← All Interviews

Melissa Greene

Small Business Owner

Tune into Thinking

Melissa Greene, small business owner of Tune into Thinking, channels her background as a public-school educator into creating engaging classroom materials that combine learning with music and purpose. Guided by a strong work ethic formed early in her career, she defines success as steady growth and the positive feedback she receives from teachers who use her products. In this interview, Melissa reflects on determination, creativity, and leading by example - sharing how she continues to grow her business while adapting to new trends like artificial intelligence.

1. What inspired you to pursue your current career path?

   As a public school educator, I was always looking for supplementary materials to use in the classroom, and I wanted them to be worth my money and useful for more than a single school year. Therefore, I decided to begin creating my own materials and making them as useful as possible. What better to create than music to reach into the classroom and the students’ hearts on a personal level? Music sends messages of joy, sadness, uplift, and more. Music and purpose were my inspiration.

2. What lesson from your first job still guides you today?

   When I was a teenager and working for the first time, I learned a lesson the hard way. I was working at a restaurant as a salad bar server. I cut up fruits and vegetables and kept the salad bar stocked and clean for the customers. One day when I arrived for my shift, nothing was stocked; nothing was clean, and nothing was where it should have been. I walked in for the dinner shift, people were in line at the door, and the salad bar was a mess. I dug in and worked fast and steady to overcome the mess that was left for me by the previous shift’s workers, then I was blamed for their laziness. It was at that time that I realized not every worker has the same work ethic. I never wanted to be the worker with the work ethic that caused my colleagues to dread working with me. Whether you are a waitress, a dishwasher, or the CEO of a company, you need to pull your weight. You need to work strong and hard from the minute you accept the job.

3. How do you define success in your current position?

   I define success as consistent forward movement. Whether that is creating a new product or seeing new sales increase monthly, it is consistent growth. One of the most exciting moments of growth comes from customer reviews. When a teacher uses one of my products and leaves a strong review, I know I am being successful. There is no money involved in a review, but there is a feeling of pride and accomplishment. To me, that is the ultimate feeling of success.

4. Which skills have been most valuable to your success?

   Skills come in all shapes and sizes. Most people think of skills as being proficient in a specific platform like Photoshop or Adobe Premiere. I, on the other hand, would say my most valuable skills are determination and creativity. Business owners need to be determined to meet their clients’ needs, and if they can do that in a creative way, then customers will take notice. Anyone can learn how to use a software tool, but not everyone can tap into human determination or foster their own creativity. Those are the skills that truly matter.

5. What trends are shaping your industry right now?

   Artificial intelligence is shaping every industry right now. The question is: can you use it, and how? I am determined to learn the new skill sets that are emerging so that I can be as strong - or stronger - than my competitors.

6. How would you describe your leadership style?

   I lead by doing. No true leader can just sit back and watch others work. I model what I want others to do and use words of encouragement when I notice them trying their best. I recognize and accentuate the positive and redirect workers who need a gentle nudge in the right direction. With that being said, I also cannot encourage those with minimal work ethic. I try to catch them when they are working hard and encourage it to the Nth degree, but if they never step up to the plate, we need to talk. My best advice is to lead by example.

7. Who or what played a key role in your success story?

   I know it’s cliché, but my mom has played the biggest role in my success story. Her quiet strength showed me how to succeed in life and in my career. She shaped the way I lead, create, and handle challenges in my business.

8. What advice would you give to someone just starting out?

   Never forget that you can do difficult things. In the beginning, most days will be hard, most skills will feel impossible, and most days will feel like there is not enough time to accomplish your goals. Just because it is hard does not mean you cannot do it. It simply means you will have to find your strength to keep pushing forward, to keep making growth, to keep succeeding one baby step at a time.