We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melinda Peter a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Melinda, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I often say businesses are birthed out of a business owner’s personal experience. To say the least that I was terrible with money was an understatement. When I received my first couple of pay cheques, I would be spending it all, until one day I realised I needed to budget. I lacked the skills to manage money, so I decided it was time for me to become responsible.

I landed a job at an offshore bank which exposed me to the world of investments and market movements. I saw firsthand how the financial crisis back in 2008 affected many, because of their decision making due their lack of information they had. I thought to myself that if I could train people to manage their money better, I could make this into a business.

On March 1, 2012, I moved into entrepreneurship where I started my accounting business Astrape Finance helping small businesses. The part I loved the most was carrying out training sessions and imparting wisdom to entrepreneurs as it relates to managing their business finances. But I also tried teaching financial literacy under this same brand. I realised that it was time for a distinction and separation. That meant this would be the set up of another business.

Money Matters with Melinda was born. I felt very strongly there needed to a person sharing on personal finance topics and sharing their personal money journey as well. Under that brand I was able to share on a concept I coined Financial Leadership where you give your money Purpose via goal setting and Direction via budgeting.

I then sensed there was something else missing to myself personally. A sense of identity and brand visibility. This gave birth to ImageUP By Melinda where I encourage people to embrace their unique identity and create their unique style.

Amidst all of the success I was experiencing, my personal life took a sudden turn. Divorce came.

As an entrepreneur while grieving the loss of my marriage, I had to figure out what my new life was going to look like. What that meant was I had to pick up the pieces and rebuild again. This gave birth to the name of my group of companies, The MPire. Where I conceptualised lifestyle solutions that mpowered me to reign in life. The 3W Method helped me Know My Worth, Love My Work and Grow My Wealth.

I am now walking in the identity of a serial entrepreneur, because I see there are different ways I could add value to many lives.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Melinda Peter. Born and raised in Barbados. I am of dual Caribbean heritage. My dad is from Dominica and my mother is from Barbados. I am the eldest daughter, first of four children.

I always had a keen interest in being an entrepreneur. I got my badge for Knitting at Brownies. We learned how to create purses using the knitting we made. I thought it would be a great business idea and put a for sale sign outside of my parent’s house. I hope folks didn’t think the house was for sale.

I have an Associate Degree in Computer Studies and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Management. I landed my first job at a law firm as an Accounts Officer. That was the beginning of my 20 year career in the financial services industry.

Going into finance was not my first choice. Having struggled with subtraction while growing up, I thought I should pursue IT as that peaked my interest. The intention was to land a job in the IT field, but I was redirected otherwise.

When introduced to Quickbooks I saw how my exposure to the different apps and programming languages had me poised and ready to dive into the world of finance. I no longer felt intimidated by numbers.

I’ve taken a particular interest in early child education. I created a colouring book, Lampy the Lighthouse: Earning and Spending, which teaches children how to manage their money. The concept of Earning and Spending is explained and there is a child friendly budget template easy for your child to use. Our money mascot Lampy takes your children on a colouring adventure: https://linktr.ee/lampylightstheway

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

I started my company with $0. So, I opted to do it bootstrap. What that meant was, I used the money I earned in sales and reinvested it into my business. I invested in my company logo and business cards. I invested in networking events to begin building my network. I acquired a laptop using hire purchase and managed to purchase a filing cabinet using cash. These initial investments are what helped me begin as an entrepreneur.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When I first started my business, I started with a blog. I was very shy in the beginning and felt more comfortable writing than talking to people. I then was invited to write articles in a few magasines.

Being green in business, I understood if I wanted to get my name out there and let people know what I had to offer, it meant I had to meet people and begin building my network. I stepped out of my comfort zone and began networking. Eventually it led to a few speaking engagements. Which led to my hosting webinars. I held personal finance workshops online. Hosting in person didn’t work and I thought making them shorter, would cater to people’s attention spans.

Eventually a door opened for me to be on Morning Barbados, where I spoke on various topics on personal finance. Outside of having a LinkedIn profile, I decided to venture deeper into social media. I opened an instagram account for the Money Matters with Melinda brand where I share tips, videos and lives.

If you are looking to build your social media presence, be open to collaborations. Someone may invite you to speak on a live for example about your particular area of expertise. This gives both parties mileage and more eyes on their social media pages. If you are shy like I am, don’t be afraid to let your voice be heard. I wasn’t a natural born public speaker, but with time and lots of practice I’ve grown comfortable with it. This still doesn’t mean I don’t get nervous.

Figure out your niche, and just begin sharing solutions you have found for yourself, that you would like to share with others. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just simply share and remember being consistent is key.

There are also social media accounts that are faceless. You don’t have to feel pressured to show your face. If you’re not comfortable with the camera, hire someone who could be the face of your brand.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moneymatterswithmelinda
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melindabelle/