Hello! I'm Melissa,
a Marketing Communication & Social Media Management Specialist.
Marketing Communications
Social Media Management
Business Writing
Administrative Assistance
Does this sound familiar?
You’re struggling to keep up
You could handle a few Facebook posts, a single email newsletter, an occasional blog post. But combined you just can’t keep up with everything that needs doing, it’s frustrating!
You're not sure how to engage with your audience virtually.
Over the phone, in person – you are a rockstar! But with social media and email marketing you struggle to find the right tone to connect.
You don’t know if all of it is even working.
What kind of return on investment are you getting on the hours you’ve put in on parts of the business you don’t enjoy or think you’re good at?
You have also become increasingly aware that in order to run a sustainable business, you can’t do all the things.
Here's a little more about me...
I am a business owner, a professional communicator, a marketing expert, and an educator.
My freelance career started in college when I typed papers for other students late at night in the computer center (and threw in some light editing and proofreading for free). Back then I also spent summers working as a legal secretary, and when I moved to New York after college I got a job as an administrative assistant at Newsweek International. Fun fact: you could still smoke at your desk then (it was literally the last gasp of this custom).
Fast forward a few years and I worked my way up the marketing ranks in the magazine and cable TV businesses, and found a niche doing communications work for faith-based organizations.
After I had kids I started my own business as a birth professional and worked as a labor assistant, postpartum doula, and Lamaze-Certified Childbirth Educator to balance with raising a family.
These days I live with my husband, two mostly-grown kids, and a pit bull named Latrice in the suburbs of Chicago, the best place to be! In my free time I love meeting people for coffee or bubble tea, celebrating my new knees with long walks, enjoying fresh air, and staring at my phone (I’m an avid user of FB/IG/Twitter and like to keep up). I’m a big reader and do the PopSugar Reading Challenge with a group of friends every year, am a so-so crafter but like keeping my hands busy, and spend more time than I’d like wrestling my big lawn into organic submission.
30+
Years Marketing Experience
16
Years Small Business Owner
110
WPM Typing Speed
24
Hour Response Time
32
Books Read So Far This Year
My Secret Weapons Include:
Empathetic and Professional Writing
I excel at speaking directly to target audiences, using the specific voice and personality of your business. I understand and encourage consistent branding, can develop a friendly and informative message that fits, and will make sure everything is on point.
ADHD
Being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult explained a lot! With multiple diagnoses in my brilliant, creative family, I’ve spent years researching and trying lots of different ways to make things simple and stay organized. And what’s good about ADHD? I’m glad you asked! According to Medical News Today, the benefits I bring with me to work include hyperfocus, resilience, creativity, conversational skills and humanity, spontaneity and courage, and high energy. #Truth
Gen-X
I could go on about the massive coolness of Generation X, but business-wise I’ve learned so many programs over the course of my career! This girl has used a Selectric Typewriter, a word processor and a program called WordStar, and these days is proficient in Microsoft Office, Google Drive, and fun stuff like Canva and social media. My generation also brings a combination of old-fashioned professionalism with a lifelong ability to go with the flow.
Weird Things I Like
Data entry and managing contacts are tasks many people hate – this kind of tedious work makes me contentedly happy. Moving things from chaos to organization is a favorite chore, and taking boring things off your plate is my specialty.
"Of Course I’m Nice, I’m a Doula!"
I can’t help doing my work this way so this is an added bonus that comes with all of my services! I used to have a bumper sticker that said this and it really is true. Birth workers are:
- Warm and personable
- Calm and collected under pressure
- Understanding of how to work in hectic, high-stress environments
- Excellent providers of support
“Melissa has been an invaluable resource to me as a business owner. She is available for me to ask questions to, lends objective-based advice for me to follow and is an empathetic ear when I need one as an entrepreneur. Her social media expertise is fluid and adaptive, exactly what I struggle to keep up with.”
-Lisa Zimmerman, Business Owner