Why Being The Best Is Not Enough If Nobody Knows Your Story Episode #75

Samuel: Hey world, welcome back to another awesome episode of Be Inspired Podcast where we're inspiring you to live the abundant life you deserve. So I have another awesome guest on the line. Her name is Melinda Jackson. And before we get into it, what if the reason people aren't noticing you isn't because you're not good enough? But because you haven't learned how to tell your story, think about it. There are people with incredible businesses who nobody knows exist. People with life-changing ideas who are afraid to speak. People who have survived things that could inspire thousands. But they're never told their story. And then there are people who aren't necessarily the best at what they do, but they learn how to communicate their values. So here's the question. Is success about being the best or being seen? Heard and remember today we're talking about visibility, storytelling, PR, personal branding, and the courage it takes to put yourself out there. Because sometimes the next level of your business isn't another strategy, it's finding your voice and having the courage to use it. So let's get into it. We have Melinda Jackson here, and she traveled all the way from California, Los Angeles with only $500 and no. job. she spent seven years working there with some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, then came to came home to North Carolina and built her own agency. That's MJPR in reality. And 17 years into this career she's a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning publicist who's owned Agency picked up three awards this year, including a place in the inaugural V200 class visionaries. She's also founded the Rally Female Founders, which is now more than a thousand women strong. She's here to talk about how to get press when you can't afford a publicist. So let's get into it, Melinda. So wow, you traveled all the way from Los Angeles with only $500. What What got into your mind and what made you just make the decision to just jump ship and go?

Melinda: Yeah. So I feel like when I was in college, publicists were on all the T V shows and they looked so glamorous. So you have to think like Sex of the City and the Hills and Entourage, there were all these entertainment publicists and they were the ones that were getting stuff done. and then, you know, Scandal, Olivia Pope, she's a publicist. And I was like, I think I could do this, like I wanna do this. And my parents had given my brother and I a restaurant. For us to run once we graduated college. And I was like, I don't want to do that. I don't want to smell like fried chicken every day when I come home from work. Like, I'm good. So they said if I rejected that and I moved to California, then they would cut me completely off. So they did. So I was like, I don't care. I'm moving to California. So I moved there with like $500, some gift cards from Christmas. And like one paycheck on the way. I had no job. I knew no one, but I just knew that California was where I was meant to be and it it worked. I mean, I was able to be there for seven years.

Samuel: what kind of thought process went into leaving? Because that's a whole big change and knowing that you're gonna get caught off with nothing left, what how did you get through the the thought process and the belief in yourself?

Melinda: I think the thing that saved me was that I was 22 years old and I didn't know any better. I was just like, it'll

Samuel: Mm-hmm.

Melinda: be okay. Everything's fine. And so I just left, you know. I packed everything I could in my car and I just left. now I would have done things completely differently at 39, but really what saved me was being young and dumb, truly, and just knowing that it's what I wanted to do and what I felt like I needed to do. And I think I still think it's what I needed to do.

Samuel: Yeah. Looking back at that decision, and saying that you would have done it differently, w was that a move of confidence or just a act of desperation?

Melinda: I think it was a mixture of both, probably. I

Samuel: Yeah.

Melinda: always say I just had this like blind faith in myself. but I just I needed to get out, I needed my own life. my town was 4,000 people and everyone knew me. and I went to college in my town. And so this was the first time I was ever able to be myself. And you know, there were people I went to kindergarten with that I graduated college with. And I wanted to be around people who did not care who I was and they were just worried about themselves and I wanted to be a part of something bigger. So it was it was wonderful.

Samuel: Okay. So you work multiple jobs and internships and eventually experience burned out. When did ab ambition stop feeling exciting and start costing you something?

Melinda: my gosh. so I had been at my agency for about five years. And so when I first moved to Los Angeles, I could not get a full time job. I was doing everything I could to try to get something and I was working so many jobs and it was just that like head down and hustle mentality. And then I finally got hired on an agency and agency life you're working, you know, twelve hour days. So I was working In my office, normal office hours nine to six, and then I had to go to an event after work, or I'd have to go to red carpet with a client or something like that. Or I would have to wake up super early to work for clients that were on the East Coast because it was a three hour time difference. So that just finally took a toll on me. And I I thought that it was just the job, the place that I was working. And so I got another job, and that was ten times worse. And I finally realized something had to change when I was like going into work and I just could not keep food down and my whole nervous system, my body was just like shaky and I couldn't think straight and I couldn't sleep and I was always terrified of something going wrong. I I was having really, really bad anxiety and really, really bad depression. And at that point I realized like I cannot keep living this life.

