Melissa Krivachek President of Briella Arion is committed to enhancing the growth & effectiveness of leaders, teams, and organizations by utilizing the tools, knowledge, resources & relationships they already have to elevate their leadership capacity. We provide “High Caliber Leadership” training and additional tools, knowledge, resources, and personal growth techniques to get massive, immediate, long-term sustainable results for individuals and organizations looking to take their personal, professional, or financial life to the next level.
Leadership is a word that takes on a particularly important meaning in times of trial. Companies need to foster it. Individuals need to aspire to it. And our nation needs to rediscover it. When times get tough, the tough get going--but the truly successful get going in the right directions. Melissa Krivachek President of Briella Arion provides “high caliber leadership” training inspiring individuals, teams, and organizations. From humble beginnings to senior consultant, author, executive coach, and international speaker Melissa’s personal story resonates with all audiences. Melissa has helped her clients grow and prosper with organizational transformation, organizational development and behavioral change, leadership and team development, and sustaining change through effective internal and external communications. Melissa facilitates motivation for massive, immediate, long-term, sustainable change.
Pent up inside every member of your organizational population is a leader just waiting to emerge. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to align what your people do best with what your organization needs most. This means tapping into their most natural and energy-producing interests and motivations and using them to propel your organization forward. More enthusiasm. More Fun. More profit. Apple does it and so can you. What are you waiting for?
Each year, Melissa Krivachek is invited to share her practical approach to leadership with hundreds of thousands of leaders around the world.
Melissa is more than just an author and professional speaker; she is a teacher who challenges and motivates others with her real-life stories, humorous anecdotes, and rock solid principles that she backs up with her live-it-out approach to leadership.
Melissa’s expertise extends to leadership, teamwork, relationships, attitude, success, personal growth, and communication. Over the past couple years she has spoken and empowered numerous audiences across global platforms.
Many of these clients ask Melissa to return year after year because of her ability to deliver fresh content and continually inspire her audiences. She works to tailor each presentation to the needs of her specific audience.
Specialties
High Caliber Leadership, Sales & Personal Growth Training Expert, Author, Speaker, Life Enthusiast!
Entrepreneurship
On February 7, 1988, I was born in Fort Atkinson, Iowa. While I’ve always had a desire to run my own business on some level growing up with a barely get by, live paycheck to paycheck, finance everything with increasingly high percentage rates was the mindset I grew up with in a small town which had a population of 400. In reality no has nor necessarily wants to be or do anything great there. Except, of course me but I’ve always been ambitious and we’ll get to that in a minute. First a little background: My dad has owned Jerry’s Auto Body since he was 18 and while he wanted to be successful and has made many attempts at doing so his priority was always his family. So he had to sacrifice his dream and business to support a wife and three kids by bouncing job to job doing construction. My mother on the hand has great benefits and pay at a job she’s been at since she was 18 with Rockwell Collins. For 36 years she has poured her heart and soul into the company to provide for our basic needs. And while they’ve been married for more than 25 years ultimately, this drove me to want more even though I didn’t know what was possible beyond my own small world.
The Beginning
As the oldest of three my role was to set the example. My sister Melanie who is 2 years younger, and my brother Maxwell who is 5 years younger have always looked up to and watched my every move. As a junior in HS I choose to graduate a year early and attend a local community college while working a full time job which I’ll tell you about in a bit. Because I was graduating early I wasn’t allowed to walk across the stage so I simply showed up at a board meeting got my diploma and left. I then attended NICC for the next 18 months and received a Marketing Certificate and AA in Global Business Management. From there I attended an online college Capella University so I could continue working and at the same time furthering my education later on receiving a BA in Business Management. While I went to college on and off multiple times and spent further time at Ashford University pursing a Master’s in Clinical Psychology I realized my experience was much more applicable then my degree.
The Corporate Life
My first job was being a cashier for the #1 Fortune 500 company in the world when I was 16. I grew up the ranks extremely quickly, in fact much quicker than most people do in their lifetime. At the point I was going to quit a new Co-Manager; Rick Duerlinger saw my potential and promoted me from cashier to Inventory Control Manager. After proving myself I began traveling and taking on other management roles and tasks. At 19 I became their youngest Store Manager ever, and had surpassed my mentor’s position. Although, I trained as an Assistant Manager I took on the role of Store Manger because the store I went to didn't have one as they were going through a transition phase. Very quickly I realized the District Manager was cooking the books. After calling him out I was fired for gross misconduct yet in the 4 years I was there my record was spotless. It was the right and ethical thing to do and while I always wanted to be Sam Walton I would never get the opportunity because I was willing to do what it took to stand up for what I valued and believed.
