Meet Melissa Manning | Business & Wealth Strategy Coach, Podcast Host, & Serial Entrepreneur

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

Hi Melissa, what role has risk played in your life or career?
There’s a quote I love by Jim Rohn where he says, “it’s all risky. I’ll tell you how risky life is…You’re not gonna get out alive…” I have been taking risks based on what my intuition tells me is right since I was a kid. When you trust your instincts and your capabilities though, what other people think of as a risk seems much less risky to you.

Everything I consider to be an accomplishment in my life is due to taking risk. Every business I opened was a risk. Every person I’ve loved has been a risk. Waking up everyday and choosing to do the things that please me versus what society says is necessary or reasonable is a risk. My stance is that people would be much happier in their lives if they took more risks.

For about 10 years I started nearly one business per year. Now, all of that valuable experience is the foundation for helping others build their businesses. If I hadn’t have taken all the risks I have, then I’d be much less capable of helping others figure out what they want, how to get it, and what to do once they’ve got it.

I think the thing that gets in the way of people taking more risk, or doing more of what brings them joy, is confidence. We have been conditioned to listen to what others say and do instead of what our own mind and body tell us. That causes us to question our own desires which causes us insecurity. If we could decide once and for all that we know best for ourselves we would then have the confidence to follow the “risky” path to our “best-case-scenario” life.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I have always been entrepreneurial even though none of my family members were. It’s a curious thing how someone becomes passionate about something with very little external exposure. I was learning about real estate investment when I was in high school and would let everyone around me know that I was going to be a real estate tycoon some day. There were many other businesses I wanted to start in addition to real estate. There were so many options I had a hard time choosing a direction, though I knew I would start something.

At 23, my boyfriend and I purchased our first investment property and a second shortly after. Then I started opening businesses. First was a children’s retail store with toys, clothes, baby supplies, and more. Then a 10,000 sf warehouse that we converted into art studios and rented to artists. As the years went by I developed more and more brands building onto my experience as an entrepreneur. I honed my ability to negotiate, to manage, to lead, and all the other facets of being an entrepreneur and business owner.

In 2016, I was running multiple of these businesses while being a single mom. I was so busy, stressed, and exhausted that I often couldn’t find the brain space to be present with my daughter. I felt very overwhelmed, alone, and hopeless because I didn’t have a community who really understood the weight of the responsibilities I had taken on. I wished that there was someone I could turn to for guidance and advice.

Eventually I realized that I could be that for other female entrepreneurs. Other women, other moms, who were building their companies while trying to maintain and navigate their family, friendships, and self worth. Help them figure out how to balance being a single, strong woman while dating and building a business. I also realized how naturally empathetic and skilled I was at coaching. It had been my secret calling all along and it really fulfilled me.

So I took a 9 month online coaching course and began helping women build massive confidence in their capabilities so they could build thriving businesses and big wealth around them.

Audacious Founder, my business and life coaching platform, was born in 2017. My mission is to inspire women to take more risk in business and finance. To encourage them to make bigger bets on themselves and on their capabilities. To help them find purpose, empowerment, fulfillment and success. And to provide them with support and guidance when the inevitable obstacles arise.

The lessons I’ve learned along the way are:
1. Nothing happens overnight – both success and failure take time. So many people are scared to fail but they don’t realize they’ve got a lot of time and opportunity to make sure that doesn’t happen.
2. Absolutely everyone has something special or unique about them that they can turn into a business and build massive wealth.
3. We can achieve absolutely everything we want – just not at the same time. I had to learn that the hard way.
4. Our experience of everything and anything comes down to how we choose to view it.
5. People are so much more powerful than they give themselves credit for and to me, that is the saddest thing in the world.
6. Everything most everyone needs to achieve their goals is already within their reach.

I am most excited about the community of powerful, intelligent, loving women that the Audacious Founder is building. I will continue to work towards bringing us together so we can help each other grow and create more opportunities. Our rising tide will most definitely lift all boats and I cannot wait to see it.

Also I am excited about the Audacious Founder Podcast which was just started this year. I interview inspiring women on there all the time and discuss topics relevant to business and finance and more!

And, we host events every month! Some online and some in person in Miami. These are a great place to open yourself up to new ideas, inspiration, and new connections!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My favorite place to be in Miami is on a boat on the water. The beauty of the sunshine hitting the water with the city behind us is my favorite view of all time and never gets old. This would be my number one must-do for any friend visiting. In Miami, we would definitely hit up 1800 Lucky for some soup dumplings because discovering those has changed my life for the better. After that I would say we should play some volleyball on the beach with a group of friends and go grab some tacos somewhere. Then, go up to St Augustine for a day trip or down south for an airboat ride. To be honest, there is much more to discover in South Florida than I realized upon moving here two years ago and I myself am still experiencing all it has to offer!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I think the biggest positive impact anyone has left on my life was my high school volleyball coach. He treated me as if I was capable of making my own decisions while many others around me did the opposite. He empowered me to trust my gut, to understand that everything is a means to an end, and that anything I want is possible if I am willing to put the work in. He also taught me that while many things might sound like a good reason not to do something, very few of them are good excuses.

Website: https://audaciousfounder.com

Instagram: @audaciousfounder

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/audacious-founder/

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

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-audacious-founder-miami-2?osq=audacious+founder

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9FctwlJsMBtbHzRfAlbAlw

Other: Events: Audacious Founder Mastermind: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/157088827913
Audaciously Wealthy Investment Meetup: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/313667577167