How I Really Feel About Network Marketing & The Truth About Building a Passive Income Business8/19/2019 
Hey girl!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I focused on nothing -- but rest. I even took 2 naps on Saturday, TWO! In my With God She Rises Journal my personal goal was: Rest and my Business goal was: Nothing. Seriously. Whaaaaa? Where is Stef and who is this? I know. Me, the 3 on the enneagram. The chick that leaps before she's ready. The girl with mad goals... I have found myself in an interesting season. A season where I've been called to be still. Be present. It's strange and fulfilling and wonderful all at the same time. So here I am back at the grind on Mon-yay and I feel refreshed and ready to get back to my mission -- pouring into all of you. In today's podcast episode I'm being interviewed by the Luscious Hustle Podcast and we go into Network Marketing and Passive Income on a super deep level. Find out HOW I REALLY feel about MLM / direct sales and the truth about creating passive income businesses that are... well.. actually PASSIVE. I'll meet you in the episode. Love and light, Stef P.S. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to share a screenshot in your IG stories! I will shout you out on my stories! Yeahhh!!!!!
Full transcription available at the bottom of this blog post.
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Did you know I am a PODCAST COACH? Yep! I help women launch podcasts.
I am also a MOMPRENEUR SUCCESS COACH. I help women figure out their calling, niche, and focus. Then monetize using courses or coaching! If you are interested in podcasting, keep reading! A podcast is such an amazing way to grow your audience and build a brand. It helps you share your voice, pour into your niche, and build trust. Did you know audio consumption is growing by over 30% each year? People are craving audio like never before and this is YOUR opportunity to secure your spot in a massive emerging market... podcasting. But... maybe you're thinking... what equipment do I need? Which software do I use? How do I record and edit? Where can I save money vs. outsourcing? Should I do interviews and how do I find guests? And, can my podcast make me money? (Insert a huge YES!!!!) I'm here to help you answer all of those questions, and so much more. I put together a page FULL OF FREE PODCAST TRAINING for you. Completely free. No registration nessessary. I mean, who else is tired of webinars?! Haha! I have a full training video there on how to start a podcast in 10 steps and lots of LIVE podcast training and Q&A from my students. I even share EXACTLY HOW I hit #54 in the Entrepreneurship Category and over 60K downloads in the first 12 months without ONE DOLLAR of paid traffic. I've also included 10 tactical steps to starting a podcast that will scale so you can walk away from this training with implementation. (And, P.S. all of this is 100% FREEEEEE)!!!!! 
I launched my podcast in 2018 after searching for a way to scale my coaching business and grow my following in a faster, more authentic way. I decided on podcasting because I have kids (aka. video isn't my jam), and because audio is growing insanely fast and I saw an emerging trend. Last, because committing to a podcast was my way of showing up consistently and dedicating myself to my mission.
What has podcasting done for my business? Well, my podcast grew my revenue by over 98%! My community has grown by thousands and it has allowed me to touch more people than I ever could have imagined. I have now helped MANY other women (just like YOU) launch top rated podcasts. Many of them have ranked in the top #30 because of my effective launch strategy! If you want to have a show that STANDS out and grows your business, brand, and mission here on Earth - come check out my proven program.
?WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING?!
#WithGodSheRises Daily Journal is AVAILABLE!!!! ?? YOU CAN SNAG A COPY, RIGHT MEOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?? http://bit.ly/withgodsherises Have you been searching for a morning and evening routine that combines BOTH spiritual faith WITH your business and personal goals, gratitude, and intentions? Meet the keepsake journal you've been praying for. ‘With God She Rises’ daily journal is a complete, life-planning tool that takes you step-by-step from overwhelmed, reactive, and unfocused to intentional, clear, and relentlessly chasing the life, goals, and vision God placed in your heart. I created With God She Rises because my daily intention practice of scripture, prayer, gratitude and focused daily goals were LIFE-CHANGING. However, I was doing this in 3 different journals??♀️?. I wanted ONE all-encompassing journal. 
In this beautiful, paperback keepsake journal you will find:
- Inspiring scripture and encouraging prayers - Miracles & holy spirit moments tracker - Creating balance worksheet - 5-year vision statement - 1-year vision statement - 12-month goal mapping - Monthly goal mapping - Weekly goal mapping - 180 days of morning & evening intentions including; spaces for prayer, gratitude, business and personal goals, favorite daily memory - Open notes pages for ideas and inspiration Love and light, Stef P.S. When you get your journal, please be sure to share a screenshot in your IG stories! #WithGodSheRises and I will shout you out on my stories! Yeahhh!!!!!
