the bossbabe podcast - 213. Making $25k in 24 Hours With Only 2600 Followers

Episode Date: April 12, 2022

What if we told you that you could make $25k on social media in just 24 hours?  *ahem* and then what if we told you that you didn’t need to have a massive following to see that kind of result? That’s the kind of success our guests saw on social media after focusing on their accounts for just 12 weeks. And with thousands of dollars in revenue + millions of views on their posts – their success just keeps on building.  Jamie Bareño and Mikala MacFadzen are two of our Influencer School students, and in this week’s episode, they’re sharing exactly how they got this kind of success on social media + what you can do right now if you want to accomplish the same thing. If you don’t have a massive following, but still want to make money on social media – this episode is for you. Listen now! Highlights: What it really looks like to become a full-time Influencer in 2022. The #1 thing you need to do for YOURSELF if you want your business to grow. How much money you can realistically make on social media. The most common social media pitfalls + how you can avoid them in your business. The secret to building momentum in your business and achieving new levels of success. Why you cannot ignore your calling + what’s at risk if you do. Links: The Influencer Masterclass Join bossbabe CEO, Natalie Ellis on a free, 90-minute training to gain full clarity on your personal brand, learn how to create easy, consistent content, build an audience of raving followers + generate revenue, without the stress. Done For You Viral Reels Take the guesswork out of what to post on social media with 30 days of done-for-you content. Your Personalized Instagram Audit Get bossbabe CEO, Natalie Ellis’s secret system so you can audit your own IG account, figure out what’s working + what’s not and take your account to the next level. Influencer School Reviews Influencer School Our 12-week, guided coaching and certification program designed to help you gain full clarity on your personal brand, learn how to create easy, consistent content, build an audience of engaged followers and create a full-time income from social media. Follow: bossbabe: @bossbabe.inc Danielle Canty: @daniellecanty Natalie Ellis: @iamnatalie Jamie Bareño: @jamiebareno  + jamiebareno.com Mikala MacFadzen: @mikalamacfadzen + TikTok

I just felt really connected in the sense that I was so passionate about sharing my story because I had seen an impact that it had made with people. And not having that opportunity, not having a platform to share my story and know that I was making a difference, there was just this huge hole in my heart. A boss babe is unapologetically ambitious and paves the way for herself and other women to rise, keep going, and fighting on. She is on a mission to be her best self in all areas. It's just believing in yourself. Confidently stepping outside her comfort zone to create her own vision of success. Welcome to the Boss Babe podcast, the place where we share with you the real behind the scenes of building successful businesses, achieving peak performance and really learning how to balance it all. I'm Danielle Canty, your host for this week's episode and the president and co-founder of Boss Babe. Now today we have two very special guests,

Jamie and Michaela, who are Influencer School alums joining me and I'm really excited for you to hear their stories because I know so many of you are going to resonate deeply with each of their journeys. Now the guests that we normally have on the podcast, as you know, are usually seven, eight, nine figure entrepreneurs, because we really want to be able to give you guys access into the mindset and the behind the scenes look into the lives and how they got there. And you know, we're all about sharing roadmaps so that you guys don't have to figure it alone. But this episode is a bit more special because whilst Jamie and Michaela aren't millionaires yet, they're well on their way. And as you'll hear in this episode, they're just getting started. And I want to stress this

part because there's so many of you who want to get started on social media, want to get started building your brand and business, want to do so many things, but I haven't quite taken that first step. And sometimes hearing the story of the billionaires can be a little bit daunting. So I know, and my gut tells me that a lot of you are going to see yourself in Michaela or Jamie or both of them. And just before we start the episode, just sharing with you, Jamie was like, I hear a lot from a Boss Bait audience living a double life like I did too. She was a corporate professional by day and in her words, a glam hippie spiritual teacher on the other side. And when her bank closed, she had no choice but to go all in on building a business to support her and her family. And the one thing that sticks out about Jamie is that she knew she was always meant for more. She had this deep desire within her, which I really

wanted to acknowledge. But she also understood that there was a strategy, that she could get a strategy to bring her potential out of her. And you'll hear about on her journey and how on Instagram, she actually made $25,000 in 24 hours. And she only had her this 2,600 followers. And yes, you did her that right. 25,000 in 24 hours with just 2,600 followers. So her story is really, really powerful. And I really want you to hear that and how she went on and did that and the other guest I have on is Michaela and Michaela's story starts with her first viral video where she had 300 followers but amassed 2.3 million views on a viral post that she did she didn't know what her niche was she didn't know what her business was going to be she really went in this to with

an open mind of finding what that was on this journey and I think that's a lot of relief for a lot of people I think everyone feels that they have to know all the ins and outs and exactly where they're going before they even start but Michaela showed you that that isn't actually true and up until influencer school she wasn't her words a people pleaser and let the thoughts and opinions of others stop her from going after her dreams. So she knows and she shares in this journey how this has been six years. Six years ago, she first found Natalie and now she's deciding to make that leap into content creator. And we discovered that I was very similar. It took me a long time to really get involved in the online space, even though I was

