In this episode of the Modern Direct Seller Podcast, we chat with Chalisa Hagan, jBloom’s first ever Diamond Executive Director, about what it really takes to lead a big team without stepping away from selling. Chalisa has spent over 22 years in the jewelry space, and today she leads a team of more than 900 while still showing up at her own events. She shares how her view of the business has changed over the years, plus a few of the ways she keeps her team excited to be part of it. If you’re working toward leadership in your own business, this one’s a refreshingly honest look at life at the top.

You can connect with Chalisa and follow her journey on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. And if you’re ready to give your business a home online that belongs to you, claim your free capture and convert homepage from Oh My Hi when you get started today.

Time based notes:

Still Selling at the Top with Chalisa Hagan

When you see a top leader in your company, it’s easy to assume she stopped selling a long time ago and now spends her days leading from behind a laptop. Chalisa Hagan, jBloom’s first ever Diamond Executive Director, does it differently. She leads a team of around 900 and still sets up her own tent at pop-ups, and her story shows what it takes to grow into that kind of leader.

A Party Booked as a Favor

More than 22 years ago, Chalisa was a stay-at-home mom to two-year-old twin boys when she booked a jewelry party to help out her best friend. The party topped $1,000, and the consultant told her she’d be great at the business. Chalisa laughed it off at first. Still, a night out each week and a little extra income sounded pretty good to a one-income family.

That extra income mattered more than she expected. She still remembers getting paid in cash at an event and stopping on the way home to pick up Pull-Ups and formula. Those early years were all about retail. She built a team, but she rarely talked about the opportunity because she worried that new recruits in her town would cut into her own sales.

When One Door Closed

Everything changed when her former company closed its doors at the end of 2020. Chalisa was devastated, but she also saw it as a chance to start over with a new focus. She asked herself what would happen if she shared what she’d built with other women so they could have the same blessing her family had.

When she joined jBloom, she knew she could still sell. This time, though, she put just as much energy into bringing other women along and building something together. That shift has helped her organization grow past $5 million in annual sales.

Leading by Doing

Chalisa has a simple rule for herself. She won’t ask her team to try anything she hasn’t done herself. That’s why she still works PermaLinks pop-ups and vendor events in 95-degree heat, because it’s the only way she can truly relate to a canceled event or a big day of links.

Her week has a steady rhythm. Mondays start with prayer alongside her upper leaders, Tuesdays and Thursdays are set aside for coaching calls her designers book through Calendly, and Wednesday is her day for creating content. She’s also honest that a team this size needs support. An assistant handles office tasks for her somewhere between 20 and 40 hours a month, and her top leaders share responsibility for leading the team.

Boundaries That Protect the Business

Doing it all has its limits, and Chalisa’s company-provided business coach helped her see that. Chalisa used to sit at long events that ran from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, so they started handing the smaller all-day events to newer designers who could use the practice. She also stopped booking events on the first and last day of each month. Those days now belong to recognition, follow-ups, and checking her numbers.

Her favorite way to unplug might surprise you. She heads to the movies with her phone on do not disturb and a cozy blanket, because it’s the one place she can fully check out.

Keeping the Team Excited

Chalisa believes recognition and fun are what keep people around. She builds excitement with teasers before big news and gives away free product to bring people to trainings. Free jewelry drawings once got about 40 designers on a 2:00 AM Zoom right before a launch. Every week, she shouts out her top 10 retailers and top 10 team builders, and many of her leaders now do the same for their own teams. She’s quick to point out that the women recognized there matter just as much, even if they never make the big leaderboard.

Traditions help, too. Her team earns spots at leadership retreats, sends food to the home office during the holidays, and gets a Bloom Crew hat on every rewards trip. Every woman gets a hat no matter which trip level she earned, so nobody is left out of the picture.

Old Rules Worth Letting Go

Chalisa thinks some old team building rules have outlived their usefulness. The idea that you can only recruit people close enough to drive to doesn’t hold up anymore, since social media makes it possible to support a designer on the other side of the country. The old dress code is outdated, too. You don’t need a blazer and heels to be taken seriously, and showing up as yourself is what people connect with now.

She also encourages sellers to share more than feels comfortable. People post about a great slice of carrot cake or a favorite coffee without a second thought, so Chalisa doesn’t see why the business they love should be any different. It took her years to stop worrying about what others thought, and she believes that freedom is a big part of her success.

Where Your Leadership Starts

For anyone hoping to grow into leadership, Chalisa has two pieces of advice. First, work both sides of your business consistently, because retailing and sharing the opportunity move you forward together. Second, write down the name of someone you look up to, reach out to them, and ask what helped them get where they are.

That second step has shaped her own path, since much of what she does comes from mentors she admired along the way.