Melissa G. Wilson, a five-time bestselling author and publishing executive, has helped over 120 authors publish while writing 17 books herself. She credits her success to quality networking: one influential contact generated over $1 million in referrals. She advocates asking for mentorship early and believes a book is the highest form of content.
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All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today, Melissa G. Wilson with us. She is a 5-time bestselling author with one that was a Wall Street Journal bestseller and another that was number 10 book on Amazon for an entire year, and yet another that sold over 120,000 copies. So welcome to the show, Melissa.
Thank you, Tyler Wagner Wagner.
Of course. Grateful to have you here. So the first one that we have for you, Melissa, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Spanish. I think the story about when I was, when I was a preteen, we moved from Cleveland, Ohio to Ashland, Ohio. So we moved from a big city to a small city. And I was part of a family. My parents were Jewish. And at that point they decided they wanted us to go to temple. I had two other sisters. I had the misfortune of being in the rabbi's class and for about 4 years was teased by the kids. We didn't really fit in. My dad was just starting a floral shop. Our house was connected to my dad's store and it was a tough, time for me. But strangely, when I left, I had that summer been with my aunt who really took me under her wing and taught me how to sew. So I sewed all my clothes for school. I negotiated with my dad $50 and sewed all new clothes. And when I went in to the, the, the class on Sunday, Sunday school class, the kids didn't make fun of me anymore because I had kind of upped my game, if you will. But at the end, when we got confirmed, and that was the last I saw of anybody from Sunday school at all, uh, one of the boys apologized to me. And I just said— which rings in my mind because it's not my nature— but I just said, I will never forgive you. Well, the next time I ended up at the same place I was up on a podium and speaking at confirmation, it was my mother's funeral. And it was all those memories that came back to me. And so this is a mixture of lessons of being humble, of understanding that we can get thrown down, kicked, kicked and abused, whatever, but you can always get up and keep trying. And I made my life a big part of my life about teaching people how to build relationships through networking. So I basically taught what I most needed to learn, and I can't seem to get away from that, even though over the last 8 years I've become a publisher for executives and top thought leaders, top entrepreneurs. I keep coming back to that, uh, that opportunity. And I also give back inside the inner city, helping kids get mentored through my authors. Mm.
And then the next one I have for you is, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
I have never seen— because I've helped over 120 authors write, publish, and get their books out, as well as I've done 17 of my own books— I have never ever seen an author that doesn't benefit by having a book. And my line is that the book is the highest form of content. So Way back when I started in 1990, where I had my first book and it was the Chicago Entrepreneur Sourcebook, there were only 17% of all businesses were owned by women. Now it's over 50%. I just rode that wave with books. And now I believe the big things that are going on in the business world, whether it's your career or you're growing a business, It's about content and relationships. And those are the two areas I've really mastered and seen what works. And even for anyone, whoever emails me from, from the standpoint of getting help networking, I actually give them my guidebook that I use that got licensed by Yale University through the Graduate School of Business, which is a methodology for networking and it really works. So It's, it's, it brought in millions of dollars for me and it's something I now give away because I want to help other people really build out their businesses or careers.
And then what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry specific.
Yeah, I think, I think it's to, I go back to the science of networks, which is One person can make all the difference. There's somebody who gifted me introductions to top people to publish, like the president of Holland Cruise Lines, the head of HR for the NBA. So I made over $1 million from about 15 or so referrals from him. His name is Billy Dexter. We actually— he just cajoled me the last 2 years in writing a book with him on networking. So we blended our methodologies. But I would say that one person can make all the difference. So those people who say it's all about the quantity in the network, it isn't. And the science of networks really proves that it's better to have, as I say, one Oprah Winfrey than 500 Jerry Springers. No, no, you know, nothing against Jerry. I've also had a book on Oprah and my clients, Billy, who I mentioned, he's been involved with Oprah And then one of my other authors got the exclusive on doing Oprah cruises. One of the authors talked her into it. And so there's always opportunity with the quality of people you meet, but be very selective. You only need one to start with.
And then if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I would say to ask. For more mentoring support. I had the benefit of being on the board at the University of Chicago, and they made me one of the 6 outstanding women of the decade, but I never went to the University of Chicago. And it was something that I learned by going there for 7 years, helping them with networking. And what really surprised me was the leaders, the female leaders there would say, all we really want is somebody to come up and ask. And there's a great book out for women by two Yale professors, female Yale professors called Women Don't Ask. So I would say for men or women, ask, it really makes a difference.
And kind of going a little bit down a different path, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
I think that's a wonderful, wonderful question. I would have to say, if you knew my puppy dog that I just got, I would say that's the key because I've never experienced such unconditional love and also the love of a spouse. In this case, my husband is a real creative like myself. So that's wonderful. But I think we both say the dog really made a difference.
And then, so I'm really excited for your answer on this one. What is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from it?
Yeah, my number one book that stayed number one for over a decade now is called Power Versus Force. And it is fantastic. It really shows you how to lift your energy and it's connected to kinesiology. And what I found is that it helps you lift yourself out of the negativity that is certainly prevalent in our world now, even more so than ever. And it helps put you in that great space to just kind of be the eye of the hurricane. You know, you have the calm inside of you.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote is another book I'm working on called The Nine Great Paradoxes of All Time. So it's a quote I'll give you this quote that the quote and where it came from. The one paradox that people seem to love is slow down to speed up. And I tell the story of my grandmother who just really made my life so much better because I did have a very difficult childhood at home. And she was rushing because my father was rushing her to the airport and she fell down and broke her ankle and it ended up turning into gangrene, and eventually she died of a heart attack. So I always share that with everyone, especially people with young children or people who have older people in their home. Slow down to speed up, it really works.
Well, thank you so much for coming on, Melissa. The last one I have for you before we let you go is, where can our audience best find you online?
Yes, you can go to Net Worlding instead of networking— net and then world and then -ing— networlding.com. And I give away 3 free books on there on writing, and I also have an email where you can reach me at melissa@networlding.com. Also, I'm on LinkedIn at Melissa G. Wilson, so you can find me, ask me for help. I always say I like to give the baker's dozen, and I love helping people who really want to make a difference in the world and write. So if you're in that category and want some insights, I spend 10 hours a week looking for them and giving them to my readers. Awesome.
