107 | Lessons from a Top Leader: How Mackenzie Fultz went from X to X (I need to think about this title more)
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[00:00:00] Hey friends, welcome back to the Called to Lead podcast. So I am super excited for this week's episode, because you're going to actually be hearing from somebody who's very special to me, but incredibly inspiring. And it is the Mackenzie Fultz who not only happens to be a great friend, but she is one of the top leaders and.
By far the top seller that I have ever had from anyone on my team. And she's also a podcaster, host of the dating detectives. She has 1. 5 million followers across all of her platforms. But today we are going to be kind of doing a behind the scenes, a little, the other side, if you will, of what it looks like to run a business like Mackenzie's because she did not start where she is now.
She liked you listening. Was struggling to kind of figure out this whole network marketing business. I'll let her tell her story. Cause that's, she didn't even know what she was signing up for, but buckle up for this amazing interview with this incredible woman. [00:01:00] And I can't wait for you to hear her story and be inspired today.
So McKinsey, thank you so much for being here. [00:02:00] Thank you for having me. This is so much fun. I love you so much. I love you too. So I have to give kind of, well, a couple of backstories for this episode. One, we just had our company's seven year birthday celebration and miss Mackenzie straight up crushed it.
You guys like she, and I'll let her share the inspiration behind it, but she has enrolled 133 new artists or distributors within her team alone, within her just direct front line alone. Just in the last like couple of weeks in this month, which is absolutely mind blowing, but she called me or kind of let me and Sara, my mentor know that she was kind of struggling with a couple of things.
We had an incredible conversation on the phone and I just had the inspiration to say, you know what? We need to bring this conversation to the bigger stage and share it with the listeners of this podcast who might not realize that. Even though it can seem really glamorous and amazing or even, you know, [00:03:00] jealousy inspiring, if you will, for what Mackenzie's done, it's not always easy and it certainly isn't how she started.
And so Mackenzie, I would love for you to kind of paint the picture of the backstory first of what you were. First journey into network marketing as you enrolled, what was it, two years ago or so, two and a half years as a Seint artist. Let's, let's start there. So in January of 2022, and first of all, thank you for acknowledging all those things.
Some of those things are hard to admit. So in January of 2022, I've been a private investigator for 17 years, sitting in my car, doing surveillance. That's my main job. That's what I've. It's the only real job I've ever had. And, ~um, ~that's something I got into cause my college professor told me I couldn't and in sitting in my car doing surveillance, you kind of, I didn't realize it at the time, but you're very isolated and it's a little depressing.
You get a little lonely, lonely in your head. And for someone like me, who has a big personality, I struggled with that a lot. And so I struggled to find my place. I always got picked on for being the ugly fat girl. I know people say, don't say that, but that [00:04:00] was my journey. That's what everybody called me for all these years.
And so I just kind of, you know, I didn't think very highly of myself because I thought no one did either. I didn't really have, I didn't really have a lot of self worth. ~Um, ~anyway, so I kind of fell into makeup while doing surveillance because it gets boring out there. And, ~um,~ so for 10 or 12 years, I would just sit and play with makeup on surveillance.
It's how I got through my days. And I came across Saint on social media. I saw the girls putting on the makeup. I thought it was stupid. Knowing what I know about makeup, I saw these girls. I'm like, that's the stupidest thing I've ever seen. No one does makeup like that. And I was like, I got to try this makeup.
So I get this makeup and I think it's stupid. I wanted to be right so bad. And I even threw my new makeup away a couple of times. I was like, no, then I picked it back up. And after a couple of weeks, I really got the hang of this new kind of this new concept, this novel concept of makeup fell in love with it.
I had no social media. I think I had, I take that back. I had Instagram. I had like nine followers. Seven of them were my mom because she kept forgetting her password. So she had to create new accounts. ~Um, ~I [00:05:00] had like 71 friends on Facebook. I was literally blood related to all of them. I was so closed off from everyone.
I didn't want to be someone who was very public. ~Um, ~anyway, so I find this makeup and I say, you know what? Let me make a video on this. I want to see what other people think. And I was already Just so you guys know when I, when I bought the makeup, I didn't know it was direct sales. I signed up under corporate.
I had no idea. And so when I, when they send you the email, when you sign up, they're like, congratulations, you're a Seint artist. Like, and I'm like, Oh my gosh, what did I do? And so I run downstairs real fast. I told my husband, I said, ~uh, ~I think we need to like, we're going to lose a house. We need to flee to Mexico.
I just joined a pyramid scheme. We're going to lose everything. And so I just. Like I thought that I had done this really bad thing and he's like, well, you know, maybe you'll just like the makeup. Like, what are they going to do? Kick you out. Then you just stop selling it. Like, all right. So I read a little bit more and I, they, it said on the, on the information that I found, like, you don't have to meet any sales minimums.
There's no quotas or anything like that. And I'm like, oh, that's good. So that's not really like a pyramid scheme. So I was like, all right, let's [00:06:00] check it out. So I ended up getting the makeup. I didn't like it. I liked it. I didn't like it. I liked it. ~Um, ~so I. Ended up making a video because I saw other people doing it.
And I was like, let me see what my 71 friends think and my family. And I made this video and a couple of people reached out and they're like, Hey, I want to know more about this. And I'm like, Oh, you do like, do you, this is like a direct sales company. You don't want this makeup. And they're like, yeah, I do.
And then I had a friend who happened to be someone who enjoys purchasing from direct sales companies. And she likes getting the reward. So she'd host a party and I'm like, wait, what's that? So she taught me what a party was. And I did a couple of Facebook virtual parties. So. Anyway, so I kind of learned what parties were and I was like, all right, let's do more of these.
And so with my 71 friends, I just started kind of like saying, hey, you guys, I want, I want to know that you guys hate this makeup equally, just like I do, because I have no idea. And, ~um,~ so they were like, I'll do a party, and it was someone that didn't even like the makeup, but she wanted to support me as a friend.
And, ~um,~ anyways, I got no, no views, no comments, no likes on [00:07:00] these parties that I just learned how to do from one of my other friends. And, ~um,~ it, then, after, like, five or six of these virtual parties, I had one where I had like 3, 000 in sales and I had like all these color matches to do. And I had no idea what I was doing.