Samuel: Wow. So experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression, that must have been really tough because those

Melinda: Yeah.

Samuel: are two of the most normal things that people experience a lot in life.

Melinda: Mm. Yeah. It w it was hard, you know, going into work and just being terrified of messing up at any moment. But at that point I was so burned out that all I was doing was messing up because I couldn't think straight. So it was kind of a catch twenty two. It was really hard. and that that job that I thought was my dream job, I I was I was in a really horrible situation and I kept going to HR and talking to them about it and finally they were like, Look, like we know that you have documentation that that things are not going right in your department, but also your boss just doesn't want you here anymore. So it was like a mutual let go and I think that truly saved my life of being forced out of a situation that was no longer working. Because I think so many of us, especially as women, we try to force situations, we try to make it right. We try to force it to work. And it wasn't working anymore.

Samuel: So being that you were able to get a mutual let go, what would you tell somebody that is in a job right now that experiencing what you've experienced, the depression, the the the burnout, the anxiety attacks and not feeling fulfilled, what would you tell somebody like that?

Melinda: Try to find a life outside of work and also remember that, you know, for a lot of time a lot of people, you're just a number. Like you are replaceable. So you should not be giving your whole life to your work. And I have to tell myself this too, like with clients, but opposite, like I can replace them. Like, you know, I can replace them. If they are horrible, I can replace them. So it's it's kind of the same. you know, just make sure you put those boundaries in place. And You know, I think a lot of times when we got hired at a job, we want to do everything we can to make it work and everything we can to be the best we can be. And that's normal, that's normal ambition, but you have to put some of those boundaries in place. Can you take your your work email off your phone? Can you take Slack or whatever else off of your phone? Can you just have it on your laptop or your iPad? Is there a way where you can set that boundary where you're not answering emails once you get home? How can you separate home from work? For me, sadly, as a a founder, I can't. I kind of have to work 247, especially in PR because something can always go wrong and I have clients all over the world. but just try to figure out what those boundaries are for you. And then if you are experiencing burnout, what can light you up? it does journaling help every morning? Can it can your morning routine help you? For so many years. I had a really great morning routine, but I'm at a point in my life where that makes me even more stressed out. So I just lay in bed and watch TV before work and that makes it a lot easier on me right now. I can't get up and and work out at six thirty in the morning, but I can lay there with my dog and watch TV and that's what's lighting me up right now.

Samuel: what did it teach you about the difference between being driven and being consumed?

Melinda: my gosh, I think my drive got me consumed. And I think it still does. it's easy to get caught up in it and to just be like, okay, if I just work a little harder, I they're gonna notice and I'm gonna get paid more. And if I just keep pushing, like everything is gonna work. And that's not the case a lot of the time. So you have to give yourself a little grace.

Samuel: Yeah. Taking a step back, especially now in hustle culture, you say

Melinda: Yes.

Samuel: it's hustle, hustle, get it done, you know, but knowing that you could do less and still make more. And it doesn't

Melinda: Mm-hmm.

Samuel: have to be a constant hustle, you know.

Melinda: Yeah, and I'm still telling myself that. I st I tell myself all the time, like, more hours does not equal more money for me because I bill my clients a monthly retainer. So I could work on something for two hours and have a month worth of results and I don't have to work on it anymore. Or I could work twelve hours and have those same results. It just depends. So like it's not gonna necessarily make me the same amount of money. So I need to I need to like really figure out what my own balance is. And, you know, staying up all night long and working doesn't always fit my life.

Samuel: Right. So you say every client has a story worth telling. How do you find a story when the person sitting across from you doesn't think they have one?

Melinda: my gosh, that happens all the time. So I primarily have female founder clients or women who have just like really great stories and are authors or thought leaders in their area. And women never want to tell their own story. They think no one cares. But if you repeat it back to them as someone else, they're gonna be like, my God, that's an amazing story. Yeah, it's you. So I try to give them the confidence that people are gonna care. And even though you don't feel like no one anyone's gonna care. If we tell it, it can help someone. So we have to reframe it. Like the more vulnerable you are, the better and the more you can touch more people and the more people you can help. So I always say like you do yourself a disservice when you don't tell your story.

