Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Monge
Hi Melissa , can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi I’m Melissa Monge! It has been almost 15 years since I took a chance, leaving my hometown Cape May, NJ and big Italian family and moving a thousand miles away to Hilton Head Island, SC, with my then 4 year old son. I am now planning to marry a wonderful man, Jeremy. We have blended our families, with my son Kayden and his son Alex, and most recently it has been a blessing to become a BeBe to Alex’s beautiful baby girl Aria.
A corporate job brought me to Hilton Head but shortly after arriving that door closed and another quickly opened that presented an opportunity to follow a dream that had been tucked away for many years. Myself and my sister Christina formed Guardian Angels Sitting Service where we provided a professional sitting service to families in many locations in the South and North. After we closed that door in 2019 I was excited to go back into the corporate world on the island, but I was not done being a business owner. I took my passion and love for marketing and created MDM Design and Marketing where I still today assist new and existing businesses, with business development and growth.
When I have free time I enjoy watching my son play hockey, spending time with family and friends, boating, traveling and just enjoying the beauty of Hilton Head Island.
After Kayden left for college I knew it was time for a new adventure for myself. Jeremy and I visited the New England area and walked into Sea Love Portsmouth in early June 2023. We made candles and had so much fun. We both fell in love with the concept of candle making and bringing people together for a fun activity, and knew that this is what Hilton Head Island was missing! In December 2023 Sea Love Hilton Head was born. With Hilton Head being so close to Savannah, GA Sarah Brown, my business partner and I decided we needed to expand and bring the art of candle making to that area. In December 2024, Sea Love Savannah was born.
I am excited to take my work experience in the Corporate world and expertise from
being a business owner and continue to grow Sea Love in the Lowcountry.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Opening a Sea Love Franchise has made the journey much smoother then starting from scratch with starting a business. Opening a franchise makes it more like a turn key operation.
We were able to open our door fairly quickly. Our biggest challenge was not knowing how to staff accordingly, as each day is very different with the amount of candle making experiences we do.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have been in the hospitality industry for close to 20 years. I had started my career right out of college with Marriott Vacations until 2008. At that time I had opened my first business, Guardian Angels Sitting Service ( a baby, pet and elderly sitting agency). I was able to expand to 5 different locations in the south, with my sister owning her own location in New Jersey. Owning my own business really is what made me fall in love with my passion of marketing. Prior to selling I had jumped back into the corporate world and I am currently a Director of Marketing with Hilton Grand Vacations. During Covid I opened my own marketing and design business called MDM Design and Marketing where I help new and existing businesses grow with website creation, social media management and business consulting. I really believe the key to any successful business is marketing and thinking outside of the box. I love seeing businesses grow from Marketing efforts that are applied. I think that the ideas I come up with and the constant thinking outside of the box and being creative is what sets me apart from others.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I had really learned patience and how to enjoy not being on the go go go every day. I was able to take a step back do things around the house and in the yard that I never had time to do.
And I was able to find my real passion in helping others with opening and growing businesses.
I had always given friends and family members advice and ideas on different businesses or maybe talents they had and how to turn it into a business. Then I realized I was on to something and could really help others by starting my own business doing it, and during that time is when MDM Design and Marketing was born.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sealovehiltonhead.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sealovehiltonhead/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sealovehiltonhead
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-monge-9a5a694/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhKV9MfGyJg
- Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/7njn-Kjip02hMNkFE3SzjA
