videos or filming— like today's a filming day, threw on a bunch of makeup, filmed my videos. And then some days the next day is an edit day where I don't have to put on makeup and I'm just editing videos and putting them out there. And I'm also always thinking creatively from like 11 AM until about 4:30 PM when the kids come home. That's my window to crank out work. So I work as much as I possibly can to crank out videos, content, whatever I need, uh, come up with new ideas for stuff so that when I get them off the bus at 4:30 then I'm back into mom mode. So like today we're meeting some other moms at a snow cone ice cream truck down the road at 5:30. And sometimes, you know, I will do a little bit of night work, but lately I really haven't had to do night work because I've got a bunch of stuff that's running on automation. We've got automated webinars, now automated programs, Facebook ads running. So it's just like so much of what I do and I've told my team is like, I can't be that present. I only have about 5 hours I can work Monday through Friday. And so I need to be able to create stuff that runs on auto, like automatically. And so that's really my business model is not, I don't have one-on-one clients, just everything I do is just online courses that run automatically.

And that's what I do. Wow, that's exciting, Michelle. And that's just like a dream come true for a lot of people that want their business to stand and run on autopilot, which you're doing pretty amazing, right? That's crazy. And yeah, like the modes you're switching, like we need to sell you for that thing, like getting into a creative genius mode where you're like, actually building your business to make it bigger and create more impact, at the same time taking care of your children, just switching the modes and making out time, which is freaking amazing. That's, that's a great dedication. Love it, love it, Michelle. Thank you so much. So let's get to the next question, Michelle. You've been making a large shift one year while you're actually starting your career, like joining sales jobs to actually multiple corporate America jobs, and actually turning into network marketing, going online, scaling business, now selling automated stuff, which is freaking amazing. Like, if you would like to speak to a 20-year-old you, what would be a number one suggestion? Or if you want to talk to someone who's just getting started, what would be your number one suggestion for them?

Yeah, I think it's a great question. I think that, um, successful people feel the fear and do it anyway. And, and I remember hearing that for the first time when I was 29, and I was like, oh really? Like, I didn't know that. Like, I really thought that successful people came from wealthy families, had confident parents, grew up confident, had big houses. And they were just like lucky. And when you grow up on the poor side of things, you're like, "Well, I'm just poor and like I'm insecure." And so I didn't realize that you could just, you could feel fear and you could do it anyway. And so when I started to feel that fear, I would do things anyway. I would send that text message or I'd send another text message or I'd book another person. And in each, each time I did that, I chipped away a little bit of that introverted shell and I kind of like threw it aside almost like a chocolate bunny, you know. I just started to chip away at that fragile parts of myself And it made me more confident. So that's what I would say to a 20-year-old is just like, do those things that are like really uncomfortable. And, and I'm the biggest introvert of them all. Like, I did— would not approach anyone in my 20s. I, I didn't. I actually didn't. So I would say just do it. Do those things that feel uncomfortable, and it will change the game for you. And I watched— I'm friends with some 20-year-olds now, and I'm like, man, you are so ahead of me, you know. I'm 41 now, and so I just It took me a little bit of time to finally like get the guts to do it, but it was baby steps. I think you eat an elephant one bite at a time. So that's how I did it and that's what I recommend.

Wow, that's really true, Michelle, right? They just need to cut the whole pizza into small pieces so that they can take it slowly because you can't eat it all at a time. So that small initial actions can actually compound to an entire lifestyle change and the mindset change, which is going to shift their business and their situation in their life. which is freaking awesome. So let's get into the next question, Michelle. Like, what are your life's biggest achievements so far and any next bigger goals?

Yeah. So this was really exciting for me to get that little award. Like, I was like, oh man, I'd love to get that. And I actually just looked at my numbers and I think I've already hit 2 million and I'm like, well, I'm going to get a second one, which is really exciting. So amazing. Yeah. And we just started. Thank you so much. I started just 2 years ago in the internet marketing world and like learning it and figuring it out. It's so exciting and it's so cool when you can take your knowledge and you can help people and they tell you how helpful it is and you change their business and your life, yet you get paid really handsomely for it. And like, it's addicting. It's exciting. Like, I love it so much. And so, yeah, I would say the $2 million in revenue is definitely like, whoa, like I never thought I could do that. That's awesome. Now I'm like, okay, how do we do $10 million? And so— Yeah, that's kind of my next goal is like, all right, I want to get the one that's like got all the circles in it. So I want to get that award.

That's the $100 million award.

Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, you could have me on again. I'll be like, whoa, I did it. Look at Nikhil. I got—

well, definitely. I'm pretty excited to have you again, Michelle. So yeah, we will definitely do another podcast when you have that 10x award. And once we hit that, like the Circles Award, like the 2CCC, that would be so great to have you on for sure. We will mark it down for sure. That's amazing, Michelle. Excited, excited to see your progress. And I love the impact kind of what you're doing to all the girls who have that low self-esteem trying to use Snapchat and Instagram and actually now trying to build their own business, which is freaking awesome, right? You're really creating a positive impact on them. That's what I love more than the revenue thing, which is amazing. So let's get to the next question, Michelle. What was the biggest mistake in your life so far, especially?