doing little bits for probably a few years before that. So like I said, you're going to see a lot of your struggles and hopefully get a feeling of support, feeling seen, and an action plan by the end of this episode to show your next steps. But for now, take the first step and listen to this podcast. Share with me your favorite takeaways at danielcanti and also at officebabe.inc. Jamie, Michaela, welcome to the Boss Babe podcast. I am so excited to have both of you in here. You are alumni students of our Influencer School,

and it's such an honor to not only witness your journey, but interview both because you both have unique stories and I really want to start with your stories and really dive into them because I think most people you know get very intimidated by social media they think you need to have thousands of followers to be able to have an impact to be able to make money to be able to have an impact, to be able to make money, to be able to make a difference. And all of us three here know that can actually be further from the truth. And so, Jamie, I want to start with you because as a result of Influencer School, you made $25,000 in 24 hours with only 2,600 followers, which I think when people hear is going to be such a shock to so many. So I'm going to hear that story in a second, but I want you to just take us back a

little bit and just share with us, like what was your business like, or how were you using social media before influencer school? Well, girl, this was a shock for me too totally unplanned however I manifested this and everything went the way it had to go and my journey goes back from 2012 actually where I started doing spirituality work and I had this vision that I really wanted what we call make it in life so I followed the traditional path. I did my bachelor's, I got my master's. But however, it was not always beautiful. I left home at 17. And I had to struggle a lot. However, I had this mission that I really wanted to be successful. And I thought being successful meant going to school and having the corporate job and getting married and having

kids and just going on a two week vacation that will really, really bring me happiness. And through the years, I managed to get some extra credentials and really start what I call the side hustle and giving yoga and meditation classes in the backyard of my house. And then from there, I really said, okay, let's just make it happen. And I was giving classes and then throughout the years begin promoting it on Facebook, Instagram, and slowly, but surely I began to gain followers, but it was not like my mission. I just wanted to spread the awareness and also be of service. And that's how it started, just in my backyard.

And then throughout the years, I began to grow and began getting more followers. But also, it was not the main mission for me to focus on. And then throughout the years, I also realized that, hey, what is my purpose? And I was meant to do bigger things, actually. And I was always an ambitious woman. And then from there, I said, no, I'm determined to really have the good life. And that's how everything started. I love that. And I love your determination. I think it's just such a funny story that I just want to add in because you talk about manifesting and whether people believe in manifestation or they believe in

taking action on things that they want. I think it's really interesting how you ended up in the podcast because wasn't it a few years ago, you DM'd Natalie and was like, one day I'm going to be on the Boss Babe podcast. I don't know how it's going to happen, but I'm going to be on there. And here you are now. And you actually had this opportunity because you're one of the winners with best monetization for influencer schools. So I just think it's really, really cool how all this has come about. I want you to just take us back a second because you spoke about that, like wanting more, wanting to go after your dream and not necessarily settling for life that you thought you would have initially. And you quit your job. And I think it was the beginning of November 2021,

started Influencer School in late November 2021. But a lot of people listening, they're in this position. They have a side hustle or they want to have a side hustle and they're really tied to their full-time job. What really gave you the courage, Jamie, to leave your job? Well, in this case, it was basically simultaneously. I wanted more, but also the universe gave me this opportunity that my mission on earth was more than just being successful in a corporate career. And from here, I have also a special needs child with

severe autism. And he always taught me what really love is. But I also wanted to ease the suffering around the world. And being at the bank will not only help me accomplish this. And I needed to expand. And that will mean also coming out of my comfort zone. And once you have this mission and this deep, deep desire, you will do every single thing in your power to really make it work. And at the same time, when I decided that I'm going to quit my job, the bank was sold. So I had no choice. So even if I did not want to leave the bank, I had no choice. And everybody was laid off. So these doors opened for me without no doubt. And that was at the same time, which I said, okay, I cannot live on just doing yoga and

meditation and workshops in the backyard. I need to pivot online. And of course, this is when I found Boss Babe and really, really, really began to focus on getting the knowledge on the online business and really focusing from the best of the best and pivoting online. So that's how it all started. And here I am. So I did manifest this a few months ago, not a few years ago, a few months ago in October. You were a quick manifester. Yes. And not only that, I think also that what is meant for you shall never pass you.

You have to really believe in your dreams and make it happen. Nobody can take that away from you because if you have that focus, you will do anything in your power to really be a present person and go after your dreams because it is possible. So let's just, I just want to like reflect something back to you because I think this is really powerful. I have a similar attitude in a way. I always say things happen for you and not to you. And sometimes when people get made redundant

or they go through hardships, they're like, why is this happening to me? Like, this is so unfair. You know, I'm getting laid off from my job, but I really love that rephrase that you were like, wow, this is an opportunity for me. Like you didn't have a choice, but it kind of forced you.

