career
Melitta Campbell – Gaining Balance through Business
Melitta Campbell is a Business and Communications Coach who specialises in helping women communicate their value, and build successful businesses in ways that feel natural to them and meaningful to their clients.
She started her entrepreneurial journey 12 years ago following the birth of her first child. She didn’t know if she had what it took to succeed, but found it a wonderful way to engage in meaningful work and create the flexibility and balance she wanted in life…but not without making a few big mistakes along the way…
Melitta Campbell – credits Nora Quillian
A quest for independence
Being financially independent has always been important to me.
Growing up in a single-parent household taught me just how important it is for women to create their own support system—both financially and socially.
That’s one of the reasons why, while working in Geneva, Switzerland, for Europe’s largest bank (at that time at least!), I created a Women’s Network—where women could connect, share and support each other.
Through that network that I realised I wasn’t alone in my search for independence and balance. Every woman I spoke to wanted to work, but also craved more flexibility and fulfilment.
Their experiences gave me the courage to start out on my own when I had my first daughter 12 years ago, instead of returning to my 15-year career in marketing and communications.
It was a difficult decision as I had no idea if I could do it, and I loved my job and I’d only recently been given an important promotion that saw me report to the CEO.
But the thought of returning to full-time employment and only seeing my daughter for fleeting moments each day worried me more, so I knew I had to at least try.
Taking the leap
I set myself up as a freelance communications consultant and worked while my daughter was occupied and took her naps. It was perfect.
As my reputation grew, I worked on many exciting projects for some of the world’s largest organisations, as well as many of its newest solopreneurs.
It was all coming together so well…apart from one thing, I’d lost sight of my vision to empower women and have balance in my life, and so I’d failed to create a business model that allowed for that.
As a result a few years in, I found myself spending all my time caring for my family and clients; working late nights and weekends just to keep up. I became overwhelmed and exhausted and was on the road to burnout.
It took a while to recognise the situation, but when I did, I took steps to change my business model to give me more balance, put me back in control and give me more opportunity for personal growth.
Melitta Campbell – credits Marta Villacampa
My journey back to my purpose
I started a new business as a wellness entrepreneur, working alongside a leading brand, which gave me access to world-class business and leadership training, coaches and mentors.
I became surrounded by inspiring and driven business owners, which added fuel to my growth and broadened my vision of what’s possible. I loved it!
As my business and success grew, women started approaching me for help to build and grow their own business.
I became aware that the other female business owners around me were often struggling to build a solid business. They had the talent, ambition and got amazing results for their clients, but often lacked the business skills and confidence necessary to build a sustainable sales pipeline, and own and communicate their true value.
It became clear to me, that that was my dream business: to use my skills and knowledge, to help other women build a solid business and become the successful, happy and credible businesswomen they deserved to be. So I pivoted my business once more.
It’s so true when they say that entrepreneurship is a journey. I’ve learned that where you start in business is rarely where you end up; building your business is really a process of learning and self-discovery. That is the true gift of entrepreneurship, on whichever scale you experience it.
Melitta Campbell in action – SEE
The business coach for female entrepreneurs
Today, my focus in on helping women stop dreaming about a better life, and start achieving it through a thriving business that their clients love as much as they do.
I’ve believe that the secret to lasting success lies in mastering your mindset, gaining clarity of vision (knowing your next steps), being able to confidently communicate your value and stay in control of your time, so you remain productive, balanced and healthful.
I’ve developed programs that share this secret with more women, blending it with my passion for helping women grow their self-belief and vision and my many years experience in marketing, communication and leadership.
How I feel waking up each day today, knowing that everything I am doing and creating is helping other women succeed, is a world away from how I’ve felt in my previous jobs and businesses. When you have the courage to find your true passion and live your purpose, your ability to make a difference soars and you start to see a whole world of possibility open up before you.
Of course, I’m not super human and I have days where nothing seems to go right, and I question if I’m on the right path, but these are becoming less frequent as I progress, as my courage grows and as I help more women get results.
One key to success that I believe applies to all women, no matter what their chosen path, is to consciously create an empowering community around you. When women come together and support each other, magic happens. Truly.
That’s why, alongside my business, I also share my knowledge and content freely with other women through my blog, the Driven Female Entrepreneur Club on Facebook, my podcast of the same name, and through my leadership role in the Nomad LeanIn Group in Vevey. I also love helping women find and share their voice, which I do through the Swiss Riviera Toastmasters club and as a speaker coach for TEDxLausanne.
I’m often asked how I find time for it all. The truth is I don’t! There are a lot of things I don’t do, and this enables me to focus on the activities that fill me with joy and energy.
It has taken time and practice to be able to consciously create and actively manage balance in my life, but it’s been one of the most important and transformational things I’ve done.
You can read Melitta’s Top 5 Tips for Creating Balance in your Life in the Vivamost Health and Wellbeing section.
Melitta Campbell – credits Paroma Basu
LINKS
Website: www.melittacampbell.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melittacampbellcoach/
FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NewFemaleEntrepreneurs
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelittaCampbell
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/Melitta
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MelittaCampbell
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ch/MelittaCampbell/boards/
