MIG Living - Company of the Year

Company: MIG Living, Colorado Springs, CO
Company Description: MIG Living stands at the forefront of health & wellness as a force for good driven by purpose and worldwide impact. Financially free, family-owned and operated, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with a mission to restore an industry and empower entrepreneurs across the country through its distinctive approach, MIG Living is positioned to be a leader in Home, Health & Self.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Company of the Year - Consumer Products - Non-Durables - Small

Nomination Title: MIG Living

In 2010, Jaime Cross founded MIG Living in Colorado not long after leaving her corporate banking career to be home with her newborn son. The idea for the business came in a dream and she immediately embarked on her entrepreneurial journey, founding MIG in 2010. MIG is a vehicle to help people go after their own dreams and calling — their purpose.

MIG uses wildcrafted herbs and farm-fresh ingredients to handcraft soaps, lotions, serums, balms, nutritionals and more. After initially focusing on farmers markets, Jaime expanded to e-commerce. This channel vastly expanded MIG’s reach; business boomed and consumers responded with a stellar 72% reorder rate.

MIG is debt-free, family owned and operated, and employs more than 20 people. It has more than 2,000 independent sales representatives (Ambassadors) and more than 10,000 customers who order every month.

The company has hundreds of testimonials from customers who praise the beneficial outcomes they couldn’t find with other products. Example: “I can hardly put into words how much the Body Method has transformed my skin. My feet are so soft. While I, unfortunately, don't have a sense of smell, I can sense the presence of something amazing! Thank you, MIG!"

In 2020, MIG pivoted to social selling to help fulfill Jaime’s dream of greater legacy. This pivot meant adopting new software platforms and overhauling existing web properties; recruiting corporate staff versed in social selling; recruiting an initial core team of sales reps; devising suitable compensation and incentives for the reps; developing new marketing collateral, and more.

Following a beta launch that began April 1, 2020, MIG shifted to full launch on Oct. 5, 2020, and the company marked the occasion with a two-day event in Colorado Springs, Colo., involving roughly 600 of the initial cadre of sales representatives.

First-year goals for this new phase of MIG Living were:
-Increase revenue by 100%
-Enroll more than 3,000Ambassadors (independent sales reps)
-Add 7,200 customers
-Reorder rate at 75% or better
-Returns rate at .8% or better

From April 1, 2020, to the end of January 2021, MIG Living has:
-Increased revenue by 300%
-Enrolled more than 1,000 Ambassadors
-Added more than 5,000 customers
-Reorder rate: 86%
-Returns: .7%

The 2021 Beauty Shortlist Awards recognized several MIG products:
-Editor’s Choice, Wellbeing: MIG Brain Activation
-Beauty Shortlist, Shaving: MIG MAN Face
-Editor’s Choice, Beauty: MIG Ritual Cleansing Bar; MIG Lotion Bar; MIG Black Berry Leaf Serum

All products are entirely handcrafted in Colorado Springs, and MIG is the first Clean Living Movement to give proper perspective to beauty by serving the needs of both the body and soul. MIG also donates a portion of salesto help end child trafficking.

Moving a successful company into a new business model is fraught with risk and unknowns. Would long-time customers stay? Would sales stagnate? Would the company attract enough core representatives to get the proverbial ball rolling?

Additionally, a pivot to social selling touches all aspects of a business and adds layers of complexity that were not a factor before. As an example, MIG independent representatives must be compliant with numerous Federal regulations, such as statements about earnings and products. MIG also had to devise a “duplication model,” or in other words a system the representatives could follow to market the products and the company on social networks and in person.

Of course, the “in person” aspect was severely hampered due to COVID-19 even before MIG started its social selling soft launch. While social media fills the gap in some ways, this kind of business model tends to emphasize in-person connections between the company and reps, and reps and customers. MIG has leveraged Zoom meetings, of course, but COVID has made it more challenging to establish culture and unity. The only in-person opportunity since the pivot has been the October event.

With this in mind, the results against first-year goals are impressive. From Jaime Cross at the top, down through her team and out to Ambassadors in the field, MIG has been able to mobilize, organize, educate and motivate an eager influx of sales reps.

-Corporate Facebook and Instagram accounts represents MIG’s down-to-earth, nature-first brand.
-The Holiday Guide PDF shows the inviting, approachable brand personality MIG strives for and how Jaime Cross is visible and genuinely welcoming to all.
-The company website provides thorough details about products, the company, and the social selling opportunity.
-Forbes featured Jaime Cross in an article last fall.