Show Notes:
Huge thank you to Betsy and Laura from The Luscious Hustle Podcast. Connect with the ladies on their website or over on their podcast. Wanna do a coaching session with me?! From power-hour calls to monthly and annual packages, there's an option for you. Email us for the coaching menu at support@stefaniegass.com Launch your podcast with ease. Follow the PROVEN system for scaling to success! Join the dozens of women who have launched TOP 30 RANKED shows using my exact system inside of Podcast Pro University. JOIN now and you'll get FREE, life-time access to the membership community, too! Hurry, this offer expires soon. Thinking about podcasting? Learn EVERYTHING you need to know at my free Start a Podcast Training Page (https://startapodcast.gr8.com)! Or, Snag my launch strategy + checklist at podcastchecklist.gr8.com Confused about what to do FIRST in your business? Download my Mompreneur Biz Blueprint and find out the exact order of operations to build your business. What to do, when: bizblueprint.gr8.com All of my recommended programs & software can be found at stefaniegass.com/resources FB Community: bit.ly/successsupportgroup Instagram: @stefaniegass FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION: Why? Hello there, you gorgeous little mama you, and if you're not a mama, hi, gorgeous. You welcome to the show today. I am chatting with the gals from the luscious hustle podcast. This is actually an interview that I did on their show, and I thought it was so important for you to hear that. I asked them to send me the recording. And so now welcome to episode 88 of my show, where we are going to be digging into super juicy stuff. Like the truth about MLMs network marketing, direct selling, talking about what the heck passive income even is, and then how we feel about growing and scaling an online brand. Like what is actually working, the strategies that can create a sustainable business for you. And I think I know all of you need this episode. What's up mama boss. Welcome back to The Mompreneur Mastermind Show. I'm Stefanie Gass, success strategist, and passive income queen creator. If you're ready to step into your God, led potential, create profit from your passions and capture the success that is already yours. This podcast was made for you as always. You can find out more and connect with me over stefaniegass.com. So grab that cup of coffee or fill up that glass of wine and let's dig in to today's show. Did you know that podcasting has helped both me and the luscious hub hustle, ladies scale, like in a massive way financially? Why? Because when you have a podcast, you are creating a platform where you can pour into your ideal customer client or avatar and serve her at your highest capacity, right? Like, and when you pour out solutions and service, abundance flows, tenfold, it always comes full circle. When you show up with a servant heart. So if you've been searching for a way to just show up as your genuine self and not do your makeup and hair, I want you to think about starting a podcast as your organic growth funnel. That's right. My podcast is the number one way. I funnel people into my list and where most of my sales come from, and most of my clients hire me straight from this podcast. Believe it or not. I want you to head over to podcast pro university.com. Step one, take my quiz is podcasting, right for you. Step two, watch my absolutely free, no strings attached webinar, 10 steps to starting a podcast. Start there. It may or may not be for you, but Hey, you don't know, unless you try and step three, if and when you're ready, join podcast pro university, we have so many women in there killing it, launching podcasts, scaling their businesses and learning how to grow an organic sales funnel using podcasting podcastprouniversity.com. Welcome back to the luscious hustle podcast. Laura and I are so excited to be diving into this conversation today and introducing you to Stefanie Gass. So Stef is a business coach who helps mompreneurs create passive income businesses that light them up. She has fueled by Jesus iced coffee and toddler snuggles, and she is both an exceptional mama and an extremely successful entrepreneur. Stef's calling is to empower women, to help them claim their best lives by working less making more. So Stephanie, tell us a little bit more about the business coaching that you do. So I'm actually a podcasting and passive income coach. So I help women uncover their God led calling is what I call it, or like your sole purpose on this earth. I help them figure out what is that. And then I helped them scale a platform that can feed that brand through podcasting, through course creation, et cetera, et cetera. So that's kind of what I do. I know that's crazy. Get into like tiles. Yeah, No, the title thing is crazy in the online space and I'm just looking at your bio and it says you help mompreneurs create passive income businesses that light them up. And I really love that. And I'm excited to dive into that side of the conversation with you today. But first of all, just welcome to the podcast. We're so excited to Have you here. Well, thank you. Thanks ladies for having me. I'm excited to be here. Oh, awesome. Well let's okay. I always like diving in to, you know, this question first, give us a rundown of the, where, when, how did the entrepreneurial bug bite you? Yes, this is always a fun one, right? I was working 60 plus hours in corporate. Like so many people. I grew up with stability. Stephanie, you get the job, you get the degree. And like, it's just the way my parents grew up. And so I went to school, masters in accounting and finance ended up as the youngest corporate controller in the solar company by the age of 26. I mean, I'm going to Spain and Germany and jet setting. And it was fine at the time. Cause it was just me and myself and I, you know, I'm like, I can hang in this cubicle all day, like climb that corporate ladder. And then I got married. You know how that goes, ladies? And you're going, Ooh, wait, do I want to work this much? I don't know. Like I think that maybe there's a different path for me interestingly. And I think now looking back, it was divine intervention. The company went out of business. We closed down the plant here where I live and my mom at literally the same time, like within two months, a two month window comes to me and goes, I just joined this network marketing thing. Like, would you want to try it with me? Would you want to do this and network marketing at the time, MLM, direct selling whatever you want to call it. It wasn't really big at the time. This was seven years ago. Nobody was doing it. My area. I didn't have any ideas. Even what it meant. I'm like, well, sure. I see that chick in that promo video on her Flamingo, in the pool with her, Sign me up for that story. Like, okay. So I went ahead and like so many got into entrepreneurship, through network marketing and I am insane. Like when you give me a goal, I just don't understand that there's an opp, there's an option to not achieve it. I'm like, what do you mean? Like I saw the girl on the Flamingo, like that's who I am, I'm going to become her. So I just go insane. And I'm like for two years just hustling crazy town. I mean, I am spamming social media. I'm like at every networking event in the entire world, I am just like, there's no other way, but to make it. So within two years I did it quote unquote, right? I got the success. I had the $17,000 months. I had the big $50,000 check and I walked the stage in front of 20,000 people in the cars and like all of that. And that was my first taste of, Oh wow. I guess validation means success equals money. It equals recognition because this all feels really good. And so that was my first taste. And I can keep going if you want, because I, it went crumbling from there and there were so many hard, but invaluable lessons that