Podcast Episode: The Maly Method: How a Chili’s server turned her restaurant skills into online business gold

Let me paint you a picture: It’s a random Tuesday, you’re scrolling Instagram, and you see another “I accidentally made a million dollars last year” post. Your bullshit detector goes off immediately, right? You just know something’s not adding up.

But then every once in a while, you find someone who makes you stop scrolling. Someone whose energy is so genuine, whose story is so real, that you can’t help but think “Holy shit, this person is the real deal.”

That’s exactly what happened when I discovered Mally Morgan. And after spending time with her, both online and now on this podcast, I can tell you with complete certainty: she’s not just authentic – she’s proof that you can build something extraordinary starting from absolute zero.

The Chili’s Chronicles: Why Her Background Actually Matters

Mally waited tables at Chili’s for a decade. Not because she couldn’t get another job, but because she made a conscious choice that freedom mattered more than climbing some corporate ladder.

Here’s what she told me: “I decided a very long time ago, I was not into corporate ladders. I’m not into societal expectations at all. It’s not my vibe.”

She wanted control over when and how she earned money so she could put her five kids first. (Yes, you read that right – five kids, four of whom were “birth control babies” as she hilariously puts it.)

But here’s the thing that makes Mally different from every other “I started from nothing” story: She doesn’t see her restaurant experience as something to overcome – she sees it as her secret weapon.

The Skills Transfer That Changed Everything

While most people would look at a decade of waiting tables and think “that has nothing to do with online business,” Mally saw something completely different.

Her exact words: “My communication training was walking up to probably 5,000 different tables and introducing myself as a server… I could tell if somebody needed ranch at a table. You didn’t have to ask me for ranch. I saw my ranch people. I know who you are. I read you.”

Think about that for a second. She spent ten years:

• Reading people instantly
• Anticipating needs before they were voiced
• Managing multiple priorities simultaneously
• Staying calm under pressure
• Making people feel welcome and cared for

These aren’t “just” restaurant skills – these are the exact skills that make someone magnetic online.

The Lightbulb Moment That Started It All

For five years, Mally watched online coaches making millions and wondered “How the hell are people doing this?” But she didn’t just wonder – she investigated.

In 2023, she made her first real investment in online education: $500 for a course called The Roadmap. And this is where her story gets interesting.

She describes the experience like this: “It was an absolute rainbow unicorn experience. Like I’ve never tripped on acid, but I would imagine this is what people feel like when they’re like, colors are talking to me.”

That course didn’t just teach her tactics – it showed her how to connect her existing knowledge to what people were doing online to monetize it. It built the bridge her brain needed.

The Beginner’s Paradox: How She Built Authority from Nothing

Here’s the question everyone wants answered: How do you show up as an authority when you’re a complete beginner?

Mally’s answer might surprise you: “My first goal wasn’t, can I hit X amount of dollars? I was so preoccupied with how fired up I was about this knowledge. My first goal was, I want to mentor 50 women to get this light bulb.”

She wasn’t chasing money – she was chasing connection. She wasn’t trying to be perfect – she was trying to be helpful.

And here’s the key: Her motivation was pure service, not personal gain. That energy is magnetic in a way that “I want to make six figures” energy never will be.

The Three Non-Negotiables for Online Success

When I asked Mally what it really takes to succeed online, she gave me three things that every entrepreneur needs to master:

1. Delusional Belief

“You have to have delusional belief. People who are visionaries are the ones who see actual dreams come to pass.”

This isn’t just positive thinking – this is conviction so strong that no amount of evidence can shake it. When Mally had 100 followers and a goal to mentor 50 women, reality said “that’s not happening.” Delusional belief said “absolutely, I’m still showing up.”

2. Fear as Fuel

“Fear is energy and energy scientifically cannot be destroyed. It can only take different form… I’m gonna see fear as opportunity for me to take this energy and go, what am I gonna put this energy towards?”

Most people let fear stop them. Successful entrepreneurs use fear as rocket fuel. They take that nervous energy and channel it into action toward the thing they’re afraid of.