Samuel: So all the people, what is the constant fear that you come across that women are afraid of? You know, what is the biggest thing that you find in so many women?

Melinda: that people are gonna think that they're a failure, that people are gonna laugh at them or throw it back in their face at some point. You know, I've I've had women who have like had bankruptcy or had like really terrible circumstances with their spouse or whatever, and they've overcome them. So it's like not being afraid of telling that the bad parts because the good parts come with that and just consistently reminding them, you know, you're gonna help people. I know it's scary. You're gonna help people. And normally like if once you remind a woman like that, they get a little more fired up. They're like, I do wanna help people. I wanna help everyone I can. It's like, okay, so stop being afraid.

Samuel: Nice. So why are we sometimes able to see everyone else's greatness and before we're able to see our own?

Melinda: my gosh, we're too close to it. You know, that's what I always tell my clients. You're too close to it. Before we got on this call, I was on another call and I was listening to a friend. She's not even a client. She just started a company with her family. And she's telling me all this stuff and I'm like, girl, you're too close to this. You're you gotta zoom out. You gotta zoom out and look at it from a different standpoint and stop worrying so much. Like people want what you have to offer. Just zoom out a little bit.

Samuel: Yeah, can't see the picture while you're in the frame kind of mindset.

Melinda: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Samuel: Okay. Well, what's the difference between bragging about yourself and then com confidently communicating your value? Because I know a lot of people think that they're bragging when they tell their story. So how do you differentiate

Melinda: Yeah, and

Samuel: that?

Melinda: yeah, that's another thing that comes up with a lot of women. It's like, I don't want to brag that I made seven figures. I don't want to brag this, that, and the other. Again, who cares? I always say, look, white men do it all day. They they like they if they can do it, we can do it. White man audacity of I'm trademarking that. like if if a subpar white man can do it, you, a wonderful, brilliant woman, can go out there and talk about yourself confidently. So I think when it comes to messaging and doing interviews and things like that, you're not going out there and saying, Screw all you guys, you're stupid. I'm better than you. You're not saying that. You're saying like, look, I'm this normal person and this is how I achieve greatness and I want to be visible so I can help you feel like you can go and be great as well.

Samuel: Yeah. Okay. Yeah, 'cause a lot of people experience that, you know, they feel like they're bragging about themselves, but hey look, it's okay you you help somebody with that story, you know?

Melinda: Exactly.

Samuel: Okay. What's the biggest fear you've seen entrepreneurs experience when it's time to put themselves out there?

Melinda: gosh, especially for women, they don't like how they look. I had a client who requested to never be on camera, but what she offered, she would be wonderful for, you know, local TV. She she had a a really great business that was hyperlocal to her area. And she really would have excelled being being on the morning news in her area, but she refused to go on camera. And I'm like, girl. They're not gonna run this. Like, and this was during COVID when everybody was just doing Zoom. So a lot of women just don't like how they look and they don't like how they look on camera. a lot of women or men in general, people in general, are afraid to do an interview because they're afraid they're just gonna black out and just like sound ridiculous. So it's really

Samuel: Yeah.

Melinda: important in those situations that we really prepare all their talking points and they know them forwards and backwards. So they can go and speak eloquently about what they have to talk about. a lot of people also are afraid that the interview is gonna come up with some like gotcha questions. And it's like, no, the the they don't wanna do that. You know, this is not like Fox News. They don't wanna do that. They they want you to be a resource for their viewers. That's why you're here. So they're not gonna try to ask you some crazy thing about like how you got a drinking ticket in college. Like they don't care.

Samuel: Yeah. Wow. And then digging up the past, you know, some people go through that. well, what if they dig too deep in my past, you know? Nah.

Melinda: Yeah. We'll we will be Olivia Pope. We will handle it when it happens.

Samuel: Nice. So what happens when the world finally starts paying attention? Are entrepreneurs actually prepared for the visibility they're asking for? What do you think it?

Melinda: Hopefully. I've definitely had that's a question I have to ask because I've had people before, especially if they have like a product or something that's limited, I have to say, Okay, well, what do we do when you sell out? Or what do we do when you get so many clients that you're at capacity? How do we handle that then? How are we gonna pivot the strategy? So some people can handle it and some people can't and that's okay. And then if they can't handle it, we just stop working together. Or we pivot and and figure out something that makes them a little bit more comfortable.