I learned from that first journey in entrepreneurship. Okay. Well this is really good. Let's crack this one open Cause like you, my, I like to refer to it as my gateway drug. My gateway drug to entrepreneurship was network marketing and you know what, it's funny, like you, I felt the same way I was, I signed up and I was like, well, I'm going to be successful. Obviously. Like that's not like quitting was not an option. Failure was not an option. I, I just got bit by the bug real quick. But I, I, I find it so interesting and I'd love to hear more of this story. Like you hustled hard Rose quickly, you know? And then things started crumbling. And it's interesting because my experience was I hustled really hard for two years. And then literally the day that I hit like a big milestone, like rank advancement. I th I had been looking forward to arriving at that moment for so long. Yeah. And then I arrived at that moment. I remember sitting there and I was like, Oh, I, I feel kind of empty right now. This is not what I thought it was going to be like, I, I had envisioned this like, you know, fireworks going off in my body sort of thing. And there were no fireworks. I was just like, huh, I'm tired. Yeah. I'm really tired. I'm a generator. That's my human design. I meant to hustle and work. And so what's going on here? Oh my gosh. So you know what it is. I think looking back and I work with so many top network marketers that are going Stephanie, like Lord help me create a different brand because can't continue at this pace. What it is I think is the industry. They tout that if you work hard enough and you know, hustle harder and go for now, like be insane that eventually you're going to just get to sit back and the residuals are going to flow in. And it's so stable. And there are pieces of the business that are residual. And I'm not saying network marketing is bad as an affiliate to whatever you're doing. But what I believe is that when you build something that's not yours, the like the success of, of what that's going to become is not in your hands. Right? You are building someone else's dream as a network marketer. It is not yours. Period. You are making a commission and that may sound harsh to those of you that are, you know, like I was, at that time, I believed so fiercely in the company. And I thought there was no way that I could, it could ever crumble. And here's what happened. And I think what happened for you too, it's that you're working so hard for this dream, this, this facade of happiness, Oh, success equals happiness. That lady that tells her story up there about how she changed her life. That's happiness. And so you're, you're chasing someone else's dream life instead of your own. And I went out there and I worked so dang hard and then came to realize the company went through a reorg. Things started to get shaky. People were going, Oh, but there's all these new companies out. I'm going to just going to jump and try this one. And maybe if I'm quick, like Stef I'll rise to the top of it. There, there was no loyalty. And I was working harder to maintain, to keep put people in faster than they were falling out. And I'm like, what am I doing this morally doesn't feel right. I'm selling a dream that I, myself, am not living. I am not even living. I'm like seeing girls get the car bonuses and then literally get them repoed because they, they lose the bonus and they can't pay for it. I'm like, something is wrong. I can't keep doing this, but I didn't know what else to do because my entire identity was that. And I'm like, everyone's going to look at me and laugh. Oh, she failed. I knew she wouldn't make it. I knew she, you know, all of those feelings of worthlessness when your identity is shaken, that happened to me. And here was the darkest moment. But the beginning of the light, it was sitting down to do the budget. This was about four years into the, into the business. The income had gone into a third and you know, we had raised our elevated our lifestyle. And here we are. And I'm like, Oh, snap, like, babe, we can't pay the bills. We don't have any money left. And he he's like, well, what's in mile savings account. Who was our two and a half year old son. I'm like three grand. And he's like, take it out. Like you're going to have to use miles income. And I'm like, or his, his savings account. And that to me was like, Oh, like, this is rock bottom. What was all of that for? What was it for the 60 hour weeks? The event after event, after event, the headpiece attached to my face, running away from my kid to take the three-way call. Like, what was that for? When I'm borrowing money from my two and a half year old son, like it was crushing. And I go to the mirror, I don't recognize myself. I'm 60 pounds overweight. I'm having debilitating anxiety attacks because I feel lost. I don't know who I am. Like, it was just a life crisis, truly The darkest. And I dunno, Like, I'm curious to hear if you had a moment like that with your industry, like, did you just let it go or are you still with the company? Like, Well, you may. Okay. Well, I, first of all, I I'm like literally take notes cause I have so many things I want to say with it. I know what you're talking about. Like the, the identity crisis I, with our students, I call that like drinking the Kool-Aid like you drank the network marketing Kool-Aid and then you sort of wake up from this drunken state and you're like Oh my God, what am I, who am I, what am I doing here? What's what's happening? I definitely had that moment. I definitely had the moment of trying to juggle being, having a little baby at home and being like, Hey, mommy's going to do a call. So like, you know, and trying to entertain and run away and do a call and back and forth. And like, yeah, everything that you're saying is it's so profound. It's just so it's so profound. And what I, you know, to answer your question though, we both Betsy and I do network marketing. Like I'm still with my original company which that's actually how Betsy and I originally connected. So she's with that as well and with another company, but you're right. We use it exactly like affiliate marketing. Yes. Like I built the team, I did the thing. And then now it's just like, no, I, I want people I see now how network marketing was such a gift for me because it absolutely opened a gateway. And there's some really great things about network marketing. I'm never gonna shit on it. Like that's not what I meant to do, but it's not being done well by a lot of people. And so I think you're right. Like I can see how seven years ago it was a very different climate on social media with network marketing and things have really shifted. And I think having a personal brand and building something that is yours is so essential. And that's really what, when I had my like little like aha moment of like, Oh my God, I, I thought it was arriving. And I, it doesn't feel like it's supposed to feel right now. Right. That was when, you know, like Betsy and I had just started the podcast and we really doubled down on like, no, we're building our own thing. And we still love our network marketing, but we treat them like product partners. We treat them as affiliates. And I think that's a really healthy relationship to have with it. I agree. And for those of you in network marketing, that is okay. Like, I think that's a beautiful thing. It's good. It's great. It's teaching you personal development. There's so many amazing lessons. I would never be where I am today. If I hadn't have had that experience, it was my first, you know, Oh, wow. Public speaking and mentorship and leadership and event planning. And like, there were so many facets to it that I, they were invaluable to me as an entrepreneur today. But, but if, you know, and I wouldn't have changed anything really, I wouldn't have, even though it was so hard when it came crashing down, that