Today we’d like to introduce you to Barbara Pike Gonzales.
Hi Barbara, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by successful women leaders. How did they do it? What skills do they have that others don’t? What challenges have they overcome?
What makes them unique? During my 20 years in corporate life, unfortunately, there were only a handful of women who I could look up to and learn from. This gap never felt right to me, and I knew I needed to do what I could to make a difference and change this landscape for my two daughters.
In September 2019, I leaped away from my stifling corporate marketing job to go all-in on opening my personal branding and PR agency, G Force PR. The mission of my agency, as well as my mission, is to help female leaders, founders, and entrepreneurs know, show, and grow their worth through strategic personal branding and creative PR programs.
I’ve realized it’s my calling to support women and give them the tools and confidence they deserve to clearly articulate who they are, the expertise they’ve earned, and what they bring to the table. It’s what lights me up.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Launching my business six months before a global pandemic and essential shutdown of life as we know it certainly was not part of my strategic plan.
That said, I firmly believe that everything happens the way it’s meant to, and this challenge has given me grit and taught me the power of thinking creatively, pivoting when necessary, letting go of what I can’t control, and being grateful for even the slightest wins.
In hindsight, although it was incredibly stressful at the time, I wouldn’t have changed it.
As you know, we’re big fans of G Force PR. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
G Force PR is a boutique personal branding and PR agency created to help female founders, entrepreneurs, and leaders know, show, and grow their worth.
I work with female leaders across the country and at varied stages of their life and career to establish their brand by gaining clarity and confidence when talking about themselves – owning who they are, what sets them apart, and what they bring to the table. I then create creative and strategic PR programs that get them in front of the right audience where they can build credibility, and drive impact and growth.
An overarching theme that I have seen in my clients – who are all high achieving, successful, talented women – is that many have been conditioned to not talk about themselves, and it’s a hurdle we have to clear. Often from childhood, they were taught to not “brag”, to not make others feel uncomfortable, and to not be too “showy”.
I find myself reflecting to them their years of experience, their proven track record of success, the impact they’ve made, etc. as a way to permit them to own their worth. Many would still prefer to talk about their business and not themselves, but I’m committed to empowering all women to confidently own their value and what they bring to the table – breaking the cycle for future generations of young women, like my daughters.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk is necessary for growth, confidence, and real impact.
Whether it’s personal risk in allowing yourself to be vulnerable in front of others, or a financial or professional risk that may seem beyond logical reason to others, yet feel fundamentally connected to your truth- on the other side lies the true life experience that we are all meant to live.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gforcepr.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gforce_pr/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gforcepr/
