As part of the Morning Lazziness series about empowering women who encourage and do incredible things with their ideas in society, I had the pleasure of interviewing Melissa Bauknight.
Melissa Bauknight is an entrepreneur, adventurer, and Business Alignment Coach. With 20 years of experience in sales and leadership, she founded The Nova, a community empowering women to align their lives and businesses with their true purpose. Melissa has coached over 1,000 women, fostering authentic connection and holistic success.
Here’s what we found out about Melissa’s daily routine, followed by an exclusive Q+A.
Can you share the story behind your journey as an entrepreneur and what inspired you to start your own business?
I created the business I wished I had all along to support me. The last decade of my life has been devoted to coming home to myself and creating my life in a way that feels like it represents my most authentic self-expression. Before that, I suffered from decades of anxiety, feeling like I had to hide parts of myself to belong and be loved. This was rooted in growing up in a family with a very black-and-white view of the world. When I began doing personal, professional, and spiritual growth work in what I would call “safe communities” I was able to shed my anxiety and find true belonging in myself and with others. This is the greatest gift I have ever received and the greatest gift I know to give to others – to be seen and supported.
The Nova community is a culmination of 20 years of professional experience as well as my lived journey of finding myself. I have taken the best practices from that and put it all into one business with the intention of making this journey of life more enjoyable and easier on all women who come into our community.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in the business world, and how have you overcome them?
I consider one of the most challenging struggles that I have faced and most women face in the business world is the fight against business cultures that are often heavily dominated by masculine values. We have been conditioned to believe that this is the right and only way to be successful when, in fact, that is not true. It’s the fast pass to burnout and feeling like your work is void of meaning. It has not been easy to create a community focused on more feminine values like interconnectedness, authenticity, and well-being when competition and financial success dominate our traditional metrics of success.
To balance these challenges, I stay devoted to my vision by working with supportive people who believe in the importance of nurturing environments for women. I have discovered that to feel fulfilled in our work and that we are creating lives that represent our authenticity, it is essential to go against the grain, think differently, and follow our intuition instead of conforming to other people’s expectations. In doing this, I have built a community that embodies these ideals and creates safe spaces where women no longer abandon themselves. It has been quite a ride and at times one of the most difficult seasons of my life, but as they say, all things worth having require hard work and resilience.
How do you balance your professional and personal life as an entrepreneur?
Juggling business and personal responsibilities has always been something I’m navigating especially since starting my own business but it is necessary to find joy in the journey and not burnout. One of the things that I do to ensure that there is a line between work and personal time is to stick to traditional work hours. I rarely work after 4 pm or on weekends. I also make sure to schedule my time, such as workouts, every day as a non-negotiable. It has been my experience that one cannot give out what he or she does not have, so I prioritize regulating my nervous system, doing things that bring me joy, and adding in spiritual rituals to my daily life.
I also make sure that there is congruency between the way I show up in my work and my values. This helps me feel more integrated and not as if I am just switching from one role to another, creating separate identities for each. As a leader, I have learned that the more I trust my team, support them work aligned with their values, and get us all rallied around our vision, the less I have on my plate that doesn’t belong to me. I am now surrounded by incredible women, all working in their zones of genius which allows me to focus on what I consider to be essential.
What strategies have you found most effective for networking and building connections in your industry?
I was raised in a very community-centric home so I have spent my entire life knowing the importance of having a solid network. The strategies I’ve found most effective for networking and building connections in my industry I pulled from my childhood and are deeply rooted in authenticity, community, and meaningful connections. These approaches have not only been pivotal in building The Nova but have also played a key role in my overall success throughout my life, especially in my 20 years in relationship-based sales.
The easiest way to do this is to be the type of person you would want to build a relationship with. When I network, I prioritize finding 1-2 people at an event that I deeply connect with vs trying to collect as many business cards as possible. I learned form my friend and mentor, Lisa Kalfus, to be “interested rather than interesting”. When you approach people with curiosity, a genuine interest in who they are over what they do, and a desire to cultivate win-win scenarios, you build solid trusting relationships much faster than you could ever imagine.
How do you approach mentorship and seek guidance in your entrepreneurial journey?
I lean heavily on my mentors and very intentionally discern who gets to influence me. There are lots of people who want to provide advice but not everyone should get that airspace. For me, mentorship is non-negotiable—just as essential as having a coach is to being an athlete. As a former collegiate athlete, I would never have tried to play a sport without a coach or mentor, so why would I approach life or business any differently? Depending on the season I’m in and what I need, I’ve invested in 1-on-1 coaching, participated in group programs, and attended retreats. Each of these experiences has provided me with the guidance, support, and perspective I need to grow personally, professionally, and spiritually. I believe that having the right mentors by my side is crucial for navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship and staying aligned with my vision and values.