was a moment for me spiritually, that I was realigned. It was okay. Steph I've now given you all these tastes of the things that you were meant for, but this isn't the vehicle for it. And so that's when it was like, okay, this realigning moment. And now like, I've come to love when I have these hard moments or I feel like, you know, an imposter syndrome comes in or like this you know, of a season of like low income or something. I go, Oh yes. Like I am so pumped because any moment that's hard means breakthrough. And it's like, it's shown up over and over again in the last seven years where I'm like ready and waiting anticipation. Like, yes, like, you know, for me, I'm like, Lord, show me what's next. I'm excited when things get hard because it's a lesson. So I was, you know, realigned and I had to go through like a year of Stephanie, get your crap together. And my mindset was a mess. I needed therapy. I had to get my health back in order. My house was messy. Right. I'm like, let me fix my house before I can go into your house and like help anyone. So I focused on me and it was really hard to like, let that identity go of who I was. And I said, who do I want to be? So over that year, I took a lot of time. And I think for those of you in this space right now, feeling like I'm kind of unhappy or there's this hole, or there's this thing I need. And I don't know what it is. Paint a picture of who do you want to be? Who's the woman that you want to become a year and five years from now, who is she? What is she doing? How much time is she spending spiritually on her business with her children on herself? And I painted this picture of this woman. I wanted to be, I wanted to be so like gangster, spiritual. I wanted to like, okay, I'm going to stop hiding for me. I'm a Christian. And I was like, I need to stop hiding that because I was hiding that thinking, I can't talk about this. And you know, female empowerment, cause I'm going to, I'm going to lose people. I'm going to repel them. I'm like, that's what I want to do though. And I want to be at my best physical place I've ever been. I want to be so fit and healthy. I want to love food again. I want to spend intentional time with my children. I want to build a real passive income business. That's actually, you know, passive. That's not, I'm telling you it's passive, but you're going to really work still 40, 50, 60 hours a week. I wanted something that was like four hours a day. So I painted this picture of this woman. I didn't know any of the house. I didn't know. I'm like, I have no idea how any of that's going to come true, but I just opened my heart to it. And I just kept praying on it. You know, show me what's next. Show me the, how lead me. And I started to just show up in this demographic, this like Christian mompreneur little space. And it was messy at first I was like, you know, doing a blog. And then that was like a hot mess. And then I'm doing a YouTube channel and I'm all fancy. And my kid comes in and throws like a poopy diaper across the room. Like K, Well, I don't think this is my platform. You know, then I'm going in and doing live video, but it was sporadic. And then finally it was like, Oh, it's podcasting. Like I can show up my authentic me. I got rid of all the Instagram filters. I'm like, I'm just going to be raw. Stephanie, take me or leave me. Like, I'm just done. Fake is no longer a part of my vocabulary. I'm not molding myself to be like anyone else. I'm going to become that woman who I really want. And when I did that and I shed all of the, all of the fake, when I shed, you know, the costumes of what I thought people wanted to see, that's when it exploded. That's when people were going, Hey, Steph, you know, do you do coaching? Hey, I want to work with you tonight. Can we hire you for consulting? And all these miracles started to just flood my life because I was open to my ultimate calling, I think, and I stopped blocking the how, right. Oh, I love that so much. And just thank you for sharing your story so openly. And honestly, because one of the things that we wanted when we started our podcast was to open people's eyes, to like what goes on behind the scenes that it's not always instant perfect. And that there are struggles and that you have to have those breakthroughs and you're not alone. So I appreciate the story that you're sharing today because it's like, you know, there's this illusion that when we go into entrepreneurship, it's going to be easy. Like, it's just, it's all gonna fall into place and that's not necessarily what happens. So I'm just incredibly grateful for your story, but I really wanted to dive into and what I love and what resonates so much. And I know with our audience as well is like you saying, I let go of the how, because so many women and I think network marketing also. I mean, it's funny. Cause I went into network marketing as an affiliate. Like I never wanted to build it. I kept saying to Laura, I don't want to build a team. I don't want to build a downline. Like I have a health coaching practice. This is just going to support me in my business. Like I need to give them the right probiotic. Here we go. Sure. And I wanted to make money off it. So for me, my network marketing experience is like completely different. But what I did get sucked into was the community and the development side of it. And looking back on that they gave us the how, but it was like not my how. And so to learn how to release their, how and get clear on like, what's my, why, why am I doing this? Because once I connected back into my why I was like, Oh yeah, okay, this makes sense. I don't actually want to be doing what you're talking about. I wouldn't know for here. And thank God my upline was Laura, because she was like, okay, I'll go with you. Yeah. I'll just do it your way. Cause that way is a way cooler. Yeah, exactly. So, so my question For you is you know, you talk about passive income and I really want to dig into this because I remember when I signed up with network marketing, I was like, Oh, it's just going to be passive income. It's just going to like magically show up in my account every week. I don't know. I really, even as an affiliate, I was like passive incomes, passive. You get stuck on that word. Passive. And I recently watched a video on Instagram. Gary V he did this. IETV where he's basically challenging all of us to think about like, what is passive income? Like why, what is your desire for it? And the delusion is that you're not actually going to have to work for it. It's just your golden ticket to success. So I would love to, because you teach women how to create passive income. I would love to know how do you define passive income? Cause you said you went from working like 60 hours a week for quote unquote, passive income to four hours a day or four hours a week. I can't remember which one you said, but like, and how do, how does one shift into that mindset of like, this is doable. There is a way to create passive income for me so I can stay home and live my best life with my kids. For sure. And I love this question so much because I think it gets confusing because everybody out there is touting work from home, right? Residual, passive, like all of these ideas of like work, you know, work less, make more, but in reality, most of them are lies because I've tried most of them. Right. And what I discovered is that when you start out and you say, okay, I have this idea of the woman. I want to become people go immediately to the dollar. Their first instinct is to say, well, what do I create? Okay. You know, I'm going to be a coach or I'm going to create a book or I'm going to create a course or blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And they're going to solution that makes me money. And what they are seemingly forgetting is that they don't have a platform like your, you can't just show up in