Samuel: Okay. So in those situations, either to pivot, what are some things you've learned from those experiences, whether you had to help them gain the confidence or you had to pivot what are some things that you learned from those experiences.

Melinda: Yeah. I like to prepare myself for those things ahead of time because like at this point, almost 20 years in, I can figure out if s if I'm gonna have a hard time with someone. So I always like to have those two to three things in my back pocket that we might have to pivot to quickly. Either the messaging isn't working, they're not excited about it, something's not happening here. we gotta figure out a way to pivot. But then on the flip side of that, sometimes things are working so well that we never even have to touch the rest of it. And that's okay. but we have to know that that might be an option.

Samuel: Yeah. Have you ever worked with someone who was ready for more visibility before they were emotionally ready for more attention?

Melinda: Yes. And again, it's a lot of the women. They're just like, my God, I did all these podcasts. I watched it. I look stupid. I sounded stupid. I don't know what to do. Then I watch it and listen and I'm like, you are perfect. You are wonderful. Like, calm down. Just don't watch them. I tell my clients this all the time. Do not watch it. And don't let your husband watch it. Or don't let your mom watch it. Your mom is always gonna tell you you did something wrong. Do not let anyone do

Samuel: Mm-hmm.

Melinda: it. Like post it and and share it on LinkedIn, but Don't analyze yourself because you will pick it apart and you're never gonna wanna do an interview again.

Samuel: Okay. What's something you can teach someone about their brand just by watching how they introduce themselves?

Melinda: my gosh. Okay, so I feel like the biggest thing is people don't know how to describe their brand succinctly. They'll go into like a whole paragraph and they're like, okay, well, I do this and I do this and then I do this and then we also do this. Okay, that's too much. You need like one to two sentences, you need your elevator pitch. And that's kind of my like superpower, I think. I can figure out very quickly what makes sense for someone. And I think a lot of people too, they'll try to have all these big words in it. Or they try to sound super specialized and it's like, no, your elevator pitch is supposed to be for everyone to understand. You have to really dumb it down. Think about how would I describe what I do to a little kid.

Samuel: Yeah.

Melinda: so yeah, I think the the biggest issue is people just like they're s again, they're so close to it. They try to have this big answer to describe what they do when they just need something simple.

Samuel: Yeah. Okay. So keep it simple, make it simple and don't com over complicate your messaging.

Melinda: Exactly. Exactly. So what I always say, like my my elevator pitch is I'm Melinda Jackson, founder of Melinda Jackson Public Relations. We're a boutique PR agency that specializes in helping female founders get visibility through podcasts and speaking engagements. Honestly, that's kind of the long version. I have an even shorter one that I can say. Sometimes I'll just say I'm Melinda Jackson, Grammy and Emmy award winning publicist, and I help women get visibility and grow their businesses through press. Done. Like, you know, it really just depends. But most people can figure out what I mean when I say that. I had a client the other day I was on a call with and they were like, Well, I do this and I do this and I do this and then also, but what about this? And I'm like, Girl, let the website explain all that stuff. Like, we don't need it right now.

Samuel: Okay, so just narrowing it down for them and finding that one simple thing. You may do a number of different things but one specific thing in your elevator pitch to help you get the clients or pique the interest.

Melinda: Exactly. Yeah. And then, like I said, if they want more information, they can go to your social media. They can go to your website. They can figure it out there. But you don't need to tell someone your life story when you first meet them. You just need that elevator pitch.

Samuel: So knowing everything that you've experienced, what is the difference between someone that's being visible versus being memorable?

Melinda: my gosh. everybody can be visible. Everybody can't be memorable. You know, what's the quote? Like, you don't remember you remember how people made you feel. you don't remember what they did, but how they made you feel. I'm sorry, Maya Angelou, I just butchered that. But it's it's true, you know. You you're gonna remember how somebody made you feel. You're not gonna remember all these these things that someone said in their elevator pitch. You're gonna remember like the charisma. You're gonna remember that. They are they have this thing that could really help you or they were super inspiring to you. That's that's what helps. Everybody's visible. Everybody has a platform. Social media has helped us with that. But how do you figure out your niche so that people remember you? People remember me because I'm loud and I don't BS and I don't gatekeep and I just wanna help everybody. That's that's why I'm memorable. There's a million other publicists out there, but they're not as visible as me because they're not as memorable.