I didn't sign up. I signed up under corporate. I didn't have an upline. Nobody taught me anything. I didn't know anything. And I was like. ~Uh,~ you, please don't, ~uh,~ please don't buy makeup from, you're, okay. So I had no idea what was going on and all these people wanted makeup and so that was kind of the start.
And it was like five or six parties of just like pure nothingness. And then all of a sudden all these people wanted to like have all this makeup, which I think that was, that just spoke to the consistency of showing up. So fast forward, ~um,~ I end up deciding that I'm going to see what these other Seint artists are doing and kind of learn from just watching.
So, I end up going on social media and seeing these people make videos, and people had been telling me for a long time, you should do makeup videos. And I'm like, who? Nobody's gonna listen to me. Like, what do I have to offer? I'm, I'm literally [00:08:00] nothing. Like, no one knows who I am. I sit in a car for a living, you know, spying on people.
And so I started making videos and just showing up for literally like a very, very, very small audience. And I enjoyed it. And I found the doing videos gave me something to do besides just sitting in my car or doing surveillance and being depressed and being lonely. So it really served me at that time and just kind of helped my brain give my, gave my brain a challenge, something to do.
And that's how it started and I just started creating these videos for just because I felt like everyone else is doing it. Let's see if I can do it too. Oh, my gosh. I love your story. And I feel like especially people who either are just getting started in their business or maybe haven't yet, you know, kind of dove in or gotten started or gotten going can relate to how you felt where there's that fear or the discomfort.
It could be about the business model. It could be about the product that whatever it is [00:09:00] that they're selling, whether it's saying or something else. But the fact that you kind of stepped. Like into faith instead of fear and you just had fun with it and you tried to look at what it could bring to your life and then just figured it out along the way because you definitely, like you said, you didn't know anything.
You didn't have anybody showing you what to do. And I know one of the things we share in common is we both enrolled directly to corporate and we both hit the jackpot with the teams that we decided to enroll with. So you can't move teams. In our company, but you can move from corporate to a team. And I know for me, that was the best decision that I could ever make was linking arms with leaders that could really help pave the way.
And so from Liz to Beth to Colleen, the gals that are in between us. And then of course, Sarah and Amanda, I know that hopefully that has been a little bit of a blessing and you got some more kind of guidance from, from, you know, that initial start in your journey. But having said that, I can remember very vividly when you and I first kind of connected was when we did [00:10:00] an internal kind of Seint coaching program called level up that then became Replicate Your Results, which you guys might remember Mackenzie when we interviewed her because she was a rock star in the level up program where she was.
Still doing some big things. She didn't have a huge following, but again, because she was doing classes and doing videos and putting herself out there, she was selling, like you said, probably a couple thousand in sales a month, maybe a few thousand. You had maybe a few teenies, but weren't necessarily seeing the rank or the duplication.
And that was just what a year and a half, two years ago when you started. Summer of 2022. Yes, that's exactly right. So, and then that's when the craziness kind of happened. So what was the difference maker? What were those kind of, I guess, mental shifts that you had during that season, whether it was thanks to level up or Replicate Your Results or mentorship, or honestly just.
You know, kind of figuring it out, ~um,~ as you go, but like, what were the shifts that it took for you to get from where you were to where you are now? [00:11:00] Well, I liked what you said about like kind of stepping into faith. So when I first started, I, I mentioned that my personality is really big and if you've seen any of my stuff, you know that I have a giant personality and it's just this joy, this cheer that lives inside of me.
I wasn't feeling that I was feeling this like loneliness from doing the surveillance, which I didn't realize until later that it was kind of killing my spirit. ~Um, ~but so whenever I was showing up and, you know, not realizing that anybody else would ever show up, I was stepping into faith. And so I, that has always been something that I remember going forward.
So when we did the level up challenge and I was like, well. I did good like whenever I was kind of showing up when no one was there and I just kind of showed up like just kind of hoping and praying like all right we're gonna do this like this is good for my mental health it gives me something to do and we all know when our mind is occupied things suck a little less sometimes and so that's kind of what like that's kind of what it was for me and so whenever you did the level up challenge and I was like okay I needed that personal challenge [00:12:00] that personal challenge for me was something that kind of That I leaned into a lot.
And so I really loved how these, it became more of personal development. And so when, if you tell me I can't do something, I'm going to do it. Just like when I became a PI, it was because my college professor told me I couldn't because I was a girl. And so, ~um, ~I felt like every time there was a challenge, like you can do this.
And there were so many other women that were in this group that were also pushing themselves towards it. So in that point, I think it was the, the community and it was the community of women. And it was the culture of this company that everybody just kind of came together. I made friends and there were a lot of little nuggets that, ~uh, ~that some people said, like, I thought for sure you had to go viral to be successful.
And I learned from a couple of the girls, there was one girl who said, listen, I'm not, I'm, I'm a top seller here. I do pretty well. I don't have a huge team. My beauty group only has like, you know, 600 girls in it, but I'm a top seller here. And that's because I'm connecting with my customers. And she said, I make [00:13:00] these, I build these relationships and I build them strong.
And that was one thing that to this day has stuck with me. And when I kind of get lost or I feel like my sales aren't great, I'm like, you know what? I shut it down. And I go back to my customers because that's where you build those connections. And so that's when I really learned about like building more on relationships and being more real And i'll have you know, also this was the the company annual Incentive rewards trip or whatever you have to earn a certain amount from like may to october And I was like no way I can't there's there's no way I can do that And i'll have you guys know I got that trip.
I earned that trip. I worked my butt off to get that trip I did not have a following at that time all I did Was show up, I showed up hard. I served my customers. I built relationships and connections even more. So after that one little nugget of information, ~um,~ from Leslie and she said, I just connect, I just build those relationships.
And so that was a huge turning point for me. And then I realized that not only could I connect with these women with [00:14:00] something that I know I was good at, which was makeup. And I was not valuing myself. I had no self worth because I felt. Like all these things that these people had said about me my whole life, like that, I, that identified me, but I little by little started to realize that that doesn't have to define me and I can turn that around to help other women.
And so what I did was I took that, the sadness or the, the, you know, the, the bad feelings that gave me. And I said, I'm going to make sure no one else feels that way. So I kind of turned that around to put a positive spin on it and said, I'm going to turn this puppy around and we're going to shine the opposite on these other women.