Jamie Kenley always says, rejection is just redirection. And I think really your attitude to change is really what makes an entrepreneur either make it or not, because entrepreneurs with a growth mindset see opportunity, whereas a with a growth mindset see opportunity, whereas a lot of people can see, you know, rejection and these pieces. So I think it's

just really amazing. I think that's really inspiring. And also what's really allowed you then to make this 24k and 25k, sorry, in 24 hours. So let's talk about that. So you had 2006, actually, no, you had more than 2,600 followers at time because from what you were learning in influencer school, you actually decided to get rid of a lot of your followers. So talk to us about that first. Sure. So I had around 2,800 followers and I began to implement everything that I was learning. So I joined a society in September. I listened religiously to your podcast and I also joined the influencer school. And every single day I made a decision that I'm going to use one of these three things

in my business. And every day is a small win. So I have no regrets in life. And every day I don't see failures as bad either. These are just opportunities and doors that are opening for me. So I was trying to be very, very gentle and not be hard on yourself because I think self-sabotaging is very, very powerful. And once you know that this is a trigger point for you, you begin to analyze things differently. So I began to really strategize. And one of the top things in my case was that I was following more people than were following me. And I was not feeding my mind with the people that will teach me where I wanted to go. So I began to delete followers and begin to build a community within my current followers. I was not focusing

on growth. I was just focusing on nourishing my current following. And even though I did not know that I was in pre-launch phase, I was nurturing them with everything I knew. And I did not mention I was going to quit my job, but I began to really show parts of my life where I was waking up early. I am part of the 5AM team, by the way. I know that you're not. Absolutely not. I am.

And I began waking up early and really taking care of my emotional wellbeing. I come from, my brother died by suicide a few years ago, and that was very, very, very heavy on my soul, but also on my family. And emotional well-being is one of the primary elements of me showing up. And if I can create this awareness, I decided to really began expressing and focusing on that area. So my followers began to see me as, oh, wow, she's talking about taboo topics, topics that nobody talks about, which is suicide, autism, disabilities, and topics that normally you will not talk about.

But I was so fearful because I worked at a bank. And of course, I don't want my boss calling me, why are you talking about taboo topics on social media? And I was a corporate executive in the bank. I was a compliance officer. And then at night, I was this yogini, spiritual, glam hippie. So I led like two different lives. And from there, I began to notice, hey, my engagement began going up. And it just spiraled. I began getting a lot of messages. And, I began to notice, hey, my engagement began going up. And it just spiraled. I began getting a lot of messages. And then I began using the strategy of direct messaging and just small talks. How are you doing today? How are you feeling?

And making about them, right? I thought that sharing my story will only be good. However, as we know, storytelling is very important as well. And I began to share things that happened to me, my experiences, and let them know that, you know, sharing the bad stuff is okay. So they got to see the good, the bad, and the ugly, and they can relate. And that's what I did. I began to nourish my current following.

There's two things here. I think it's like, yeah, exactly. You don't always need to focus on growth. And you had that base, but they weren't necessarily waving their hands. things here. I think it's like, yeah, exactly. You don't always need to focus on growth and you had that base, but they weren't necessarily waving hands. And I really love how you cultivated existing relationships. And I think that goes through so many parts of our lives, really, not just on social media, but sometimes always like, oh, the grass is greener, the grass is greener over here. Yeah. Oh, we have so much grass here that we can water and we can nurture. And I love that you did that. And you kind of said something earlier,

obviously, like we teach this in influencer school, but more so in our other course, online launch school. And that's like pre-launch whenever you're going out to sell, you can't just come out the gate selling something. And it's like nurturing, making sure people build a connection. They need to know, like, and trust you, which is why I think sharing such taboo subjects that people often don't talk about, but they want to talk about, they want to hear. And, you know, it's really, really important because people's hearts was really powerful to you building that relationship with them so that when you did come out with your offer, people are like, wow, I want that. And what I love about your story is that offer was so easy. You didn't even necessarily intentionally say, okay, I want that. And what I love about your story is that offer was so easy.

You didn't even necessarily intentionally say, okay, I want to earn 25,000 in the next 24 hours, but you came from such a heart centered place with all your prior content. And I think that's what a lot of people don't realize. They don't realize how amazing they are. And I just posted on my Instagram last night about how we all we all are inspiring we all get to inspire people around us whether we're in a room at work or at home with our family or showing up on social media and I think that's really powerful and you clearly inspire people because do you want to share what happened when you put your offer out yes so I went to Guatemala a few years ago and I was on my healing journey. I really started in

2017 to take my spirituality aspects very seriously. And I was on a mission to see what my purpose is here on earth. I always asked the why. I always felt like I'm a different child, different human being. I never felt that I belong to the world, actually. And when I went to Guatemala, I went on my knees and I asked the universe, if you exist, if there's a God or there's whatever is out there, to really show me the path. And I was so open. I was at a very bad place. I hit rock bottom. And I was so open about my journey, about my son, his name's Jet, him having a speech

rare disorder, apraxia he was at that time he was not autistic my brother died by suicide and everything was coming crashing down and i shared all of that so they saw me from going through the bad the ugly and now flourishing into this happy person showing up and really expressing that even though you go through hardships, so many beautiful things can happen. And I transformed that. And throughout the years, they saw all of that.

