106. The Reality of Being a Top Enroller in a Network Marketing Company and Where Michelle Tufford is Focused in 2024

Discover the profound intersection of faith and business as I sit down with Michelle Tufford to unpack the essence of leadership within a faith-based network marketing community. Our conversation peels back the layers of what it means to lead with purpose, as we exchange heartfelt stories of personal growth, the pressures of being at the top, and the transformative joy of empowering others. Michelle's candid revelations offer a behind-the-scenes look at the resilience required to maintain a leadership position and the beauty found in guiding emerging trailblazers on their paths to greatness.

Navigating the entrepreneurial landscape brings its own set of trials, where the pursuit of financial success often locks horns with the quest for personal freedom. Michelle and I reflect on the moments when relentless drive led us to the brink of burnout, emphasizing the realization that true happiness extends beyond monetary rewards. We discuss the pivotal shift towards leveraging our businesses for greater impact, cultivating meaningful relationships, and building a legacy that resonates with our faith and personal values—a stark contrast to the isolation of solo ventures.

Wrapping up, we dive into the heart of network marketing: community, mentorship, and leadership development. Our organization’s culture champions these pillars, fostering a nurturing environment ripe for both financial and professional evolution. If you’re intrigued by the potential of a low-risk entry into a network that celebrates your growth, aligns with your values, and promises lasting impact, this episode is your invitation to explore how faith-based network marketing could transform your life. Join Michelle and me on this inspiring journey, where leadership is not just about reaching the top, but also about lifting others to do the same.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is going to be such a fun episode. I have my friend, michelle Tufford, with me today and we're going to talk about what it's like to be a top leader in a faith-based network marketing company. Michelle is going to share a little bit of her insight on her feelings on being a top enroller and what that actually means for her this year and where we're both kind of shifting our focus. So if you have ever contemplated getting into Girl Power Alliance or you're in network marketing and you're like, what does it take and what are the top leaders feel, we're going to share our insights with you today. Friend, hey, friend, welcome to Milk and Honey with Lemon.

Speaker 1: 0:43

The Bible says in Numbers 14, 8, and if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. On this podcast we talk about stepping into that overflow that God has for us by becoming those ultimate Proverbs 31 women. Hey, I'm Lemon. I am just like you, sister, friend. I knew God had something more in store for me, but I couldn't see a way out of the laundry piles and, frankly, I resented that. Proverbs 31 woman how was I going to live up to the hype, that is until I found out how to really step into becoming this Proverbs 31 woman through leadership development. In this podcast you're going to find financial freedom, leadership, growth and motivation so you'll be able to do all the things God has called you to do with ease and really step into that land of milk and honey.

Speaker 1: 1:35

Welcome back to the Milk and Honey Podcast. I'm your host, lemon Price. I'm so excited because I have my friend, michelle Tupper with me. Michelle was on the podcast many moons ago when we first started. She was like one of my first guests and I'm so excited to bring her back because we've just been having the most intense and beautiful conversations lately around Jesus and network marketing and income and all of these kind of things that we've experienced over the last year. So just thank you for being here, michelle.

Speaker 2: 2:01

Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be back. Honestly, I love our conversations and we just get real. I hope to get right into it. Nothing's off the table, we just talk it out. I love it.

Speaker 1: 2:12

Babe, I think that's my favorite thing about us. Like Michelle and I, every time we get on a call guys it's never hey, how's your week going, or anything Like. We just seem to go straight for the most like difficult things we could ever think of, and I love that about us. And so that's part of why I wanted you on today, because we were having a conversation a few weeks ago about what it's like being a top enroller in a network marketing company and you had some very surprising feeling on it.

Speaker 2: 2:40

If you want to share a little bit of your background and then share some of your feelings on what that was like this year for you, yes, and I almost a part of me almost feels a little weird even saying that the fact that I was a top enroller, right, top enroller last year, a top ambassador for Girl Power Alliance, and it was amazing, don't get me wrong I look so honoring and humbling to be able to just stand on the stage and realize, wow, grateful, so grateful, right.