the online interwebs and be like, hi, I have this product. And like everyone in their mother's going to buy it from me and be successful. Like the same with network marketing. These people show up and go, Hey, I have this, you know, nutrition, shaker, this probiotic to my Facebook group of 100 friends that are truly my friends and family. And I think I'm going to build an empire on those 100 people that I'm acquaintances with, like that you guys like that's backwards. So I challenge you to think about why do you want to become that woman? And what are the passions and the zones of genius that literally you wouldn't be you without them. Like you wake up and go, Oh my gosh, I'm obsessed with nutrition. Like I believe so fiercely in like biohacking and probiotics and all of these things. Like I am in the inner wet, like internet searching for stuff. I'm coming up with macro plans. Like if that's what you're so lit up about, now you ask yourself who else is lit up about that and how can I teach them? And how can I pour into these women and start with all the free solutions you can possibly think of like come up with a list of like 150 free ideas for this new mission that you have. Okay. We're not going to call it a business or a passive income business yet. We're going to call it a mission. And by the way, don't quit your job. Okay. While you are building for saying that while you're building miss sister, friends, you are working all right, because that's a sacrifice you're going to make so that you are not panicking. Putting your family at risk, creating financial instability for your family, because that is just stupid. Okay. You're going to work while you build the mission in the background. And if this is an hour, a day, it's an hour a day. That's okay, but it's going to make you, you excited and happy because you're out there creating an impact. So you're coming up with these a hundred things. Let's say like, you know, why probiotics and how probiotics blend with your macro plan and how to let it look like whatever it might be. And you have all these cool ideas. Well, now you head out into the world of the online space and you start to pour value out into the market. The people that are like you, the people that are going to learn from you and you're doing it for free. So this is so counterintuitive and people are like, but Stephanie, I thought you were going to teach me to build a passive business, right? I'm working for free. Well, yes you are. Because that is how you're a going to build a business in the longterm. That is so rock solid, sustainable. No one can take something away from you that is yours, right? It is yours. There's zero chance. Someone walks in and goes, well, staff, you spent two years building this online brand where you're pouring free value into the market, whether it's through video or YouTube or a podcast or whatever it is, but now I'm going to do it better. No, no, no. You're not because everybody loves me. They're, you know, they're resonating with my voice and my story and my specific way of pouring value. And so the smartest thing you can do is work for free for a year, or to create this ball or platform we're. And even if that's a platform of 2000, like insanely dedicated people, and it took you two years to build it, guess what? You now have this opportunity to monetize in a really big way, in a passive way. So after we've kind of established this brand, I have first year establishing the brand. Then I say, okay, client number two in the background. Now that you've got this flow, create a passive income product. And to me, a passive income product pays me 70% profit margin or more. Okay. So this would be an ebook. This would be a workbook. My favorite are courses because like, they're just faster for me. I'm natural on video. They're so easy to do. My overhead is like so minimal. So you create an online course or book or something like that and say, Hey marketplace, yo, guess what? You've been learning from me for the past 90 days. I'm so excited. I am launching, you know, macro micro, nutrient workbook, starter kit, I don't know. Right? Like whatever it is launched. And now you're monetizing your brand at 70% or more profit. And that is passive. But, but that is not the goal. The end goal is to continue scaling for free because as you grow the platform more and more people come to you and say, Oh gosh, I have this specific question. I have this, this need. And you're going to start hearing from people over and over again. The same question, the same need, boom, new course, boom. Like, you're not going to stop the buck there. You're going to say, I'm hearing from you. I feel your pain. I'm hearing this thing over and over again. So let me create a solution for you, but it's a passive solution and it doesn't mean you don't take clients. Cause that's how I learned my, my avatar and I get to know her. I take certain clients, but then I create a product that will start to solve all those problems. So that's what I believe is the roadmap to creating a scalable brand that's yours that you can monetize and you don't have to wait to monetize it, but you do need to do it in tandem with building for free. If that makes sense. So give me the questions. Like, do you guys have any clarifying questions on kind of what I love about what you're saying? That I, You know, yes. Like keep working, you're building your hustle on the side, building your mission. And I think I, what I love about what you're talking about is the focus of like the longterm vision, like put, build a platform, build the audience, nurture them, grow the right people. And that really that what you're talking about is exactly like the shift that we went through. And I want to see so many more women going through because, and like going back to the network marketing thing, not to beat a dead horse, But there's always that push To like make money. Now make a sale. Now hit up your mother-in-law, these sorts of things. And it's like, you're not really building that bigger vision of the transformation you want to create in the world. Right? Like we all have our little corner of the world that it's our response, social responsibility, I believe to clean up and do our work in the world. Like, that's your purpose? And you have to have a bigger longterm vision of what that looks like instead of just focusing on yourself. Cause like, and I totally I'm that's, you know, with love no judgment, but because I was there too, but it's, you know, in the beginning you're like, I'm burnt out. I want to quit my job. I want to make this income right now. Okay. What do I going to do? Who can I sell to? I gotta make money now. And, and you've laid it out so beautifully. You know, that it's really needs to be. No, no, no. What is the, what is the problem I was put here on this earth to solve, to help solve what transformation am I creating for people? Cool. Now I've got that piece in place. What does that look like? How, like what's the vehicle it's going to be and then start building it. And really, I mean, if it is your purpose and your, and your mission in life, who cares? If it takes two years, It should take that. Like it should. It is. And he is telling you that, you know, in five minutes you can go like six figure, like run away as fast as possible is the biggest lie I have ever heard. Or you maybe you'll do it, but it's not going to be sustainable. Like it's just like, trust takes time. Think about a marriage. You are creating a marriage with your ideal client and for that person to be loyal and to buy from you over and over again, and to trust you and to want your services Above all the millions of other people, all the noise On social, but they keep coming back to you. It's not because you showed up overnight. It's because you kept showing up every week, over and over and over. And they've come to know you and love you. And