Female Founders: Melanie Rembrandt On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
From funding, finding customers and team members, developing systems, and more, there are many ups and downs when starting a business. A strong determination to succeed has to be at the root of all you do. When I first started my business, I had no choice but to move forward and get to work in order to pay my bills, so I was determined to succeed. Plus, I wanted to prove all of the naysayers wrong!
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Melanie Rembrandt.
Melanie Rembrandt is an award-winning copywriter, publicist and speaker, the author of “Simple Publicity” and “Secrets of Becoming a Publicist,” and the host of the “Simplify Your Small Business Podcast.” As the founder of Rembrandt Communications®, LLC, https://www.rembrandtwrites.com, she helps clients boost sales, awareness and credibility fast with targeted content strategy and public relations. When not at her desk, you can usually find her kickboxing, dancing or scuba diving with sharks!
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
After winning a toy frog in a writing contest for the local newspaper at a very young age, I was hooked! It was a small prize, but it set me off on a lifelong writing career. I discovered that I could use my writing to get into a good school, win awards, meet great people, raise money for various charities, and more.
Later on, my copywriting skills became ultra-important because they helped me get work to pay for my college tuition. While having a full class load at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, I held several public relations and communications jobs to pay the bills. It took a massive amount of time, effort and work, but I was able to get on the Dean’s list and graduate magna cum laude in four years.
I then worked for various production companies, large business and tech start-ups over the years… and was laid off twice. After the second layoff, I thought, “this is ridiculous!” So, I took control of my life and started my own public relations and copywriting business that same day.
Over 15 years later, I still help entrepreneurs, non-profits, Fortune 500 companies, celebrities, and more reach their goals and love it! With my unique experience in the entertainment industry and in-the-trenches knowledge of content strategy and PR, I now help business owners boost sales, awareness, and credibility so they have more time to do the things they really love to do.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
As soon as I started my company, I realized that I could take it wherever I wished without limits. I could choose the people I wanted to work with and set my own schedule. This mindset change allowed me to work with top businesses and celebrities… and even travel to places like New Zealand.
But the best thing that happened is that I was able to do what I liked to do. Accountants, bookkeepers and legal teams took over the numbers and details I didn’t want to deal with (and wasn’t very good at!). And I hired skilled assistants, graphic designers, web technicians, and more to do additional work.
This way, I could really focus on helping my clients with their PR and copywriting needs. But more important, it allowed me to have more time to have some fun and enjoy life away from my desk!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Do you like chocolate-covered strawberries? Well, I love them, and at the beginning of my career, they taught me a big lesson. A big promotional event was just ending, and there was a big tray of these leftover goodies calling to me. I thought I’d give myself a little treat. (And we can’t have these delicious morsels go to waste now, can we?) So, I enjoyed a few and returned to my work activities.
I thanked several people and finally got a break to use the restroom. Then, I looked in the mirror.
Guess what I had? A chocolate-covered face! Ugh!
The chocolate from the strawberries had melted all over my mouth, cheeks and forehead. Plus, I had plenty of strawberry seeds in my teeth. (You know it’s good food when you don’t notice this!)
Well, at least I knew why people seemed so happy to meet me that evening. I definitely made a (sweet) impression! Thank goodness it was at the very end of the event.
Lesson learned. Do not eat messy stuff where you want to look your best. (Or eat away and then dash to a mirror!) You just can’t rely on others to let you know if you have something on your face or in your teeth!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
When I first started my business, I was driven by the people who said I couldn’t’ do it. There were many overbearing bosses, jealous co-workers and just some really mean folks who wanted to make me feel insecure and powerless. Little did they know that their negativity fed my drive to succeed!
Once I got rid of these “toxic” naysayers, I focused on finding people who could truly help me. And there wasn’t just one.
Lawyers and accountants via the SCORE organization helped me set up my business at no charge. Many people I had worked with in the past signed on as new clients. Plus, I devoured numerous entrepreneurial articles and guides along with stories from successful, female business owners.
Basically, I conducted research and looked for help in all of the different areas I needed for my business. With zero funds, I found many, experienced and smart people to help me who I really appreciate to this day. If you want assistance, it’s available. You just need to find and ask the right people.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?