And I always said, the day I go to Guatemala is I'm coming with a group. So I made a five-year plan. And happens to be that the day I signed the contract was on my fourth year. And of course, on the only opening available in 2022 was the day the five-year plan will be completed. So it's just perfect timing and trusting the process, trusting your journey and not sitting there and waiting for magic to happen. You have to do the work.

And I also believe throughout my education, I'm doing now a 52-week program with Dr. Deepak Chopra to become a total well-being coach. You have all the answers in you. But you have to accept that sometimes things don't go as planned. And you just pivot. Pivot and be gentle. Be be really really gentle with yourself and you will see that everything will go in alignment I love that I think being gentle is really really important particularly with social media you know we're always like so hard on ourselves about how we show up the content that we create and I think really part of the journey for me was letting

go of perfection like perfection doesn't exist also people don't want to see perfection people are tired of it we don't want to be comparing ourselves and feeling bad about okay I'm not as beautiful as her skinny as her smart as her whatever that is whatever our individual hang-ups are and I think just there's so much of a place to show up authentically. And just with regards, let's go back to Guatemala, because like you said, you had, it came from, this is what I love about your story, Jamie, is everything you did was so heartfelt. You weren't like overthinking it. You're like, what's in my heart and I want to do these pieces. And so just tell us what you did on your stories, because I think a lot of people are like, oh my goodness, to make 25,000, there must've been a whole strategic plan about every single little thing. But there

wasn't a strategy, but there was messaging that really aligned with a lot of people because you have been telling them the story about Guatemala. Yes. So basically, as I mentioned mentioned they saw the good the bad and the ugly and from there they saw my whole journey from going rock bottom and then slowly but surely coming back strong and I said okay I signed this massive contract I have a responsibility that I need to deliver x amount of funds on September and I am going to order the online school program that you offer, online lounge school. And I'm going to just be gentle with myself and follow that procedure.

But then I say, I don't have the time. So I purchased the Excel sheet that you offer. And I said, I'm going to do a 60 day pre-launch period. And I said, okay, let me just get the picture from the website. It's going to be at the Yoga Forest, a very beautiful resort in front of the volcanoes. And I just made a story and put, are you coming to Guatemala? And it went viral within my community. Danielle, I was not prepared.

I had no contracts in place. I had nothing in place. I just put one story and that's about it. And it was literally 100% sold out because the vaccine policy changed. A few people came out. So I still have a few spots left but I managed to get 90% and everybody's still on board and that's because I shared my story a lot of times and as we know they need to hear it 8 to 12 times for them to purchase so it's like just like a bag you go you you go and buy a Gucci bag or a Prada bag you just don't go and take out a few thousand dollars you have to see it and then you have to analyze it and because I've prepped these raving fans throughout the years it it went successful without me even noting and noticing that it was a pre-launch phase let's take a quick pause to talk about my new favorite all-in-one platform Kajabi you know I've been singing their praises

lately because they have helped our business run so much smoother and with way less complexity, which I love. Not to mention our team couldn't be happier because now everything is in one place, so it makes collecting data, creating pages, collecting payment, all the things so much simpler. One of our mottos at Boss Babe is simplify to amplify and Kajabi has really helped us do that this year. So of course I needed to share it here with you. It's the perfect time of year to do a bit of spring cleaning in your business, you know. Get rid of the complexity and instead really focus on getting organized and making things as smooth as possible. I definitely recommend Kajabi to all of my clients and students.

So if you're listening and haven't checked out Kajabi yet, now is the perfect time to do so because they are offering Boss Babe listeners a 30-day free trial. Go to kajabi.com slash Boss Babe to claim your 30-day free trial. That's kajabi.com slash Boss Babe. I love that. Tell me, like, what do you, how has your life changed since Influencer School? Because this is really like, when we go back to you leaving your job at the bank, that was just November 2021. And so I'm really curious as to like, you know, we're recording this in March 2022. That is a big change over the last like five months. It's amazing because I was telling my girlfriends and my co-workers,

like you guys are going to think I'm crazy, but I'm going to be on the Boss Babe podcast. And I wrote it down and I purchased all the programs. I told nobody, by the way, that I was purchasing the Influencer School because of course I thought that I was going to be judged. And I didn't even tell my husband. I just purchased it. And when I won, I started screaming. And then I told him, hey, by the way, I purchased the program. And I just made it happen. And I knew deep in my heart that it's going to go good for me. I had this persistent desire. And I knew, I just knew, and I just didn't know when. So I was mentally preparing myself for the breakthrough. And I think, again, what is meant

for you shall never pass you. And from there, I said, wow, I am going to make it happen and do every single thing. Well, the world is opening up. Everybody's traveling. I'm just focusing on building this business and building my empire. I want to travel the world. And being here at the bank, being there, sorry, at the bank, it's not going to make it happen. I have to do something about it. And that's when I began to take action

and strategically decide, okay, Jamie, you have to go to work. You have to make it happen. And slowly but surely it went um positive it was positive effects just it's just like trusting your process I think is the most powerful thing that you can you can go through and since November until now I managed to open a foundation for special needs children of Aruba. I managed to have an almost sold out retreat, lining up a few beautiful projects for next year. We have the spiritual well-being retreat in Aruba

and also abroad, some meditation courses, because the courses that I offer is very specialized, for example, from the Vedic traditions of India, the Himalayas. So it's not just a meditation course. It's more in the Vedic traditions. And that one makes it unique as well. And the emotional aspect. So it's so many beautiful things opening up since November until now. And it only gets better. So I'm happy.