And so by doing that, I kind of like, I took the opposite of what was true, but gave it equal force. And so that's, I poured that into my customers and that just, it, I just. It just became friendships and then those relationships that built just really helped me. And then from those relationships and from just showing up very [00:15:00] vulnerably with my customers, they became my friends.
I built that trust with them. And that's how my business grew was because I was no longer selling makeup. I was forging friendships and relationships, and I was being vulnerable and just sharing me. I would go live. Often, and I would talk about my life. I invited them into my heart and I shared with them why I'm here, why I like this makeup, why I want to be there with them, you know, and the things that I experienced.
And I, all I was hoping to do was inspire a couple of women and it inspired an entire community. And I think that that just speaks to how showing up. Even if you don't have a huge following, like you can show up and still do big things. It's just a matter of showing up authentically as yourself with everything you have to offer.
And that's what, that's the hard work that I put in.
So another thing that I learned in the level up leadership was, and this is, I [00:16:00] got, I got, I got checked like real bad.
Like someone gave me a reality check because I said, gosh, this girl, like she's just doing great things. And I just feel like I can never like, you know, I can recruit, but I just can't get these girls to rank or whatever. And she said. Honey, I just want you to know that you might be looking at other people looking at what they're doing, but you do not realize the number of people looking up at you going, Oh my gosh, if only I could do what she was doing.
And so it's important to know that although we're looking at other people, we might be comparing ourselves to them or looking at how we are not doing as much as they are, or we could be doing more. There's a slew of people looking at us going, gosh, if only I could do what she was doing. So just as you are in.
So if you're inspired by others or comparing yourselves to others, there are people that are doing the same to you. So just know that you are inspiring others while you're still looking to be inspired. So always do the things that inspire others, even though you might not have that confidence. Because there are people looking up to you, just like you're looking up to others.
So, [00:17:00] just show up for those people that are still looking up to you. Even though you might not feel like you're doing everything you can, keep showing up for those people that are still looking up to you, even if you're still looking up to others. Ooh, that is good. I got checked bad. Like someone, someone messaged me personally and they were, cause I said something, I don't remember what it was, but in our level up chat and I was like, gosh, if only I could do what she's doing.
And then I got a personal message and she said, I, ~um,~ I just want you to remember that you're doing things that other people wish they could do. And I was like, Oh, I got, I got a reality, like someone put a stop payment on my reality check. Oh my gosh. That's so good. Thank you so much for sharing. I had to share that.
So good, Mackenzie. So much gold there. And again, I feel like those listening that maybe have gotten a little bit of traction in their business where they, they kind of know the things that work and they're doing it and they're trying their best to be consistent.
And they're going for the big goals, whether it's the company trips or, you know, some kind of incentive or something [00:18:00] that their upline is doing, but they're not necessarily seeing the level of success, obviously that you've had at this point in your business. And I love that before You even went viral or before you built this following, that was not your goal.
Your goal and the foundation for what you did was the connection aspect of it, which I know, because I know you, and I actually know some people that, that help you with things that still to this day with the volume that you do and selling over 2. 2 million. Right. Is that right? Last year. But that's.
Saying that you still take the time to make your customers feel seen and heard and you love to be able to pour into them. And, and that has started from long before you had that, that much volume. And so that is something that anybody listening that wants to grow from where they are now, which is pretty much everybody, they can, they can harness that, that it's not about the content.
Even though, you know, creating great content that, that allows for connection or what [00:19:00] we can talk about next is being consistent with that con content. Even more important is the connection piece being the ultimate goal. And if you can do that successfully with one person, you can do it with 10 people.
You can do it with a hundred people. You can do it with a million people, million people's harder. We'll talk about that too, but let's talk about the consistency piece, because I know, cause I. Again, I've watched your whole journey in this, that you decided to go all in on Instagram when you had what, at that point, maybe a few hundred followers somewhere in that, and you started doing a series called PI stories.
I can legally share and you kept posting and posting and you committed to it. It was like one concept and you would get a little bit of likes here, but tell us what happened, like paint, paint the picture of that specific content idea after you had the foundation of the connection piece and what that looked like to be consistent.
So once I started building these relationships, I realized that I was like, you know what, this is kind of fun doing these videos and I have the personality for it and I, I [00:20:00] enjoyed it and I was like, all right, what can I do that's different? Because I realized that I, Success leaves clues and I was seeing all these amazing, talented, Seint artists doing what they do and they're creating these videos and I would look at their videos and they'd be like, Oh, I can create a video like that.
And so I would kind of make it my own, but I was emulating what these successful artists were doing. And I realized that I was, as I'm, you know, kind of scrolling through and just kind of trying to get ideas. I'm like, gosh, how can, what can I do to set myself apart? And I was like, I don't have anything valuable to offer.
I don't have, I, there's nothing interesting about me. I, I, you know, I sit in a car doing surveillance for all these years. Like I, I'm not someone who I don't go to movies. I'm not a big pop culture girl. I don't know. Like, I don't go to concerts. Like I'm not very fun. Like, there's nothing about me. That's interesting.
And then my husband mentioned it and he was like, you know, maybe just share some of your PI stories and people, my brother, my mom, everybody's been telling me for years, like, you got to write a book, like you got to share these. Stories because when you tell these [00:21:00] stories, we just die. They're hilarious.
And I was like, no, that's, you know, okay, that's cool and everything. And then I was like, all right, let me try it. Okay. So this is I signed up in January and by September I decided that I would and this is after the level up and I was like, okay, what can I do to set myself apart even further? And so that's when I was like, all right, let me do a PI story.
So I sat, I was on surveillance. I was sitting in my car and I put on my makeup while telling a PI story. And it was just a stupid story about how I was looking for a cat under a car. And the guy came out and he tried to help me find this imaginary cat. And I had to make up a reason why I was looking under this guy.
It was, it was really funny story. And a lot of people were like, they thought it was really funny. And I was like. Okay, that's a fluke. Like, whatever. They're like, oh, this is really funny. And a couple of questions, you know, oh, what makeup is that? But those couple of questions, I was like, they're asking me what makeup I'm wearing.