Hmm, it's a good question. I mean, I think I think it probably just stems back from my childhood, is just believing that I didn't have power within me, right? For so long I played the story that I was shy and I'm introverted and I can't do this because of that. But you can rewrite that story. You know, even we can rewrite the story of I'm unorganized. You know, I spoke that to myself for so long and I'm like, how about just get organized and stop saying that? Like in anything that we do, you can rewrite the story. Story, just change your thinking in your brain. And so, um, so that's what I would say is I lived in the shy mode for way too long. And like, I'm not shy, I was just insecure. Like, we're not— you're not shy, you're insecure. Get into action and you can change the person that you are and how you show up.

Wow, wow, Michelle, I think that's, that's on spot. Like, definitely a lot of people, they still have the opportunity to rewrite their complete story, and just, it's just like I believe you're not organized earlier. Now you just told yourself that, hey, I'm organized, and that's when you became super organized, right? And now you teach people how to be organized, which is freaking awesome. It's just the story you tell yourself so that you can actually become that person. And once you become that person, you just live the life, right? Which is freaking amazing. So don't, don't just claim for things which are happening in life. It's just what you want. That's what happens really. So just, just manifest it and work on it. It's gonna happen for sure. That's, that's pretty amazing. It's pretty amazing. So we would love to hear, like, you've been so long in the journey of business from different, different places, right? Would you like to tell, like, any main inspiration for all the success you had and any people involved in your journey?

Yeah. You know, I write about this in my book. I actually wrote a book last year. It's called Do It Anyway, Girl. And I talk about my, my mentor in this book. But she— her name is Maggie, and she was the person who in 2009, when I was stuck and I wanted to make network work, marketing work. I reached out to Maggie, and I tell the whole story in here of like how I met her and what she said to me and how she taught me to feel the fear and do it anyway. And she taught me to just send a text and do this and just take action. And she is the one who changed my life forever. And so, um, and I said, if I ever figure this industry out, like, I— because I was stuck for 6 years, and it was a painful 6 years, and I felt like I'm never going to make this work, but I was dreaming about it for 6 years. I said, if I ever do make this work, I'm going to make sure I teach everybody. I'm going to show them exactly what I did. And so I actually wrote this book because people will say to me, well, what did you say? And I'm like, I wrote it. I put it all in here. And then like what Maggie told me to say, I did it. And then so I give everything in here because I felt like I was stuck for so long because people would— I go to company events and they'd be on the stage and they'd be like, you can do it. I'm like, do what?

Like, what are you—

what are you saying? Like, what's your magic script? How are you talking to people? I need to know. How you ask someone for their credit card. Like I needed, I couldn't even figure those little pieces out to like finish closing the sale. And I needed someone to give me a step-by-step system. And so that's just the stuff I always train on is, is that because Maggie taught me that stuff. And so I give back and share it with others.

Wow. Wow. That's amazing, Michelle. Like I would love to drop a link in the podcast description so that someone else can go and grab that Do It Anyway Girl book. I think that's really exciting, right? Like And another best part is you're being Maggie for a million people right now, right? Like, that's, that's the best part of the story, which is, which is freaking amazing. Michelle, way to go. Love it. Love the vibe. So Maggie, I mean, sorry, Michelle. So this is amazing, amazing, amazing stuff. All the information you're sharing here about the personal brand, building up confidence and actually showing up, do it anyway, which is freaking amazing. So where can our audience find you mentoring?

So if you go to michellecunningham.com, that's just my name. That'll give you my website and then you'll be able to access a lot of my free trainings, get access to my YouTube channel. I go live there— or not live, post videos there once a week. And so that, yeah, that's your biggest place. MichelleCunningham.com will lead you in lots of directions.

That's amazing. And you've got some killer resources for all the people who need to kickstart and bootstrap their business, which is freaking awesome. So guys, just make sure to check the website, which will be in the podcast description, and you'll never regret it, right? It's just a chance to go and take action and just do it anyway because you want to be there one day, right? For sure. So Michelle, that was just amazing, amazing, well-spent 35 minutes so far. So any last thoughts before we conclude the entire podcast session today?

Yeah, it's just this one thing that someone taught me that really changed the game for me. It's one very simple thing, and that is what other people think about me is none of my business. And so I'd remind that to all of you, anybody who's holding back because you're worried about what someone else thinks, what other people think about you is none of your business. You go out and do it anyway, and it will completely and dramatically change your life.

Wow. That's, that's just an amazing killer on-spot suggestion, right? And we see like 90% of the people who have the potential to do something, but they don't do it. It's just because, oh, what do my parents think? Or my friends think? Or my neighbors think, and it's just all crap because they're not going to pay your bills, right? Just go and do your stuff, right? Just go and be there. Do it anyway, right? That's, that's pretty amazing, Michelle. Love it, love it. Thank you so much for the amazing opportunity, Michelle, and we're definitely looking forward to have you once again, uh, when you actually hit the X Award or when you actually have the 2 Comma Club, right? Way to go, right? And definitely manifesting to see you with all those 4 discs, which is 2 CCC. Pretty amazing stuff, right? Definitely excited, Michelle, and to see you along the journey and hope you'll be impacting 10 million girls and people to get into business and actually start their own life and be whatever they want, which is freaking awesome. And hopefully, guys who watch the podcast episode so far, hope you love the entire session and hope you enjoyed all the podcast today and hope you got some value out of it. The story is just inspirational. At the end of the day, you just need to go and do it, right? Do it anyway, right? And stay tuned for the next podcast, guys. And this is freaking amazing. We'll be excited and looking forward for the next podcast. Have a great day, guys. Peace out. Bye, Michelle.

Bye.