Jaimie: Well, my guest today is Melissa J. Scott, and Melissa is not your average marketing person. She talks about rockstar confidence, self belief, self love, personal branding, and connection, and delivers the message with humour, real life examples, and depth. Now, currently working in her own boutique agency called 25 years, Melissa has seen every marketing Fad come and go and has learned that one thing never goes out of style and that is human to human connection and authentic likability.
She works tirelessly to bring out the best in her clients so they have the confidence to be themselves in their marketing and sales and in their life. Now, Melissa's life experience as a working single mother, a widower, and now a content creator for brands will connect with your audience on a personal level through her vast experience, honest storytelling, and inspiring lessons to encourage them to be the best version of themselves and to connect to their own passion and purpose to win more business and increase sales organically.
Melissa, welcome to Pitch Perfect.
Melissa: Hello. So nice to see you here.
Jaimie: Now, for those of you who are listening to this podcast, Melissa is joining me today from her caravan. Tell me about why you're in a caravan, where you are and why you're in it.
Melissa: How long have you got? Seriously. So it's a funny story and it started at the beginning, like all good stories.
It started a little while ago. I've always threatened to leave Sydney horrible winters. Every winter I say that's it next winter. I'm moving out of Sydney for three or four months and I'm going to just move north. And of course that's. Pretty impossible. You know, I've got a business to run. I've got, um, a family, they're grown up boys, but still, you know, I have responsibilities, but this year I really made it happen.
And it's such a lovely linking with my business because I can't afford to just take off for months and not run my business. And, um, Some of you might know, I have a marketing and branding agency, which I've been running for 25 years, but I also have some online programs. And the one that I'm really passionate and doing at the moment is a content creator club, which is all about creating content for your business and for your personal brand to pitch you as the leader of your business.
And so that is exactly what I'm doing right now. I am working with an old client of mine. I've had this client for a very long time, MDC campers and caravans. They're based out of Queensland. They are huge advocates of creating content authentically by using people, um, within their company and, or people that are advocates of their brand like myself, and I am flying the flag for solo women travellers.
And they've given me, this is, I'm actually in a loaner, so this is their little caravan. It's a 10 foot, I'll give them a plug. It's the XD10E. It's a very small little caravan, which I tow at the back of my ute. And I am travelling around Queensland. I was travelling for two weeks with them to the Birdsville Bash.
And now I'm on my own travelling through outback Queensland up to the north. Going to do Cape York soon. And I am working as I go. So I'm set up with my Starlink and I holiday and I create content for them. Which is very centric around female, um, entrepreneurial type women like myself who are working on the road, but also still want to have some fun and are independent don't happen to have a partner that wants to travel with them.
So rather than miss out doing it on their own and. That is what has led me to sitting in a caravan in Mount Isa, talking to you.
Jaimie: I love that. You know, I've been watching your socials and you are just glowing. You are beaming. You can tell you are loving life. Speaking of partners. Um, I met you in Uluru last year while I was a newbie, we're in the same, um, we're in her empire builder with Tina tower.
And you were up on stage telling your story and you shared something very, um, real, very tragic, which has happened to you in your life. You lost your husband six years ago. Do you want to tell me a little bit about that? And, um, you know, cause I just see you and you can just tell you you're loving life and you're embracing every moment.
What has that been like for you that journey? And is that kind of why you are now just. You know, savouring every moment in life and realising life is so short.
Melissa: Yeah. Oh my God. Thank you for asking that question. And I've got no weirdness around speaking about the topic. I know some people, and it's, yeah, it was, yeah, of course it was like the shittest day of my life and a very, it's been actually a slow time to heal.
And I didn't even realise at the time it has been a very slow time to heal. And part of this trip is the healing of that experience of having the rug pulled out from underneath you and losing your husband or losing your partner. But you know what I also lost? I lost my future. Um, my future dreams and my future goals, because I had wrapped everything, even though I've always run my own business, been very financially independent and look like I have my shit together all the time and have raised my boy.
Um, it is, it, it, it threw me so big time when I lost. Tim and I lost myself for a period of time. So big part of our life before he died was he actually worked for MDC camper trailers. He was their national sales manager. That's how I know this company. Yeah. That's the whole association. That's why it's just such a massive full circle.