I'm happy I took this and invested in myself because I know that the return on investment will be way more than what I'm expecting. Yeah, social media gets such a hard reputation sometimes, but it just does open so many doors. And with the retreat that you're running, it brings women together from all over the world that wouldn't perhaps meet

or even go to Guatemala in the first place, let alone together. So it really is just a beautiful way to connect with so many people. And I want to just go to you, Michaela, during this bit, because Jamie has done like this concept that's a mile wide, inch deep, okay? Or inch deep, mile wide. And I think where Jamie was inch deep, she had very, very small followers. She went deep with them. And that's why she was able to generate that 25K in 24 hours. However, Michaela, your approach and your journey and story on social media is very different. You kind of went for the mile wide approach and inch deep approach. And that's because you created a viral video. So I wanted to start off by asking you, you know, lots of people are very intimidated by the term virality and how am I possibly going to make a viral video? And I want to ask, was yours intentional

or did it just happen to be? Yes and no it was definitely intentional in the fact that when I came into influencer school I had no social media presence so I knew that I needed to kind of just throw everything out there and see what stuck because I had no niche I had no business promote, I was really just going in completely from scratch. And my following was just family and friends on on Instagram. And so I really came in not really knowing the value that I brought. And so I just started literally posting anything and everything. However, it was intentional in the fact that I used the roadmap from influencer school to understand, you know, how to make a

viral post. And that was a huge part because I knew that the more people I was exposed to, then the more clear my results would be of what people want to see, what people don't want to see. So yeah, it was intentional in that sense. But at the same time, I never ever expected it to go as viral as it did. I made it in the car and it was my first post of like, I am a recovering people pleaser. So I was terrified coming into this world because I knew, okay, I'm filleting myself open to the world and I'm opening myself up to the haters and the trolls and the Karens of the world. And I hated that thought, but I knew I had to do something that kind of shook things up a little bit. And so my post was a little bit controversial and it was very

vulnerable and I was terrified and I almost didn't post it. I was sitting in the car and I put this reel together in a matter of minutes. And I shared this story in the caption that was, again, extremely vulnerable and a little bit controversial and people just started going nuts for it. And that post hit two and a half million accounts and it capped out there. And then I posted it again a few weeks ago, actually, just same thing. I just reposted it and it's hit, last I checked, it hit over 800,000 more. So it's this specific post and story has reached over 3.3 million accounts. Okay.

I want to just, first of all, this is such an amazing story. And what I love about both of you guys is like, you know, there's certain misconceptions of social media that to make a million dollars, you have to have a million followers to create a viral video. It takes lots of time, energy, effort, and all of these things. And you've both proven those stories to be incorrect and show that anything is possible so Michaela let's just go back to before influencer school um how many followers did you have because I also just want to break it down people so they can see themselves in both of you so how many followers did you have I only had 300 followers and I knew yeah people I knew family friends

friends of friends that just you know people that I'd met over the years so and like you said your journey was you know you'd had a business before you were kind of like wanting to explore what your career was going to look like again you weren't really sure but like you said you didn't have a niche you didn't have a business but what why were you drawn to doing something on social media? Yeah. So I wanted to get into social media because leading up to that, I was a teen mom. I got pregnant at 17. And so that was back in 2010. I had my daughter and then I got married two years later, really fast and really young and ended up marrying somebody who owned a business and we took on

this business together. And from that, ended up becoming pretty successful in this business and didn't have to go to a traditional job anymore. And there was a lot of freedom in it. And because of my story of coming from this poverty-stricken teen mom type situation to now a successful entrepreneur that it led to me becoming a very sought after speaker, public speaker. And so I was able to travel around the country sharing my story and how I'd become successful despite these crazy circumstances. And, you know, ended up going through a divorce and left that business behind. And I was back to being a young single mom who was super broke and had no time. I was working a ton and it was really, truly my rock bottom in a lot of ways. And I knew, you know, at this point it was like, I had seen influencers come

up and I thought, you know, I just felt really connected in the sense that I was so passionate about sharing my story because I had seen an impact that it had made with people. And not having that opportunity, not having a platform to share my story and know that I was making a difference, there was just this huge hole in my heart. And so at that point, that's when I was just looking for how can I not work anymore? I don't want to work after not having to for so long. And I want to be in business again. And so I thought, okay, how do I make money on Instagram? And so I Googled or YouTubed at the time, how do I make money on Instagram? And up comes Natalie Diver at the time.

And it was a video where Natalie's sitting on her bed and talking about how to make money on Instagram. And I just fell in love with her. And I was like, yes, this is my girl. I am sold out to her and what she's doing. And so I followed her on Instagram and ended up going, okay, this was 2016. And so then from there, I was like, okay, I'm going to be a content creator. That's what I'm going to do. And I started going down that road. But just like I shared with you, I'm like, I have no niche, I have no like, substance here. And I didn't know where I could come from. And so I quit, I quit doing that very quickly because I had no resources. I had no support and ended up just giving up on that idea. And probably the biggest factor of that was that I wasn't willing to invest financially into it.