you're almost married to them. They're like, Oh, I can cheat on stuff. Cause like, she's my girl. Right? You're creating that like, think Of that long vision of like, I need to marry every, every client or every person I want to attract into my community. They have to trust me at that level. And so that means I have to show up as I would show up in my marriage. Like that's how authentic and deep and vulnerable and transparent you need to be about who you really are. And I want to say something about what you said. I had someone the other day, she voiced, texted me and she said, I need to make 14 sales to my tomorrow to rank advance. Like, can you help me? And I just look at it like, okay, I love you human. If you ever end up hearing this somehow. But it was, it was like, hold on. This is not about them at all. Like, it's not about, Oh, I want to help 14 more people feel confident in their skin. Or I want to help 14 more people experience the shift in their life by taking this certain product. It was like, I need to make 14 sales so that I can rank advance so that I can make money. And it was like, I, I, and I, I just felt so bad for this person because I'm like you, number one, you're not helping anyone by having that perspective because you're forcing people to buy. You are not helping your own brand because you look desperate, you look, it looks sleazy. It sounds sleazy to me. And I'm not even getting approached by you, right? Yeah. So I challenged her. I'm like, hold on. Okay, listen, you can make some sales by tomorrow, but get that number 14 and out of your head, get the rank advancement out of your head. Okay. I want you to go back two years in your files, your tracking, your DMS, your messages, think about the people that tried your product. And they were obsessed with it had a great result. The people that were really excited to buy it, but maybe they couldn't afford it at the time. The people that were actually interested. And I want you to casually pop into their mind, be front mine, like a couple of their posts hop over, send them a voice text. Like, Hey girl, I was thinking about you. I remember you were interested in this product a while back. I just wanted to circle back. Like, did you ever think about trying it again? You know, wanting to just see I'm just checking in no pressure and really make it about them. And like her whole perspective changed. I hope. I think, I think it did. Cause she wrote back, she was like, Oh, like all this pressure was relieved from her. Like she was like, Oh, I don't need to make 14 sales. Oh, I don't need to like yell at people and make them buy like, Oh, and it was insane to me. Cause I'm like, what do you mean? Oh, like, why are you being taught to market this way? Like why, why did you ever even think you needed to make 14 sales in two days? Because you're going to fail at that goal 90% sure. That's not going to happen. And secondly, who cares about a rank advancement? Like, is that really why you're in this business for recognition? What does like really, what does it Mean to be like a Ruby director, a diamond Director title? It's you get a certificate like that doesn't make any sense to anybody that's watching you. I'm like the thing that drives me nuts is people be like, Oh, like Mary maid, you know, triple, quadruple diamond star. And I'm like, that's awesome. Like, are we a shapes teacher? Like what are we doing here? I don't get it. I'm not, I don't have any clue what that means. So network marketers with love. Okay. Stop the madness and think about how can you separate this product you love. Okay. And even if you love the business model, that's okay too. But how can you build a brand around your mission on this earth? Like you were created for something insanely. Awesome. And I don't know what that was. Maybe you're the best teacher ever. Maybe you're the best mom ever. Maybe you are a business coach and you're lit up by working with your clients. Like whatever the thing is that you were born to do, do create that mission first. And then see what ways you can monetize that fit into that. Instead of I want to make money, how can I build a brand around this one idea? I have to make money because that thing may or may not be your call. That thing may just be something your friend introduced you to, right? Yeah. W you know, when you were talking to play on that and what you were talking before about like build the platform, nurture the audience, dig into drill down into what is your niche and your expertise in doing. So you will figure out first what people actually want. That will further inform almost niche down, like your purpose in life. And then you get to discover the how along the way. Yes. You don't have to know the, how, when you're standing on step one, the, how you just have to know how to get from step one, to step two and step two to step three, you don't have to know what step 10 looks like or where it is or what it, you know, you just don't have to know it from that. Exactly. And I just gave you a step one, two, and three, right? It's you build, you find the mission. And if you need help with that, let me know, because that is what I do. I help people uncover their God led calling. You do that. Number one, number two, you create the brand number three, start pouring free value out in the background of how you make money. That's it? That is all I want you to do for the next three to six months. Like that is it. That's it. That's all you have to do. Right? And then you're going to start hearing from this new community question. Ooh, question on this one. Hey Stef, can you expand, can you do another episode on that? Oh my gosh, I love this Facebook live and they start pinging. You do you do this? Do you do that? And like, all of this confirmation will come in and like all of these downloads and these ideas and you'll go, Oh, like I feel it. I see the new course. I see the ebook. I see the workbook. I see a group coaching opportunity rising, but you can't do that until you start showing up for your mission for free. So that's where you start that. There you go. You have your first three steps. So no excuses. Well, what I love about what you're saying is you're really exemplifying what it means to go from like an income-based mindset to a business mindset. And again, I don't want to like harp on network marketing because we both, well, we all love it. I mean, it serves a purpose, but I think a lot of people that want to be an entrepreneur or want to find a way to have quote unquote, passive income and work from home, it presents a really great opportunity because it's a duplicatable business model. And it's something that, honestly, it's funny, the more we've talked about it over the years, like the last couple of years on our podcast, I mean, to me, it's just, it perpetuates the employee mindset because of what you guys were just, I was like laughing. I'm giggling because of the thunder. I can't like keep this on, but I'm like laughing because it's like, Oh, the triple star diamond with the, you know, with the wavy wings or whatever it is. And that's like, it's like the title that you would get at work. Like you want to become a manager. You want to become a VP. And you know, we're chasing titles. When in reality, it ties back to the beginning of this conversation where I was like, so what do you do again? Because titles don't really mean anything when you're an entrepreneur, like you basically are the Jack of all trades. And so going from a corporate job, you want to be an entrepreneur network. Marketing is a great way. Cause it's like freedom outside of the office, but yet you're still being fed this sort of employee mindset, how right. The how to do it. And then what you're saying, which is what actually we did. And you've, I don't know why I've never really noticed it before this before. But like, I mean, we spent a year doing a free