Mel Stanley
Founder and Chief Evangelist
FirstWoman
After leaving full-time employment I started my own company, FirstWoman, in 2019. I spent 5 years coaching other ambitious women in the art of personal branding and how to be more visible in the workplace. In 2023, I wrote a book of my coaching: "Success without Compromise. Empowering the Next Generation of Female Leaders" for early-career, aspiring professionals. It is part text book, part anthology of lived experiences but primarily it serves as a practical, workbook to help the reader build an intentional career development plan.
Helping women to advance their careers, be more joyful in their jobs, find meaning and purpose in what they do, and become more confident in who they are and what they stand for makes the work all worthwhile.
I don't have a typical day, I gave up the 9-7. I work Monday - Thursday between 11 and 6. During the day, I spend time building the business on LinkedIn, hosting training sessions, and private coaching. There is plenty of variety, especially as I'm building an online course which is taking up quite a lot of time and headspace.
I always wanted to be in PR or Journalism, as English was my favourite subject. As is often the case when you enjoy something, I was good at it. I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Studies and Marketing and took an internship in public relations (PR). My first grown-up job was at Which? Magazine. After that, I switched to advertising and stayed in that environment for 20 plus years. Over the duration of my career, I've been freelance, part-time, full time, all in pursuit of freedom and flexibility. My final role culminated at the end of a 10-year plan to walk away from full-time employment and do something more meaningful. FirstWoman allows me to combine my passion and fervour for equality with my core professional expertise, so it's a good balance.
The mission of FirstWoman is to give as many women as possible access to my leadership development coaching, regardless of current status. That way, more women have the opportunity to lead; only that will shift the gender balance. This book further democratises my content. It includes all my coaching strategies, tips, and frameworks for a fraction of the price of private coaching. I also using the book as a workshop asset to help train groups of women about how to become inclusive, authentic leaders.
I ride horses. Horses are my grand passion and have been since I was a child. I owned, bred and competed horses for many years. Nowadays, Freddie and I explore the forest and play at dressage.
"If you don't share what you stand for, you can't influence how you are perceived." Women and girls are often told it's impolite or 'not nice' to speak up, speak out, or vocalise their strengths and achievements. As a result women, fear being in the spotlight, of putting themselves forward for new opportunities, preferring to stay small and in the background. How can we can be authentic leaders when we are hiding our true selves for fear of judgment or rejection? Visibility isn't vanity; it's how you add value and also get what you want!