Can you talk about a specific setback or failure you’ve experienced in your business and how you bounced back from it?
One significant setback I experienced was during the early stages of building The Nova. I was eager to grow the community quickly and took on too many projects at once without having the necessary infrastructure or support in place. This is a pattern of mine as a manifesting generator who is designed to be multi-passionate and create at a very fast pace. This led to burnout, both for myself and some of the early team members, and ultimately slowed our progress. I had never experienced burnout before and it was misaligned to our values at The Nova. I felt like a complete impostor. It was a tough realization, but I knew I had to reevaluate how I was approaching the speed to which I believed we needed to grow.
To bounce back, I took a step back to reassess my priorities and the long-term vision for The Nova. I focused on building a strong foundation by investing in systems, processes, and the right people to support sustainable growth. I also am learning to pace myself (which will be a lifelong journey), setting more realistic goals and timelines that allowed us to grow steadily without compromising the well-being of the team or the integrity of our mission. This experience taught me the importance of balance and patience in business, and it ultimately is making The Nova stronger and more resilient.
In what ways do you prioritize diversity and inclusion within your company or startup?
I prioritize diversity and inclusion within The Nova by intentionally creating a community where all voices are heard, respected, and valued. This commitment extends to creating a safe and welcoming space for women and non-binary individuals as well, ensuring that everyone feels included and supported in our community.
We’re actively exploring initiatives to bridge gaps between our community and other communities that might be more BIPOC, Latina, or centered around other marginalized groups. We believe in the power of coming together and fostering collaboration between different communities to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for everyone. By building these connections, we aim to amplify our collective impact and ensure that The Nova is a space where everyone feels empowered and valued.
To further solidify this commitment, we’re in the process of hiring a new team member who is an expert in diversity and inclusion. This ensures that these principles are not just intentions and something nice to put on our website but are truly baked into the core of who we are.
How do you stay motivated and resilient during tough times in your business?
This is a timely question. This summer has been one of the hardest seasons of my life personally and professionally. I normally can power through but this time, it has felt different. I have felt a lot of shame in feeling so defeated but I also continue to lean heavily on my mentors and community to help me keep going.
What this looks like is regular check-ins scheduled with my mentors, a voxer chat with my mastermind where I feel safe to fully express myself without having to sensor anything, and clearly asking for what I need from my husband. I believe with my entire being that our support system is what gets us through and that we aren’t meant to do anything alone. Too many people are isolated and have inadequate support and that’s one key initiative we have at The Nova – that nobody feels alone or unseen!
What advice would you give to other aspiring women entrepreneurs who are just starting out?
To aspiring women entrepreneurs, my advice is this: trust yourself. I often say, “I have never met a confused woman.” Everyone thinks they are, but in my experience, 100% of the women I talk to know exactly what they want. The challenge is that they don’t trust their vision, and the fear becomes louder than their inner knowing. Your intuition is powerful—lean into it and let it guide you.
Remember, you’re not alone on this journey. As I said before, surround yourself with the most supportive community that believes in you and your vision and allows you to show up authentically. Building a network of mentors, peers, and collaborators who uplift you is essential. Being an entrepreneur is one of the most profound spiritual journeys. It’s designed to teach you to surrender, to believe in yourself, and to learn to let your courage be louder than your fears. Embrace the fear, trust your voice, and know that you have everything you need within you to succeed.
What is one quote you live by that has guided you in your entrepreneurial journey?
One quote that has guided me throughout my entrepreneurial journey is, “Just because we can doesn’t mean we should.” This mantra reminds me to stay aligned with my core values and purpose, rather than getting caught up in the endless possibilities and pressures of what I could or should do. It’s about making intentional choices that truly resonate with who I am and what I want to create, rather than simply chasing every opportunity that comes my way. Sometimes I feel like a broken record, but if you do not discern who supports you and what you say yes to doing vs delegating, you will burn out. As cliche as it might sound, the journey is the point not the destination and it’s our job to find joy in the journey.
Can you share a memorable success or milestone that you’ve achieved in your entrepreneurial career?
The most memorable success in my entrepreneurial career has been actually starting The Nova and putting everything I have into my biggest dream and soul purpose. The hardest part is starting – we spend so much time getting ready to be ready that so many people never begin.
I’ll never forget the first Zoom call with the five women on our leadership team who came together to launch this soul baby! Taking that leap of faith to say yes to this bold vision to create a community that empowers women to embrace their true selves and connect on a deep, authentic level has been equal parts fulfilling and terrifying. Watching The Nova grow from a vision into a thriving community where women support and uplift each other is something that continues to inspire me every day to keep going. It’s a testament to the power of following your heart and fully committing to taking the first step!