Samuel: tell me a little bit about like getting into publication, right? So when someone gets featured in a major publication, what should actually happen next?

Melinda: Yeah, so you have to merchandise that. So, you know, post about it on your LinkedIn, send it out in your newsletter, post it on your social media. You have to beat people over the head and let them know that you were in this publication. Then in three months, post something on LinkedIn. Throw back to when I was in People magazine and we talked about X, Y, and Z. You know, use it when things are topical, that are coming up in the news that you can relate back to it, even if it was three years ago. Hey Throwback to three years ago when I spoke with this editor about this topic, it's clearly still, you know, in the news, however you want to phrase it.

Samuel: Yeah.

Melinda: but you have to just make sure you use it for your own marketing because people are gonna forget.

Samuel: What's the difference between publicity that looks impressive and publicity that actually moves a business forward?

Melinda: Yeah. So everybody can get into Forbes. It's not that hard and and a lot of people pay to be in Forbes. but sometimes the thing that moves the needle is your local TV station. Sometimes the thing that moves the needle is this blog post where somebody mentions seeing you at a talk and it really moved them and they had takeaways, you know. the bigger the better is not the case here. Sometimes it's the smaller things that really can make the biggest impact. So I had a friend who, which is kind of the opposite, I had a friend who their brand you know, got all this press. She was actually a publicist, so she was doing all this PR. She got all this local press, sold nothing. She pitched and pitched and pitched, could not get picked up. Then they like randomly got picked up by someone in the New York Times who had just started following them on social media and just saw what they were doing. And They just started interacting with her on social and was just like, Hey, your dog's cute, you know, whatever. This woman ended up making a big order from them and then she wrote about them in the New York Times. And that day they sold a year's worth of products in one day. And they never pitched her. She just found them, you know? So you never know where it's gonna come from, but you can't discount anything.

Samuel: Pay attention to like just everything you experience, you know? Share your message until until that one person that would help you get to the next level finds you.

Melinda: That's right. Yeah.

Samuel: Okay. What's more valuable being famous or being trusted?

Melinda: my god, trusted. Trusted. have you seen some of these famous people? I've worked with a lot of famous people. You would rather be trusted.

Samuel: So tell us a little bit about like your experience. You have s a number of years dealing with a lot of professionals. So tell us a little bit about what are some of the things you see and some of the pitfalls that you experience.

Melinda: I think the biggest thing that comes up for me is that people think PR is gonna save their business and it's not. PR does not necessarily mean that you're gonna make money that day. It really is a long game. PR stands for public relations, and so it's how are you relating to the public, how are you investing in the public, how does the public perceive you? And that takes a while, you know? So PR is truly an investment that's long term and it's not gonna make you a millionaire. But it is gonna shape how people feel about you and how people invest in your brand. If your brand is just a person, if your brand is like a CPG or something like that, a product. it's truly an investment and you you just want to create this warm and fuzzy environment. So people are always coming back to you.

Samuel: Okay. When did you personally realize that your voice had value, not just professionally, but personally?

Melinda: my gosh. I think it's something I started coming into as I've had my own company for the last almost eight years now. when I was at my last agency, so I moved back to North Carolina and I was working at an agency and I hated it. And they just would not listen to anything I said. They did not respect me. It was just toxic. And I had a couple of people reach out to ask if I would do any freelance work. And I was like, Yeah, sure. And my agency didn't care if anyone did freelance work because they knew that their freelance clients probably were not gonna pay enough anyway. So it's not like it was taking business away. So once people started suggesting me for freelance stuff, I was like, my gosh, like I think I can do this. And then it's just taken off since there. And I I realized, my gosh, like people trust me and they think I'm smart. And so that's all I needed. So that's helped me in my thought leadership. That's helped me in business. We're pretty much 100% referrals right now, which is amazing. I don't do all these sales funnels. I don't do all these things that they try to tell you to do. People just come to us. God sends me people, the universe sends me people, people find me. I don't know. But I think that is just like the biggest blessing for me is like, my gosh, people trust me and they trust me enough to refer someone to me.

Samuel: So I know a lot of marketing talks about building funnels and having how did you build that referral based thing where people are coming to you versus having to do the sales process?

