Can you really grow a media and brand partnership business without living in a big city, or even in the U.S.? In this episode, Amy sits down with Melissa Boufounos, a certified holistic nutritionist, mom, and Master the Media coach, who shares how she’s made over $80K in media and brand deals, all while raising her son and living in a small town in Canada. Melissa opens up about how she combined her journalism background with her passion for nutrition, what it's really like to juggle work and parenthood, and why pitching, even when life is messy, is always worth it. This episode is packed with real talk, smart tips, and so many relatable moments.
Melissa Boufounos is a certified holistic nutritionist and media nutritionist based near Ottawa, Canada. She runs MB Performance Nutrition, where she helps teen and adolescent hockey players fuel properly for sports performance. With a background in broadcast and sports journalism, Melissa blends her storytelling skills with nutrition expertise to create content for major outlets like MindBodyGreen, Forbes Health, Shape, and U.S. News. She’s also a media coach for Master the Media, where she helps other health professionals grow their visibility and income through media and brand work.
Connect with Melissa:
Website: https://melissaboufounos.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/melissaboufounos/
Learn how to earn $50,000 in brand partnerships in just 6 months: https://masterthemedia.co/masterclass/
Episode highlights:
(0:00) Intro
(2:02) Meet Melissa and her unexpected path to holistic nutrition
(5:09) What working with a newborn really looked like
(7:11) Writing for major outlets like MindBodyGreen and Fortune
(9:30) Breaking down her $80K in earnings from media and brand work
(13:45) Her favorite brand deals and how they came to be
(15:17) How she works 30 hours or less a week
(19:05) The truth about working in Canadian vs. U.S. media
(25:00) Why she’s careful with brand messaging right now
(28:45) What she's focused on in 2026
(33:03) Melissa’s go-to advice: Always be pitching, even before you feel ready
(35:42) Outro
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