And I didn't mention the makeup. Not at all. I just did my makeup while I was telling the story. And I was like, oh, that's kind of cool. And I would tell them. And then I did it again the next [00:22:00] week and I was like, I'll tell another story. And then so I, you know, dug into my memory bank and pulled out. And I was like, these people think this is funny.
And I'm like, you guys think this is interesting? Like, this is stupid. Cause for me doing surveillance all day, every day for 17 years, if you see something weird, you're like, Oh yeah, just another day at the office. Like you're numb to it. It's not, you're desensitized to it. It's not sensational anymore. And so, but to my audience.
It was sensational because they've never, they're like, holy crap. Like this is information. Like nobody knows a PI. And so to have like the inside scoop from a private investigator was kind of cool and no one else could offer that. And so I was like, cool, this is, you know, that's kind of cool. So I just kept doing it.
So from September to January. I just, you know, maybe once a week I would pop on and tell a new PI story while doing my makeup. And a couple people would ask me about my makeup and I would tell them and they were a couple that got really good views. And I was like, cool. Okay. Neato Cheeto. Like I'll keep sharing these cool stories.
[00:23:00] And if you guys like them, even though I think they're stupid. And so I just kind of kept showing up and then in between my PI stories, I would still do makeup videos, but I would talk like the rest of the artists put your contour here and do this. And then when I realized I was like, I would never talk to my best friend like this, I would never talk to my mom like this.
And so when I just started coming out and actually talking in the Southern way with my Southern slang, y'all want to know what happened next? All willy nilly, this guy's doing this just the way I would normally tell a story. And it just seemed to kind of explode a little bit. And. It was just wild how more, the more I kind of got into the way I would normally talk, more people resonated with that, and I was like, oh, more people are interested in my stories when I'm telling them just like me.
These stories, I think, have no interest to anybody whatsoever. And these people are eating it up, like, these people, they think these stories are funny. So anyways, fast forward to January, it was actually a year ago this week,~ um, ~my [00:24:00] husband's birthday, we took him out to, they go to Sonny's Barbecue, it's a southern barbecue joint, and he, him and his little car buddies get together and they eat the whole restaurant out of all you can eat ribs.
They literally eat the restaurant out of ribs every year. And so we went into this Sonny's restaurant and I walked into that restaurant with, I think I had like 900 followers on Instagram by this point. And I walked out of that Sonny's restaurant with 50, 000 followers on Instagram because one of my videos had gone viral.
And once you watch one of my PI stories, you want to watch the rest of them. And so these people were watching my PI stories. And then they, so I had like 20 viral videos all at one time and they were just going nuts. And so that kind of is what blew up. But it wasn't like an overnight thing. Like, yeah, that happened really fast in one day, but.
I think it was like the consistency of just like showing up over and over and over and telling these stories and some of them didn't get a lot of traction some of them I guess weren't I did surveillance on a dog no one thought that was funny and like so that one didn't go as [00:25:00] viral so there were some stories that were funnier than others but I think more than anything I started getting comments people were saying oh my gosh like I love the way you tell these stories.
They didn't say the story was funny. They said, I love the way you share these. And what's funny was that it was just how I talk, like just normally. And I wasn't trying to be like these other saint artists that I saw that I was trying to emulate. I was just talking like I talk. And so it just kind of the, the verbiage and my McKenzie isms, as you call them, just kind of started taking off and become, became a little bit more.
You know, interesting or funny. And I thought that was really cool, but it wasn't the fact that I, that all of a sudden I had this virality. It was the consistency that I showed. It was the, the, when I didn't only do the PI stories, but now I'm also sharing makeup. So now they love the PI story. So they're interested in that, but now they're watching my makeup.
videos because they're like, they came for the PI stories, but a lot of, a lot of my customers will tell you, I came for the PI stories, but I stayed for the makeup [00:26:00] or, you know, vice versa. And so then they started trusting me because now I'm letting them in. They know me as me. They know me, they know my personality.
They feel like they're my friend. And so now they're starting to trust me with makeup. And now they're asking more questions. And so little by little, I feel like by sharing my true authentic self in this job that I thought was not interesting at all whatsoever, there were people that were holding onto it going, Oh my gosh, this is the highlight of my day.
This is the entertainment that I needed. And the social, social media coaches talk a lot about, Oh, you gotta, you know, you gotta provide value. Sometimes the entertainment is the value, but you also add value to that when you. Throw in these other, these other nuggets of whatever you have to offer that is valuable.
And so together you create this, this, ~uh, ~platform where people come to be entertained. They get, you know, information on makeup. And then I was able to share. Vulnerably, even more vulnerably as they trusted me and I started to [00:27:00] trust my following that we, they kind of, there was a safe place that we had all created together where I can start sharing about my weight issues and about, you know, being a boy mom and how everything smells like farts and just little things like that, that people really related to.
And so it was just because of that consistency and allowing people in and being myself. And I think that speaks volumes. So that's, I think that consistency was a big part of my success. Yes, I, well, I know it was because I remember looking and being like, wait, what just happened when I saw, you know, when I saw your sales start to really explode along with your following and I went back and looked and I thought, oh, this was not the one video she did or not the, even like the eighth video.
It was like a dozen into committing to this concept. Marrying the process, divorcing the results, as we say, having fun with it and leaning into your authenticity, which is, I know, hugely important to you. And I think that that's where people, when they are trying to go for the goal of virality, which I don't think [00:28:00] anybody should ever go, go for, that was not what you were trying to do.
You were just trying to connect with more people, but we're trying to build a following. They, they miss the boat when they think like, well, I am being consistent. You know, I hear that a lot. Like I am, I post every day. And it's, it's that mix of like, well, what, what are you posting? Are you leaning into who you really are, who the Lord really made you to be?
Even if that's messy, even if it's like, I mean, I'm a hot mess, you know, and you and I are totally like different. I mean, granted, I do not have a 1. 5 million followers anywhere, but at the same time, like. I know I can lean into who I'm meant to be, and I can help other people feel inspired to do the same thing.
And I believe that that's why the Lord has blessed you with this is because, and I know I can't wait for you to share your heart on that as well, is, is because you are, he created you for, you know, for a bigger purpose, his purposes, not, not your purposes, not my purposes. And the more that we lean into that, the more he blesses us.