Melinda: my gosh, I don't know. Like when I tell you I don't know, like I I don't know how I started my company. I really don't. Like I I got two freelance clients and I realized, my gosh, that's enough money to pay my bills. So regardless, my rent is paid if I quit this job. And so then I told them, like, hey, if I quit, I can still freelance for you until you hire somebody else. And they're like, okay. Within three months, I was able to like cover my whole salary with other freelance clients. So then I could quit there. So as a freelancer. So all I did was post on LinkedIn and Facebook and was like, hey, if anybody knows any like people that need PR right now, I'm freelancing, send them my way. And I had every intention of just getting another job. But then it just kept happening. And and that that's just it. So literally all I did was post. And it's just, it's been like that ever since.

Samuel: So looking back on your journey, like you up and left to California and now you're saying that, hey, you just you got two freelance jobs and you just end up putting in your resignation and just never turning back. How was those two experiences for you knowing that you always take the jump, you know? Somebody's afraid to jump, what would you tell them?

Melinda: you have to trust yourself. You have to trust your gut. Your gut's never gonna lie to you. I think I have pretty strong intuition. And in both of those situations, my parents were telling me, Don't do it, don't do it, you know, stay where you're at. moving to California, like, don't move to California, stay here. When I try to quit my job, don't do it, whatever. They were just trying to protect me because I'm their child, but I didn't listen to them. And I listened to myself. I trusted myself enough to know. that I could do it no matter what. And if I couldn't do it, I would figure out something. So now, however many years later, I try to remind myself like, I I need to find that Melinda again. I I need to stop being afraid of things. I think I've gotten a little complacent. It's like, what does that look like now for me? Like what's my next big jump that I need to do? what on I need to not be afraid of.

Samuel: Yeah. And so many people are afraid to take that jump, you know, they're still in there on the edge just wondering like, should I make the business? Should I quit the job? But just just fear is just crippling for them.

Melinda: so in my Raleigh Female Founder group, I have so many women that have side hustles or are trying to start a side hustle and they're afraid and they don't know what to do. And I'm always like, just freaking try. Like I always tell my interns, if you have a chance to move somewhere, even if it's for a year, move. Like just try. You can always go back. You can always go back to your job. You you always go back to where you're from. But just try, make that jump because if it doesn't work, it's okay. You st you still have a safety net.

Samuel: Yeah. What's the story about yourself that you had to stop believing before you could step into the next version of your life?

Melinda: my gosh. That's a good question. I'm I probably need to talk through that in therapy. I think I think for me when I was in LA, it was a lot of you're just this girl from North Carolina. a lot of people would make fun of my accent. A lot of people would think I was stupid because I'm from the South, or they would think I'm like super Republican or racist or something like that just because I have an accent. It's like, no, you don't know me at all. Like, I just because I have an accent doesn't mean anything. I'm educated. I'm I love everybody. I'm excited of everybody. so I think for a long time that was an insecurity for me there. and I think now I really compare myself to other founders, other female founders, because right now the narrative that is being placed on us is that, you know, you have to make seven figures to be successful. You have to scale and sell your business and blah, blah, blah, blah. But at the end of the day, I had to zoom out and be like, I don't need a million dollars. Most people

Samuel: Yeah.

Melinda: don't need a million dollars. Like, what does that look? What does the number look like that I am so happy and comfortable and all my bills are paid and I'm saving and I'm also going on vacation and I'm buying whatever I want. What does that number look like? As long as I hit that number, that's all that matters. And if I don't hit that number, okay. Well, as long as my bills are taken care of, it's okay. So I figured out like, okay, if I make like X amount of dollars a month, that's all I gotta do. So when I have those low moments, I'm like, I hit that. I hit that base number, I'm okay. I'm taken care of. We're good. Anything else is a blessing. So that's that's kind of the thing that I'm fighting right now.

Samuel: I think it also does has something to do a little bit with success and defining what does success mean to you, you know, 'cause you

Melinda: Mm-hmm.

Samuel: may have been chasing the million dollars but you don't really need it, you know? So I think is

Melinda: Exactly. And I posted I posted that on my Instagram today. I posted this video I got at the beach and over at I said success is subjective. And that's something I tell my women all the time. It does not matter if you made five dollars in profit, that is a profit. Don't let anybody else tell you that that's not successful. That's successful. If you

Samuel: Yeah.