podcast and that was it. Like, we didn't even have a business. It was just like, go show up and empower women. See what happens. Right. Amazing. Right. Like The fruits of a servant heart. Exactly what comes, what flows. You will never be disappointed when you serve others ever. Like it will always come full circle. The income will always show back up. The miracles will just start to compound. And you're like, Whoa. Yeah. I had no idea that giving more, brought more in and created happiness and a fuller heart and this huge impact. I'm so excited that you guys accidentally followed my model. Like that's amazing. Well, it's true. And then people ask us, we made six figures so quick and that's really it because we were listening to our audience and we were responding to what they were asking for. So I'm curious then, because this is something that we have heard from a lot of our students and our listeners. It's we call it the multi-passionate creative syndrome. You have all these ideas. So how do you, what do you say to a woman who has this idea? She wants to be an entrepreneur. She wants to create this passive income. She wants to do all the things, but she gets stuck on all the things like there's so much resistance to lean into one of them. What do you say to her? Because I feel like that keeps a lot of women from starting down this entrepreneurial path. Okay. So first of all, you've got to take messy action somewhere. Okay. And it's always going to be messy. Like please go and watch my YouTube channel from three years ago, please. You guys like laugh hysterically and then come back to me. But the point is, I didn't know the what or the how so. It was trying, it was trial and error. And I think to start somewhere, doesn't have to be the end result. So give yourself grace and go. Maybe I launched the YouTube channel, try something, give it at least six months. I try to make people do something for one year before they okay. That wasn't it. Or you can repurpose in a few different areas, but I tried that and it was fine, but it wasn't lighting me up. Right. So you try something and then reevaluate it in six months. Am I obsessed with this? Am I like, am I don't think about, or the numbers there, like are all my, in my subscribing, like a bajillion. I'm not as big as her. So I guess I should quit. No, it's are you like lit up excited? Like ideas are flowing to, you're pumped about this new mission. That's the first thing. Cause if you're not excited about it, there's no way you're going to make it through the hard core. Let's say half a decade. It might take you to scale to seven figures and mapping that you're doing the hard, the down, the rough, like all of that. You have to love it. You have to be obsessed with it. So that's first, the second thing is, instead of looking at yourself, I have all the ideas and this is hard for me. Cause I'm, I'm totally this person, you guys I'm like, Ooh, I'm creating this with God sheet rises journal. And then I'm also wanting to start a second podcast. Like I have all these ideas. They have to go back to the root of what I call her. Lola she's Lola for me, I have a picture of her. I know her so well. I know her three kids' names. Like my avatar is so clear in my mind. I'm like, what does Lola need the most right now? What does Lola need? Just to get moving? Like without this thing, Lola stuck. And I have the answer for her. This isn't about what Stephanie wants next. Right? My next creative project. It's about what is Lola begging me for it. Start there. Start there. It's always about serving your market at your highest capacity. Before you move on to the next passion project for you, you have to help Lola grow because without Lola, you don't have a business without Lola. You know, you're never going to make a passive income business, become a reality for you. And you're not going to feel the happiness that you're going to feel when the law calls you up crying. When she sends you the DM, like literally this thing that you did for me or this course I finally purchased from you or this thing, like it changed my life. And you're sitting there with tears in your eyes, like Holy smokes. Like I did that. Like that was my impact on someone. So start the air. Yeah. I love that. I absolutely love that. This has been such a power packed conversation. You're a firecracker. I love it. You guys, I am. I'm hard to control. Well, so I have one more. I have one more question for you. I have one more question for you. Before we ask our favorite question of all our guests, but so one of the things that you talked about earlier, and we had crystal Honeycutt on our podcast a while ago, she does social media and she was telling us a story about how, when she embraced her full authenticity and started talking about her spirituality, she lost a bunch of followers overnight. So I'm curious because we live in this social media world where everyone is like putting stuff out there. I know that you said you're truly living your authentic self now, which I absolutely love and adore, but I'm just curious, like, what was that process like for you to really strip back and, and start speaking your truth? Because we see lots of women getting stuck in this idea. Like I have to do it one way because that's what people respond to. And like, you know how the algorithm changes every other day. I mean, right now everyone's like, I'm not getting enough DMS, nobody's interacting. And we're like, okay, that's part of you have to go back to you. So I'm just curious what your experience was like there. Oh my gosh, this was such a struggle for me. Because again, I kept getting lost in what do, what is other, what are other people doing that are already successful in this space? And you know, I would see the, the curated picture, but then with the little authentic caption with it and I'm like, Oh, that's what I have to be. I have to have the certain layout on Instagram and the curated pictures and curl my hair. And, and then I'll do like a meme because that's what you do on Instagram and like bright. And I'm showing up and I'm trying to teach content, but I'm like, guys here are the three steps to creating a brand because that's what I saw everywhere. And I thought that that's what I had to do to be what everyone else had become. And I sat down across from this friend of mine, gosh, it was about a year ago. Like this, this is fairly new for me that I'm like just hot mess me in all my glory. And she basically was like your Instagram. And actually I started to get this feedback from more than one person. They're like, your Instagram is nothing like who you are. Gosh, it's like, so fancy. And like, Stephanie is just this, like, you're this audacious person. And like, when I think of you, I think of like a splash of paint across the wall, like you're bright and you're like in your face and I'm having coffee with my best friend. That's who you are. And like, I don't get that from your social. And like, thank God for her that she can, these like really candid conversations with me. And that I've learned to take constructive criticism as like the biggest blessing ever, because I said, Oh my gosh, you are right girl. Like what is happening here? So I went and I started to look at my branding and I started, and again, even the title was like passive income strategist, like all these fancy, fancy schmancy stuff. And she's like, and I don't even know what you do. And so I went and I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna be me. Like, I'm going to start showing up on stories with my mom bun that never gets let loose, like talking from my car with my kids in the background. I'm just going to go live as I am. I'm going to talk like my pimples here with us today, like welcome Nancy to the show, right? Like my, my eyebrows are insane and like just flame it because I figured the woman listening. She is like, literally