3. The Willingness to Experiment

“If you’re not willing to pull levers to see when something works, you are not meant for entrepreneurship.”

Mally’s first digital product made zero dollars. Her visual branding guide? Complete flop. But instead of quitting, she asked “What can I do better? How can I serve differently?” Two months later, she launched a course that hit six figures.

The Real Story Behind Her Six-Figure Launch

Let’s talk about that six-figure course launch, because it’s not what you think.

Mally created “Magnetic Messaging” – a two-hour masterclass teaching people how to communicate online. Not some 40-module monster course, not some overly complicated system. Just her teaching what she was naturally good at: talking to people.

The magic wasn’t in the complexity – it was in the clarity.

She took something that felt natural to her (communication) and packaged it in a way that helped other people who struggled with that exact thing. She didn’t try to be everything to everyone. She just got really good at one thing and taught it well.

The Student Success That Proves It All Works

One of Mally’s first students was Allison, a teacher who bought a $50 consultation call when Mally had basically no online credibility.

Allison was trying to sell a $500 course to strangers with no online presence, basically saying “trust me instantly and buy from me.” It wasn’t working.

Here’s what Mally told her: “You’re a teacher. You see things differently than I do. I inspire people – you teach people. Stop trying to be me and start being you.”

Allison ended up creating her own courses, launching her own mentorship, hitting five-figure months, and retiring from teaching. All because someone helped her see that her teaching background wasn’t a limitation – it was her superpower.

The Painful Truth About Online Business Expectations

Here’s where Mally gets real about what’s broken in the online space right now:

“The condition of the online environment right now is reinforcing the wrong patterns of behaviors and responses and expectations that is actually unnurturing entrepreneurs that were otherwise probably designed to do it.”

Translation: All the “make money in your sleep” and “post for two hours a day” messaging is setting people up to fail. When beginners expect instant results and easy money, they quit before they even get started.

Meanwhile, Mally sat in a room with a woman who sells purple dumpsters and makes seven figures. That woman worked for two years with zero profit before breaking through. But nobody told her it should be easier, so she just kept going.

Why Your “Ordinary” Skills Are Actually Extraordinary

Here’s something Mally said that stopped me in my tracks:

“We tend to see [our skills] as trivial, don’t we? Like we just tend to be like, that’s really not a lot. Why am I building something off of that? I’ve built an entire business off of talking. What do you mean? I went to detention for that in high school.”

She’s absolutely right. We dismiss the things that come naturally to us because they don’t feel special. But here’s the truth: The things that feel effortless to you are exactly the things other people will pay to learn.

Mally can predict someone’s steak temperature just by looking at them. That’s not a random skill – that’s pattern recognition, emotional intelligence, and customer service mastery all wrapped up in one.

The Permission You’ve Been Waiting For

If you’re reading this thinking “but I don’t have any special skills” or “I’m not qualified to teach anyone anything,” let me give you the same reality check Mally gives her students:

You don’t need credentials. You need conviction. You don’t need perfection. You need passion. You don’t need a decade of experience. You need desire to help people.

Mally went from zero followers to six figures in 15 months. Not because she was gifted or lucky, but because she had unshakable belief in what she was doing and an genuine desire to help people get the same “lightbulb moment” she had.

The Bottom Line

The online business world is full of people trying to look perfect, sound smart, and appear like they have it all figured out.

Mally’s success proves that authenticity beats perfection every single time. That service beats sales. That your “ordinary” background might actually be your extraordinary advantage.

So stop waiting for permission. Stop looking for the perfect moment. Stop thinking you need more credentials or experience.

If a Chili’s server can build a six-figure business while homeschooling five kids, what’s your excuse?

The opportunity is there. The tools are available. People are waiting for exactly what you have to offer.

The only question is: are you ready to stop making excuses and start making moves?

---

Ready to dive deeper into building your digital empire? Subscribe to Beyond the BS and follow me on Instagram @the_no_bs_newyorker. Ready to follow Mally’s journey? Find her on Instagram @maly_morgan where she shares everything – the wins, the experiments, and yes, even her first attempts at TikTok.

---