Melinda: if you had to pivot and something wasn't working, that pivot is success because you realize something wasn't working and you pivoted. And you figured it out or you're like, Hey, I recognize this isn't working. I'm not gonna do it anymore. That's still success. That's not failure.

Samuel: Yeah. so talking about failure, what fail what what failure changed you more than any success ever could?

Melinda: my gosh. so this is something I don't talk about a lot. And I'm not gonna get into all the details. And it's it's not it's not like big T trauma to anybody, but it really shook me to my core. So when I first moved to LA, I was working for an events agency part-time, and they did events in LA and we were trying to do me and one of the other girls that work there, we w wanted to do an event at a music festival. And we planned everything out. We had all the research done. We presented it to our bosses and they were like, Yeah, let's do it. And then at the last minute, the bosses backed out. So me and the girl were like, Actually, we can just do it. So I planned everything for this event. I went on with it for this music festival. I got flights and I got hotels and everything. And then the girl that was supposed to do it with me backed out. So then it was all on me. And I refused to give up. And again, I was like twenty three. And And nothing was working and I refused to give up. My mom flew out and she tried to help me with it. And it was all just a huge, huge failure. And it's one of those things that haunts me to this day, like however many years later. And I don't know why it's so silly, but one of the vendors, like I had to pay for the venue, so I paid for the venue. It was like two thousand dollars. Again, I was twenty-three, I was making ten dollars an hour in LA. Like I was making no money, and one of the vendors pulled their check. after I had already deposited it. So they did like a reverse, whatever. So it made my account go like negative three thousand dollars, which at the time was catastrophic for me. My bank account was overdrafted thousands of dollars for like six months. I couldn't even use that bank account. I had to get a whole other bank account so I could actually use my money because anything that would go into that bank account would just go back into that negative balance to pay that off. And it took me a long time to pay it off. I mean I say six months, it could have taken me a year. I'm not sure. But that failure haunts me to this day. And it's a reason why I won't go to that music festival. I won't plan these large scale events by myself. Even my happy hours that I throw for my women, I do them at my office and it's no frills and I don't I don't plan anything because I still have that like anxiety and trauma in the back that Everything's gonna fall apart because I don't know what I'm doing and I'm gonna lose all my money.

Samuel: Yeah. Wow. Yeah, that's that that's hard, you know, coming back from a three thousand dollar hole and now you still years later have that to deal with, you know, just trying to manage that. So that's hard to deal with and it's good that you were able to get out of it, you know.

Melinda: Yeah. Yeah. And it was hard. And that was a time when I was working like four part time jobs and I wasn't making over ten dollars an hour. And I ha e everything in LA was expensive and I had to pay rent and my bills. And so that was that was really, really hard. And now looking back, I'm just like, Melinda, like I wish I could have helped you. Like, you know, or I wish like someone would have told me to stop, you know, but no one did. No one

Samuel: Yeah.

Melinda: did.

Samuel: Yeah, and I mean, you just need that one person, that one mentor to guide you in those moments

Melinda: Yeah.

Samuel: when you're trying to push but you could know it's a a dead end, you know. That's one of those moments

Melinda: Yeah.

Samuel: where you need to pivot.

Melinda: Exactly. And see, that's probably why now I'm connecting it. That maybe that's why I am so vocal to my clients. Like, you've got to pivot, you gotta pivot. Like there all the red flags were there. And I I was too dumb to know. And so now I think I'm a little bit more conservative in a lot of the things that I do in terms of business because of that and because I still have that fear. But now honestly, I have enough experience and I know enough people, I could I could do whatever I wanted and and Try, you know, it's not gonna hurt anything. I'm not gonna fail.

Samuel: Yeah. Now I I know you said that that's one of the things that you still one of the fears that still kinda stick with you. So would you say w that fear is holding you back from bigger success?

Melinda: Probably to to an extent. So one of the biggest fears that I have about growing my company larger than it is is I don't want to be in charge of someone's livelihood because I am afraid that it could all go away tomorrow and someone might lose their house because of me or someone might lose you know, their benefits because of me. So right now I don't have any full time employees. I have a lot of freelancers that I use and hey, it helps them, it makes them money. I also have an army of interns and I pay every single one of them because I didn't have paid internships. but that's a huge fear that I have is like being in charge of someone's livelihood and s for some reason we magically lose all of our clients and I can't help them.

Samuel: Okay. So what's something that you had to let go to be the entrepreneur that you are today?