And sometimes you just need to be able to do that. And so five years go by from that point. Along the way, I'm stalking Boss Babe and stalking you guys. And Boss Babe's formed two years later into this. And I just kept taking advantage of all of your guys' free stuff. And it was always in the back of my head that I wanted to do this and just felt really pulled to share my story. So that's really what attracted me to social media.

I think this is also really powerful to just to highlight because everyone's journey looks different. And I think sometimes, you know, people see these overnight successes, which really are not overnight successes. They start for years before. And I was the same before I got into the online world, you know, as a chiropractor, but I didn't go straight into Boss Babe. I was like, okay, do I start on Instagram? Do I do network marketing? Like, do I do all of these things? I'm really just looking. And I think people giving themselves space to explore and try and fail, but you don't really fail because you learn from that experience. And just going through that is really, really powerful. So what shifted for you in 2021, Makila, where you were like, do you know what?

I'm going to do this again and I'm going to do it this way this time. Yeah, it was a huge pain point for sure. You know, sometimes we need, there's wanting to do something and then there's needing to do something. And my husband almost lost his life this last October. And I had this huge wake up call that life is just so fragile. And I remember exactly where I was at. I was sitting on my couch.

I remember I was staring at my fireplace and I asked myself, what would I be doing right now with my life if I genuinely did not care what anybody thought? Because my husband's super supportive and he's like, do your thing. Whatever makes me happy. He's like, absolutely do it. And I love that about our marriage because I can change and transform and he still loves me to my core. And so it's like, I'm not going to be the same girl you married. And he knows that. So it's, it's great, but it made me realize like, I care way too much what people think. And the answer to that question was such a huge turning point for me because I realized I wasn't doing anything I wanted to be doing

other than my husband and my kids. But like career wise, financially, I wasn't accomplishing my dreams. And it was because I cared what other people thought that was the only reason that I was being stopped. And so that was the huge turning point for me. And, um, that was my husband got better. And just from a few days after we knew that he was going to make it, I had that conversation with myself. And then you guys had a free training on becoming a content creator. And I was like, isn't that divine timing? So I watched the webinar and you guys talked about influencer school. And immediately I went to my husband and I said, I'm doing this. I have to do this.

Like, I have to do this. This is lined up for a reason. All of this happened at once, you know, in order for this to happen. And I have to do this. Like these, what I said to sell him on it, because I had to sell him on it a little bit. And I said, these, I've been watching these girls for the past six years. I trust them more than anyone to tell me how to do this and do it successfully. I'm not just going to go buy any course from someone. I've watched them go from

that YouTube video I saw in 2016 to building Boss Babe to what you guys are now, this amazing powerhouse company and transforming so many women's lives. And I was like, I trust them wholeheartedly to guide me through becoming what I've always wanted to become. And so that's what changed. Well, we're grateful for the trust and also grateful for the learnings that you did in that because, you know, we put this content together and everyone knows we're no fluff, no BS. Like we give you the tools that you need. We don't hold anything back. We do not keep secrets for ourselves or anything like that. We give you everything you know.

And so you came into Influencer School, Michaela. The first module we teach is very much around mindset and shifts that you can make. And then we go on to the tools and the practical side of things. And we teach what makes viable videos. So you joined in the November. When did you post a viral video? I posted it. It was either the end of November, early December.

So pretty, pretty quick, really just a few weeks into the course. This is the power when you make a decision and you make a decision to try things and commit to things, how quickly things can change. And from with 300 followers, you joined in the November, the December you posted this video and it's had whatever, nearly 3 million views now. So talk to us about the process of creating that video because I want to just come back to that because there was this big misconception that people um have to you know put loads of production into something going viral and that's not the thought and we

teach that and we teach about being authentic and what makes good viral messaging so tell us what you shared yeah so I actually shared about my experience of my husband almost dying and it had to do with COVID. So of course it's a hot topic right now and it was controversial. My husband has very severe epilepsy. He has grand mal seizures and he can't take pharmaceuticals. You know, most people can take seizure medication. He can't, seizure medication causes seizures for him. And so he did not get vaccinated because, you know, with the work, working with his doctor that we trust a lot, he's seen over 20 different neurologists and we found one

that has finally made some huge progress with him. And so he didn't get vaccinated because his doctor said, let's just hold off a little bit because we want to make sure that this is going to be the right choice for you, which is hard because COVID also affects people neurologically. So it was a huge risk to take either way. And we just, he decided, I had no say in it. I was like, you know, this is you, you know, you have to make this choice. And so he decided not to get vaccinated. And so then, you know, he almost died from COVID. And so of course it brought up this whole, well, he should have been vaccinated. And,