But [00:29:00] I want you to share what you shared with me on that call the other day about what he, what the Lord told you. Yeah. So I want to also make it clear that in October after I had earned the Mexico trip, like we did the six months I hit the, I was exhausted. I had really done a lot of work. I showed up for live demonstrations and I was doing.
Classes like all like crazy. I really pushed myself in November and December. I quit. Like I, I stopped selling and you notice it in my sale. Like you can see that it was just reorders. Like I did not, I was like, that is not sustainable. I can't continue to do this. And so even in January, I had quit. And when we went to my husband's birthday dinner and the Lord said, you ain't done.
I am not done with you. And so that's when I was like, okay, God, I see you like you're, he's telling me basically get back in here. Well, so. Yeah. Anyways, ~um,~ I, once I did kind of find much more success than I had had the year before. So by this time it had been a year. So basically one, exactly one [00:30:00] year after I signed up, I hit this virality and I would pray about it.
And I made sure to show my gratitude, you know, thank you for these blessings, which is not only financial, but now I had. ~Uh, ~this safe place of the, I was surrounded by women who loved me and who I loved. And I had never had that before because I was, women were always mean to me. They always bullied me.
And so I always had like this, like, Oh, I was always scared of women. And so I felt so blessed to have this group of women and to have this level of success, I guess. And. ~Um,~ I prayed about it and I said, God, I don't, I don't, I'm not a perfect person. I'm not a perfect Christian. I don't, I'm not sure why you're blessing me with this.
Like, but I'm, I'm so grateful. Thank you so much. And he said, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. He said, I'm not blessing you. I'm blessing them. And I just like, I'm like, and I'm like crying because what you realize is that like, I realized in that moment, the Lord wasn't blessing me with success. He wasn't saying, Hey, good job.
Here's some success for you. Like here's, you know, all [00:31:00] these great things. He was using me. To serve others. He was using me to bring a light and a positivity because I do have such this big personality that for all these years, I was cooped up into this blacked out car doing surveillance and spying on people, which don't get me wrong, I'm good at it and I love being a PI, but it was depleting my spirit because I was.
And so the Lord blessed me with this, this beautiful following this beautiful, this group of people that not only loved me, but supported me and they gave me a safe place to be me. And also. I was able to like the very first time I got, you know, a comment from a customer who said, Oh my gosh, I've never felt so beautiful.
Or, Oh my gosh, I've there. And there's crying crocodile tears. I've never been able to take a selfie and like it. And those kinds of things, those, they really help you to see that you're helping people. Like a lot of people think, Oh, you're just sell makeup. [00:32:00] No, my friend, like, you know, this is really helping women.
This is really helping people find their confidence again, even in something as simple. As a, a really novel like makeup concept or whatever, right? And so when the Lord told me, I'm not blessing you, I'm blessing them from that point forward, I was like, this is not about me at all. This is about what can I do for others?
And so that goes back to the consistency. And there are times at night when I am just like. I, I'm like, I should really go live and, you know, try to sell some makeup and demonstrate this makeup and connect with my customers and connect with my followers. And I'm like, I just don't want to, I just don't want to do it.
Like I'm just not in the mood. And then you hear the Lord say just one more or do another one or get up and do it. And as soon as I do it, and then you have all these women going, Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you came on live tonight. I never catch you. And they say, Oh man, I've always wanted to see you do this like live in real time.
Thank you for being here. And you're like, Then you get [00:33:00] humbled real quick and the Lord tells you, see what I mean? I told you this is why you need to be here. This woman needed you or this woman needed your, a lot of times they say, I needed your energy today or I needed your light tonight or whatever it is.
And then you realize that this isn't, this is so much bigger than you. This is about serving others. So whatever you have that you believe in, whatever product it is, or you know, just whatever it is that you're sharing with others. When you focus on how you can help others, it really, you shine that light and it shines double bright back on you.
And it, my confidence has just skyrocketed. Just knowing that you can change someone's life just by showing up, not even, not even selling makeup, not even selling whatever it is just by showing up for them. And saying, Hey, this is a safe place. You can come here and you can, you know, and by being even more vulnerable that you just give them that safe place that they can be too.
And so that's why I think that consistency and blessing others really work together. And, you know, it's crazy to kind of circle back around to [00:34:00] when you first started your business. You were looking, like you said, to emulate those around you and you're like, okay, well, they're doing videos. I guess I could do a video.
And now here you are inspiring other women to do the same thing, whether they're on your team or listening to this podcast or, you know, whatever. But what I want people listening, because it can be really easy when they are. Aren't where you are and they want to be where you are and they get frustrated, like the Gap in the Gain, which I know that book was one of your favorites.
Love that book. So good. So they're living in the gap from where they are and where you are not realizing that first of all, they probably grown, you know, and how to gain in their business and that if they learn, I would say two things, well, there's a lot to learn from your story, but it's not, it's, it's.
Leaning into the Lord and who he made you to be and that freedom of authenticity. And I sent you a quote, I should probably dig it up. Yes. I think that we should read that quote, right? I like that quote a lot. It's so good. And I [00:35:00] feel like it is a perfect example of you are giving people permission to be who they are.
And they're inspired by that. They trust you because obviously creating. Great content is all about that. No, like, and trust factor. And so I just, I want people listening, not to feel like now I've got to go viral or they've listened to my podcast and I've been like scale without social. And then here I am interviewing you and you're 1.
5 million followers. It can feel so noisy and overwhelming. And I don't want people to do that. I want them to lean into what you have done, which is who you are basically, and what the Lord tells you to do and just trust him. That one video, that next step. And the quote that I shared with you that has really touched my heart is by Marianne Williamson.
And it says our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous. [00:36:00] Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
You're playing small, does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us. It's in everyone.
Everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. It's true. Hence freedom, Barbie. Freedom. I found that the freedom, the freedom to find your own beauty and the freedom to do what, what works for you.
But I want to, can I also, I want to talk about the, the, the growth on my team real quick. Do you mind if I touch on that? Cause I want to love to. Yes. Okay. So for And this is for anyone, anyone who, anyone listening who, [00:37:00] if you've been in my shoes, so, ~um, ~anybody who's stressing about growing a team, I want to share something with you.
