We recently connected with Melanie E. Guzman and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Melanie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My journey into the social media space didn’t start where you might expect. It began in the modeling industry—a career that actually led me to being featured on Canvas Rebel for the previous work I was doing. From the outside, everything looked like it was falling perfectly into place.

But then, everything changed when I gave my life to Christ.

In that moment of surrender, I felt this unmistakable pull—a quiet but persistent voice urging me to walk away from modeling. So I did. I left behind not just the industry, but the entire social media business I’d built around it. It wasn’t easy, but I knew it was what I was being called to do.

For a while, I stepped back completely. I poured that time into something far more valuable: developing my relationship with Christ, learning to hear His voice more clearly, understanding who He created me to be beyond the validation of followers and likes.

Then, after that season of growth and transformation, I felt Him calling me back—not to where I’d been, but to something entirely new. He was redirecting my gifts and experience toward a different purpose: podcasting. That’s how the Redeemed & Renewed Podcast was born.

So when people ask me how I came up with the idea, I’m always honest: I didn’t. This wasn’t my plan or my strategy. God planted this seed in my heart, and He’s the one who’s been watering it ever since. This ministry exists for one reason—to glorify His name.

Melanie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

The Redeemed & Renewed Podcast creates meaningful conversations that go beyond traditional church walls.

We provide a safe, welcoming space where people from all backgrounds can share their testimonies of transformation and explore faith topics often left unaddressed in conventional settings. Each episode is grounded in biblical truth while tackling real-world questions with honesty and grace.

Our mission is simple: to display the transformative love of Jesus Christ through genuine stories and Scripture-based discussion. Whether you’re questioning, seeking, or growing in your faith, we invite you to join the conversation.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Before September 2025, when the podcast became my full-time focus, I was carefully building R&R in the pockets of time I had outside my workdays in the corporate world.

Those three years in corporate America weren’t wasted, though. Looking back now, I can see God’s hand so clearly in it all. I was learning the language of business—how to run operations from the backend, how to manage logistics, and how to turn an idea into something sustainable. My entire role revolved around helping entrepreneurs start and launch their businesses.

Then, at the end of August 2025, everything shifted and I was abruptly terminated.

At first, it felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me. But almost immediately, a peace washed over me—the kind that doesn’t make sense on paper. This wasn’t a setback, this was an answered prayer.

So, I took the leap. I stepped fully into the calling God had placed on my heart and committed to pursuing R&R full-time.

It didn’t happen overnight, though. What you see today was built day by day—sometimes hour by hour—chipping away at it a little bit at a time. And through it all? SO. MUCH. PRAYER. The foundation of this ministry wasn’t laid with perfection or some grand strategy. It was laid with faithfulness, one faithful step after another.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When building out the R&R Podcast on social media, I started with a previous Instagram page I had from a former business. I completely rebranded it and started posting content from there. Our TikTok and YouTube pages were built from scratch.

There were many shifts in the beginning. Although we had an initial following on Instagram, some people unfollowed due to the shift in content. Despite this, we continued to organically create a new community from our platforms.

We started with outreach in our local community and began to build it out from there—discovering our target demographics and strengthening our marketing techniques through weekly analytic tracking. This has helped us reach individuals outside our local community and has given us the opportunity to expand and reach national audiences. Throughout this journey, we have been introduced to new partners who now help us with expansive marketing throughout the country!

One piece of advice for building an organic social media presence: Authenticity and vulnerability is KEY! No matter how much analytic tracking you do, you will never be able to replace human connection. God created you and your gifts uniquely, and no one else can replicate that. Show this in its rawest form, and people will resonate!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redeemedrenewedpod/
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/redeemedrenewedpod
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@redeemedrenewedpod
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@redeemedrenewedpod