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

Melissa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I think we become more risk-averse as we get older. We’d rather stay unhappy in our circumstances than try something new. But I can easily mark all my best moments around risks I’ve taken – whether learning a new sport, traveling to a new country alone, quitting a job when I wasn’t being treated with respect…

Over this past year, I’ve learned that taking risks is important for growth. I was working for a company I had been at for 10 years. I had amazing relationships with the people and my team especially but wasn’t enjoying the work anymore. I was extremely burnt out from all-day Zooms during the pandemic and was struggling to find inspiration in my day to day.

For so long, I was sprinting towards new mile markers I had set for myself and once I reached that final destination, I realized I didn’t care about it anymore. I had a long conversation with my Mom and sister-in-law on a Sunday afternoon as we were all getting ready to head home. As I was sharing my struggles with my job, they both said: “just quit”. It seems obvious now but that hadn’t felt like an option until they said it. It was such a big change, I felt I needed the permission from my inner circle to go for it. I had no plans lined up, no backup job or side hustle.

After I resigned my position, I started working with an Executive Coach, Amanda Baudier, and she very quickly planted the seed that I should start a business. I was craving flexibility, creativity, and autonomy – so many things that are hard to get as an employee in another business. Once I made the decision to go for it, within three weeks I had registered my LLC. Within three months, I won my first client. Within four months, I surpassed my previous monthly salary and within six months, I was running a six-figure business…and I’ve never looked back.

This past year has made me look at risk-taking differently and taught me to embrace change. That if you are unhappy, you have the power to change whatever it is that is holding you back. That taking a risk could be the start of the best adventure of your life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I remember from a young age never wanting to work in a corporate job. I didn’t fit the part. My first job out of college was at an advertising agency. I was always a creative kid and being in that environment with writers, designers, and creators of all kinds was inspiring.

A couple of years later I went on to work at an independent branding agency and loved working in a founder-led business. As a happy accident, I found my way into business development and loved the competitive nature of it. I grew up playing every sport there is so competition was my comfort zone. I was the only person with this role at the agency at the time and fully leaned into the opportunity to make it my own. I learned on the job, went to tons of conferences, and read any books I could get my hands on.

13 years later, I started my business, Waverly Ave Consulting, as a way to get balance back in my life and do the work I enjoy most on my terms. I get hired by independent creative agencies as a Fractional Business Development Partner and Coach. I’ve become extremely passionate about helping agency founders recover from the endless burnout of new business. Since starting my business, I’ve learned that less than 1% of creative agency owners are women – and changing that statistic has become a personal mission of mine.

My business, like me, is always evolving and getting better. But it will always revolve around my strengths and passions.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

There is no one right way to grow your business and I tell my clients that all the time. The strategy that has worked best for me is networking.

When I started my business, I genuinely wanted to connect with female founders to hear their stories and soak up any advice they were willing to share. What I quickly learned is that entrepreneurs are so generous and willing to support other entrepreneurs.

Through those early conversations, I organically created partnerships, friendships, and even clients. I found so much enjoyment from exchanging stories and finding the parallels in our journeys, that I’ve continued to lean into networking as a consistent strategy.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I encountered a lot of toxic behavior during my career in the agency world – manipulation, micromanagement, poor leadership, burnout, secrecy…and working in that environment for so long, I learned to cope with it and participate in it.

When I started my business, I wanted to build a business that would work for me and rejected everything I had learned during my career. Hustle culture was a big one. The idea is that you have to burn yourself out to be respected as a leader. Burnout had a pretty detrimental impact on me – physically, mentally, and emotionally. With my business, I wanted to build a work schedule that worked for me and no longer cared about the standards and expectations of others. I still hear so many founders boast about overworking and I think it sends the wrong message. Working hard doesn’t equate to how many hours you work. You don’t have to sacrifice everything to build a business. In fact, you shouldn’t if you want to build a healthy business.

I worked in a highly controlled and competitive culture where most people were always in this survival mode. There wasn’t a lot of trust and there was always paranoia. When I started meeting other entrepreneurs and saw how generous they were with their time and resources, I learned that community is critical to success. Competition doesn’t have to be a threat. I have completely reframed the way I view “competition” and have intentionally created genuine connections with people in my space through collaborations, partnerships, friendships, referrals, etc. If you’re secure in yourself and feel surrounded by people that have your back, you can support others from a place of trust.    

Contact Info:

• Website: waverlyave.com
• Instagram: @waverlyave.consulting
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/waverlyaveconsulting
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-lohrer-49052015/

Image Credits
Rowa Lee Photography