Cat
Hello, guys. My name is Cat, and welcome to Meet the Entrepreneur. Today, our guest is Gigi. She runs her own marketing company in Birmingham, and she's currently running one of the leading marketing agencies in the UK. She's kindly agreed to an interview with us today.
So, Gigi, if you want to tell us a little bit more about yourself and how you started.
Gigi
Yes. So, a little bit about myself. I started off at 18. I was a student studying politics and philosophy, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my degree.
I just wanted to have some fun during the summer holidays and get some experience to make me more employable. So, I was applying for so many different jobs, and I was getting rejected everywhere. Then I fell into sales.
I think what I really enjoyed was that I got to build my confidence, improve my communication skills and just get some experience under my belt.
I then took a gap year, and my gap year lasted for 10 or 11 years. I am still here. I did not go back!
Cat
Amazing. And what has made you want to start your own business instead of going into employment?
Gigi
So, when I first started, I had no intention of starting my own business. I didn't really know what it entailed.
I think, as I got more educated about business and learned more about the difference between being employed and having something for yourself, the biggest thing for me was that I'm a really big family person.
I've always wanted to help my family, whether that's helping pay off a mortgage or helping them with bills week to week, month to month.
What I realised was that a salary can provide for myself and maybe my future family, but a business provides for generations.
That's why I wanted to build something that was more than just me, something that I could help my dad with and use to help my family overall.
That's why I really pushed for self-employment and building my own business, because I wanted to build something that lasts beyond me.
Cat
Amazing. What would you tell your younger self if you had to go back?
Gigi
That's a good question. What would I tell my younger self?
I would say to take confidence in failure.
I was someone who was a bit of a perfectionist. I really internalised where I went wrong. So, when I failed at something or got something wrong, I really let it affect my confidence.
For example, if I messed something up in business, it wasn't, "Oh, I've messed up in this." It was, "I'm not good enough" or "I can't do this", etc.
What I learned was to separate my failures from my character. When you're trying to develop your character, it's okay to get things wrong because it actually makes you stronger and helps you learn resilience, rather than internalising everything.
I also think about imposter syndrome, always questioning whether I should be in the room.
Whenever I excelled, started running a good sales company and began getting into different rooms and groups, I always questioned whether I should be at the table.
When I was 18, 19 or 20, I questioned it a lot more. So, I think what I'd say is: don't question your position or where you are, because you've earned it. But also, don't get complacent.
Cat
Yeah. Amazing. In your opinion, what separates people who go on to progress and have a fast career from someone who might stay still?
Gigi
I think the biggest difference between people who go on to advance quite quickly and people who become quite stagnant is the difference between consistency and people who take big actions.
What I've seen, and maybe I've been guilty of this myself, is people who do the grand gestures. "Okay, I'm going to do 100 sales this week" or "I'm going to do 20 today", and then nothing for a few days. They become quite complacent.
The people I've seen go on to advance and become very successful just take a lot of pride in consistent, day-to-day actions, rather than grand gestures.
It's like saying, "I'm going to coach 17 people this week", and then not coaching anyone for the next seven weeks.
It's also about not basing everything on feelings: "I feel like doing this" or "I feel like doing that".
I think separating your feelings from your actions is important because what I realised was that, if I wanted to advance, being quite an emotional person, I had to learn to separate the two. Otherwise, if I always acted on how I felt, I would get stuck again and again.
That's probably why it took me a little bit longer to advance. But once I got past that and just focused on consistency, I think things went a lot better.
Cat
Yeah, absolutely. As a final question, what advice would you give someone who would love to be in your shoes?
Gigi
Well, that's a really good question as well.
What advice would I give? I'd say, if someone would love to do what I'm doing, fail forward. Get comfortable with failing, because the people who fail more also win a lot more.
I didn't pick up sales straight away when I first started in the industry. I was someone who was quite inconsistent and quite volatile.
So, I think the key is not to let your first setback stop you. Keep pushing forward and keep persevering.
What other advice would I have for someone who wants to do what I'm doing?
Enjoy the little things. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy spending time with your colleagues.
I loved the journeys, when I was doing sales, achieving my personal best, helping someone else win, and travelling.
I've had so many experiences, including with you, Nina. You've been to Dubai, my favourite trip ever!
We've had so many experiences that I cherish the journey, the experiences and the lessons a lot more than the destination.
If you're always chasing a destination and you don't enjoy the journey, you probably won't get to the destination because you're not enjoying the process.
So, really, really fall in love with the process, and then you'll enjoy the destination a lot more.
Cat
Thank you so much, Gigi, and thank you so much for going through those questions. It's been an absolute pleasure.
Gigi
It's okay. Thank you, Cat, for having me.