We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melissa Stinson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melissa below.

Melissa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. undefined

The most innovating thing I’ve done in my career, I think is constantly innovating myself and the things around me, the people around me. Everybody’s Busy is, and has always been, about me and what my purpose and what my perspective is on culture, music, movies, just a little bit of everything. I suppose you could call it selfish, but it started off just me trying to find myself, you know. And coffee was something that I also couldn’t find. So I took coffee and treated it like I treat everything else, which is great. You know, I was on the search for a good cup of coffee. That’s how it started off. And then I realized that sort of opened up a place within myself that I’d never really tapped into. And what happens is, you know, several years later, I’m able to do that with people over a cup of coffee. So yeah you know, the most innovative thing I’ve done is invent myself. You know, the last probably almost 10 years, because I haven’t been doing this all my 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 started this venture at the end of 2015 It started with just trying to find a good cup of coffee while I was living in New York. Working in the TV and film industry in the wardrobe department, I was always on the hunt, in the search of what was I good at. What can I offer, you know, what could I hone in on, what could also make money from? And I never knew it was going to come in a cup, but it did. And just like what came in the cup, it was important, you should drink something delicious. You should have a delicious conversation. You should eat something delicious. And I didn’t really see anybody talking about that where I could relate to so I started Everybody’s Busy. Kind of as, not as a joke, but more so just being a smart aleck, because no one is really busy. People do what they want to do, and it’s really just that simple. We all make time for the good stuff. You do what you want to do. It’s that simple so Everybody’s Busy is literally like, oh, Everybody’s so busy they’re not. you just didn’t want to do it, and just say it. And that also goes for me too. Started with coffee, then eventually I merged my love for music, music, design, culture, passing along ideas and opening up the space for other strangers to come in and join to socialize. Make time for all this dope shit. It constantly changed, you know. But in this happening, I found Melissa, I found my voice, I found somewhat of my purpose, you know. And I’ve never been a people person, but because I’m not a people person, I can relate to people, you know, and people just want to be heard. And I think when you have good things around you, you’re going to say good things. And I’m not just saying it in a positive manner. It’s just going to be interesting. I don’t know what my impact on my audience will be. It’s very personal. I think what happens is, in my space, people start with coffee or they’re just curious, and they come in this space, and it’s like you’re inside of my head, but it’s kind of a reflection of you. So I kind of mirror strangers, in a sense, you know, because I control the space. It’s my energy. It’s not about being on the phone. It’s not about your computer, you know, it’s just not about all that stuff, because it’s not about wasting my time or theirs. We’re all quote, unquote busy. What sets me apart is I’m me I’m Melissa. You know, no one’s really doing this. So no one has been doing this. I’m in the Midwest. You know, it’s been very hard, because being authentic is well, it doesn’t always off. Sometimes it doesn’t pay well financially, but Pays well in a lot of other ways. I am finding now that being me in this space is paying off. Being able to meet people and socialize, you know, and do it over a cup of coffee and have my own coffee brand, you know. And tell my stories through coffee, and tell my stories through my mix tapes that come with my playlist, that come with my menu. You know, it was, a whole thing. The thing I’m most proud of is how far I’ve come, you know, and the fact that I’m still here, and the fact that there is some impact, you know, that I’ve made and inspired people, you know. You know, my other thing, really, I’m a designer. I’m a creative advisor. You know, I’ve worked in Mad industries for at least 30 years plus, and I’m here to offer my perspective, you know, I’m here to give a taste of Everybody’s Busy but in someone else’s space, because it’s really based off energy. I didn’t know anything about coffee, but I was really interested in having a good cup. So that’s just what everything I do is about, you know? I’m still developing, you know, I started this at like, 41 I’m 50, and I realize that I change up every 10 years, which is great. I think you should always keep going, because you never know. It’s important to pivot. And I just really think it’s it’s not that complicated. Once you find you, you find everybody else, or everybody finds you. I’m just a creative, you know, and what I want to do is contribute my perspective, whether it’s packaging design, creating a lifestyle brand, creating spaces for clients I wanna bring what I love and think is great to it.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I mean, every day is a journey. You know, I think me jumping out the window and going to New York. I’m from Chicago, and I’ve lived in New York twice. The first time I was doing various jobs, personal assistant, fashion brand etc. The second time I’m working TV and film, and it was cool, but there were ceiling, and I’m, you know, still not chasing, but just trying to figure out, what is my worth, what is my purpose? What can I offer? Because I know it’s something, you know, I suffer from chronic depression, and you know that plays a really crazy trick on you. because it’s an illusion, you know. And I struggle with that, all the time, but I’ve been able to kind of not beat it, but work with it. When I started this business or this brand, I came back home and I had no clue what to do, because this isn’t even a coffee city. but I was going to have to figure out something where I won’t say I could have it all, but I could just be me. like that was enough.So while I was figuring myself out, my mother actually got sick, very, very sick, like, close to death sick. And I was kind of like, she’s always been the strong one, or whatever I was kind of like, wait, I have to take care of her. so I stopped my plans of Everybody’s Busy, because I just, I couldn’t focus. It was really all about my mother getting better, and I’m an only child, she’s an only child, so we just kind of had each other. but I realized in her getting better, then it was like, What am I gonna do? You know, I came here for a reason. I’ve got to pull this off. I’ve got to do it for myself. Because just like that, life happens, and it just happens, you know, you just never know what the next day is going to bring. So I think, 2016 is when I started at home learning everything about coffee and 2019 is when I just decided I gotta go for it. I bought a machine. I had to learn, I had to build a community of, you know, coffee drinkers, music lovers, sneaker fanatics, just culture, period. And that was hard because I, was still not making the money that I would love, but the fact was that I was still here. You know and I kept going and I still take care of my mother, I’m a caretaker and I’m a business owner, and I’m happy doing what I do.

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 had to unlearn that you have to know everything before you can get started. You know, I was interested, and that drove me very, very far. Yeah, I mean, I, I had to learn that it was okay to accept people loving what I did or what I represented. You know, I used to always be like I, I just didn’t believe them. Didn’t believe anybody. And you know, being your own advocate for yourself and your business, your brand, you’re your best salesman. But if people don’t feel the positive they won’t support you. You know, if you’re constantly like, that’s okay, then, yeah, it’s just gonna be okay. So I had to kind of learn to let people just be. Let them have the experience, let them tell a story, listen to it, and take it all in, you know, because it’s like, at the end of the day, its about connecting.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.everybodysbusy.com
• Instagram: @everybodysbusy
• Other: https://linktr.ee/everybodysbusy