Michelle B Griffin Of Standout Women Media: Why We Need More Women Founders & Here Is What We Are Doing To Make That Happen
An Interview With Vanessa Ogle
Mentorship and Networking Opportunities: Women helping women is crucial. Providing mentorship and fostering networks to pass knowledge and experience for aspiring female founders is essential.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle B Griffin.
Michelle B. Griffin is a PR and personal branding speaker, author, and visibility expert. As founder of Standout Women Media, she helps impact-driven professionals position themselves as authorities, amplify their voices, and create next-level opportunities in their industries. Learn more at MichelleBGriffin.com.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
A love of connecting, community, and showcasing the brilliance in others is why I do what I do. Even before I started my career, in high school, I knew I wanted to be in PR and help people share their stories. Early on, I did just that; then I spent over two decades in executive roles in legal marketing, B2B professional services, and event planning for corporate conferences. Now, as the founder of Standout Women Media, I globally speak and teach professionals, especially women in business, to powerfully position themselves and transform from hidden experts to visible authorities in their fields.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
It’s more of a lesson learned — a full-circle moment. While I was pursuing my master’s degree in PR, I completed several hands-on internships in PR and dreamed of one day founding my own business — an idea that got buried when jobs and family life grew hectic. Decades later, my entrepreneurship goals resurfaced and never let go. I struggled through five long years of the 3Ps — permission-slip seeking, perfectionism, and procrastination — that kept me stuck. Instead of putting myself out there to make it happen, I hid behind consuming courses, credentials, and certifications, wanting everything to be perfect.
Lesson learned: “the perfect time” never comes; you have to put yourself out there and with action, answers, and advantages unfold. My story is now my mission — to empower more women to become visible, own their value, and confidently step into the spotlight and share their brilliance.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I first started putting myself out there, I decided to host a weekly LinkedIn Live show and even secured a corporate sponsor. I did all the research, set everything up, and tested the equipment, thinking I had it all perfect.
On show day, I was excited as members of the brand partnership marketing team were watching my debut. The live moment quickly turned to horror when I realized the private guest link was the same one I shared publicly. So, everyone who joined the livestream had access to the backend of the show. There I was, live, with people joining in, and I just had to hold it together. The lesson learned: people are forgiving when you’re relatable and real. Now I laugh about it and tell the story to remind us that we all make mistakes.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’m all about finding a “power partner” to boost yourself and your business. In December 2020, I met a fellow female entrepreneur through a comment on a LinkedIn post, who’s also named Michelle. We were both growing our businesses as female entrepreneurs around the same time and we just clicked. Despite living a world apart — she’s in Sydney, Australia, and I’m in Florida — we co-authored a book, host a weekly podcast, and have supported each other in our growing businesses.
It’s crazy that we accomplished all this while never meeting in person. This year, after three and a half years, we finally met in New Orleans, and our in-person connection was instant. It shows the power of social media; you just never know how a conversation can led to opportunities.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
The book that had the biggest impact on me is The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn. It’s all about mindset and belief, teaching me about self-belief, self-expression and the importance of putting yourself out there. I still apply those lessons today to think bigger and stay in my lane when I feel off track.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?
One of my favorite quotes is, “Visibility isn’t vanity. Visibility is being valuable” and I’ve included it in my book and mention it whenever I can on podcasts and in my speaking and training. Another mantra is, “Put yourself out there.” These two go hand in hand; the people making the biggest impact are the ones who are seen and are contributing to others.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Through Standout Women Media and my Own Your Lane book and branding framework, I empower women to step into visibility, own who they are, and position themselves for the life and business they dream of and deserve.
Success comes from making a visible impact — being seen and known for what we do best. Professional visibility is an economic advantage, creating opportunity, impact, and profit. That’s my mission — helping women step into thought leadership because we need more women on stages, writing books, and leading in business
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?
A lot comes down to our internal narratives. Society tells us one thing, but our mindset pulls us in another direction. Many women doubt themselves, feel like they need to be perfect, or wait for permission to act. That’s why my work is focused on getting more women visible and helping them change those internal scripts. We need to see more women in leadership and founding roles.
Can you share with our readers what you are doing to help empower women to become founders?
Through my books, training, and speaking, I’m here to empower, educate, and equip women to own their value and step into purposeful visibility. My belief is that professional visibility is a form of economic leverage and advantage. When women are visible and known for their expertise, they can create real impact and become change makers and innovators.
This might be intuitive to you, but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
A recent study shows the number of women-owned businesses increased at nearly double the rate of their male counterparts, which is proof that women are powerful leaders. Women founders serve as inspiring role models for future women and girls, showing them what’s possible. Doing so helps us rewrite the status quo and bring connection and diverse voices to the business world. SOURCE: https://newsroom.wf.com/English/news-releases/news-release-details/2024/New-Report-Finds-Growth-of-Women-Business-Owners-Outpaces-the-Market/
Can you please share 5 things that can be done or should be done to help empower more women to become founders?
1. Increase Venture Capital Funding: Support in venture funding and backing for women-led businesses. The current stats are dismal and lopsided; we can and must do better.
2. Mentorship and Networking Opportunities: Women helping women is crucial. Providing mentorship and fostering networks to pass knowledge and experience for aspiring female founders is essential.
3. Value the Wisdom of Women: I call it the “saging” of women founders. We have so much knowledge and experience that can be shared with those coming up behind us; none of this should be lost but rather documented for future generations.
4. Visibility and Thought Leadership: Visible women are recognized as successful. Empowering women through personal branding and visibility training helps them become seen, heard, and highly regarded/paid for their work and businesses.
5. Flexibility in Business: Many women juggle careers and family responsibilities. Entrepreneurship can provide flexibility, but we need to consider diverse paths rather than a cookie-cutter approach.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
My Own Your Lane book, movement, and message. The more women in business who lead with purpose, assert their uniqueness, navigate their presence, and elevate their authority, the more we will see empowered women in positions of power and making meaningful contributions.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I would love to have a laid-back Saturday brunch with inventor and entrepreneur Sara Blakely, who also attended my alma mater, Florida State University. Not only is she the billionaire founder and philanthropist behind Spanx, but she recently launched a new company, Sneex, introducing a new category of comfortable sneaker heels designed for women. From selling fax machines while bootstrapping and growing Spanx into a global brand to her latest launch, she is a champion of women’s entrepreneurial empowerment. Her relatable stories and the lessons from her journey she shares on social media are hilarious and inspiring.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I’d love for readers to connect with me on LinkedIn, where I’m active. My website, MichelleBGriffin.com, serves as a hub for everything: my books, podcasts, speaking, training, and resources. Thank you so much for this opportunity!
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.
Michelle B Griffin Of Standout Women Media: Why We Need More Women Founders & Here Is What We Are… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.