When I signed up, ~um, um, ~in this pyramid scheme, as I called it, when I signed up with this direct sales company, I didn't know what I was doing, I didn't sign up under a mentor, I didn't have any guidance as far as like, you know, what to do to start, like, I just kind of was, Like kind of flailing around, figuring it out.
Right. Which is fine. I'm a PI. I can, you know, I can do some research or whatever, but number one, it showed me that it is possible to do this on your own, which you shouldn't have to. And that's like, if you're signing up under me, like I want, I want to know that I'm serving my team well and helping them to grow, right.
But I didn't know how I've never been in direct sales. I didn't mean to sign up for direct sales. I have no idea what I'm doing as a leader in direct sales, no clue. And so a lot of that had to do with like personal growth and like. Following other leaders and learning from what they're doing as I'm going along.
But as I'm going along, these people are joining my team. I'm very vocal. They, they think I'm fun or whatever they want to sign up. And it's so [00:38:00] I'm ironically enough, I'm a top recruiter in this company, but I. struggle in that part from getting someone like to enroll as an artist, right? And then also helping them to grow or helping them to, to build their own team if they want to, that there's a disconnect there for me.
Cause I have no idea how to do that. So I really had to lean on my leaders. And so I think. I can imagine for some people, they might look at me and go, Oh, well, she recruits a lot. Sure. But you know, is she helping them rank? Is she helping them grow a team? And to that, I say, first of all, have some grace and have some mercy on me.
Like I have, I've done my best to give myself grace and know that I have no idea what I'm doing. I signed up on accident, but since God has given me this. Gift and he has blessed me with this platform where I can serve others and help them. I'm really making an effort to learn as I go along and really take in from leaders, everything that I can to help my team grow.
But I feel like [00:39:00] there's something to be said for showing up and leading from your heart. Like there's a lot of leaders who will say, okay, this is the business. And if you do this, this, these are the stats and these are the numbers. And there's some leaders that are really good with that. But I feel like it's also okay to lead from your heart and say, Hey, I want you to do what you feel is right for you.
This is one thing that touched my heart, or this is one thing that really helped me. And because I'm such a person that leads with my heart from like an emotional point, that is something that I do often. And, but that's where I feel like the community really comes in also because I can call on my leaders and say, Hey, I have these artists or these, these.
You know, these women underneath me and they need help with this, but I don't know how to help them with that. Will you, will you show me how to guide them? And so that's one thing that I've been doing is really leaning on my leaders who, when I signed up, I didn't have anybody. I didn't know. So I literally did not have a roadmap for what to follow.
So. It's [00:40:00] okay to reach to your leaders and say, Hey, I really need help with this. I really want to grow. I need help. And so that's something that, ~um,~ it's, you know, really easy to say, like, like I said, like, you know, Oh, well, you're, you're viral and you're recruiting all these girls, but why are you doing that?
You should stop talking about the artist program or you should stop sharing the opportunity or whatever, because you're not going to help them. And I think it's a matter of. Being willing to be coachable, being willing to ask for help when you need it and lean into your leaders. And that's exactly what I've been doing is leaning into my leaders so that these women that are inspired by me to join this opportunity with me.
I want them to know that I will do everything I can to help them grow. And so I think that's really important also. And that's one thing I love about where I'm at in this company is the community is the culture here. And that's one thing that I think will really help you thrive is when you, when you are willing to, you know, work with your, your teamies.
Yes. And I, I call that layers of leadership. And I think that [00:41:00] that's one of the beautiful aspects when you are on a team. And if you, if your mentor or even your mentor's mentor isn't helpful, I encourage you, whatever company you're in, whatever team you're on to kind of reach up, reach out because I know Mackenzie and I have both been blessed with relationships outside of our teams that we don't benefit from at all.
And hence. This podcast, right? Like pouring into other people and seeing them win is such a blessing. And so reach out for people who have that abundance mindset to be able to help you with that if you don't have that directly, but when you do, and just like we're all broken humans, right. And praise the Lord that he sent his son, Jesus to save us from our sins.
Just like we are all sinful people by nature, we are also all very different in terms of leadership or in terms of our skill sets when it comes to this business. And you're so smart to number one, leverage your leaders. But number two, leverage the tools and the systems that Have been proven to be effective for other people for yourself.
And I was so [00:42:00] excited. I've talked a little bit on this podcast that we, as a leadership team, put together a really cool onboarding resource. It's meant to really, really simplify it. And I was so stinking excited when I knew that you were leveraging it, but also, you know, Like, because it took a weight off your shoulders, right?
Like you just have to do one thing, but here's the best part. I am that data stat nerd numbers girl. It's my, it's definitely my gift. And I'd like right before we were called, I was like quenching the numbers, even though I already knew them that I wanted to give exact stats. This is mind blowing you guys.
And for anybody that is kind of thinking like, Oh, well, you know, McKinsey had all these, it. girls enroll, but are they really going to do anything? Yes, my friends, they are. Because so we had, we've had 433 join on my team in January, 133 of those are McKinsey's. So that's literally 30%, like a third of them are coming from McKinsey, which is just like mind blowing.
But I can see who number one, who is going in and using this, this system and [00:43:00] McKinsey has leveraged it. And her girls are ranking to where it's 65 percent of the artists that have ranked to our first level in a week. It's been a week, you guys. And 65 percent of the ones who have gotten it done and hitting that first rank and are on the way to making back their kit investment are on McKinsey's team.
And what's crazy even more is. About 8 percent of her artists that she's enrolled and a lot of them have just been in the last few days. So this isn't just on the one birthday, but 8 percent of them have already hit that rank versus when you look at the other two thirds of my team, 2%, it's 2 percent of those.
So what does that tell you? Number one, McKinsey is definitely doing something right. And I believe that that is twofold. It's, she's creating an amazing community and a culture based on connection. And she can do that really, that's a superpower of hers. She's leveraging a very simple system that guess what her girls can do too.
Because just whether you [00:44:00] have 1. 5 million followers and are selling hundreds of thousands of dollars a month and millions in makeup, or you're just getting started in your business. If you have someone enroll, all you have to do is tell them to text this word to this number and follow those exact same steps, which guess what are the exact same steps that Mackenzie took when she started her business.
