Meet Mel Ripp

We recently connected with Mel Ripp and have shared our conversation below.

Mel, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

One of the biggest things I did to overcome imposter syndrome (and honestly, I don’t think anyone would admit that they no longer experience imposter-like feelings. I think you learn to manage it better) was to stop using that term in my internal and external conversations.

I realized that in calling what I was feeling “imposter syndrome,” I was pathologizing what I really felt, which is feeling the usual discomfort around growing, or learning something new. My good friend and coach Donna Marino always says to me, “Imposter syndrome, in a lot of ways, should be celebrated. It means you’ve moved out of your comfort zone.” I’ve started to adapt that mindset more and more. That this is normal to feel this way. Everyone feels this way.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Peapod is a thought leadership, messaging & platform development, and ghostwriting consultancy. We work primarily with women founders and executives to help them shape their ideas and put them along with their expertise out into the world for their target markets to see. Tangibly, that looks like messaging development, content creation for social media (primarily LinkedIn), web copy, blogs, and newsletters as well as earned or paid media placements.

I worked for years in nonprofit and education marketing, and got my first leadership role in 2013. I felt like I spent most of the next five years with teeth that physically ached from clenching them. I wanted so badly to speak up and present my ideas, but something always held me back. In talking with other women, I realized this wasn’t just me feeling this way. “My boss taught me how to blend in to be a leader — not stand out,” one joked.

When I took Peapod full-time in 2018, that was really when I started to realize that not only could I have my own professional voice now that I no longer was in the corporate world, but that I could also connect with others using that voice. I started using LinkedIn as the tool to make this happen, and loved how others were using it in the same way I was: to give advice, to build relationships, and to share insights with others.

I realized I wanted to help other women use their ideas, perspectives, and words to do the same, and in early 2021, I shifted my business from general marketing & communications strategy and content creation to focusing exclusively on messaging development and LinkedIn ghostwriting. Today, I work with about 10 founders and executives a month, where I not only work with them to hone their voices, but help take the content creation off their plate by writing for them in their voice.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

These are the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that have been most impactful throughout my journey:

1) Curiosity, always. One of my favorite things is when my clients and I have the chance to brainstorm or volley ideas back and forth. The ability to catch an idea, so to speak, and say, “This is a really great point. Can you tell me more about this?” and it starts a whole other conversation with a bunch of other jewels that you never would have uncovered if you hadn’t been curious. You learn so much about your clients — not just their work, but who they are as people — this way.

2) Knowing you’re never going to know everything. When you first start out as an entrepreneur, it can get really easy to get down on yourself and say, “Argh, this accounting stuff is THE WORST. When am I going to figure this out?” Well, unless you’re an accountant, you didn’t go into business to do accounting stuff. You did it because you’re a great writer, or social media strategist, or business coach. So, give yourself a little bit of a break — not just at the beginning but through the journey.

3) Get to know who YOU are as a business owner, and plan your promotion and outreach accordingly. I’ve lost count of the number of people that tell me, “You should start a podcast! You should create a course!” The truth is, I know myself, and I know I’m just not wired for the organization and dedication a podcast or an e-course needs. Same with videos on social. I love to write, and I will always prefer to write over pressing record on my camera. I’m not saying that you can’t evolve or try new things based on the shifts in your business and customers, but pay attention to what you do and don’t like to do and try not to get caught up in what “everyone else is doing.”

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

My ideal client is someone who knows they have SO much they want to say: about their experiences, about their work, about what they’ve learned, but they’re nervous. They want to draw attention to themselves, because they know how they approach their work would get them speaking opportunities, potential partnerships, and new clients — but they also don’t want to draw attention to themselves, because all their life they were told not to draw attention to themselves, and those embedded stories don’t go away overnight.

They want a partner that they can spill everything to — how they grew up, their professional experiences, what they’ve learned throughout their journey, and what advice they have — and that partner will help them arrange those words and ideas into something that sounds just like them. Because they’re still doing the work, and they need to be able to trust someone else to help them tell that story.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://workwithpeapod.com/
• Instagram: @peapodmel
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaripp/

Image Credits

All photos by Miriam Bulcher