Meet Melanie Kinchen | Blogger & Podcaster

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melanie Kinchen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melanie, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
Throughout my 20s, I explored various career opportunities and went on a journey on figuring out what truly makes me happy and does not feel like a “job.” It wasn’t until the pandemic that I had the time to sit down with myself and ask myself, “What do you love to do and makes you happy?” I finally came up with the answer to my blog, What’s Next Mel, and turned it into a podcast did I feel genuinely happy and fulfilled. I started to live in my purpose by helping people through my blog post and podcast. So, to answer the question, “What’s the end goal?” The end goal is to help people through the things that I’ve been through in life; receive advice from the experts that join me on my podcast. I want people to know that you’re not the only one going through this; there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Before the end of my career, I hope to turn my podcast into a talk show. I have always wanted to meet my guest in person and bring my audience together in a live studio. I want to build a community that can count on each other and knows that they can count on me. I would love to win an award for Best Podcast Series & Best Podcast Host in the future. To tie it all together, I hope that Melanie Elizabeth Media becomes a well-known and one of the top media firms in the country. I am excited to look back at this article in the future and see that I ended my career with these accomplishments and more under my belt.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What’s Next Mel is not only a lifestyle & culture blog; but is also a podcast for millennial women. As a millennial woman, I feared turning 30 years old. I heard various things about how exciting your 30s can be. I heard if you do not complete your goals by thirty, then you are a failure in society’s eyes. All those different articles, comments, and social media posts made me realize that millennial women did not have an outlet or a safe space to talk about their accomplishments or fears. I decided to create a community where millennial women can connect and share their truths about self-love, dating/relationships, career, and more. The road has not been easy because in the beginning. I was still scared to share my truth and use my life as an example. Through this experience, I learned to be open and vulnerable, which led to people connecting and supporting my platform.
I have learned that you must be 100% dedicated to your craft. When I realized how many opportunities and people were relying on me is when I said to myself, “You have to take this seriously.” You must completely dive into your craft if you want the world to listen to you.
I want the world to know that What’s Next Mel is not only about me and my life experiences. It is about how women like me can connect and share their stories. We are not in competition with one another; we all are going through similar life experiences. Sometimes we need a little bit of guidance from others to get through those experiences. What’s Next Mel’s platform focuses on connections and having resources given to you to help push you in the right direction.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
It is hard to choose my favorite places in Miami. I always loved going to the beach from a young age and one of my places to escape all the noise in the world. If I had to choose, I would take my friends to Oleta River State Park/Haulover Beach to reset and spend time together. My friends know that I love to get dressed up when we go out to eat, so I would choose to go to Swan in the Miami Design District. I love the European feel that Swan has and the whole aesthetic. If you read my blog post, Go-to places in Miami, while were in a Pandemic. I talk about my favorite place to get brunch/tea, drinks, dinner, and tourist attractions.
If my friends and I were staying in and just watching movies, I would travel to Broward County and order from my favorite Chinese spot Dragon Gate in Pembroke Pines. I love Pastelitos de Guayaba so I would take my friends to either Vicky’s Bakery or Sedanos in Miami Lakes.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My support comes from multiple people; I have met through my entrepreneurship journey. It starts with my friends who pushed me to start my own business and told me that it is okay to place all the bets on myself. The family and friends who continue to support me through this rollercoaster of trying to figure it out. Every day is a new challenge, but I am also learning from these challenges. When I want to give up, the creative people in my life give me words of encouragement to keep going. I have also gained support from my audience who reads my blog and/or listens to my podcast, What’s Next Mel. When I get those emails that a blog post they read helped them book a vacation that didn’t break their pockets. The listeners who contact me that a particular podcast episode gave them the encouragement to end a toxic relationship. I find support in them because it lets me know that I am helping my community. That is my overall goal is to support and help the community that I am building.

Website: www.whatsnextmel.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatsnextmel/

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/melanie-kinchen-b9b78887

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whatsnextmel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatsnextmel

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoyTrm9n1yoMesFicnVxwCw

Image Credits
Jeven Wagner and Christine Bauta