We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Shields a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Taylor, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

I love this question because I think about the beginning often. When I enrolled to become a Stylist, it was just me. Yes, I was an addition to a much larger team above me but in regards to my team that I would lead one day, it started with me. In my first full month, I didn’t recruit anyone. I was living in a state of self doubt, which I hear a good majority do when signing into the direct sales industry. That mindset can make or break the journey to becoming a great leader and/or business owner. What I think helped push me out of that and something that I did start from day one is simply sharing our incredible product and at the time, it was just one product. That excitement and love I had for it encouraged me to learn more about the compensation plan and directed me on the importance of building an actual business and starting that with an actual team. If I wanted the opportunity to earn a large income, I would have to learn and execute big ideas , effort, and strategy. The next month I enrolled seven and taught them how to begin in selling and enrolling to meet their goals, whatever they may be. Your earning capacity depends on several factors including, but not limited to, your personal commitment, hard work, sacrifice, market conditions, and your business skills. You can certainly read more about our income disclosure at ids.nailinit.com.

Today, that effort has built a team of over 1,000 Independent Stylists and together we work as a community called Team Nailin It. We learn so much from one another and truly want to see another succeed. We share ideas, support each other on social media, and dive into income producing activities together.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I started my journey in social selling in October of 2018. I was teaching High School Art at the time but to be honest I had one foot out the door. After 11 years of teaching, I was tired. I was not feelin’ it anymore and I was not thriving. We were living in a 600 sq ft home and building our next house by ourselves on days that my firefighter husband was off shift. I became pregnant with my second baby and we had planned for me to stay home because daycare cost was almost equal to half of my teacher paycheck.

Meanwhile, I developed a bit of anxiety about living solely off of a fireman paycheck (even though it was more than my teacher pay). While I was new to the industry, I did not allow the fear of that to hold me back. I kicked it into high gear and haven’t stopped since. I feel strong and proud of what I can provide and that feeling of dedication to my family and our financially stable future is what keeps me going. We’re now in our dream home built the way we like and can enjoy weekdays on the lake.

I love telling the story of how you don’t have to have a fancy glamorous office or desk to get the best work accomplished. Our bed was in the living room and it also served as my desk for over a year. It’s unrealistic to wait for the perfect time, the perfect mood, or the perfect place to build your business and to do your work.

My organization is over 1,000 strong and is full of incredible women and men. It’s a group of money-making business builders, product-loving hobbyists, and those who flat out like a good dry nail polish discount and that’s it. I love each and every one of them and how each one work at their own pace to succeed. My job as a leader is to show up, guide, and nurture my team no matter what while continuing to personally grow my own business.

This is the kind of job I was meant for. Helping women and men strive for more and achieve it through social selling.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I really thought business oriented people strived solely on motivation. But the truth is, motivation may be what drove you to get started but it is not what carries you through the ups and down or victories and failures that you will experience day in and day out. That is just not accurate. It’s also unrealistic to rely on “I gotta get motivated” and the stopping and starting of your business every other Monday to see a way to success.

No one at the top of any business or company is 100% motivated all the time. You gotta dip into what you’re committed to and what you’re dedicated to doing. I was COMMITTED to getting out of the classroom and I was dedicated to finding my fun while I did it, period.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

The best advice I can give is to always find something to celebrate and do all the work right alongside your teammates. If it’s your goal to sell more personally and as a team, then get together and get those strategies and conversations going with new customers and old. If it’s your goal to recruit more teammates personally and as a team, then get together and get those strategies and conversations going with new customers and old. Your team has to see you doing the same type of activities, aside from your leadership role, so that they experience what it actually takes to grow and succeed. Doing this also teaches you so much as a leader.

Contact Info:

• Website: nailinit.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nailinitwithtaylor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nailinitwithtaylor
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI_dEzpOofwPOs_s2L_x5yw
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nailinitwithtaylor