Meet Melanie Brandt, a shining example of fierceness and success. Overcoming significant personal challenges, Melanie has turned her past into a powerful force for change. Despite facing extreme abuse as a child, and a difficult domestic violence situation 5 years ago, she used her struggles to ignite her drive for success.

Today, Melanie is a prominent entrepreneur, digital marketer, and social media expert. As the founder of Lifestyle Industries, she has not only built but has excelled in successful online businesses across a variety of industries. Her deep understanding of digital marketing and social media has allowed her to craft impactful strategies that drive growth and innovation.

She has a remarkable ability to grow companies online, leveraging her expertise to help others reach their full potential. Her work isn’t just about business; it’s about empowering people to achieve their dreams and live the life they’ve always imagined.

Her story is a powerful example of how past hardships can be transformed into a source of strength and motivation and that no one needs to stay ‘stuck’ where they are. From overcoming deep emotional wounds to leading a thriving business, Melanie embodies the concept that with determination and grit, anything is possible. Her life and career demonstrate that, regardless of where you start, you have the power to reshape your future, recreate your identity, and lead an exemplary lifestyle.

The message from Melanie’s transformation is clear: no matter how tough things get, you have the power to overcome them and succeed. Her journey shows that even the hardest times can lead to new opportunities and strength. She truly embodies her idea of being “Absolutely Bulletproof.”

Kim: Who is Melanie in your own words, and what does she stand for?

Melanie: Oh, this is a good one. So, Mel, in her own words, would be… I guess the word ‘fierce’ comes to mind straight away. It doesn’t matter whether we’re travelling, whether it’s business, whether it’s new challenges, I feel like I attack everything from that fierce perspective where I’m an all-in or nothing type of person. There’s no kind of wishy-washy with me.

When it comes to who I am as a person, I guess it’s created really strong relationships because I do what I say I’m going to do. That is shown in the brand that we’ve been able to build.

Behind the scenes, without the business, who am I? I guess, ultra-creative, and adventurous. I am not somebody that likes to sit still. So, living within the top three values of inspiration, communication, and adventure, I feel as though my cup is full.

I love being around people, I thrive on conversation, and connection, travelling all over the world and creating that business and lifestyle that allows the time-freedom. And then, the inspiration is, I love going first. I love being the one who gets in the trenches and done the things. I’m not operating from a “you should,” I’m operating from a “I have,” and I think that adds so much value as well.

Kim: You’ve spoken before about the need to change your identity to move forward with your life. Who was Melanie before, and who is Melanie now in comparison?

Melanie: I was very, very, broken. I think that was because I grew up in a family where a scarcity mindset was the norm. I had never heard the word personal development, I had no idea what it was. I was coming from a family where blame, shame, and justify were how they operated.

I operated from such a scarcity and lack mindset my entire life and I was a part of extreme abuse as a child. What was shown to me very early on in my life was that you don’t trust people and most people are out to hurt you. If you stand out no one’s going to like you, if you’re outspoken these are the things that are going to hurt you the most.

Even though I’ve always been extroverted on the outside I’ve probably been extremely introverted because I only showed parts of myself that I knew people would like. I operated in that perspective for years, for most of my life. Only say what they want to hear, only be what they want you to be.

Where I am now, I believe that I was handed all of these lessons because when we think about our past and we think about the people in it and what we’re handed, I was handed everything that the generations before me couldn’t handle. Growing yourself, being a mother, building a business, and also healing generations of trauma that had been handed to me.

So previous to who I am now – I was very lost, but I think that’s because I had taken on the identities that were not mine. I was told my whole life this is what you’re going to be, this is what you’re not going to be, and I believed that. I believed everything that they said.

The turning point for me was getting into business online. I felt as though that was the first time I got to express myself and start to share my story. People were like “Tell us more”. I had this audience of women who were trying to find their voice and I think in that moment I realised that I was the voice for all of the women that hadn’t yet found that Fierce Attitude. So, who am I now because of that? Absolutely bulletproof.