Speaker 2: 3:06

But then this year there was some feelings around, almost a pressure, feeling like, oh, I got to do it again. Even my ego kind of comes into play and I'm like dealing with some of those emotions but then also asking myself, do I really want to do that again? Because when we talk about even network marketing, it really is about team building, it's about raising up leaders and leverage right. So with being a top enroller, unless I'm developing leaders and bringing in other top enrollers and cultivating that, there's no leverage if it's just me top enrolling, right. So I'm really feeling a shift for myself this year and really just feeling more of a draw and pull to focus in on developing leaders and even bringing in other leaders who wanted to run at my speed because I am, I'm a driver, I love it, I'm energized by that. But then also like how do I then also cultivate that in my team and then also attract more of that into my business?

Speaker 1: 4:14

I love what you said. You're like it was really cool, right, it's really cool to be top enroller. It's always exciting when it's your picture that pops up on like the first of the month or whatever. You exciting when it's your picture that pops up on like the first of the month or whatever. You're like, oh look at that, I didn't even know I did that this month, like how exciting. But then it's a lot of work. It is actually a ton. I don't think people talk about it enough. It's a lot of work to be the top enroller in a company.

Speaker 2: 4:37

Yeah, yeah, because when you enroll, you're assuming responsibility for the person coming in and a sense of leading them. You're their go-to for all their questions and there's just that weight of responsibility that falls on your shoulders. And don't get me wrong, I love it. I love working with people, I love helping people get started, but I'm only one person and so my heart is always I never want to drop the ball. I never want to bring on someone and then not be able to lead them at the full capacity that I have to give someone right and so just being pulled in a lot of directions. I feel like I'm letting people down and not being able to spend the time to pour in like I would like to and, yeah, just recognizing kind of the shift and wanting to rise up other leaders and really feeling now like I want one of my team members to be top enroller, like I want to be able to celebrate someone on my team for being a top enroller.

Speaker 2: 5:35

So just maybe the new goal for me is to bring in the most top enrollers. Like to bring up the most top enrollers? That could be a good goal.

Speaker 1: 5:47

Yeah, I love that, because I think it is. I love what you said. There's a wait. When you enroll somebody, I think it's really easy to just say, oh great, like they've joined the company or whatever it is that we're doing right, they've joined us at Girl Power Alliance, cool, great. Here's all these things for you, you, but you are assuming the responsibility, especially if they join with us as an ambassador, like we they do.

Speaker 2: 6:10

They joined to earn an income, they joined because they need to make their investment back, like all those kind of things, and they're counting on you to help them do it yeah, which really has helped me grow so much as a leader, like I really appreciate, like what it's cultivated in me and I really appreciate even the mentorship that I get here from Girl Power Alliance and specifically with Michelle Schaefer. I've relied a lot on her to just Michelle what do I do, how do I, how do I help and cultivate my team, which has then required me to really level up and really take a look at myself as like, how am I leading? Because I want to build sustainable business in a way that we were just talking before we went live, and we see this being huge, massive over the next few years. We're pioneering something absolutely amazing and we're going to be bringing in just thousands and thousands of women and I know sustainability is going to come from developing leaders, not myself being the top every time.

Speaker 2: 7:15

No, at some point I need to find and cultivate other leaders. So, yeah, especially thinking long-term vision, like where we're going with this, it becomes even more crucial to level up as a leader and then to bring up and cultivate those other leaders. So I've been really appreciative of Michelle Schaefer and like really mentoring me in this way, because I know, with her experience, just the fact that we get mentored from her every single week is just absolutely amazing. Such a huge value to what we have here because she's been in it, she's done it, and so to just have her right there in our corner mentoring us has just been so amazing.

Speaker 1: 7:53

Nice. Okay, I think that's one of my favorite things about being here is the support that you get as a leader. Molly actually called me and you guys will know I just dropped an episode with Molly not that long ago and Michelle. So Molly called me last week, I think. She sent me a text and she goes I just feel there's something on your heart that you just are not sharing fully. And I sent her a voice message back and I was hysterical, like she caught me at the right time and I like poured it all out, and so then she immediately called me.

