This Self-Made Woman PROVES You Don't Need Retailers to Build a Product Empire

Photo by Cora Wagoner

by Bree Weber

It all began with wanting to change the world. Jamie Cross left a comfortable and profitable corporate banking job over five years ago. She wanted to be home with her young children, but she also longed for an idea that she could turn into something bigger than herself. Jamie now runs the largest growing organic soap company in the country. MIG Soap stands for Mighty in Good, and it’s made only of ingredients that are safe (and often delicious) enough to eat. MIG Soap grossed over six figures as a local farmer’s market booth, but then Jamie grew the company to over $2 million sales in one year using Click Funnels.

Jamie had decided early on that she wouldn’t be taking her products to a retail model. MIG Soap is not a standard soap, so why use a standard distribution strategy? Instead, Jamie spent four years selling her products at Denver’s local farmers markets as a form of market research. “I needed to understand what people wanted. I came to a point when I decided it was time to scale and decided to go direct to consumer.“

Next, she did what most entrepreneurs do. She found mentors and hired coaches, but she wasn’t getting the results that she wanted from them. In her digital marketing research, she came across a video of Russell Brunson talking about Click Funnels. “His marketing message resonated with me and I was so inspired, I decided to go all in. He was talking about both marketing principles and techniques, and he was nailing it on everything. His mission is so much bigger than business; he wants to impact people, which is my mission.”

I wanted to be able to raise my children and show them the entrepreneurial life, so they can have what I have. I want to build an empire and the only way to do that is through entrepreneurship.

It all came down to creating an experience for her customers. Websites can be distracting — there’s navigation and menus and plenty to click on. When Jamie started using Russell’s tactics to create her sales funnel, she was able to focus the customer’s experience down to a single product — a hero product. Click Funnels are a sales progression that break down people’s false belief patterns. So, Jamie used her funnel to bust myths about organic soap. She explained how MIG Soap’s products are made with real ingredients with the intention to heal people. She showed that her company is one of the fastest-growing skincare companies in the world right now. She shared her story about what Mighty in Good really means. “I grew up as a farm girl, so we were always making things for ourselves. But then I grew up and went to work in corporate, and little by little I lost that dream of making. When I quit my job, I prayed for a big idea, and soap was what I saw in my dream — me making soap and pouring oils into these skincare products.” 

And then, when those customers were riveted with her story and clamoring to buy, that sales funnel would continue to work for her, by introducing complementary products that customers could add onto their order. This is exactly how she scaled her business to $2 million. But she’s not stopping. “I wanted to be able to raise my children and show them the entrepreneurial life, so they can have what I have. I want to build an empire and the only way to do that is through entrepreneurship. “ 

Jamie credits her immense success to learning the techniques and principles that inform her selling process, but she also has a tremendous entrepreneurial spirit. It’s practically unheard of to build a product-based company of MIG Soap’s size and scale without traditional retail distribution. But if anyone has ever believed in a product, it was Jamie. “I knew I was different, and what I had was unique. It all starts with belief. I knew if I didn’t give up and continued to educate people I could only win. You can only dominate if you keep moving forward and believe.“ 

Not every soap company is as honest with their marketing as MIG Soap. There are plenty of companies marketing their products as natural, organic, and pure, but there are very few actually creating products that are. Jamie studied chemistry, alchemy, and herbalism, so she could formulate her own products. Then she partnered with bee farms, apiaries, and botanical gardens to source those natural, organic, and pure ingredients. “You could eat our products if you were stranded on a desert island. If you can’t eat it, I wouldn’t put it on my skin." 

MIG Soap has brought freedom and choice to Jamie’s life. She no longer wears every hat. She’s been careful to replace herself with rock stars who believe in her vision and implement it in the way she would. This allows Jamie to focus on continuing to grow her company, while simultaneously fulfilling her original goal: to spend more time with her family. Jamie now works two days a week with her husband at her side, and spends the rest of her time adventuring with her family, enriching their lives with experiences they’ll never forget. “I've dreamed about taking my 'beauty from the inside out' message and health and wellness movement to the world, and now our message is being platformed everywhere. It's truly a dream come true.“ ​