Inspiring Conversations with Melissa Nelms of The Culture Collab

Hi Melissa, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
So growing up, I always had entrepreneurial inspirations. I tried doing a few different things that I wasn’t that good at or got bored with quickly until I found something that worked for me. I worked in social services and my last job was in non profit.

I started my brand as a side hustle and eventually rebranded and changed the name of the business and turned The Culture Collab into my full-time business which has been going great. I can’t complain. I’m blessed to do what I love every day.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not. I started what is now known as The Culture Collab right before the Panny (pandemic) and when the Panny hit, I was hit hard. I had clients lined up and everything stopped once businesses were unsure of how long we would be out of commission. Luckily, I was still with my day job, but that hit to my goals was a big one which of course, delayed my transition into full-time entrepreneur.

Initially, my business was a full-time virtual business so I could work from anywhere and with anyone. In March of 2023, I opened up a physical location for The Culture Collab as a coworking/creative business space for Entrepreneurs, Business Owners, and Side Hustlers in addition to the virtual component of Brand Partnerships/Project Management, and here comes the talk of a recession so that was another battle to fight for the physical location.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Culture Collab?
Yeah, so The Collab started as The Virtual Vision Brand. I started as a Virtual Assistant working with Black businesses. Through working with businesses of all types, I connected with EJ James from New York at Karleen Roy’s Owning The Block event. Her first one was in October of 2019. I stayed in contact with him and we eventually started working together. The power of networking. He was a Talent Manager who managed talent. I started to learn more and take on more responsibility for managing talent and fell in love with that. I now manage brand partnerships for talent and for brands seeking talent for promotion and events.

I always compare Memphis to Atlanta, demographically. Predominately Black city with just as much talent, but we don’t seem to work together in the way Atlanta does. I eventually changed the name of my business to The Culture Collab and in addition to project management, opened a creative business space for other entrepreneurs and creatives to network, grow, evolve, and create opportunities. The goal of the space is to inspire, create opportunity, learn and grow, and build a community of entrepreneurs, business owners, and side hustlers who have each other to lean on and grow together.

The Culture Collab offers project management services, brand partnership management, guest management, admin support, and our newest service, Influencer Consultant.

Our Influencer Consultant service is for brands who are interested in Influencer Marketing and need assistance mapping out their campaigns. From pinpointing the right influencers to devising engagement-driven content plans, we’re here to help you harness the true potential of influencer partnerships.

In the space, we have a meeting room, private offices, event space, and work spaces for our entrepreneurs to work and grow. We are currently accepting members.

This brand, outside of my children, is one of the best parts of me. I have cried and quit a hundred times LOL, but most importantly fought for it, even when I was out here swinging on my own. If you believe in something, go for it, no matter what anything things. Sometimes people just don’t understand your vision, and that’s okay. It’s not meant for them.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I’m originally from Milwaukee, WI. Yes, there are Black people in Wisconsin. Lol. I remember spending my summers down here in Memphis as a child.

My father would pack me up and sometimes a cousin or two, and we would drive to Memphis. I remember being on Beale Street as a child and spending time at my cousin’s house in Whitehaven and couldn’t wait to grow up so I could move to Memphis. I eventually did and those memories are what got me here.