I’m also so much softer now. Before, I was operating from this wounded masculine, keeping myself safe, a really hard shell. I’m much more fierce, but so much softer because it’s coming from a place of knowing now. I know who I am, and I know what I bring to the table. I know what I’m capable of and I know what I’ve been able to build and create. I know that I’ve genuinely wanted to take people on that journey with me. It’s not just been a ‘let me win,’. It’s been a ‘let me win, and now let me show you how to do it as well.’

To sum that up in a short sentence: who was I before? I was learning. Who am I now? I’ve arrived. I’ve still got so much more learning to do, but I feel as though I’ve come back to myself. I’ve done this big loop, and I’ve come back home.

Kim: That’s powerful. It sounds like, a lot of your experience and the need to change your identity drove your business. So, would you say that’s correct?

Melanie: Yes. When I started my company I started in network marketing, and, for me, it was a ‘watch me then’ because I was told, ‘You’re never going to be anyone. Those tattoos are disgusting. No one’s going to take you seriously. You’re going to be a bad mum.’

All of these things went around in my head and I think when I started my business, the ‘You’re never going to be anyone’ really got to me out of everything that was ever said to me by my mother. That was the one that hurt: ‘You’re never going to be anyone.’ And I was like, ‘Watch me. Watch me.’

So, my business started from such a wounded place. But I used that pain to fuel my fire. I realised a few years in that it’s not sustainable. It was tiring to constantly try and prove yourself to somebody who wasn’t watching anyway.

Kim: What were some of the challenges you’ve overcome to create the success that you have? Healing is a long journey, that will still have been unfolding as you created this new identity.

Melanie: Healing yourself while trying to love others has been challenging. And I think that’s coming from a parenting perspective, doing all of this as a solo mum. Two girls, it’s been so challenging because of the lack of support. Having to be here, there, and everywhere and still be a mum, and still have dinner, and then you’ve got to call at 6:00 p.m. That’s been hard and the judgment from some of the closest people around me has been the hardest part. I’ve heard words like, “You’re not present,” and “You haven’t been there.”

I realised early on that to live this life that I wanted to create, there must be sacrifice and that sacrifice is either going to come early or late. I picked early. I picked that I would grow my business, and I would create this success early because I wanted to create safety for my girls around those teenage years when I didn’t have it.

I was out of home at 14, drug-addicted by 18, just in a really bad place. So, the choice that I made was to make that sacrifice early on in their life to not be around as much and have to be on calls and travelling and speaking on stages and things like that. That was just something that I got judged for and still do now.

I think the other challenge was learning to fill my cup. That was a big one. I’ve operated from burning the candle at both ends for so many years, and I just got good at it. But I think now, the focus for me has been, coming home to myself. So the biggest challenge was surrendering and receiving as an independent, strong woman. Receiving in business, receiving in life, in relationships, in all of those areas, and it’s very much the journey that we’re on now and I still struggle with it. They’re such broad components of this whole journey that they factor into many pieces of the puzzle.

The biggest relationship challenge that floored my business was a domestic violence situation five years ago. I got out years ago, and it just sucked me dry, and it absolutely floored me. I was chipped away to a mere shell of myself. My children had seen me be strangled in front of them, they had seen so many disgusting things. I just wish we could turn back time, but we can’t, it was part of our journey, and I think one of the most upsetting parts of that was that I abandoned myself so many times.

This is what I see a lot in women in business. We abandon ourselves in giving everyone else everything that they need. I almost lost my life because of those choices. I ended up shutting one company down and starting the next after I had finally made that jump to leave that relationship. I removed people from my life, like partners friends and all the people that we had around, because loyalty is what keeps us stuck, and my life completely changed. Literally within weeks. The business blew up because my focus was so different.

My favourite quote is that the ‘Universe has seen things and heard things that you haven’t, and it will remove the people that it needs to because they can’t go where you’re heading’ and it was just like that. It makes me emotional even saying it now.

