Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business:
My name is Gabrielle and I am a Niche Expert and Sales Coach. I help women founded businesses find their niche and sell in a way that feels good to them. My secret sauce is being able to find someone’s unique skill set that differentiates them from the rest and teach them how to monetize it. This work lights me up so much!
What excites you about being an Entreprenista League member?
I'm so excited to be amongst like-minded women and feel supported in a community. I'm hoping to collaborate and expand my network.
What made you take the leap to start your own business?
I’ve known I was meant to be a business owner since I was in diapers. I joke that my first sentence was "I'm going to own my own business someday." I'm super intuitive and I've always known that was my calling.
I had an interesting journey to get where I am today. I went through a traditional education system that didn't work well with me and my learning style. As a result, I didn't do so hot in school and had teachers tell me I'd be wasting my time going to college. My confidence in becoming a business owner started to dwindle because I started believing what society was telling me - that I wasn't smart and I don't bring much to the table.
I got into college by the skin of my teeth and graduated 5 years later. I tried to figure out what business to start but couldn't identify my skills to save my life, so I ended up getting a receptionist job working at a local magazine in Boston making 30k a year. I was absolutely miserable.
I made my way into sales because I had to be making more money to live in such an expensive city. I did that for about a year and a half until I moved to New York with my now fiance. I got a job doing tech sales at a startup in Manhattan.
At that point, I was commuting 5 hours a day to my job, my relationships with my fiance, friends, and family were on the fritz, and I didn't recognize the person I saw in the mirror anymore. I begged the Universe for a change and a few weeks later, I got laid off from my job.
I decided to go all in and start my coaching business. I had no clue what my niche was, I just knew that I wanted to help women understand that they are capable of doing whatever they want and that they have a uniqueness that they bring to the table.
Because I didn't have much direction in my business, I didn't make a single dollar for 6 months.
It wasn't until I understood what I brought to the table and started leaning into that, that my business scaled. Now I help other women do the same.
I went from $0 months to now helping women all over the world find their niche and sell in a way that feels good to them. There are days that I still can't believe it. I wouldn't change it for the world!
Take us back to when you first launched your business, what was your marketing strategy to get the word out and did it go as planned?
Oh my goodness, NOTHING went as planned when I started my business. I had just gotten laid off from my job, my fiance got laid off 48 hours after me, and we lived across the country from our entire family.
I'll never forget the look on his face when he got that phone call and I remember standing in the kitchen telling him that I was going to start a business so we never had to worry about the rug being ripped out from underneath us ever again.
Egg in my face because I launched my business and it was crickets for 6 months. $0. It was BRUTAL.
My strategy at the time was to do what everyone else around me told me to do. I bought all the courses, watched all the free masterclasses, read all the blog posts, and nothing I did worked.
What I realize now is that I was running from myself. I wasn't honoring the uniqueness that Gabrielle brings to the show. I was trying to be something that I thought I *should* be vs. being what I actually wanted to be.
It wasn't until I started turning inward that I realized my true gift was helping other women identify theirs. Once I leaned into that, my business took off and here we are!
What is the biggest challenge you have encountered along the way and what did you learn from it?
The biggest challenge for me was the healing journey I had to walk to get my business off the ground. People made it seem so easy...
"Buy my strategy for how I made $1,000,000 overnight..."
I would buy that strategy and nothing worked for me. I felt like everyone else could figure it out besides me. Then I convinced myself that I had nothing to share and that imposter syndrome came in HOT.
I realized there was a huge gap in the market where there wasn't enough emphasis on niche. I struggled to identify what my business actually was because everyone who taught niche told me to "figure out what my skills were and what the market would pay for."
It wasn't until I realized that every single person’s niche is sitting in their story. I looked back on my story, figured out what my strong suits were, pivoted my business and started helping clients find their niche.
That was a very pivotal point for me.
Long story short - be true to yourself and stop focusing on what everyone else is doing. We all are here for different reasons. Lean into what you bring to the table and learn how to leverage that.
What is the accomplishment you are the most proud of to date?
I think it's cool that I've truly been able to help women all over the world.
The other week I helped someone in South America, the UK, Australia, and in 3 different states, all in the same week.
That's the power of an online business!
Do you believe in work/life balance? What are some of your best tips?
When I think of work/life balance back when I worked a 9-5 compared to now, it's so different. I REALLY believed in it back in my 9-5 life because I was so miserable.
Now, I embrace the flow. I have strong boundaries around work, but I let myself ebb and flow during busier seasons.
What's a piece of advice you can share that you wish you'd known when you first started your Entreprenista journey?
Having a strong relationship with yourself is the best gift you can give yourself as an entrepreneur. It is you vs. you on this journey. There is no competition and there's a seat at the table for everyone.
Invest in yourself. Bet on yourself. Start believing in yourself.
There's no one in the world who’s got this more than you do.
What have you achieved recently that you'd like to celebrate with our community?
I invested more in myself this year than I ever have in my life and that feels DAMN good!
What's next for your business? What can we expect to see over the next few years?
I'm going to start doing more speaking engagements soon and I'm super excited about that. You can expect to see that and *hopefully* a book in the future!
Learn more about the Entreprenista League and join today!
About the Author
Entreprenista Team