Before she had 1. 5 million followers. So anyway, you can tell I get very excited about these things, but I want to put proof in the pudding. I want to tell you guys that the numbers don't lie. And I am so proud of you, Mackenzie, for, for, you know, realizing that you can be strong in the areas where you are, but partnering with the layers of leadership and leveraging really smart, smart tools and systems.
I really can't wait to see what this does for your business in this year. It's going to be awesome. Well, and I really just, I really want to point out also that it is so easy to look at someone and say, Oh, well, she's got, she's got a lot of followers. So of course she's going to do well. I want you guys to know I was doing well before I had a lot of [00:45:00] followers.
Like, because I worked, I showed up and I found a purpose. And even though I didn't know that I would have, that I would be able to reach as many people as I did, I want you to know that the Lord is working behind the scenes when you don't even realize it. So you, that's what you need to know is that there's, there's stuff going on behind the scenes and maybe you don't see it right away.
And my mom's a pastor and she says, Oh, well, the Lord told me this and Laura told me that. And I said, the Lord don't tell me nothing. I don't, he don't ever talk to me. And, but he did, he has. And lately he has, and it has been very, very clear to me. And so that's how I know that the Lord is guiding this. And I do feel very, very strongly about that.
And I feel like it's so easy to look at other people and say, Oh, well, you know, look what they're doing. Don't compare yourself to them. You can, you can do bad all by yourself, you know? Well, and I know we've, we've gone a little bit long and I may or may not break this up into two, two parts, but I do want to touch on something if you're okay [00:46:00] with it and you have time, which is the hard parts that people don't see with where you are in business with, you know, they think, well, McKinsey's so lucky, but it's not easy, right?
And so, and anyway, I would love for you to just share anything that comes to your heart that you feel comfortable sharing of what it, you know, the hard parts that people don't always see. So a lot of the things that people don't see, especially in this business in particular, ~um,~ when it comes to, first of all, I don't know how to sell anything.
And I always say I've never sold one ounce of makeup. I don't, I have no idea. Like I'm not someone who's ever been in anybody's DM. I'm not someone who's ever going to be like, Hey, can you like, you know, you sell this to 10 friends and bolt. Like I'm not, I'm not that type of leader. I will not push someone to, to grow a team or to sell.
~Um, ~but I do feel like. Some of the things that I have found the hardest are the sacrifices, and a lot of that has to do with time. So I think a lot of people, I noticed that, you know, even some girls that joined on my team, they're like, Well, I did a video and no one was interested, so I don't [00:47:00] think anybody wants this, nobody likes it, you know?
And so the hard parts are showing up when no one else is. The hard parts are standing up for what you believe in. Even when you're standing alone, the hard parts are going live at nighttime when your son is getting ready for bed and he's like, mommy, you want to snuggle and you're like, okay, I just want to do this live.
And so, although I don't feel like you should have to, you know, I'm not saying put your business before your family, but it is a little juggling. And it is a little bit of asking. Asking for, ~uh,~ grace with your family and asking them to support you in this journey. And I feel like by doing so you kind of like this, it's hard, it's hard when I'm home, when I'm, you know, cause now PI is my side gig now, like only, and only if I want to.
And so I feel like when I'm home, my son is like, Oh, mommy's home playtime. Like, let's do a puzzle or whatever. And it's a lot of that is like, it's hard to look at my son and be like, no, I gotta go to work. Like, you know, I still gotta work. And so I think a lot of that sacrifice [00:48:00] is a lot something that a lot of people can't do and a lot of people are like, Oh, well, you know, I showed up one time.
Nobody showed up. You've got to treat it like a job. And sometimes that means, you know, sacrificing sitting on the couch at eight o'clock at night, eating your, you know, your nighttime snack with your husband, watching a dumb reality TV show. Like, Sometimes you got to go to work and put on the makeup and inspire someone.
And sometimes that means getting up early. If someone, if a customer says, Hey, will you do a one on one with me? I really need help. And a lot of it just has to do with time. That's the hard part for me is it's just the extra time and the extra effort that you put in. And although I will say that, ~uh,~ it's.
It's a lot of times it needs to be duplicatable, right? Like I've, I've learned from Heather that when you do stuff, when you're, you know, when you're showing your team, what you're doing, it needs to be duplicatable. A lot of times that some things aren't duplicatable because everybody's journey isn't exactly the same.
So there are some things that aren't duplicatable and that's fine. But what is duplicatable is [00:49:00] hard work. And even if you say, Oh, I don't have time. I don't have time to do that. If you want it, you'll find time. If you want food, you're going to find time to go to the kitchen. If you want your business, you're going to find time to work it.
And so that's the hard part that people don't get as well. I don't, you know, but I don't, I don't feel like I should have to give that up. Okay. Well, then that's, that's the kind of paycheck you're going to get. You know what I mean? And so that's the hard part is like, you, you got to do the work. And a lot of people don't want to hear that.
I think they give up really easily. And they don't see it as a business or a job. And granted, that's not how it started for you. You didn't even know you signed up business, but at the same time, like once you figured it out, you realize, and especially when she started seeing the fruit and the impact that that can make on your family is, you know, we all only have.
24 hours in a day, right? But it's how you use it. And you do have to get your priorities in order, you know, for me, that's, that's seeking the Lord and his wisdom. Cause he's the one who's a provider of all the time anyway. And it's crazy because I feel like when [00:50:00] I'm off spending my wheels, doing the things I think I need to be doing instead of literally doing the things that he's asked me to do and not getting distracted by the things like he hasn't asked me to do what you've done, but he's asking me to do this and do other things.
And, you know, there's a time and a place where you. You know, you listen to him first and then of course, honoring your family, but then guess what, like if you want a full time job that brings fulfillment and freedom, and I will share the income disclosure, because I know that anytime we talk about money and income potential and all of that stuff, it's really important to note that and note that it is, it isn't easy, takes a lot of time to do it, but is it possible?
Absolutely. And you're proof with that, but you're exactly right. It's about prioritizing and then treating the time that you do have, whether that's two hours, 10 hours, 20 hours, you Full time and do the things that make the biggest impact and bring you the most joy and use your gifts and strings. Is that, is that, would you agree with that?
