2019 EmBe Tribute to Women Nominee
What qualities does your nominee possess that make her an effective leader in her field?
Melanie Hammer is an innovator in her industry. As the owner of Priceless Priorities, she offers a unique service that fills many gaps for busy families. By running errands, organizing trouble spots in a home, or acting as a personal assistant she allows her clients to focus on what matters most to them while ensuring that things don’t fall through the cracks.
She serves the community by donating to local non-profits and building and maintaining community partnerships to ensure that her client's needs are met. She sub-contracts as needed to ensure quality service is provided when a job request is beyond the expertise of her staff. In addition to traditional benefits, she provides her staff two hours of paid time each week to her to focus on completing tasks that keep things running smoothly in their own homes.
How has your nominee demonstrated skill development and growth within the category of her nomination?
When Melanie found out that she was having twins she knew she would have to get creative to create the time for herself that she creates for her clients. She hired a life coach to help with self-care. She became comfortable with asking for and accepting help. She started working with a CPA and implemented QuickBooks Online to make invoicing and accounting available to her from her phone since she rarely has office time. She started using apps for her staff to clock in and out and track their job progress so she could continue to offer quality control remotely. She also initiated the utilization of technology to track miles, get new jobs and grow her online presence.
She was afraid that going from a mom of three to five within one year her business and/or personal life would suffer. After making these changes she was able to take 12 weeks of PAID maternity leave, grow her business by 40%, and go from being a solopreneur to hiring 3 part-time employees. Her business is doing great, her kiddos are healthy and she's excited to go to Africa for 4 weeks in May to experience animals in their natural habitat, a long-awaited dream that began when she was a zoologist at the Great Plains Zoo!
What achievements has your nominee made, personally and/or professionally, that are evidence of their qualification for the EmBe Tribute to Women Award?
This year in addition to the growth of her family and business she donated $1,500 worth of in-kind services and $16K in physical goods to local non-profits. She has been a Mentor Mom for Big Brothers Big Sisters Program for 3 years. She is an EmBe participant and former coach for Girls in the Run. She is committed to having an environmentally friendly business and transitioned from paper to electronic records/communication in 2018.
Please share a brief story that illustrates a specific contribution made by your nominee, as well as, her overall impact in her business, organization, and community.
Melanie helped me overcome downsizing overwhelm with her great ideas and helpful tips in a nonjudgemental way. I was very impressed with her knowledge, hard work, integrity, and positivity. Her deep passion for helping others is far-reaching. She is committed to changing the lives of all people, first through helping her clients and secondly by taking items we no longer need and donating them to local non-profits that include; Reach for Literacy, Dress for Success, Volunteers of America, Heartland House, The Compass Center, The Teddy Bear Den and Girls on the Run.