And the last time we went camping together, one of the last times we actually came out to Birdsville together and did this. Exact sort of trip together out to Birdsville. So it's kind of like me now. Doing it on my own is kind of like a bit of a coming home, but also stepping into, finally just stepping into my own shoes and my own power and my own, my own self, which is what people, when you lose someone, and this can happen to people from divorce too, or you know anything, when you feel like you've had a great loss, you lose yourself and you don't know who you are.
And even though it looks like you know who you are. You deep, deep down inside, you don't. So part of this trip and being on my own and stuff is all about, um, finding myself again and, and getting out of my comfort zone and really stepping into my own power, but as I do creating content the whole time, you know, talking to people like you, having my own podcast and sharing the story, because I think a lot of people can relate to it.
Like I said, it's not just about, it could be a divorce. It could be losing a parent. It could be, you know. Just losing another person in your, in your, in your life that can put you in this place where you don't feel like yourself anymore. Could be losing a business, you know, loss is lost. Um, and so I really want to normalise that and talk about it, but talk about the healing, focus on the healing.
Jaimie: Yeah. But I mean, look, I know so many people who've lost their partners, their children, their parents, you know, that's inevitable in life, you know, um, but not all of them pick themselves up. Not all of them, you know, end up in bracing life and treasuring life. And you really are have this contagious positive energy.
What do you think is the difference between people who, and you never get over it. If you lose a loved one, you're never going to get over it. My, my best friend, a couple of years ago to a brain tumour. And I'll never get over that. Uh, let alone his mom will never get over that. He's just left so many of us behind.
What is the difference between someone like yourself who could either just sink down into this deep depression or. The alternative, what you've done is just really embrace life. You're now travelling, having an absolute ball, you're singing in bands, you're living your great life, running this successful business.
What do you think is, is the difference? Is it a mindset shift or is it not that simple?
Melissa: Hmm. Great question. Well, I went through a divorce years. So Steve was my second husband. So I went through a divorce and that kind of, I think I started the. Personal development journey back then, and it was really about not being a victim.
And, and the most beautiful thing is I have got three sons who, you know, when this, when every time a tragedy is kind of happening in our life, they turn to me and I'm here. I'm here. And I made a decision in myself from a very young age that, um, I will. The best version that I can be of myself, no matter what, and man, I've been challenged and put to the test on that belief, you can only keep believing that and I, and I do, I do believe that life is good.
It's a privilege. We're alive. I did say to people when Steve died. Some people really wanted me to go down that. I got criticised for not going down that journey of the grieving widow. And, um, like I agree, but I grieved my way in my own time privately. I didn't make it my story. I never wanted to be identified as Melissa, the grieving widow.
Can't, can't go on through life again. I didn't play that role. I was invited to a widow's group, which I kindly, um, declined because I don't identify as that I'm, I'm still me. I'm still an individual and I'm still alive. And I'm, when he died, I was 45 years old. That's a little bit young to be hanging out.
Yeah. And just saying. I'm done now. Like, you know, there's so much and I'm 52 now. I just did a body sculpting competition last year. Wow. Yeah. And I just feel I did lose, to be honest, I lost myself more in my marriage because I am a codependent type person and I love the guts out of my partner. And, um, and I made my life.
All about him. And so when he died, it was really tough. So I'm actually now utilising this time in finding myself and, and. Not losing myself again in any more relationships or any other things. And it's been a six year journey of finding myself. And I guess that's been what my passion and commitment has been about, but I also, it's very motivated about being a wonderful role model for my children, but that's actually now changing to, they're grown up men, men, and I can't be codependent on them.
So now I sort of like see my purpose as helping other people, men and women who feel like they've lost something and that they want to find themselves again. And I really want to shine the light on help people how to do that.
Jaimie: Yeah, that's amazing. So, I mean, you've got so much to offer other humans, you know, you just, I just meet people like you and I think, gosh, I feel so just grateful to be in your, your aura, you know, if that's the right term, cause I just, I love, you see, I'm always looking at all your stuff.