Unfortunately, there are a lot of pessimistic people out there who don’t pursue their dreams, limit their goals and intimidate others. This negativity rubs off on numerous individuals who want to start their own businesses, especially women. Founding a company is all about mindset. You need to surround yourself with positive, smart people who believe in you and your dreams to succeed.
I think a lot of women get nervous, listen to naysayers and just “settle” doing what they think they are supposed to do in their particular circle of society. This can be a very difficult situation to escape without having some kind of support network in place.
Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?
It would be fantastic if children learned about entrepreneurship and financial education at an early age in school. This way, they could establish a good foundation for the future and know that no matter who they are or where they come from, they can create a business and pursue their dreams.
By developing, and promoting, more entrepreneurship groups for all ages that focus on learning about mindset, sales, core business essentials, and more, anyone who is thinking about entrepreneurship would know where to go to get the information and support they need to pursue their dreams.
This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
On a global level, “women performed an estimated US $31.8 trillion in consumer spending in 2019” per World Data Lab, “MarketPro” (2020). With these large numbers, it makes sense to have female founders creating, marketing and selling products and services to their fellow, target audience. Women tend to understand other women and are often able to pinpoint timely problems and offer solutions specific to their needs.
Plus, there are numerous, young teens out there who may have an idea for a business and really look up to successful, female entrepreneurs. They see that it’s possible to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams while having a family, traveling, and doing the things that they really want to do in life. If we can promote more female, business success stories, we can build enthusiasm for more women to become founders.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
Being a female business founder is not about being a micromanager, controlling others or showing off. There is a myth that many female leaders got to the top via ruthless and unethical means or through their family’s money. Most successful founders have done the “in-the-trenches” work and are not overnight successes. They’ve struggled financially, physically and mentally to make their dreams a reality. This is how they learn to manage people, create and market great products and services and experience big results. Plus, they know that once they succeed, it’s up to them to give back and help others.
Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?
There are specific characteristics necessary to be a founder. It’s essential to have grit, take risks and be able to get through tough times in a positive way. You definitely need to have a strong work ethic and be able to deal with deadlines, disappointment and various personality types. Without drive and determination, it can be very difficult to succeed as a business founder. Because of this, I think that people who like to just “clock in,” follow specific directions from others, and have the security of a regular paycheck without risk are not meant to be business owners.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
- Drive — Once you get a good business idea, it’s essential to have the drive to turn that spark into a fire. The day I was laid off the second time, I knew I needed to take control of my career, financial situation and life. So many people told me that I couldn’t do it, and that made me want to achieve success more!
- Determination — From funding, finding customers and team members, developing systems, and more, there are many ups and downs when starting a business. A strong determination to succeed has to be at the root of all you do. When I first started my business, I had no choice but to move forward and get to work in order to pay my bills, so I was determined to succeed. Plus, I wanted to prove all of the naysayers wrong!
- Positive Mindset — As a business founder, you deal with family members, friends, associates, and more who can be very negative and destroy your dreams. Many years ago, I stopped spending time with these “toxic” people, started reading books by successful entrepreneurs and learned about having a positive mindset. The way you think is very important to your overall success!
- Support Network — You can’t be successful on your own. To grow and get through challenging times as a business owner, and in life, it’s important to have a support network. Since day one of my business, I’ve tried to surround myself with positive, successful people who are smarter than I am and believe in what I’m doing. They provide valuable insights, assistance or just a listening ear when needed!
- Lifelong Learning — As Heraclitus said, “The only thing that is constant is change,” so it’s important to be aware of new trends, emerging issues, technologies, and more. Business founders need to be lifelong learners so they can plan for the future, act instead of re-act and shift accordingly as things change.
Over the years, I’ve seen the public relations industry focus on media relationships and pitching to pay-for-play advertising processes and the latest technologies. By attending events, reading, talking to people, and more, I’ve changed with the times… not only to help my business grow but to give my clients the best products and services possible.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
It’s important to give back. That’s why I only accept clients who help others in some way and promote worthwhile products, services and causes. Whenever possible, I try to assist others who want to become entrepreneurs, work with charitable organizations, and write content or give presentations that provide valuable information my audiences can actually use right away. It’s not much, but I do what I can!
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would love to see more children get a financial education at an early age. This way, they can obtain an initial understanding of how money works and what they need to do to be financially secure in the future.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Sara Blakely
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Female Founders: Melanie Rembrandt On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.