No, absolutely. I think, I think you're absolutely right. There's. There's something to be said [00:51:00] about that. And a lot of it, it is, it's still stepping out in faith, right? Like you're still, to this day, like I, I quit Pi I didn't, like, I still have my license and I can still, but like I, I'm not doing PI right now.
And that's scary for me 'cause that's all I've known. And so every day I wake up and I step out in faith like, all right, Lord, you got this right. Like, we still good . Like, and, and it's scary because sometimes you, you know, when, when. With that virality comes that fear of like, the higher you go, the harder you fall.
And so it's like, you're constantly like, Oh gosh, is this going to be the day? Like, am I no longer relevant? And those are fears that creep in. And then that's a lot of, there's a lot of soul soul searching and a lot of praying to do with that. And that's a lot of you stepping out in faith. That's a huge, huge thing for that.
A lot of people I think don't realize like you gotta, you gotta stay faithful. Yes. And, you know, the Bible's clear that pride is what comes before a fall. So, you know, as long as we don't puff ourselves up and as long as we keep this business and our hearts focused on [00:52:00] him and his will and how he's using us, like you said, to bless others.
He will keep showing you up. He will keep giving you those downloads. He told you that you were going to bring on a hundred people that on the birthday and day, I had written down on my calendar, like I write down my goals every month because Sarah Davies says you can't hit a target you can't see. So I.
Physically write it down so I can physically see it and I wrote down, I was like, I'm going to enroll 40 girls this month, which normally I'm between like, you know, maybe 15 or 20 girls each month. And I was like, I'm going to write, I'm going to do 40 cause I know the birthday is coming up so I can double my number.
And like a couple of days before the birthday, I changed it. I crossed it off and I wrote a hundred. I'm a little dry erase thing. And the Lord told me a hundred and it was a hundred and twenty something I enrolled that day or something. That's crazy. It's crazy. It's crazy. I mean, that is mind blowing to me.
And when you told me that I got so excited because I also know that people are listening that feel kind of like what your mom, because she's a pastor, you know, and when you said, Lord doesn't speak to me like that, my daughter, my 14 year old literally said the same thing to [00:53:00] me when I was going through the depths of my season of losing a.
A dear friend of mine. And I mean, I, even though I was in the biggest struggle bus of my life, like I had never been more in tune to the word and, you know, to the Lord. And he was right there. And she said to me, she's like, mama, I feel like the Lord is speaking to you a lot. And he didn't talk to me like that.
And so if, if you're feeling that, and if, and if that is what you're struggling with, My, well, actually I would love to know, I would love to hear from you what your advice would be for someone who is struggling to really hear what the Lord wants for them. What, what advice would you give them? So, ~um,~ even though I'm, I'm a good Christian girl, I grew up in the church and, you know, my mom's a pastor and my grandfather's like the choir director, like all these things, right.
And everybody's like, I'm very, very in touch with the Lord. Right. But he has never. And I'm just like, I don't understand. My mom always says all the time, well, God told me this and you're going to do this. And God told me and he, and I'm like, I just, I just don't get it. And then I realized that I'm such an [00:54:00] analytical person.
I'm such an overthinker. I'm like, well, the Lord wants me to do this. He's going to write it down on a post it note. It's going to end up on my desk and it never does because that's not how the Lord works. Right. He wants us to be faithful. He wants us to have that faith that, you know, that he's speaking to us.
And so what's interesting is that I'm always like, okay, give me a sign, but they're not clear. It's just like. It's just so obvious to you. And it's this overwhelming sense of like, I just never understood what she meant by the Lord is talking to you, but it's just overwhelming sense of like confidence in something.
Like you just know it. And I, maybe it's, you know, part of my gut instinct being a PI, but I'm telling you, I've, I've. Over the last two years that I've been with Saint, I've really stepped down into faith. ~Um, ~it's really been much more clear. And I think because the clutter of the, the lack of confidence and all of these things and all these fears I kind of put aside.
And once you put that faith in, in the Lord and you just kind of like get rid of all the clutter of all that, that fear and that scary stuff that's in your head, [00:55:00] you can kind of hear it a little bit more clearly. So. It's, it's kind of like a, it's a double edged sword. Like you gotta, you know, you gotta have the credit for, they'll give you the credit, but nobody will give you the credit because you don't have the credit.
So it's kind of, it's kind of like that. You gotta have the faith before you'll get the faith. And it's kind of, it's just kind of, I don't, you just, you literally just have to trust. You, you just have to trust. That's all there is to it. There's no way around it. I love that. Well, Mackenzie, I cannot thank you enough for sharing your heart and your story.
And I know we could talk for literally hours. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. Oh girl, you are amazing. And as you were just saying that little last part, I feel like we kind of went through a journey of your, your time in network marketing and It, if I had to, y'all know, I love me some alliteration and I feel like you started with a heart for connection, both for yourself, but then it went deeper when you wanted to connect with other people, then you started doing what you saw others do, which is create content, which built your confidence, right?
Like that's what made you feel like, oh, wow, they like me for me. [00:56:00] Let me be more me instead of trying to be more like this person. And then that led to conversions, meaning like. income in your business, which again, connections and so on and so forth. So maybe I'll do a whole other episode on that, but you know, I know I've been really inspired by watching what you have done and I'm really, really blessed that we've been able to share this with the listeners of this podcast today.
So where can they find you if they want to, which of course I know the answer, but I'll let you, let you tell them where they can find you, ~um,~ if they want to kind of follow or see what you're up to. Shameless plug. ~Um, ~no, you can follow me on, ~um, ~Tok. The PI stories are really, they're really funny if you're into that kind of stuff.
~Um, ~but you can find me at freedom underscore Barbie on YouTube and Tik Tok and Instagram Mackenzie Foltz on Facebook and listen to the dating detective. It's a fun little true crime, true crime podcast that you might like. Yes. I'll make sure to link to the dating detectives podcast in the show notes.
If you again, want [00:57:00] something that's like fun, she hosted a co host it with a gal named Hannah and they are quite the duo. So she's amazing. Mackenzie, you are so special to me. So thank you for being vulnerable and honest about even the hardest parts of your business. And I can't wait, wait to watch the Lord show up and bless others through what you're doing.
So congratulations. Thank you. And thank you again for having me. I love you so, so much. You're doing great. Thanks. Oh, thank you, friend. You too. Yay.