Um, and I just think, wow, this woman is incredible. And you really have had a great life, you know, you've been 25 years in business. You've been a graphic designer, a website designer, a social media manager, a blogger. I think you were a video producer to speaker, um, marketing coach 5 years. You would have seen a lot of change.
I mean, social media wasn't around 25 years ago. I mean, back then that I think it was the business who had the biggest. Advertising budget won the work. Um, can you tell me about that journey and what you've sort of seen from when, you know, marketing back then was cold calling or even dropping into a workplace unannounced to now where you're, um, you know, online social media is really where it's at.
Melissa: Oh my God, that's my favourite topic. Thank you for leading into that because I came out of uni learning. We just, I was so lucky. We just learned how to do graphic design on computers, but I went into an agency and we had designers in there who couldn't use computers. And so they made a conscious choice.
There were many graphic designers that didn't. There was two, two camps, one that was going to learn and one that didn't want to learn and guess where the ones that didn't want to learn are now they're certainly not in the profession, you know? So I've had to just roll with it my life. We didn't even have email, let alone the internet.
Like we used to have to print things out and courier them or drive them to clients. I, [00:10:00] I was so grateful. I had my first boss saw some potential in me in my mid twenties. And she said to me, cause I was at the bottom of the pecking order when I went into that job. And she said, And I was just getting all the shit work, shit, shit, shit work.
And she said, whatever clients you can bring in Melissa, you can get their business and I'll give you one day a week where I'll pay you to get new clients. And Oh my God, if you could just bottle up that tenacity that you have in yourself, that, you know, now I'm 52 back then I was probably 25, 26 when she said that to me.
I. Just took to cold calling like a duck to water. I just had my yellow pages out. I chose all these clients. I bought in Weight Watchers, Daryl Lee chocolates.
Jaimie: That's a contradiction, isn't it? Weight Watchers and Daryl Lee. They cancel each other out.
Melissa: I was just bringing in all these clients and she had to stand true to her word and let me, let me do the work for them with their major accounts.
It was pretty funny. So I just had the tenacity. I just think. All my life, it's been beautiful, it must have been the way I was raised, I just have always believed that I can, and why not me? This has been the phrase all the time, so even when Steve died, a girlfriend said to me, why you? Why did it happen to you?
And I said to her then, well, why not me? Why, why, why wouldn't it happen to me? It could happen to anybody, so why not me? And then. Get on with it. Like, don't, don't wallow in the why me. Ask yourself why not me. Yep. It's shit. It happened. Now I'm going to make the most of however I can make the most of it.
And it wasn't as easy as it sounds. I, you know, I make it sound easy. It wasn't easy. It's still not easy. I pulled into Birdsville. Um, a week ago we were in convoy in this little caravan and the craziest thing happened. Um, we, you know, you're listening to music all along and then I was just about to turn off the engine and Bird's Will is kind of like where we did our, like I said, the big trip together.
And then this song came over my playlist. It was Jimi Hendrix, Purple Haze, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, na, na, na, na. And I lost it because that was the song that we chose for Steve to lead him into his funeral. And, um, . It was a big moment and, um, yeah, I'm just trying to hold it together for a second. I lost it for a minute, but it was beautiful because he was there, he was there, you know, so I could have made that story.
Fuck, this is, fuck, why, you know, why isn't he here? But I didn't, I I, I turned to my friends 'cause they're just going, what the hell just happened? And I said, listen to this song. And I play and then, and then I, and then I turned it into, He is here, not in his body, but he's here and he's saying to me, you're here, you made it here.
You know, it's an easy mindset, isn't it? It's just the way you, you look at things and we are the only people that can turn around how we view things that are happening for us. You can go to all the psychologists in the world, you can go to all the coaches in the world. If you don't believe something to be true, it will never be true.
It will never come true for you. You can wish the shit out of something, but if you don't believe, and you know, I'm getting passionate when I start swearing.
Jaimie: That's a rather explicit warning on the podcast. It's okay.
Melissa: You can be, but I don't really care. But, um, Yeah, that's self belief is everything. So now in my marketing business, a big part of what I'm teaching, and that's my point of difference is I call myself a connection and confidence coach, because I realised that I was out there writing all these beautiful marketing reports for people and beautiful strategies and action, you know, content, action plans and teaching people how to do content.