While I had everything I ever wanted at 19 a new house, new car (right off the show room floor), 6 figure salary, I could travel whenever, wherever I wanted which I did quite frequently. I was also 19 naive, and didn’t save any money. So what was every teenager’s dream situation soon became a brutal reality. I suddenly had no income, no job, no passion, and no way to survive. It was at this point I had a decision to continue down the path of destruction or pick up and move on.
After a year working a temporary job at a printing factory and barely making it mind you this was 08 I was able to secure a job with another Fortune 500 company and what started as a Store Manager position soon became a District Manager position. The store in Iowa was too small compared to my previous management role so I moved to Chicago and took over 24 stores in the south side. As a young, white, female in a mostly black gang dominated highly dangerous area I didn’t last very long. Needless to say after having a gun put to my head because my cashier slept with this customer’s wife, an alcoholic roommate and maxing out 5 credit cards in addition to more than 50k in student loans I left after 30 days. I was physically, mentally, financially, and emotionally drained. I was at the lowest point I had ever been in my life but things would continue to get worse.
It was at that point I had no other choice but to move back home and start my own business. While I would love to say it was amazingly successful it was anything but. Too bad someone didn’t warn me when you start a business you should at least have a plan in place and know that you will have to manage marketing, customer service, PR, HR, branding, social media, and that’s just the beginning. I had no clue what I wanted to do or what my passion was at that point so my effort was being wasted because my mindset was too busy focused on the reality that I all truly wanted was money.
I eventually lost my car because I couldn't afford it. During this time I racked up multiple speeding tickets and the judge was harsh in my opinion and sent me to jail for 6 days with no one around, no phone, no computer, nothing but myself during which time I broke down looked in the mirror and knew I had to deal with the honest truth because nothing was going to get better until I did. The reality was I had no job, no income, no car, no passion, lost my relationship and now I was living with my parents and siblings who were always on my back and had an opinion about everything. I’m sure some of you can relate.
I’m telling you this story not because I am proud but because it was the best time and worst time of my life, and one of the greatest lessons I ever learned. Spending time with yourself is essential to growing, and moving forward. I got out and gravitated towards reading every book I could get my hands on, watched hundreds of hours of YouTube videos, listened to podcasts, attended webinars and tele-conferences, basically anything that was free. And fell in love with personal growth and what was a hobby soon turned into a business, a passion, and fascination for helping people get out of their own way, to change their mindset and get rid of the BS excuses to stay stuck that we all come up with from time to time. The I’m not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, educated enough, I don’t have enough time, money, resources or the right relationships. The bottom line is we all have the resources it’s just a matter of how resourceful we can become.
I'll never forget while I was figuring out my life out Eric called aka my first client, non-paying client at that. A fitness fanatic with 5 kids living on his parents living room floor with no passion, no income, no love and a wife he hated. He wanted to give up on life, on his kids, and marriage. Now 2 and a half years later he is the first person in a his family to become a millionaire, he owns his own gym, fitness line, and his kids now make 6 figures helping him help others. He is happier, healthier, and deeper in love then he's ever been. It’s these kinds of stories that have allowed me to follow my passion and to help people change their lives.
The Brand
Most people ask about the significance and how I came up with the name. Actually I meditate daily and one day the name kept playing and replaying and my head, so I looked up the meaning and it not only made sense but it stuck. Throughout my time of difficulties the meaning had significance and that still rings true today. Briella means “God is my strength” and Arion means “enchantment or melodious.” I love helping people Break-Thru limiting beliefs to create 6 and 7 figure businesses. I LOVE helping people IGNITE their Purpose, Presence, Passion, & Profit! And while I would love to say it was all done with my own strength and power the fact of the matter is I can only praise a higher power for where I am today. I never imagined my life turning out this way... it's such an incredible feeling to know that what I do makes a difference daily. I love what I do and I know the struggles I went through, the failures, and mistakes I made that have brought me here. And I'm incredibly blessed at 25 to know what I want out of life and to have financed and own my own company.
The Future
I love being an entrepreneur, and empowering people for the greater good. I can’t imagine doing anything else. Impacting people’s lives through speaking, teaching, and building relationships is my passion and I love using my gifts to help encourage, motivate, and teach you that the price of success requires making an investment most people aren’t willing to commit to.
I hope my story inspires you to be greater than you think you can be and do something amazing with your life! When you love what you do, and do what you love your life will never be the same.
To many more successes on your journey of personal growth! And feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.