Melissa Levine, Founder of Sweet Melissa Media
Name: Melissa Levine
Founder: Sweet Melissa Media
Who is Melissa Levine?
Hi! I’m Melissa Levine. I grew up in Milwaukee and later moved to Texas with my family. I got my Bachelors degree in Exercise Science from The University of Texas at Austin and my Registered Dietitian Certification from Loyola University Chicago. I live in Northbrook with my husband and I have twin boys who just graduated from college. As a dietitian I have enjoyed working with all things culinary! I love spending time with my family, walking, theater, and dining at all of the great restaurants in Chicago.
In less than three sentences tell us about your company and what you do.
Sweet Melissa Media is a “PANDEMIC” born business. On the day Governor Pritzker abruptly shut down indoor dining, I had an idea. I decided to combine my skills as a culinary focused dietitian with my passion for food photography and create videos to support struggling restaurants. I created & donated many videos for local restaurants for a year. After a year I decided to launch Sweet Melissa Media. After encouragement from the Northbrook Chamber of Commerce, I decided to expand my services to provide social media content for any small business. Sweet Melissa Media provides social media content (mostly video) for restaurants & small business that can be promoted on all social media platforms.
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
Being a FoundHer is exciting, inspiring, and empowering. When I started my business I didn’t really give much thought to my business as female found, even though I am a female:) ! As I am growing and connecting with other female founders I feel it is most empowering to learn from other women. I feel more connected to female business owners as we have similar aspirations and encounter similar struggles. All of my business mentors are female!
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
Since starting my business I have connected with many women in business. I feel that through networking we are all supporting each other. The other day I connected a female photographer with my client who owns a local boutique. Last week a met with a vp at a local bank and couldn’t believe we named our children the exact same names! On a networking walk a few months ago, a colleague and I ended up taking pictures while walking through a prairie that we both used as content on our social media platforms!
What lesson or skill did you take with you from a prior job to help you succeed in your role today?
I feel that ALL of my experience from previous jobs and volunteer work have led to my success! Not just jobs, but volunteering at school! Who would have known that being the communications chair on the GBN parents theater organization would have contributed to my success! Taking pictures, setting up instagram pages, weeks spent creating the senior video. These are all skills that I have applied to my business.
How did you land your first client?
When I contacted my very first client, I called the restaurant owner at lunchtime. In a stern voice he told me that this was the worst possible time to call a restaurant! He asked me to call him back at a later time. Most people may have never called back, but I did. When I called him back he invited me to lunch. When I arrived at the restaurant he had made about 10 different dishes and the food photography began. The focus of content was to film everything he was doing to keep people safe during the pandemic! Tents, masks, gloves, heat lamps….all the focus of my content! I continued to make video content for him over the year. He couldn’t afford to pay me, but gave me a meal here and there. Sadly this restaurant recently closed. The landlord kept raising rent and he just couldn’t make it. But this restaurant led to other restaurants and eventually to small business clients.
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