Speaker 1: 8:23

I don't even know what she finished listening to the message. She just picked up the phone and called me and she's like this is why it is so important. She's like as a leader, you have to lean on corporate leadership and stuff like that. There is nobody to pour back into you guys except for us, because there's only three corporate legs, really. And so she was like you guys have to come and get supported too. Please stop trying to shoulder it all by yourself. And it was so freeing for her to say that she's. You stop showing up like super cheerleader all the time. Stop pretending everything is fine all the time she's. I know we put a lot on you she's, but you have other. Develop your leaders and then also come and lean on us and I thought that was huge.

Speaker 2: 9:06

Yeah, she did the same thing for me like two days ago. I was like she just knew exactly when to reach out and of course, she's listening to the Holy Spirit guiding her and knowing when we need to just have a place we can go to and just share the things that either we're struggling with or that are going awesome, like they're just right there in our corner to mentor us. I'm so grateful, so grateful for that. And even just I'm reminded constantly as we're attending these trainings and going through these certifications like I know you're going through and getting certified again as a Radiant Leadership Academy coach and our class on Tuesday holy, wow, like the Holy Spirit and just in that room with those women. But it's reminding me again of how grateful I am for how we're being poured into just, yes, corporately, and then also just the resources.

Speaker 2: 9:58

Like this is what we do is we're constantly in this growth phase of and just being refined and molded in such a way that is just preparing us continually for what's coming, and I just felt that really strongly on Tuesday. Wow, like we are being prepared for what is coming for the women who are going to be coming here, for the leaders that we need to rise up into so that we can then be that anchor and that fallback for the ones that are going to be going through a similar refining process of developing into leaders is hard work, it's refining, it's painful sometimes, but, man, so worth it, so worth it, so excited just as I'm going through this and I know you too knowing that we're going to be able to mentor the people coming in behind us.

Speaker 1: 10:51

Yes, I really. I think I love that so much because you and I both owned our own businesses before too. We've made really good money before. We've done all these things before, but we did them by ourselves and there is like no freedom in that. I will never forget the last company that I owned. I worked on Mother's Day because I had a client emergency and then, and so I missed half the day with my kids, and then I had a client, she had an emergency, and I was literally on my way to the operating room and so they'll take my phone. Anesthesiologist. I'd like take my phone, give it to my husband was like it's we're having a surgery now, like we can't be on zoom meeting anymore, like we're done now and but there was no freedom. Like the money was good but there was like no freedom and I didn't enjoy what I did yeah, I can relate to that.

Speaker 2: 11:43

I can relate a lot to that the both lack of freedom and also just really losing the desire and heart at some point. If money is the only thing, what kind of money is the only driver in it? You realize that's not enough, right, and again you become exhausted. And that's where I was. I'm like that's where you were as well. It's just you burn out and man, in order to have a place to pour into. That was the other thing too.

Speaker 2: 12:17

I felt like in order to try and find a place that would pour into me, it was like I thought I was going to have to hire some coach and spend stupid money just to get some mentorship. And here it's literally built in, built in, and we're not by ourselves anymore. We're creating leveraged businesses and, even though we were talking before we went live, just the realness of the fact that, yes, there's some work and time that we are investing into this to get to the point where we're making significant amount of money. But the amazing thing about this is and this is why I'm here, because I was telling Lemon, I'm like if it was about fast cash right now I want tens of thousands of dollars.

Speaker 2: 12:54

This might not be the answer, but I'm done with that. I'm done with the quick cash grabs. I've done that and the reason why I love this is because I know in five years I'm going to have something that is bringing me in that same type of income, but I can go on vacation with my family and literally check out and still be making that money. I want consistency and leverage. Right, because I did. I poured myself into another business, built my own coaching program, did all of that. For five years in, I'm still having to do launch after launch and if I'm not making any money, yes, I was making good money, but it all came back to me and it was. There was zero leverage.

