President
SmallBizLady Enterprises
As President and CEO of Quintessence Group and SmallBizLady Enterprises, Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady,” is an expert on small businesses from three perspectives:
• Advising Small Businesses through the crucial developmental stages. • Advising Fortune 500 companies on how to market to small businesses. • Helping Small Businesses and Fortune 500 customers use digital marketing effectively.
Ms. Emerson has advised companies such as Pitney Bowes, VISA, FedEx, Verizon, Xerox, The Hartford, American Express, and Sam’s Club on how to construct media, social media, and marketing strategies to increase customer growth in the small business market. She draws on her 20+ years of combined front-line and executive management in business and entrepreneurial situations. She shares her small business insights and knowledge through many media, including her blog “succeedasyourownboss.com.” Her content is widely read reaching over 3 million readers each week. She is also a former columnist for the New York Times. Her articles are featured in many publications such as Entrepreneur, Smallbiztrends.com, Black Enterprise, and Essence. She is frequently tapped to speak about small business issues on media such as Fox News, CNBC, MSNBC, NBC Nightly News, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and Inc. Magazines. She was also named Forbes Magazine’s #1 Woman for Entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter.
She is an author and speaker whose expertise includes small business start-ups, sales development, and social media marketing. She is the national bestselling author of “Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works,” 2nd edition, the E-book, “How to Become a Social Media Ninja” and her latest “Fix Your Business, a 90-day Strategy to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business.” She regularly delivers keynotes to entrepreneurs and corporations who target small businesses.