About Melanie

I was shy growing up but quickly learned to be more assertive and outgoing after landing a job in retail working as a “fragrance rep” at age 16.

It was terrifying at first, but ultimately it helped me build a little thicker skin. I figured out the best way to approach people, which phrases actually got them to stop, and most importantly: how to get over a fear of rejection.

I didn’t mind my job, but quickly realized this was not going to work for me forever. That became crystal clear for me when my boss forced me to beg for time off to meet my future husband’s family.

Right then, I vowed to never have to ask for permission to live my life ever again.

This was the inspiration I needed to find a way to earn a living while still owning my life and possessing the control to live my life as I saw fit. This experience clarified my needs and wants about how I choose to run my life, and even though it was years in the future, this decision was the first step towards my #workfromwherever lifestyle and goals -- and the sweet smell of success.

I learned that, for me, the control to live my life the way I saw fit was vital to the life I wanted to live. Although I didn't know it at the time, it was one of my first lessons in the Art of Entrepreneurship: live your life by design.

“Your inspirational messaging on staying true to YOU and your brand has enabled me to create a memorable, successful online business.” Sue B. Zimmerman, suebzimmerman.com

The summer of my Sophomore year Devin and I decided to start a Greek apparel company (even though neither one of us were in a sorority or fraternity). Inspiration struck when we noticed how much Devin’s sister was spending on Greek apparel ― and started making sweatshirts in our garage after class.

The learning curve was steep. After a year, things still weren’t working. We were struggling to consistently get orders, and we were $40,000 in debt from the cost of marketing and materials. We made one last effort to make things work by turning to online marketing. And it worked.

We started getting orders from all over the country. We set up our computer to make a “cha-ching!” noise every time we received a sale. It felt so cool to be at home making dinner and hearing “cha-ching” even when we weren’t out there “selling” or at our shop.

It got us addicted to online business, and within three years, we scaled to become one of the largest Greek apparel companies in the country.

Learning to properly leverage online marketing was game changer for our business, and I have come to believe the same is true for almost any business. A solid foundation in online marketing will allow you to scale your business in ways traditional marketing never could.

“After going through Melanie’s programs, I now have two successful online businesses. My husband has learned how to ramp up the business he owns and is excited about it! The best part is he now works from home! We have increased our income every year since we started Melanie's programs. This year we are on track to double our income.” Natalie Hixon, Strive for Progress

Devin and I set a BIG goal to move to New York City. I wanted to be surrounded by a different energy, more creativity and a higher level of ambition. But it didn’t make sense to move the business there, so we decided to figure out what we would need to do to run the business remotely.

For a year we hired and trained and put systems into place that would remove us from the day-to-day operations. We even stopped coming into the office ― little by little. We went from spending all day, every day in the office to spending more and more time working from home (or wherever!) until we were only going into the office to check in once or twice a week.

It was fascinating to see how empowering our employees helped them step up and start to handle things that (by default) they used to come to us for.

Stepping back from the day-to-day operations of our business opened us up to have more vision for growing and innovating, instead of staying mired in the minutiae of operations.

We moved to NYC and on the eve of my 25th birthday, and I wondered what the heck was I doing? Such a big and scary leap to move across the country from my friends, family and business…

But it ended up being the 2nd best decision that I ever made (second to marrying Mr. Duncan - that is).

“You taught me that I actually CAN work from wherever. And that has been what I've been working towards this year. Building a dream team that will allow me to have the freedom to work from wherever. Melanie, you've changed my entire view of being a business woman.” Michelle Castro, Bliss Stamped Jewelry

Because I had figured out that online marketing was the way to go with my own businesses, I started attending a lot of online marketing conferences and meeting people who were selling information products online.

I saw so many people bragging about how much money they were making teaching other people how to start businesses online, but they didn’t even have any experience themselves starting “real” businesses. I found this very upsetting and in my opinion, many of these people were not qualified to be teaching on the topics they were teaching.

I felt protective of the people who were being mislead and possibly learning from unqualified sources.

That’s when I had my biggest AHA moment. I realized that more than anything, I was being called to help people build successful businesses so that they too could taste the sweet success that I had worked so hard to achieve.

As I reviewed my decision, it appeared as though this is what I had been made for.
· I understood and was fascinated by psychology and human behavior.
· I had an extensive background in selling.
· I had actually started multiple successful 7 figure businesses in a wide variety of industries.

I turned my passions and experiences into what I wish I'd had when I first started: unique online training to help people push past the million dollar mark and find success in their businesses. I believe that you must constantly be improving your skills, so I made it a focus to grow my skills in the area of creating online trainings in order to create my third business. Passion + Skills + Innovation = A thriving business.