Speaker 1: 13:35

Yeah, okay, I think that's the big thing, right? Is that? You do you get burnt out, like I think about people who have multiple streams of income and things. There's no way they can be present for all of them. Like you, just physically, you can't be your only one person and you have to create space for yourself, and I think that's what I like about it. So I was super anti-network marketing before for a lot of reasons, for a whole lot of reasons, but now I'm like it's so beautiful Like I will never.

Speaker 1: 14:03

Last summer we were on vacation for my husband's 40th and I get back into town and there's people on my team who enrolled three and four levels down for me and I'm like this is real freedom. Like I got to be completely disconnected. We were in the woods, we had no service and yet things were still happening. Like I'm getting paid on things that I don't have to touch directly and that's huge for me, but the only way it happens is if I'm developing my leaders me, but the only way it happens is if I'm developing my leaders.

Speaker 2: 14:32

Yeah, I think the other thing I love is yes to all of that. I think the other thing I love is the fact that, like these women are like my, like best friends, like I've developed the most amazing relationships here too. Because when you're in the trenches together and you're mentoring and you're helping each other, like when you see the success and your team sees the success, it's like you all win together. Because I think, even with the coaching program and things that I did before, it was like, yeah, it was great, but it was lonely. I was like just doing this thing by myself. And you know, man, we all win together. The discipling that's happening here One of my team members she recorded a video and shared it to her stories about just and she's going through the coaching certification and she shared how just impactful that has been for her and it just.

Speaker 2: 15:21

I just had to stop for a second and just listen to that and just realize, wow, look, how it's transforming people's lives in such a deep way and that the ripple effect of that, because of this model of team build, is this amazing ripple effect of now her going out and pouring into other people and it just continues, and so I love that too.

Speaker 2: 15:43

It's just leveraged income, but also leveraged impact. Like when you think about what you can do on when it comes to business and what we can do to impact the world. We get to choose right and I'm realizing now, yeah, I could go out and do other things and make quick cash grabs and make money selling product, but I don't want it to be just about that Like. I want it to be about impacting people's lives in a way that really matters. And, as a Christ follower, like, I know that the way that really matters is bringing people closer to the Lord and I love how our resources even though we're a business our resources are helping people grow in their faith. Like, I just absolutely love that about what we do.

Speaker 1: 16:29

Okay, same. I think that's. I think that's. Another big thing that I really love about here is because I know when I was running my own business and doing things, I was by myself, right, nobody understood what I was going through. I had to do things by myself, and now there's a whole community of women that I could pick up and call. I said that when we started this, you and I, we'd never go small talk, ever. We're just straight to the heart of here's what's going on, and let's challenge each other's thought process on this, and it's because you get it right, like you, just you and I we get it, and so that, to me, has been huge. But then also I love that everything has Christ at the center. I will never forget.

Speaker 1: 17:04

I started in marketing in 2011. With blogging, that's like how I ended up in the industry, unintentionally and a couple years ago, I'm like I think I'm gonna do this again, make this a thing. And I bought a course in blogging and it was all new age and I was like what does like a moon cycle and crystal placement have to do with, like good SEO practices? Like I'm honestly confused. And I got a refund because I was like I just I can't. This doesn't feel good and so I will never get the big thing for me with Girl Powerline so I have Mamas in the Word is, I think, the biggest course inside of GPA. It's 38 modules, it's huge. It's so big.

Speaker 1: 17:42

And I remember Molly and Ferris and everybody going through every single video to make sure it was biblically sound before they said, yes, we'll put it in here. Even though they asked me for it, they're like now we got to vet it to make sure it's good. And I'm like, if you're willing to vet 20 hours of my content, then I can trust everything else in here and I can feel good sharing this out with people. And I love what you said about leveraged impact. I can feel good sharing this out with people and I love what you said about leveraged impact. Like I can feel good sharing this with people who are gonna go out and share it with people, because I know the scrutiny that just my content had to go through to be here. So, yeah, I love, I'm obsessed with what we do here.

