Melissa Miller, Founder of BlueOwl Career Prep + Advising
Names: Melissa Miller
Founder: BlueOwl Career Prep + Advising
In one sentence, what problem do you solve and for who?
I help college students and recent graduates bridge the career prep gap by equipping them with the personal brand, networking, and interview skills they need to land internships and jobs with confidence.
What's your story?
After 20+ years in recruiting, I realized that too many talented college students were struggling to land internships and jobs, and that colleges were not doing enough. In March of 2020, I launched BlueOwl Career Prep + Advising to bridge that gap and provide students and recent grads with the personal brand, networking, and interview skills to succeed. I am passionate about being a game changer for Gen Z and their families; this motivates me and is extremely rewarding.
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
Being a FoundHer means connecting with inspiring women entrepreneurs, sharing ideas, and building relationships that fuel growth both for ourselves and for the community. I’m grateful to be part of it and look forward to engaging!
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
I support other female founders and women in business by sharing my network, offering mentorship, and exchanging strategies drawn from building BlueOwl Career Prep + Advising. I believe in collaboration over competition, and I intentionally create opportunities for women to connect, learn from one another, and grow. I am always willing to listen and do whatever I can do to help other women in business.
What are three podcasts you listen to that have helped you with your business?
The Diary of a CEO (for entrepreneurship and business strategy)
How I Built This (hearing directly from founders about the challenges and breakthroughs behind big brands like Airbnb and Spanx)
Masters of Scale (focus on brand building, leaders, and growth stories from top founders)
What is ONE BOOK that you would recommend every female business owner read?
Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
Who is a female entrepreneur you look up to and why?
I look up to Bethenny Frankel for her relentless energy, unapologetic transparency, and sharp business instincts. I admire how she builds and scales brands with creativity and determination, all while showing up authentically as a devoted mom to her daughter, Bryn.
What are the first five things that you did when you were starting your business?
The first 5 things I did when starting my business were:
Researched to confirm proof of concept, sent out market surveys and looked at the data
Socialized the concept/idea with my friends and trusted business network connections to pitch the business idea and gather feedback
Hired a top tier brand agency to create the brand and all digital media in order to produce a cohesive set of visual and strategic elements that define the brand identity and how it would be perceived by the public. This includes a comprehensive brand strategy, a visual identity (like a logo, color palette, brand style guide), and messaging that consistently reflects the brand's values and personality across all platforms
Created all Legal Agreements and NDA5/ Researched the market to see if there were brand competitors and what they were doing to gain perspective as I went to build my brand
Who is someone who has helped change or shape your business for the better and what did they do to help you?
My Brand Marketing Manager has the knowledge, experience, and skills to stay ahead of and on top of brand/market trends which has had a tremendous impact on my business and has allowed me to focus on other facets of my business.
At what point did you make your company a full time gig? How did you know the time was right?
I made my company my full time gig close to 3 years after I launched the business in March 2020, by January 2023 BlueOwl was my full time business. I knew it was time because I was committed to my Talent Acquisition Leadership role at a SaaS company that we ultimately turned over to private equity allowing me to focus full-time on BlueOwl.
Let’s talk social media—who handles it for your company (you, an internal team member, an outsourced solution?) and what is the secret to making it successful? What is the biggest challenge?
My social media is handled and managed by my Brand Marketing Manager in NYC. The secret to making it successful is fresh and engaging content at all times along with authenticity. Also understanding the audiences and algorithms on LI, Facebook, and Instagram. The biggest challenge is consistency across all channels all the time.
How did you land your first client?
My first client after officially launching the business came to me from Chicago, her twin sister lives in the DC area and heard that I had started BlueOwl.
What is something you do differently from the industry standard?
Something I do different is hire subject matter experts who have the genuine passion and experience needed to be successful in my business so we can bring this to our clients. My team has 50+ combined years of recruiting expertise so we understand what employers are looking for where most “career coaches/advisors” have the 'coaching' element but do not have experience in every area of the business/services they are providing. I have SME's in every facet of BlueOwl to provide outstanding outcomes. I also created a national brand from Day 1 and used a national fully integrated digital brand agency to create my brand so our messaging, marketing and communications are all 'on brand' vs other 'career advisors' do not have a brand, they are marketing themselves as individuals who provide the service vs the brand.
What would you do differently if you were starting your business today?
The one thing I would do differently is possibly connect with some media/PR channels that would be appropriate and interested in learning about and getting the brand message out to the community.
What are three strategies you use to market your business, grow brand awareness and generate bottom line growth?
3 strategies I use are -
Building brand awareness by utilizing content marketing such as infographics and informative copy to educate audience / consumers on our services while showcasing our brand
Drive consideration and engagement by building trust, educating and moving consumer closer to purchase with value-driven content across Facebook and Instagram as well as sharing customer testimonials and reviews across social posts to create social proof. We also nurture leads by rewarding engagement and word of mouth promotion through discounts and referral programs
Drive sales and bottom line growth by converting prospects into customers and maximizing revenue through high-intent channels such as LinkedIn by targeting parents of and students and recent grads who are actively in need of services like ours
What was an obstacle you overcame to get your business where it is today? Please share the story behind it.
The obstacle I overcame is simply that I was pioneering a new business concept and defining a need that my target audience did not know they needed. This obstacle was more complex in that I have a 2-way audience, college students & recent grads are the actual clients, the family/parents are the actual customer who is paying for the service and the marketing/social media/content is very different. The way that I have overcome this is by identifying various channels and doors to open to connect with my audience. We have 2 social and content strategies; 1 for the parents/families, 1 for the college student/recent grad.
What are three actionable tips you would give with other women who want to start a business or are just getting started?
Define your business processes at a very granular level before you launch your business
Make sure you create a brand one-sheeter that includes your brand positioning statement, mission, vision, audience, promise, purpose, personality, and core values, and differentiators
Always be looking ahead when it comes to networking and looking for talent to add as you build your business and team
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