Melissa Blair has dedicated her career to creating positive social impact through her work in communications and consulting. Melissa’s professional journey spans five major cities on four continents. In her diverse roles, she has contributed to addressing important social issues, ranging from poverty reduction to gender equity. With her global perspective, passion for business, and desire to make a positive change, Melissa founded MKB Consulting. 

MKB Consulting specializes in supporting businesses through social change with strategic communications, project management, event management, and creative work. Melissa is dedicated to helping her clients achieve their organizational objectives while increasing positive social impact.

Melissa discovered WeBC while looking for entrepreneurial support; interested in tapping into an existing network of women, she joined the Discovery Foundation’s Strategic Mindset Program. She was brought together with a diverse group of women who created a supportive space, sharing professional and personal aspects of business ownership.

The program highlighted the importance of balancing masculine and feminine energies in business, with advice on slowing down and overcoming past obstacles. Grateful for the experience, Melissa stays connected with the group and looks forward to being part of a supportive community. She is excited about discovering further opportunities to expand her network while creating a positive change with her work.

Client Q&A

Q: What made you take that next step to start a consulting business on your own?

A: I feel like the combination of my global perspective and experience, with the lens of social impact put me in the right position to offer clients a unique skillset. I have a sort of globalization approach to what the future of philanthropy needs to look like, what the future of social impact and measurement needs to look like, and what the future of sustainability in nonprofits needs to look like.

When I put feelers out there, I started to identify some really big gaps of what I had seen and built in other countries. I knew there was an opportunity here for me to bring that skillset and expertise to clients.

Q: What was your experience like taking the Discovery Foundation’s Mentorship Program from WeBC?

A: The group of women that came together was just phenomenal. They were all so brilliantly smart, but so vulnerable and open. We created this really beautiful space for one another to just be truly, authentically ourselves, and to share the things that keep us up at night. 

We are whole humans and we were able to show up as whole humans. We even shared things that are stressing us in our personal lives that then bleed into our professional lives or vice versa. I feel like I just took away so much from it, so I’m very grateful for it.

Q: Were there any unique themes within your group?

A: One theme, and something that I love, was conversations around feminine powers. We talked about how we use our masculine energy at work, but feminine energy is just as important, and so there was a lot of female empowerment and recognition.

All of us were talking about different confrontational relationships and how we have been showing up in rooms. It was a reminder that your feminine power is the best way to approach things and having emotions is okay. There’s a cultural norm that you have to erase all those things as soon as you enter an office, but that’s not true anymore. I love a social revolution. 

Q: What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own business?

A: Have a really deep alignment of your core values and your self-care. You’re going to come across people who are going to offer you money or provide ideas or push you in a certain direction, and unless you have a very clear alignment of your core values, it’s going to be hard to say no to those things. You’ll know that because your gut will tell you, and you have to stay in tune with that. The best way to stay in tune is to have a really strong self-care practice that allows you to make the right decisions.

Where to find MKB Consulting

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