But if people don't believe that they actually have the right to stand up and represent their brand or, or speak. You know, we're Australians, I don't know what kind of audience you've got, but probably a big Australian audience. So the tall poppy syndrome is real. And what I have done, I do video confidence training now with clients.
I've got one client who gets up on a stand. He's a, um, in the insolvency space. He can bring a company down to its knees, but when he had to make a video to promote. His business recently, I had to coach him through that because he was fearful about what his peers would say about him, any particular one peer.
And it was like, like this 40 year old man reverted back to being kind of a, um, Not scared, but just a very self conscious young boy. And that is, you know, so self belief, positive mindset, having a strong mindset, having the why not me mindset, all of this goes hand in hand with running a successful business these days.
Because as you know, it's what you do in your business. You can't fake it. People can sense. It's. Like a mile away.
Jaimie: Absolutely. And I think that there's a less, gosh, there's so many lessons for our, if you're listening to this right now, whether you're an entrepreneur or you're just middle manager. But I think for myself, when I've come from a background where I was almost oppressed, you know, in the, in the, as a politician and in the military, I couldn't really be my true authentic self.
And the minute I put that aside and thought, I'm just going to show up. As I am going to make a fool of myself. I don't care what people think that's on my business really skyrocketed. And I think, um, so often we hold back in showing up online because we're worried about what people will think. And people do think, you know, I had my first, a lot of critics when I first started doing reels, my friends would say, Oh, you like an idiot.
And it's those kinds of comments.
Melissa: Yeah. Sorry, because you come from a serious background. They have the perception of you and you're changing that. I love your reels. Your reels are hilarious.
Jaimie: Thank you. I love doing them, but it was challenging in the beginning because even my partner's friends, they were saying to him, does Jamie realise how stupid she looks?
And I think, you know, and I want to put that out there because. It will happen. I think that's what is holding a lot of people back from being worried about what people are going to say, particularly our friends, our friends aren't going to buy from us. They're not necessarily our clients. Um, and so, you know, storytelling behind the scenes, just documenting what you're doing in your day, which you do really well.
Do you think how much of a role does storytelling play? You're a content creating specialist. How important are stories when it comes to, um, sort of creating content, would you say? I think more and more it's
Melissa: everything. It's, it's, you know, it's just what I find in my experience. God, I've worked with so many different businesses.
I think it's given now that people expect if you're in business, you've been running for a few years, you're all right. You're good at what you do. They expect you to be good at what you do, but we keep trying to convince people that we're good at what we do by, you know, telling them nonstop. Stop and, and, you know, trying to write all these clever articles and clever, you know, just make, just be smart.
You know what I mean? Like you would see it from the professional speaking. Well, people just speaking too much from their head and not from their heart. But the second somebody drops into their heart space, it actually starts telling a story about how they connected with a client or a customer or whatever it is that you're doing and how you changed a life and the impact that you actually had on them.
And tell a story that actually might bring a tea to somebody's eyes, be real. That's, that's when you get traction. So everybody that I follow, I follow a lot of people. online and their stories. It's always when they tell personal stories. That's when I take, that's when I take notice, you know, that's when I care.
I don't, I love seeing when you drop in your, your great, a great example, like you'll drop in photos of your husband and your children and you're on holidays, the good stories and the bad stories, some of them are hilarious. And I can relate to that. I had little kids once. And same when you're at the gym, you'll show photos of you deadlifting and how proud you are of, you know, when you hit a new.
That's the stuff I remember. Yeah. You do the tips and tricks and all that and they're great and I'll go and reference them and I've joined your, um, your PR club. I've joined that. Yeah, you are. Yeah. All right. But I think I've probably joined it if you really get down to it, it's because I relate to you and I like you and I've only met you once in person, but I like you online.
That's so interesting. Yeah. So I like, if I like you online, then it's like, Oh, if, if somebody said, do you know her, I'd call you a friend and we met once and we don't message, we don't private messaging, carry on with each other yet. We will. Um, you know what I mean? Like, so when I meet people, that's when I know my marketing has worked.