you know, it just became so controversial, but also extremely emotional for me because this is such a hard thing for me. My husband's life and his health and something so controversial. And I knew that was going to happen going in. And so I think for me, what ended up happening was I had this formula for virality that I had learned from you. I had been posting these things, but I was so afraid to ruffle feathers. I was so afraid to stand by something and stick to what I believed to be true for myself and wanted everybody to be happy with my posts. And I thought this was the first post where I knew some people were not going to be happy. And I just, I did it. You know, I pushed through that and

a lot of it was a mindset thing. You know, there's a lot of mindset work in the course as well that got me to this point where I've literally totally transformed how I view myself now because of the course. And I know that's, you know, for someone who hasn't taken the course probably is like, what the heck? Why? But you guys help us so much with this mindset work where I was able to show up every day on social media. I'm an Enneagram four. And as an Enneagram four, we have this fantasy identity where we view ourselves in our imagination as someone who we want to be. That's very different from our reality. And in a lot of people with an Enneagram four, we can fall into depression because of it and have these very limiting beliefs about our life. And to realize that I could show

up as that girl every day on social media, who is this fantasy identity? I'm going to show up as her and I'm going to transform who I am to be her because who says I can't be. And one of my biggest issues was consistency. For sure, to this day, biggest downfall has always been consistency and work habit, following through on something. And here we are five months after starting influencer school, and I've showed up every single day, even when it was like hell on earth to show up every day with three kids and working a high demand sales job and doing all of this. It was like, I don't want to show up today. I can't show up today. And I just did it anyways.

And I think leading up to that, I knew that something was going to stick, but showing up every day doesn't really matter unless you're vulnerable, unless you're real, unless you're a human being every day, and unless you have quality content. And so when I posted that, it just opened up a world of realizing, okay, I can handle this. I didn't handle it for a couple of weeks. I turned the comments off, turned it back on, had a little chat with myself and said, Hey, if you want to come into this world, it's not going to be pretty, but what business entrepreneurship success story is pretty, you know, nobody goes into success where everybody loves you. And I've just had to come to terms with that, that, you know what, it's okay. Like our story is our story. My husband shows what he did and it didn't work out very well. And I'm, you know,

coming into the post, it was like, I just need you to know, we're not like pro-vax, anti-vax. Like we are, you know, totally removed from that as much as possible, but it's still brought up a lot of controversy. And it gave me a whole new strength that it's okay to stand by something. And I think because I had the courage to stand by something, that was really what made it go viral in the first place. And there's such powerful messages in both of your stories. And thanks for sharing that, Michaela, as well, because I think that's something a lot of people can relate to is, you know, wanting to please everybody. And you can't, you can't ever do that. And if you try and do that, it's exhausting. And then the one person that you end up pleasing, who is the most important is yourself. And you often don't do that then. So I think there's just so many different layers

and messaging to this, but I'm so proud of both of you on the way that you have shown up because, you know, like I said, sometimes people watch mine and Natalie's journeys. And, you know, when I started out out it was like four years ago now and Natalie started I mean she was like a little toddler on social media almost she was really young when she started and I think people forget then or they don't see the hurdles we've been through so I'm just really grateful for both

of you sharing your journeys on here today as well and I want to just we're running a training for like teaching people how to grow and monetize on social media and I know that a lot of people still have a lot of resistance like oh my god I still can't do it and most of the resistance is like like you say around belief um Mikaela what would your I'm gonna ask you first and I'll come to Jamie. Like, what would your advice to be, be to somebody who is like, Oh, I just, I just don't think I'm good enough for this. I felt the exact same way. That was a 100% how I felt going in. And I was terrified to really invest myself into something because investing time too is I'm very sparse on time

in my life right now. And I knew that if I was to take something else on, it was going to be a big deal. So why would I do that if I didn't even believe I could follow through? And I just knew that if I went, you know, when I came into influencer school, I knew like, oh my gosh, there's going to be so many girls on here that have established social media, that know what they're doing and they have their niches. And it's true, there are a lot, but there's also a lot of women that didn't. And to have that community of people come around you and support you and believe in you when you didn't believe in yourself is so huge. And I just knew, okay, if I show up every day and I do the work, like I'm a really good recipe follower. If you can tell me this is how you do it, I will show up and I will do that the very best that I can. And it doesn't matter if I believe in myself, whether or not this is going to work out. The point is, is that I'm done not trying. I'm done not trying because it's killing me inside. And this was my opportunity to just give this everything I've got. And I did. And like I said, every day I showed up

and I didn't necessarily expect anything to come from it at all. I just knew this was my, my opportunity to prove to myself that I could show up consistently for something. And because of that, coming in with no niche, no belief, no targeted audience, really nothing, I'm coming out of it just 12 weeks later. That's all. And my vision is so clear. It's not even funny. It took that viral video for me to go, oh my gosh, I forgot that my skill is emotional storytelling. It's not being a teacher. I didn't speak on stages teaching people how to get in business for themselves because I couldn't tell you. I don't have the credentials or the skillset for that, but I could share my story. And that's really what people came to hear. And I'm not an entertainer because I'm not that funny. I can be funny at times, but I can't stand out in the crowd of all the entertainers out

