Melissa Westcott, Isaac Inspiring Woman Award

From our regional Queensland town of Moranbah, Melissa Westcott founded online shoe retailer Big on Shoes in 2008, out of a passion for retail and a desire to help women easily find ‘perfect fitting’ shoes.  Big on Shoes has grown from a small, home-based online store to an international e-commerce platform and retail store which is leading innovation in the footwear industry across the nation.

Melissa’s entrepreneurial spirit has seen the launch of small business training provider TM3 Training Solutions and expand her retail footprint with the founding of Moranbah Blooms and Events and rebranding a Moranbah fashion store to Fox and Frank.   Over the past 18 months, Melissa has been actively working to develop innovative tech solutions for small retail businesses in the florist industry through the development of a tech start-up Florist IQ which is set to ensure profitability and sustainability throughout the Floristry industry in years to come through innovative change for small business.   

Melissa is a strong believer in supporting the community you live in and is a Director of C-Res - which works in partnership with BHP to deliver the Local Buying Program, is a Director of Moranbah Early Learning Centre, President of Moranbah Traders Association, Vice President of Moranbah State High School P&C, Treasurer of Moranbah Miners Junior Leagues Club and a member of the Facebook Australian Advisory Council. Melissa also volunteers as a member of the Smart Transformation Advisory Council in Moranbah working with a group of dedicated community members to ensure the long term sustainability of the community into the future. In particular, Melissa has been the lead on the Childcare Review for Isaac ensuring a long-term focus was placed on Isaac for a regional strategic plan for ensuring sustainable childcare for our community now and into the future. This work as led to securing $1 Million dollars across two years to create sustainable steps forward in childcare.  

A key highlight for Melissa has been working with Meta (Facebook and Instagram) since 2019 through the Facebook Australian Advisory Council advising on small business impacts and solutions to ensure small regional businesses are considered through the product development roadmaps.  In 2020 Melissa was invited to join the Facebook Community Trainer Network as one of eight in Australia to deliver small business training across regional Australia for new product development and practical mentoring. 

A key community role that Melissa currently works passionately on is as Chair of the Local Buying Foundation in QLD and over the last three years has led this leading example of supporting economic development and building small business capability and capacity in the footprint communities of Isaac, Central Highlands and Mackay into Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales leading the four foundations as Chair and supporting these small communities through project development. At the start of this year Melisa was proudly able to announce that after 18 months working on a national program for Indigenous Business Development, Local Buying Foundation together with BHP was able to commit to a full program across Isaac, Mackay, and Central Highlands with Trading Tracks launching in February this year and the soon to be launched Western Australia program across the Pilbra. 

Melissa is mum to three amazing boys, William, Henry and Arthur and is supported by the most tolerant husband in Isaac - Toby. Together they work as a team ensuring that as a family they make an impact on the community they live are. Melissa lives her life by the mantra - Fact of life... today is the day in front me (the people, the jobs and the challenging). How I choose to handle it, feel about it, enjoy it is all within my control just remember to laugh along the way.