Melinda: my gosh. I don't think I've let let go of anything. because I like I work now more than I ever have. I'm not sure. I'm really not sure. That's a good question.

Samuel: Okay. Alright. Yeah, I mean there's some things that happen. it's good that you hold on to that because you know that $3,000 event, you hold on to it so you know not to go back down that path.

Melinda: Mm-hmm.

Samuel: so letting go of some things will allow you to get to a next level. So we'll see what comes up.

Melinda: Yeah.

Samuel: What do you think happens to someone's confidence when they finally see themselves the way you see them?

Melinda: my gosh. I I just see women just glow whenever they, you know, listen to a podcast that they were on and they're like, my God, I was so smart or they see this press hit or like a beautiful picture of them in a magazine. They just glow and they just get so happy and I hope that they hold on to that moment. And I I probably need to have more of those moments my own self.

Samuel: Yeah. Okay. So I got two more questions for you, Melinda. what if someone's listening has spent their entire life waiting to be chosen, waiting for someone to discover them, validate them, invite them into the room. What would you say to that person about choosing themselves?

Melinda: Stop waiting on other people to choose you and go show people that you're worthy of being chosen. And some of that is that you have to feel like you're worthy of being chosen, but fake it till you make it if you have to. But making a small ask of, hey, like I have this brand. I would love to like go on your T V show or I would love to have an interview with you, that's really simple. That's one email and that could open up a whole world. So you have to bet on yourself.

Samuel: Bet on yourself. Don't look for utter outside validation. Nice.

Melinda: Exactly.

Samuel: what's one thing that you thought I may have asked you, but I didn't quite ask you, Melinda?

Melinda: how do people get pressed? Because that's the number one thing people ask me. And the number one thing I say is you have to just ask, like I said, you know, start small. Reach out to your local TV station, your local newspaper, tell them what you're about. Even if you you don't really have your messaging down yet, just say, Hey, I'm Melinda. I do PR. I would love to come on and talk about X, Y, and Z. If you want more information, happy to get on a call, but you can also go to my website. You know, it doesn't have to be super crazy, but just make that ask. And you can literally send it to the info at email address or the news at email address for whatever that news outlet is. because that still goes to a real human that goes to the the news desks a lot of the time. But it never hurts to try. It never hurts to make that ask. And you'll be surprised when people respond. And if they respond negatively, then you know you can pivot your messaging a little bit and try someone else.

Samuel: Okay, alright. One last question. how do you help someone go from I have something to say to I'm willing to say it publicly? What are some steps?

Melinda: my gosh. my gosh. Okay. So one, figure out what your elevator pitch is. You know, what you can say forwards and backwards that if you go on camera and you freak out and your mind goes blank, like what you can repeat, you know? So figure out that elevator pitch, figure out the two to three talking points that reflect whatever you can talk about. Then also just make sure whatever you have is relevant. Everybody's gonna think what they have is relevant, but go on Google and see if people are covering what you actually can talk about that you feel confident in talking about. If no one's covering it, that could be a good sign, but that could also mean that no one cares. so do a little digging, do a little research, look at your competitors, see what they're doing. but just do some investigative journalism yourself to kind of figure some things out.

Samuel: Yeah. Okay. So Melinda, thank you so much for coming on here and sharing your expertise. what are some last minute thoughts that you would give someone that's a new entrepreneur entrepreneur that are trying to get out there for the first time?

Melinda: like said, don't be afraid to ask. Don't be afraid to go to your local news station. Start small and snowball from there. just make that ask. if you have influencers in your wheelhouse, ask them to post for you. ask family and friend to post about you. Ask family and friends if they know a journalist that can that they can refer you to or introduce you to. At the end of the day, you never know until you ask, and people want to help.

Samuel: How can people connect with you say they want to be in they're interested in PR?

Melinda: Yeah, I'm all over the internet, Melinda Jackson PR, PR like public relations, it's my website, it's my social media, it's everything. So Melinda Jackson PR.

Samuel: Awesome. Melinda, thank you so much for coming on the Inspire Podcast. Look forward to seeing everybody on the next episode. If Melinda share anything that resonates with you that you feel like hit a nerve, go ahead and comment below and let's have a conversation below. All right. Until next time, see you guys on Be Inspired Podcast. We're inspiring you to live the abundant life you deserve.