there. And so it helped me get to this point where I found my value in emotional storytelling. And because I found my value, I started to believe in myself more. And when you start to believe in yourself more, other people will start to believe in you and it just starts to reciprocate. And so I think one of the biggest things that any of us can do for our confidence, for our belief is to follow through on the thing that is in the back of our head is to just give it a go, give it everything you've got. And if you kind of go in half in half out, you're not

going to get the results you want, but that's a choice. That's not a skillset or a personality type. That's a choice of whether or not you're going to show up and give it your all. And so coming out of influencer school, it's like, I know now that I can do this. I came in totally afraid and totally convinced I couldn't do it, but I did it anyway. And I'm coming out. Not only can I do this, but now my whole niche is around empowering women to follow through on their dreams, despite being a mom, despite having all these things that might be stopping you and coming from a place of, I don't need credentials because I'm not trying to be a life coach.

And I don't need to be this comedian because I'm not trying to be an entertainer either, but I'm taking people along this journey of becoming and rebuilding my life. And I think that there's a lot more value in that than where I was coming from before, trying to teach people how to be successful. If it's anything I could say to anyone who's on the fence is just do it and give it everything you've got. If you're not gonna give it everything you've got,

then maybe reconsider. But if you want to do something, then you're always going to give it everything you've got then maybe reconsider but if you want to do something then you're always going to be bothered by it if you don't just try love that very inspiring I know lots of people have related to that completely so thanks for sharing Makayla and what about you Jamie yes for me it's more on the sense of I knew it's going to happen, but I didn't know when. And I didn't have the knowledge since I do have a master's degree in business, but that was like pre social media. So as time evolves, you have to also evolve. And I had no experience.

I come from a small island of Aruba where you think that, oh, you have to live abroad in order to make it happen. And from that mentality, I had to shift the mindset and really say, no, if Rihanna can do it, I can do it. I had the Rihanna mentality. She's from Barbados. And I'm like, no, girl, I can do this. But I need the expertise and from who I'm going to learn, of course, from the best of the best. And I don't have to reinvent the wheel. I can just invest in this program and small steps, do something every single day. And as I mentioned, every day is a small win and really strategize.

And that's what I did. Just strategize every single day. And from there, you will see that all the stuff will begin to, to align and the doors will open without you even knowing. And the program is so good because you go through different modules in the sense of if you have a mindset problem or a challenge, you will get it there. If you want to go on YouTube, you get that model. If you want some support, Boss Babe is always available as well through the coaching calls. So I always felt supported in any question that I had.

I would have posted in the student lounge. So I never felt that I was alone and that I'm reinventing the wheel. I always felt that I'm supported and the community and the girls were showing up and doing their utmost best. We didn't know what we're doing. venting the wheel. I always felt that I'm supported and the community and the girls were showing up and doing their utmost best. So we didn't know what we're doing. We had no reels in Aruba until December. So I was like, I'm not going to deal with this. This is too much for me. I'm just going to focus on nurturing my clients and my students and my followers, all of this in the fraction of the time, and with the strategic moments of, okay, this is what I'm going to do now

until I have the strength, finish my certifications with the Dr. Deepak Chopra, finishing every single element that I put in my way, and also implementing what I learned in the society, because that was one of the biggest motivators for me that every month you have an expert which you normally don't get in under memberships and that's very powerful I even have the life path book close by oh my god she was incredible on the podcast and the society masterclass she's amazing and I really implemented by the book so even the book I have here and really, really, really step into my power of believing of every single thing that you set your mind to, you can make it happen, but you have to

do the work and healing is possible. And thanks to the program, I also said, Hey, I can do this. Even though I come from an Island of a hundred thousand people, it's all good. And that's why I said, no, stop the imposter syndrome, stop the self-sabotaging and let's get to work and make it happen and tell the world, watch me. Oh my goodness. I am blown away by both of you. Absolutely amazing. And I'm so excited to watch and support you because this is just the beginning of your journeys. And I know that you're both going to go on and help so many people. And I think that's also like what I love about Boss Babe and social media is like this positive

ripple effect that starts to take place. And that's just really, really powerful. So I would love for both of you to share your handles and where people can find more from you. We're going to drop them in the chat. We're going to drop links to the next trading that we're running as well. And we're going to put that in there. But Jamie, what's your social media handle? It's Jamie Boreno.

It's my first and my last name. Perfect. And we're going to put it in the show notes. And Michaela, what's yours? Same thing. First and last name. I have some unique spelling. So it's M-I-k-a-l-a and my last name is

m-a-c-f-a-d-z-e-n you can find me on instagram you can find me on tiktok now and in just a few weeks I'm launching my youtube so very very exciting yeah we're gonna put all of these in the show notes but just want to say a huge thank you for you both coming on here today and sharing your stories so vulnerably. I think that takes a lot of courage, but stories that people need to hear. So I'm so grateful for you both and really excited to watch you guys move forwards. If you enjoyed this episode, we would love it if you subscribed and left us a review. Let us know what you enjoyed, what your main takeaways were, and who you'd like to see appear on the show. As a special thanks, we'll send you a copy of our Boss Babe 25.

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