This month in partnership with AdventHealth for women, we recognize some women in our community who are dedicated to others, starting families, supporting their loved ones and / or building their careers. Whether they know it or not, their stories inspire other women near and far. One such woman is Melanie Miller.
Meet Melanie:
Melanie Miller, Speaker, Marketing and Social Media Expert, CEO of Playbook Marketing Solutions
Playbook Marketing Solutions provides proven social media solutions and marketing results. Melanie has many years of experience working with high customers and helps small businesses increase brand awareness, giving us a unique insight into what is needed for successful marketing. With 20 years of experience as a promotion manager, Melanie also coaches businesses and sole proprietors, offering proven tools and strategies to become more widespread and ultimately increase revenue. Offering strategic branding, social networking and marketing training, Melanie has proven herself as a sought-after speaker, sharing her experience and ingenuity with the marketing community across the country. Melanie has a long list of customers who look like “Who’s Who” from corporate America: AOL, HP, ESPN, Comcast, Freddie Mac, Fannie May, Unisys, Six Flags, Geico, Advent Healthcare, Ford, Chevy, Toyota — and 100+ NFL Athletes.
What’s your WHY?
An old saying: if your WHY doesn’t make you cry, you need to really dig deeper and find out what it will be. My two precious daughters, Alexia and Alice. Seeing them grow in women of faith, accomplish things that make a difference, and have hearts loving men. As a mom, you infuse your being into your children. See how they take off in life, help them in their battles and live life to the fullest. The efforts that mothers must make to their children are PERFECT. I love them more than life itself. However, as all women know, they are growing and we are becoming their defenders. As I grow older, it is even more important for me to be an example of the love and care and compassion for others that they will think of as they grow older. I pray most of all that they too will live with the spirit that influences those around them, becoming the differences in this world as my mother taught me.
What pushes you to put one foot ahead of the other on the hardest days?
These days are hard. This world is a difficult place, but I have found that serving and blessing others brings me so much joy. The recipe for healing any bad day for me is to go be a blessing to someone else. What can I do to help them win in life? How can I bring a smile to their faces? The recipe for how to cope with your most difficult day is to find a reward that comes not from what you receive, but from the impact of a person’s smile. There is a sign in my office that reminds me of this every day. He says, “Always pray to have eyes to see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, a mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that NEVER loses faith in God.”
Did you draw inspiration from other women? Tell us about someone who inspired you.
My mother was a single mother for years. She raised me and my brother on a teacher’s income. She did everything she could to help us meet our needs, play sports and stay out of trouble. She was a business owner, a talented award-winning cosmetologist who taught thousands of students how to win their careers. Her work has been passed on to me through my marketing talents. Her never-giving mentality taught me to be a champion. Every Sunday she sat with me in church, although as a teenager I didn’t want to go. In the end it was the greatest gift she could give me. The only example I’ve ever had is that I’ve always been set up for more.
What one word perfectly explains who you are?
Generous.
My life is focused on the work I do to help others. When I worked as a nurse, it taught me to really empathize and love people. Now, as a marketing leader in business, I carry that compassion in the workplace, helping businesses win in their marketing strategies. There is nothing better in this world than serving others by helping them achieve their goals. Volunteering in the community is the most generous thing anyone can do. It costs nothing, but gives such a return of joy to your life. Some of my biggest victories have been helping my church with ReThink Life, serving the leadership of the AdventHealth Community Board over the past three years, and helping raise millions of dollars for charities over the past 20 years.
Would you change anything in the way you have coped with the challenges and successes so far in your life?
My success was shaped and poured out of my struggle. I would never change some of them because they shaped me into a great leader as a woman. Now I can help others become who they should be. No problem you have no growth as a leader. They used to hurt me, I cried and felt broken inside. I would try to look perfect as if nothing is wrong, but here’s the truth. If we do not share our stories, we can never show the greatest power God has invested in us that leads to victory.
What are you most proud of?
I am proud of what has been done in my life here in Orlando in just 4 years. Through my business Playbook Marketing Solutions. It was a privilege every day to help grow and run a business that needs a talented woman with a persistent spirit. Through Nonanextlevel.net, Linda Travel and I teach business according to the system we created, where marketing is combined with management. This is a monthly meeting that is going on at Lake Nona in Drive Shack. Many say the meetings are like a business spirit rally every month, full of excitement, where we help businesses learn to position themselves as leaders and develop their marketing efforts to the next level of business.
What is the biggest problem you have faced and what have you learned from it?
The biggest challenge I faced was moving from Washington, DC, to Orlando more than 4 years ago. I have had a successful 20-year career in marketing the most amazing NFL superstars who are people of great faith and good character. I have worked with the top management of large corporations, performing thousands of speeches and participations. To decide to support my husband’s dream as a successful PGA golf professional in Florida, where golf is a way of life. There’s nothing like starting all over again where no one knows you and no one seems to care. However, what I learned from Ken Harvey, one of my best friends who played for the Washington Football Club, told me one thing. He said you can’t win if you don’t come into the game. You have to show yourself and decide that you will NOT stop until you win. As a woman, it’s hard to earn respect in a new business in Orlando where no one knows you, but with a mindset of what you can do, your dreams turn into something amazing. My next level is approaching and I love taking so many new ventures with me on this wonderful life journey.
