Gabrielle Gambrell is a successful businesswoman and mother who strives to improve the world through her work as a consultant and marketing expert.
“I’ve got the gift of gab; I love storytelling and helping professionals, brands, and corporations tell their stories and help elevate brands by making them aware of bigger topics and issues in the world,” Gambrell shares.
Her career accolades run far and wide, including being the first and youngest black woman to have the role of Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Barnard College of Columbia University. She has also worked with big media companies such as Meta, Howard University, Yahoo, CNBC, etc.
Within her work, she focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI. In this role, she fosters partnerships that implement positive changes for clients, staff, and society. As the former Director of Communications for NBCUniversal, she supported the corporation’s diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Gambrell is proud to have DEI as a part of her business and legacy. However, before her business reached its current level of influence, she had to build the structure of her company brick by brick.
Building A Business From Referrals
“I’m grateful and fortunate that every single client I’ve had has been a referral,” she shares. At one point in time, Yahoo was a client. I was consulting for the diversity team, which led to consulting with the marketing and consumer branding teams; it was like a ripple effect.”
Gambrell has been able to grow her business from referrals because she performs her job well and focuses on satisfying the needs of her clients.
“It’s imperative to communicate what skills you are providing,” she advises. “Consider how you are supplying a need.”
In addition to this strategy, another tool in her business tool kit is that Gambrell tells her story.
“What is important, regardless if you’re using social media or have a social media presence, is making sure you’re telling your story,” she emphasizes. “Is your website up to par, and does it communicate how you help your clients and what services you provide? “
Thus, a critical factor in expanding one’s business and setting the foundation for building wealth is understanding one’s brand.
“Everyone has a brand regardless of what you do,” Gambrell emphasizes. “If you’re unsure, ask your closest people what they think your brand is. Think about what you want your brand to be and how you want to be seen in the world. At the same time, survey respected sources and get their feedback.”
With a solid understanding of your brand, Gambrell recommends Push and Pull marketing. The push side involves putting your brand in front of audiences. Paid advertising and promotions are often used to connect with your audience directly.
The pull side involves drawing people in so your business becomes well-known and recognized. To gain this recognition, it’s vital to leverage the media.
“Public relations is a management tool,” Gambrell explains. “With good PR, you will succeed. With bad PR, you will fail. If the media speaks highly of you, it can benefit your business. It can hurt you if the media is talking harshly or not speaking about you.
To gain media coverage for your business and brand, it’s all about making connections and reaching out to journalists and media companies. Once you’ve made a connection, the next step is to present something newsworthy about your brand. Gambrell suggests thinking about something a reporter would care about or want to share with their audiences.
Gambrell ensures she is in the news at least once a quarter to grow her brand and business and better secure her wealth.
Understanding What Wealth Is And How To Build It
While wealth is often associated with copious amounts of money, Gambrell says there is more to wealth than just numbers.
“I’m super passionate about having more financial conversations with black women,” she explains. “ I grew up in an environment where we didn’t talk about money.”
When women don’t talk about money at home, they are less likely to talk about money in the workplace. And the fewer money conversations that happen, the more the wealth gap grows and inequality continues.
Thus Gambrell encourages women to have those conversations around wages and salaries and, most importantly, charge what you’re worth.
“You can set yourself up to do well if you properly charge; when you charge lower than your worth, it can mean you look unprofessional.”
Money conversations can start in the workplace but must continue at home to build generational wealth among families.
And the key to unlocking long-term wealth is education. For instance, understanding trust funds and IRAs; knowing how to set up your children to have an attractive credit score.
A solid understanding of the financial system helped Gambrell buy a home in her mid-20s because she could afford the downpayment with her investments in stock.
Because Gambrell understood how to invest her money, she was able to set a solid financial foundation for herself and her family. Through her experiences, she has learned that wealth goes beyond dollar signs.
Wealth is knowing how to generate money and what to do with it. “I want my children and grandchildren to live a little better than I have,” she shares. “I want them to have a better relationship with money.”
In addition, wealth is something that needs to be defined by every individual and every family. It doesn’t always mean working multiple jobs to make more money but understanding how to use money wisely.
Building a media empire was something that took time and persistence. Yet the two things that helped Gambrell reach continuous success were building her brand and making smart financial decisions that have helped set her up for a strong future.