They'll ring or they'll make contact or something will happen or their message or their email, but they already feel like we're a friend and we already, we just get down to it. And that's sharing stories.
Jaimie: That's what I love. I love this message so much. You know why I love it because all the social media gurus out there will not all of them, but many of them will say, don't show photos of yourself at the gym.
Don't show photos of your family. Don't show photos of your food. And I think you're right. When I do a deadlifting reel or I do a. Story talking about what a hard morning I've had with kids and daycare drop off. Um, that's what people relate to and people buy from people and it's building up that, that no like and trust factor.
So I love how you say that because I encourage people to show up warts and all, and just document what's happening in their life at that moment. And it works.
Melissa: Well, you think about it like we're just human beings, but we're just basic people wired for connection and we come from tribes like I really observed a lot.
I was travelling in convoy for the last two weeks with the MDC owners group. So these people don't. They're not employed by MDC, the caravan company that I'm travelling with. It is run by a bunch of owners who have created a community online. They have a private Facebook group, again, nothing to do with the company with 10, 000 people in that group.
And then 80 cars. Turned up to drive out and convoy to go to the Birdsville, big red bash, which is in the centre of Australia. So we're not, which was 700 bucks a ticket per person. So we're not talking about something easy just up the road and that many people turned up in this community to travel together because they want to feel connected to something and they've connected through a product Which NBC sell through a group that has got nothing to do with making any money from it.
If that doesn't tell you that people are hardwired for connection and nothing will like we, so in our businesses, and this is kind of where I'm moving into now with my client is helping people build communities around their brands. Because when you build a community of people that have got, they, they obviously use your services to buy your products, whatever it is that you've got, but they're actually there because they love you and they love the people around you and that you have introduced them to and they can be with around you and you have nailed.
Uh, you know, the golden pot, whatever you want to call it, or, or, you know, your business, your industry, and have a lot of longevity, you know, nailing community is where it's at these days.
Jaimie: Yeah. And people underestimate that. I underestimated it in the fact that I didn't even want to have a Facebook group for my PR club.
Um, and it's, it's great because even though it's for, it's for time poor business owners, so people don't have a lot of time to.
I want to put the link to your website in the show notes here, um, because your website is one of the best websites I've seen in a long time. And there's so much there. I love it. And I'm just looking at it now. Actually there's, uh, I love this part where you talk about my life and business values. Check it out.
It'll be in the show notes here on Spotify, Google, or Apple podcast. However, you're listening to this, but when you scroll down onto the, uh, Melissa's life and business values, there's so many great things here, um, about imposter syndrome and being authentic, but there's one here I want to ask you about, because I totally resonate with this and it's.
Abundance. And specifically you say on your website, I believe there is always enough for everybody, enough clients, enough work, enough money, our resources and results are unlimited. Tell me about that because not everyone agrees with that or not. Everyone sort of follows that mentality in their business.
They're very competitive. And they, you know, keep everything to themselves and don't have that abundance mentality. Tell me about it from your experience.
Melissa: Oh, yeah. No, thanks for asking that question because I didn't always use to think that. So I've trained myself to think that way because I really, um, believe in the power of the universe.
I don't believe, I think that nothing is a coincidence. I think our conversation today, it's not a coincidence. I think me meeting you is not, I think everything that happens in our life, just like me pulling up. At the birds will sign and Steve song coming over the that's not a coincidence. Nothing's a coincidence.
So it's the same with abundance. It's, um, if that's another universal law of the universe, you know, is that if you give you will receive and that there is. So much for everybody. And the more that you give, therefore, the more that you receive and the more gratitude that you show, the more that will come back to you of that.
It's the energy that you put out there and the way that you will attract it back to you. So if you have an abundance mindset and I love to help, so I love to help people. So you are abundant in your mindset around the content that you share. And I try to be abundant as well. I will give away so many tips and tricks and know, and just.
Pure, just straight out, you know, stuff that people go, Oh, that's your IP. That's your, you know, your stuff that, you know, and it's like, but I happily share it because I know that what people really want of the right fit for me is they want me to teach them personally how to do it, whether it's through a course or whether it's in person.
