We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melanie Rae. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melanie below.
Melanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.
We have always lived in an influencer economy. Those who are known are trusted even if they are dubious in nature. Celebrity athletes are tapped to sell cereal. Actors beyond their prime time sell insurance and financial services to their generation. Influence breeds trust which fuels interest which leads to sales.
I wish I were a 2010 influencer. 13 years of sharing my life story would equate to millions of followers now. At least thousands.
That was the year that a mentor told me to document my travels as I crisscrossed the United States meeting with entrepreneur educators to sell my GUIDED Business Plan™ book. I created my version of the traveling gnome – an avatar of myself – and took pictures in multiple states excited about the opportunity for book sales.
Unfortunately I was and still am social network shy.
The quick answer for those who are skimming this article looking for start-up advice is to get known by sharing. You can start today and in 6 months have thousands of followers if you know the formula…which is to post consistently and add value.
For those intrigued by why I’m still social network shy…let me share some context.
I am a trainer. I can learn a software package and teach it to adult students the next day. After months of teaching Microsoft Office products and similar ones, I earned a mastery level certificate. Software training was replaced business planning writing after I wrote a series of GUIDED Business Plan™ book that could take someone from starting their business to scaling it to becoming a government supplier. While public speaking may be the greatest fear for some, I would be quite comfortable rising my seat to stand-in for a speaker caught in traffic to teach something along the lines of business strategies.
I can do amazing impromptu when it comes to helping business owners communicate their value whether it’s in a Capability Statement or 60-Sec Intro video script. Because I have trained thousands directly and indirectly through my GUIDED Business Plan™ books, I’m familiar with a variety of business models and most of all, their business goals.
But that comfort doesn’t translate to the internet. At least it didn’t. My transformation has been getting comfortable with uncomfortable. So my advice is to share publicly which is what I’m on the path to do. From my travels (spending a month at a time in Panama, Eritrea, Spain, Dominican Republic, etc.) to designing astonishingly creative milestone birthday celebrations for family members to testimonials from business owners who have experienced a my BEFORE + AFTER business transformation, I have a lot to share.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a trust translator. In business circles it means that I help brands, diverse vendors and small businesses translate the value of their products/services into words that build trust with customers. I design custom training programs to help entities convert these words into Capability Statements, proposals, marketing text and other documents required by government contracts and large corporate buyers.
I have directly and indirectly coached more than 15,000 business owners through the GUIDED Business Plan™ training platform I created that includes 10 book editions and classroom training materials. My entrepreneur education programs have been sponsored by Walgreens, T-Mobile, Google, Comcast and US Small Business Administration resource partners to name a few. McDonalds sponsored the YWCA USA to host our 6-week GUIDED Business Plan™ course for 350 people at 14 YWCA locations.
I am facilitator, trainer, writer, designer, presenter, strategist and most of all a connector specializing in connecting small businesses to growth opportunities by helping them prepare a proposal toolkit to become a government and corporate contractor.
In November 2023 I officially launched Plan with Peers to build out small group training and mentoring programs to provide “info + intros™” to advance economic equality.
One of the things I’m most proud about is that I had a vision in 2010 to collaborate with others to create a path for someone unemployed to start a business and then grow to work with corporations. At that time I had written the first edition of my book and designed a highly-effective 3-hour workshop. In 2018 I realized that I had written those books and created the workshops and train-the-trainer packages, out of order, that is now a guided path to empower others. I’m elated when I meet one of those 10,000+ business owners who graduated from a course utilizing my books.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
You never know what’s going on behind someone’s eyes. In 2015 I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer. I had already committed to hosting a 2-month business plan course for women veterans. We met on Saturday mornings which was when the effects of the chemo would wear off. I didn’t tell them that I was undergoing treatment until the last day of the class. My mom or my sister would come with me in case I was too tired to drive. I continued because I would arrive barely able to stand and leave with so much energy from the impact we were creating. Ideas were blossoming. Connections forged. I’m still friends with a few of the women I met because of WOVEN – women veteran entrepreneur network…the affinity group I nurtured for years. One of the most memorable comments was “thank you for putting a spotlight on us.” Women veterans need that spotlight for many reasons so I encourage anyone reading this to consider them when thinking of ways to support.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
One of my favorite marketing stories is how the relationship with my 10-plus year client, the WBDC in Chicago, started. I was sending out cold call emails and someone actually responded. She was the only one I think. Sometimes all it takes is one. I pulled over as quickly as I could and went on to have a sales meeting call in the parking lot of a dog park. That was before it was common to conduct business on the road. She and I remain in contact even though she retired from the organization years ago. That’s why it’s so important for me to create partner-friend-ships!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.guided-academy.com | www.guidedplans.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/guidedbusiness
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/625301119292228
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanieraegbp/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/guidedbusiness
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/guidedbusinessplan
- Other: www.voicesofesg.com
- http://www.planwithpeers.com/