Speaker 2: 18:22

Yes, I think we have a unique thing Just even you and I coming together and just having these real conversations, being 100% willing to help each other.

Speaker 2: 18:31

What's working, what's not working, let's help each other. We're not connected financially like at all, and I think that's really unique about our community and our culture and one of the things that makes us different than a lot of other, even network marketing companies because I think that's where a lot of the kind of some of the bad rap that network marketing can get right is the clickiness and the. You're not on my team, but here I just feel like it's so different, like we truly do want to see each other just become the best versions of ourselves. We want to truly want to see each other see success and we celebrate each other's wins and, yes, we're human, emotions lay play into it, but I believe, because Christ is at the center of what we do, that we're always just reminded and put back into the space of no. We really do want each other to win and there truly is no competition in the kingdom One of the things we say here and yeah, so I really appreciate that about this and even about you and our friendship.

Speaker 1: 19:27

Yes, okay, I love that you brought this up because I will never forget. Maybe I should have Natalie on the podcast one of these days too. Natalie's never been on, which is wild, but Natalie enrolled you and I will never forget. When I first joined, natalie had reached out to my very first enrollment to welcome her to the community and, again, I had never done anything in network marketing before. Natalie and I are not connected financially in any way, shape or form either, and I will never forget the girl that I enrolled.

Speaker 1: 19:55

She sent me a message. She said, hey, it's Natalie, your upline. And I said, no, she's just like another corporate, it's fine. And she's oh, can I respond to her? And I was like what? I was like what do you mean? And she was like, she sent me a message like welcoming me to GPA, and I just didn't know if it was okay to answer her Like cause I don't know the culture yet.

Speaker 1: 20:17

And I was like, yeah, no, she's a person you should talk to her. And I'm like but it was so, mind, because I don't have those like network marketing hangups. I haven't had those bad experiences. I didn't know that was a thing, but just that was like. My very first enrollment was like within the first hour of her being here and I was like, oh my gosh, this is what other people are experiencing and it's already so different here. And it was baby back then. Like there was less than 50 people back then, I think. And I think it's really cool to shift the culture and to have a different conversation about what network marketing can be and the relationships that we form and the way that we really do want to just see each other win, because I don't think it.

Speaker 1: 21:01

I think GPA has been really good about. It's never about me, it's never about you, it's never about any of those things. It's about what is God trying to do in and through you, it's so good. I've been celebrating that.

Speaker 2: 21:15

Yeah, exactly, I love it and it just reminds me too, network marketing. Yes, it can create and has, in a lot of industries and other network marketing companies, created some not so great things in the culture. But when done correctly, I just feel like it really does set up a community and a culture that is about really wanting to help each other, because I feel like in other types of things and even with my coaching program, it was really all about me. It was like no one else was benefiting when I was doing whatever financially. It was like no one else was benefiting when I was doing whatever financially. And so having, yes, there's some financial motivation to help my team, which I think is good, I think it's good to have that. So it really does.

Speaker 2: 21:58

It rewards me for then in turn, turning around and mentoring my team, like the kind of coaching and mentorship that is provided here. Because of this model, it blows my mind and I wish people even understood like and now you and I both have a background in coaching and marketing and all of these things, the kind of one-on-one coaching I do with my team or what they're paying for. I'm like, are you serious? There's so much value and even what I get too. Like you and I, we get coaching, mentorship from Molly and Michelle, and it's just included because of the model right and people only understood that sometimes I'm like, shoot, they would sign up just so they could get the coaching and mentoring.

Speaker 1: 22:41

Okay, yes, because where else can you get coaching and mentoring Like I and I think that's what I love too, too is it's not just like personal development either, it's professional too. So whatever you need help with, I love that. We have sales training in here and all these things. Before GPA, I hired somebody for $13,000 to help me with sales. I could be inside of GPA for six, seven years before I ever spent that, and I've definitely made more than that being here in a year, and so I'm like wait, I made more than I would have spent over a six-year period to get the same skill set.