just like me. And she's tired of the curated pictures. Like she's over it. She's tired of everyone pretending that you have to be perfect to have an online business. Like actually it's the contrary. You can literally be however you want to be. You can work your life in your PJ's and still be very financially successful and still have passive products and all, and still be really smart. I also was afraid if I showed who I am, which is like this kind of sarcastic quirky, like the humor side that people would take me less seriously. Oh, they're going to, you know, Stephanie is not smart enough to have this, you know, online marketing course, or I don't want to buy this thing from her because she's too like, she's too funny. Oh, I dunno. It was like this fear. Anyway, it was that conversation that changed at all. And I decided to just start showing up as me. And when I decided I liked drew the line in the sand and I was like, there's no going back. And it all started with, I actually removed my breast implants that I had had for 13 years. And the hardest moment for me was coming out about that. But it was like a challenge in this new year. My word was going to be truth and authentic. And I'm like, well, if I'm going to be that, I have to talk about this. And I have to stop being afraid of really being vulnerable. So I put it out there and it was like freaking terrifying for me. This was like, you know, back in, in November or something like that. And I came out about it and it was confirmation like flooded DMS, flooded with comments everywhere. And people are like, Oh my gosh. Like just the fact that you're talking about loving yourself as you are, and like what you went through and why you got these implants for all the wrong reasons. And just speaking about, you know, this fear that you had to share it. And that was the moment that I knew. I'm like, okay, if people are receiving something that personal about me in such a positive way, why am I hiding all the other crap? That's so like not a big deal. So I just shed it all. And I let it all like literally all hangout. Every single thing about me when I have a hard moment when my kid poops on the floor, like all of it. And that's when people started to engage with me. That's when the review started coming in, like Stephanie is the most real person it's like, you're sitting across from your best friend. And to me, that is the best compliment I can ever receive because I never want someone to look at me and say, I could never be her. I can never do what she does. I can never look that good all the time. I can never have that Instagram feed. I want them to look at me and say, Holy smokes. Like I can grow multi six-figure businesses because Steph can, because she's like my best friend. Like, you know, she's not better than me. There's nothing she did that makes her smarter than me. Or she just showed up with grit for seven years. Like she just kept going when everything felt like it was crumbling, when there was no money left in the bank account, she just stood up and said, let's try again. Right? Like I'm not afraid of failing. I'm afraid of not failing. And so I think that's what I wanted to create. And when I did that, I could just feel the shift, you know? And I felt my community shift as well. Mm. I love that. I'm afraid of not failing. I'm the same way as you. I think it's so important. You got to fail. How are you ever going to be your best? You, if you say I played it safe. My whole life, I stayed in my comfort zone. I was afraid of what Bobby was going to say. Like, screw Bobby. He doesn't live your life. Like you're not living your life for what Bobby thinks of you. You're going to look back in 20 years and go, damn. I'm so proud of myself. I tried all of these things. Some of them worked, some of them didn't work, but look at how well-rounded I am how much growth I've had. You're gonna be so proud of yourself. And you just do the thing. Totally damn. Okay. Well that closed that off. Really? No, You sleep last night. Final question for the podcast. What does the word luscious mean to you? Oh, luscious. You know, I think luscious means being at your highest capacity, right. To luscious to me are like the dream life. It's like the best of the best. It's having the things that you were afraid to say you wanted, it's like that eight course dinner. I just had the other day. I'm like, I don't know anyone else that would be into this, but like, I want to get dressed up like once every six months and like dust off my wedges from 2015 and like go have An eight course meal. Like that is freaking luscious out. I love it. That's fantastic. I see. And that's what Lusha says, lash. This is the divine feminine, like the vine. And when you mix it with the hustle, then you got the divine masculine. And I love that. I love the wedges. I used to have wedges men. I do. I have a pair from the 15 Angie wedges, man. I think they even go back to earlier than that. Right. And they're like sparkly. They're like the end of the only reason you guys is, they're just so comfortable. And I'm just such a mom. I'm like, if I'm going to wear any type of height, it's got to be a wedge. Cause like, I'm just not into like, I can't fake till I make it. And then Vegas heels anymore girls. So like these wedges are so comfy and they're sparkly and I'm just gonna do this and I'm gonna wear them every time for like, until they break, Hey, the Duchess of Cambridge, she's the princess. She's going to be the future queen of England. She still wears her wedges. So I feel like that is fair game. Yeah. As long as they're comfy. Oh my gosh. Bring it back. Yeah, it was. So this has been an amazing conversation and thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story and your insights with our audience today. How can our ladies find you? Where can they connect with you on the internet? Instagram, all the places. Yeah. Yes. Hello. Come join me ladies. Come say hi. On the gram. It's at Stephanie gas drop into the DMS. Tell us what you loved about this episode. Share it on your Instagram stories so that we can share you in our stories. And then my website, Stephanie gas.com. I have a podcast, the mompreneur mastermind show. It's faith-based business mindset, mentorship, passive income strategies, all the things. Incredible. Amazing. Thank you so much. This is fantastic. Yes, you're welcome. I hope you loved that conversation as much as I like to having it. I think sometimes when you can just get into the nitty gritty and really peel back the layers of why something may not be being built in the right way or how we can grow something that is authentic to who we truly are. And we remove all of the earthly stuff behind it. Like what a society tells us we have to do. What is the company tell us we have to do, how are they making us show up and sell it and start instead listening to our heart and souls and really embodying the word authenticity. So that's what I just truly hope that you pulled from this episode that you can grow a brand around who you are and what God is calling you to be, and still monetize with products, services, and stuff that you love. That's how you grow and scale a residual long-term sustainable biz girl. All right. I leave you now with an abundance prayer. I cover you in light. I cover you in love. I cover you in so much strength. I hope that God wraps you up and bundles you up in so much courage as you go out, you head forth and you conquer those dreams. Take the steps that you need to take fail forward if necessary, and that you continue on your mission to your best life ever as always love and light, Stef.
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Stefanie GassLots of fancy unused education. Podcast Coach, Clarity Coach, & Top #25 Ranked Podcast Host for Christian Entrepreneurs.  Archives
March 2021
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