I have so much trust and faith in that. And I don't care if there's. 50 people to one person, like 50 people take the free information and one person becomes a client. I don't care because there's 8 billion people on the planet. So I feel like that if you do the math and I'm pathetic at math, it'll all work out.
Okay. Like there is. You know, I love to help other business owners. I love to refer to other business people because then they refer, you know, referring is a really great example. Um, it's, it's a law of reciprocity and we're going back to these universal laws is that if you actually do something really a kind thing for somebody, they will fall over themselves to try and repay that favour to you.
And they want to do that. You know, so again, this is just this abundance mindset that is that there's so much there for everybody. If I can help you. You'll chances are you'll want to help me back. I don't have to ask you just will and just believe in it. And so that's abundance. It's just, it's just a mindset, isn't it?
You know, and it's, it's an every part of your life, money, love clients, you know, free camping trips, caravans, like, you know, that, that, that it just. You know, I believed that that could happen. And it did. I also picked up a free, just through using, utilising contacts that I have.
I asked one bloke who is an adventurer. I said, how do you get your trips paid for? You know, cause he travels all around the world, climbing mountains and doing crazy things. And he said, I have sponsors and I write content. And I, and I, you know, and so he gave me one of his leads and now I am an official writer for caravan world. I have. 12 columns that I'm writing, which I'm getting paid for.
And they want to do a feature article on me all around self belief and what I'm doing out here as a solo traveller. And, you know, and that it's a little bit of the law of abundance because I just believed it's self belief. I believe that that opportunity was out there and I just put it out there, made the contacts and then it happened like it just.
Yeah. It comes back to belief. Have to believe.
Jaimie: Yeah. I love that. You are not a typical marketing coach. That's for sure. I think, you know, you've been sound to your, I'd say on your website, I think of you as a part champion for small and medium sized business owners, part empathetic healer and part motivational cheerleader for you, your company and your personal brand.
That is so true. So if people want to work with you, how can they do it?
Melissa: Oh, so there's multiple ways, of course, um, I have got the content creator club, which is a monthly fee. How to be a monthly fee to come into that. And that's like weekly sessions that we do where it's just really around content creation. That is great for a small business owner or great for, I've got a couple of people in there that are marketing managers for companies and, you know, A lot of people to do their marketing.
So it's the perfect way to get introduced to how to do marketing and content creation. I also have my rockstar personal branding, um, Academy, which comes out twice a year, which will be coming out. I don't know when I'm going to launch that again. I'm very. I'm very, I'm not as tight with my schedules as many people are.
I am quite energetic. So I'll do it. I feel like the timing is right. And I feel like September is looking good. So that'll probably come out in September, but then the other way to work with me is one on one, which I really love doing. I, Um, have got a lot of clients that I work one on one and we can be just doing a marketing strategy together and a content plan together.
Or I can also do coaching for you as well, which can be three months, six months, or 12 months. And then I still have my graphic design agency. So I still do, um, build websites, design logos, brochures, anything that kind of markets a company. And I do, one thing I am doing, which is part of the marketing coaching, which I'd like like to talk about is I am helping people with their self belief.
I actually have learned how to do energetic clearings, which is all about your subconscious things that are holding you back your, um, the, the, um, imposter syndrome, that thing that holds you right back. I have actually learned a couple of different methods of how to actually clear that in your subconscious.
Some people find that very woo woo, but for the people that I have done it with, particularly around presenting on camera has helped them tremendously. And I've got some testimonials on my website that I can share if you go and check that out. So it's melissajscott.com. There's a crap load of information there that you can take on and, um, and be part of my world.
Jaimie: And as I said, we will put that, I'll put that link to the show notes so you can check out Melissa, Melissa's website. It is really a great website. If you want to see an example of what to do when it comes to websites, check out Melissa's website. Melissa, thank you so much for coming on to Pitch Perfect.
You are an absolute inspiration. I've got a little bit teary there, happy tears. I'm just listening to you speak and I think I can take a leaf out of your book about just the way you look at life. And, um, it really is contagious. Thank you for sharing your, your, um, words of inspiration on today's podcast.
Melissa: Oh, you're so welcome. It's an absolute pleasure. And I love being in your world too. And, um, what you do for business owners is magnificent. Thank you.
Jaimie: Thank you.