Speaker 1: 23:19

And they love Jesus, it's like mind-blowing. I mean, it's so mind-blowing to me when I think about it, and so I just love that and I love what you said. You're like I we have to pour into our team. If you want to be successful, you are required to develop other leaders on your team. That's the only way that our comp plan works. Actually, michelle was like very adamant about that she's. I were a leadership company, so develop leaders, and so I love that. You're like listen, I went from top enroller and developing myself as a leader and now I'm going to go and really pour into other. That was the whole point of what we were talking about. You're like I've had a whole shift in what I want to do and really pour. I miss what Jesus did, right, like he developed and sent them out.

Speaker 2: 24:08

Yeah, exactly that's how you create more impact all the way around money here in business and also with the impact side. So I'm excited for this new shift and how that's going to play out over the rest of the year.

Speaker 1: 24:24

I'm excited. So, michelle, if somebody was sitting here and they're like I don't know if Girl Power Alliance is for me or I don't know that the leadership is for me, what would you say to them, friend?

Speaker 2: 24:34

Wow, I would just say come in and see for yourself. We could talk about this all day long, right, because we know the impact that it's had on our lives and sometimes you got to just stop talking about it and stop thinking about it. You got to just come in and experience it for yourself. Honestly, there's really no risk in the sense of yeah for a 30-day money-back guarantee, and there's just so much. There's no risk. You're going to come and you're going to see for yourself the culture, the resources, the value, the mentorship, and I'm just so confident in what we have here that if you're feeling any sense of draw and it keeps coming up for you, pay attention to that and take action, because you're holding yourself back from what could be the thing that really is going to impact your life in such a powerful way on so many levels.

Speaker 2: 25:24

I know it was for me. I know there could have been so many reasons why I wasn't going to do it. I had my own coaching program, I was busy, I honestly didn't even need the money and all of these reasons why I could have said no. But to see where I am now because I said yes, man, you never know what could be on the other side of that stirring. There's a reason why it keeps coming up for you.

Speaker 1: 25:52

So I would say, get in, there's no risk, find out for yourself. I love that answer, friend Guys. I will link to all of Michelle's social for you so you can go and connect with her. Tiktok's probably like your favorite place, right? That's like your jam is on the TikTok, pretty good.

Speaker 2: 26:06

Facebook's all for me. I love Facebook. Facebook groups has been my kind of jam recently. Yeah, it's been fun.

Speaker 1: 26:12

Okay, I will link to all of Michelle's social for you. My gosh guys, my words, they're not wording today, so anyway, I will link to everything that Michelle has to offer and you guys can connect with her and just thank you for being here, friend.

Speaker 1: 26:27

Yes thanks for having me. Lemon, love you, love you, friend. So, my friend, if you have ever thought about joining Michelle Tufford and I in Girl Power Alliance, then come and hang out. I have dropped a link to all the places you can connect with us in the show notes. Michelle Tufford actually did a TikTok training inside of Girl Power Alliance. She is what helped me grow my account to 10,000 followers in just four weeks. So come and take that. You can take that as a part of being inside of Girl Power Alliance. Come and learn.

Speaker 1: 26:57

Michelle and I are both putting on some training corporately in April that you're going to want to be a part of, and so I just love this community. We are not connected in any way, shape or form, michelle and I, and yet we are constantly working together because we really do believe there's no competition in the kingdom here, and so I would love to invite you to come and join us inside of Girl Power Alliance, where I think you are going to just fall in love with what we have to offer. Friend, spare a moment to leave a review. It would mean the world to me. I really appreciate your feedback and it really helps our community grow. Remember the road to discovering God's call for you isn't one you have to walk alone. So join me again next Monday for another episode where we'll continue to explore the depths of leadership and the heights of our heavenly calling. Until then, keep seeking, keep growing and keep trusting in His plan. God bless you and I'll catch you on the flip side. Bye, friend.