Kim: I really resonate with a lot of your story and appreciate the strength and courage it has taken you to get to where you are now. That’s huge. What is your mission and your vision and how are you here to create an impact in the world?

Melanie: The mission and vision for me stems from that first business that I started. What I saw in that time was women getting so excited to make a change in their lives and what I got sick of, was seeing those women giving up on their dreams because their husbands said that they couldn’t have the money to get started, or their husband told them that businesses like that don’t work, or their best friend told them it’s no good. I got sick of seeing that so my mission became, “I’m going to make it so goddamn simple for me to show you how to do this that you’re going to prove to yourself over time that you can do it because I’m going to show you and I’m going to be right there with you”.

I think in the coaching space right now it’s all about time-freedom. You know, like, “I don’t do sales calls, and I don’t do this, and I’ve earned a million dollars”.  I think there’s a lot of connection that has been lost in this time of freedom lifestyle that a lot of people are creating, and I wanted to make sure that we didn’t look like that.

I’m able to walk with these people in building their businesses every step of the way, every single week, for hours on end, and showing them, “This is how you do it. Now go and do it, okay?” And “Oh wow, look at that, you made your first sale!”

So, I think my mission is to continually prove to people over and over and over again that yes, you can. Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Yes, you can.

It’s going to take some testing and measuring, and what I did might not work for you straight away, or vice versa, but we’re going to stick at it until we find what does work. And I think when you can get people into that mindset, they become unstoppable. The wishy-washy falls away, the lack of belief falls away, you know, the negative self-talk—it starts to fall away.

I think my mission very much is around ensuring that people understand that you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to be able to create a lifestyle that’s full of choices.

The impact of that, the ripple effect, is huge because people will work with us, and then they go and tell their friends and then we get tagged in posts, in groups, and the referrals are just huge for us.  We’ve earned the trust that we have online because we’ve delivered, we’ve done what we said we were going to do. The impact and the ripple effect is that we now get to show people how to do the same thing.

Kim: For the readers that have got this idea that they want to take more control over their life and live the type of lifestyle that you speak to, what would your advice be to them, for those first steps?

Melanie: The first steps, I think, are really strong foundations. I think for a lot of people, the first steps are to make a sale, do this—no, no. None of that matters, because if you can’t build something sustainable, yes, you can make one sale, but you might not make another after that.

I think strong foundations are key, not only foundations but systems. Systems for me were huge. When I built a business the first time around with no systems, not so great. When I built it the second time around with systems, we were able to 10x our results.

So, reverse-engineering your ideal lifestyle—so if you want to create a business where you’re earning money while you sleep, that’s passive income, that’s automation—then you need to do that now. A lot of people say things like, “I’m not ready.” Or “My business isn’t big enough” because they’re looking at the investment that they need to make, they’re not looking at the end result. So what I see a lot of right now is people want to earn millions of dollars online or they want to do 5K months, 10K months, 20K months but they’re not willing to operate from that CEO status right from the start.

Your business is going to cost you. If you want to be pulling that type of money out of your business, then you need to make sure that you’re putting it in. I think that’s really key. So, foundations, good systems, and reverse engineering your ideal lifestyle—definitely.

Kim: I love it. Now, I’ve only got one more question for you, what is your fierce truth?

Melanie: Oh gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked this before. My fierce truth would be, you already are her. Whoever you’re trying to be, strive towards, whoever you’re trying to mirror—because we all do—there’s somebody in the back of our mind that you’re like, “I want to be like that,” or, “I want my business to look like that,” or, “I want to hold myself like she does.”

You already are her.

I think when I realised that I was just in my chapter one of her story, I stopped mirroring people. Now people say to me, “Who’s your mentor? Who do you watch online?” And there isn’t one. There’s lots of people that I work with for different reasons, but is there a woman who is like me, who has a similar vibe and style? No. I haven’t found one yet and that’s something I’m proud of. I think the way that you create success in that ‘fierce truth’ is to stand out.

People remember you because you stand out, and you spoke that truth. So yeah, I think the Fierce truth for me would be, you already are her.