Chelsea Gaul

I would attribute my success to persistence. Growing up as an only child, I never really had anyone to compete with, so my biggest competition has always been myself. I’ve always wanted to be a better version of myself than I was the day before. At different points in my life, that has looked different. As a student, I wanted my next test score to be higher than the last. In my career, it meant continuing to learn, expanding my craft, and developing skills that would give me mobility and the ability to adapt as the workforce changed. Now, as a business owner, I’ve entered a completely new chapter. I’m still bringing that same mindset with me, and I’m excited to continue challenging myself, learning, and seeing just how much I can build.

The best career advice I’ve received actually started with two simple words: “Speak up.” I have a funny story about that from college. I had a friend who had an intense surgery that limited her ability to sit in the auditorium seats, so I would sit in the ADA section with her to make sure she didn’t feel isolated – the only problem was that this section was in the very back of the room. I was very soft-spoken, so whenever I answered a question, my professor would say, “I can see your lips moving but we can’t hear you, speak up!” Speaking up followed me throughout my career. At another point, a former leader was exiting the organization we were working with at the time, and she very directly told me it was my turn to start inserting myself more aggressively into leadership conversations and meetings. As a woman who has worked in several male-dominated environments, that was something I had to intentionally work on. I had to build confidence around using my voice, taking up space, and trusting that what I had to contribute belonged in the room. Today, I’m exuberantly proud to say that I don’t just speak up. I understand the value of making sure other people’s voices are heard, too.

I love to paint pictures with words, so here we go - Entrepreneurship is not easy, so my advice is to prepare for the rainy days because they will come. You can’t prevent every storm, but you can make sure you always have an umbrella. For me, that umbrella is faith in the business I’m building, the value I know I can provide, and the willingness to stay the course even when the path isn’t immediately clear. Have the conversations that might feel like dead ends. Make the connections. Send the emails. Take the meetings. You never know what opportunity may be waiting on the other side of a conversation. And remember, not every seed you plant will bloom immediately. Sometimes you have to weather the storm before you get to see what those seeds become.

I actually think the biggest challenge is also the biggest opportunity, and that is the pace of change. We’re living through a pivotal period where technology, artificial intelligence, and the way we work are evolving faster than many organizations can keep up with. The challenge is figuring out how to keep pace. But the opportunity is even more interesting: How do we grow with that change instead of simply reacting to it? That’s where I see a tremendous opportunity for my work. Organizations don’t just need to implement new technology or processes. They need to prepare their people to navigate what comes with those changes. For me, the future of transformation is not just about what organizations are changing. It’s about whether their people are prepared to move forward with them.

Integrity and respect are probably the two values I hold closest. Especially as a business owner, I’ve learned that your word and your actions are what ultimately define you. They can’t simply be part of your brand. You have to actually live them. For me, that means operating with truth, humility, and accountability. It means being willing to acknowledge when I don’t have all the answers, taking responsibility for my decisions, and treating people with respect regardless of their position. I think influence is much more meaningful when it’s built on trust. And trust comes from consistently doing what you say you’re going to do and treating people well along the way.