The Gala Life 2022 Recap: My First Successful Year as a Solopreneur and Content Creator
Slap me if you want to for being too optimistic, but I simply can’t stop raving about how 2022 has been the absolute best year. I feel so blessed to say that, especially looking at where I began. Leaving a full-time head of public relations and marketing department-corporate-agency position, to start from scratch and rely on myself and my vision board for what I wanted my life and career to look like — regardless of how crazy it all seemed.
I grew up watching my parents succeed via the traditional corporate route, 9am-5pm office jobs that you dedicate your life to and move up the ranks until you have that amazing corner office with all of the glass windows, and titles, and pretty fixings. And that’s exactly what I wanted as a young adult and sought out to do.
Upon graduating with a master’s degree in multicultural marketing and digital studies in 2015, I immediately began my career in hospitality marketing and public relations, which allowed me to nurture my love for food and travel. I’ve been able to travel the world, exploring new destinations and serving as an international tour guide for key industry leaders and celebrities, while expanding my marketing capabilities.
After leaving acting and dreams of being an artist in my teenage years (that’s another story), I eventually made my way back on camera as a brand spokesperson, representing clients on television and syndicated radio. My career path has taught me so much about branding, sales, thinking strategically and effectively connecting with audiences, while allowing me to continue creating and storytelling. However, I began to realize the traditional corporate 9-5pm route may not be the path for me. I wanted something more fluid…more me…
Working remotely, I left Miami for the coastal quaintness of St. Petersburg to move in with my boyfriend after living long distance to begin our careers after college. I felt such a renewed sense of inspiration upon moving to this thriving and artistic community. I took a role at The Dali Museum as their social media manager and was able to dive deeper into social media and my love for the arts and Salvador Dali. Fun fact, his wife Gala Dali was part of the inspiration for the name, “Gala Life,” as I always admired how she shook conventional boundaries of feminism during her time with Dali.
I left my beautiful role at the Dali, to take a higher paying offer with another corporate marketing agency (after having vowed to never go back to the agency life), and I will admit I followed the money…to a job I absolutely hated. I quickly knew I would be taken advantage of and unhappy in the new job I had taken but it was a department lead title, doubling my salary at the museum. After six months of misery and a fat pay check, I decided money wasn’t enough, for me. Independence is priceless.
I finally decided to take a chance on myself, putting my years of expertise, skills and proven result-driven efforts in public relations and digital marketing to work for myself with the founding of The Gala Group in late 2021 as a side hustle - an integrated communications firm, specializing in transforming insights into brand building innovations and campaigns that spark conversations. We streamline stories, curate content, and create experiences designed to position brands to target key audiences and stand out of the crowded party.
After a few bumps in the road during 2021 and feeling trapped in my full-time career, I just knew 2022 was THE the year for me to take the biggest leap of faith yet — launching as a full-time solopreneur, host/talent, and digital creator. I can finally say I put myself and my passions first, and have found more success and joy than I ever could have imagined. All while planning my wedding!
Not to say that any of it was easy, giving up a role as a PR/Influencer Marketing Director + full-time salary + benefits, but every moment of sacrifice has proven worth the leap. I learned that changing your course has everything to do with changing your mindset and following your passions and always remember, the money WILL come if you’re putting in the hard work and sticking true to what drives you. The openness to say yes to new (and sometimes seemingly aspirational) opportunities while being capable of following your gut to the right decision is a necessary skill and one you will forever fine tune as a solopreneur.
I shared these feelings with my best friend Dani, who is a therapist and astrology queen, and she figured out that my saturn return is ending with the new year (which I did not empirically know) but I could deeply feel in my bones. It’s interesting to hear external affirmation for those internal changes you’re sensing, as if the universe is screaming “you’re on the right path sis!”
Over the past year, I feel like I’ve stepped into my own, putting aside fears of rejection and abandonment to achieve goals that have always brewed within me. I’m thankful for every opportunity, along with each moment of rejection that led to further self discovery and examination.
My goal is to share my journey to hopefully inspire another dreamer gal, who may have not taken the conventional life path like all the others, but who aims to take up space, with love, dreams, and ambitions, regardless how big or small — even if that just means motivating someone else with your own story.
A Look at My 2022 Highlight Moments
Successful first year of The Gala Group Agency
After more than six years of working in the corporate public relations and marketing world, I was finally able to take the leap and operate on my own terms, establishing The Gala Group Agency. I am so proud that we are currently servicing multiple international travel and hospitality clients in public relations, content creation, and social media management, as agency of record.
I learned so much diving into the corporate world out of graduate school, and while seven years may have felt like eternity, I wouldn’t trade any of it because the preparation and contacts I had established, provided me with the confidence to take the solopreneur route.
I also use my corporation when working on content creation and hosting projects and outsource work as an event and corporate host and public speaker, which was always an avenue I sought to explore when working corporate but never got the chance. Now I get to work with the clients of my choosing on my own terms, working on projects that I love and feel passionate about.
Became a VSPC Sunshine Ambassador
Operating as a full service content creation agency, I get to do what I love most (telling stories and creating content) for brands that align with my niche and vertical. I’ve been able to merge my love for my local community and content creation as a Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sunshine Ambassador, sharing a glimpse into the arts and culture of our community, through a local creator lens. I moved to St. Petersburg from Miami more than four years ago, and feel more enamored and established in Tampa Bay than I ever have in any community. I want to continue sharing the beauty of this region with others who may be seeking a new place to explore.
Starred in “Meet My Abuela,” reality television show with my Abuela and Fiance
This was definitely one for the books! Imagine calling up your fiance to let him know you’ll be exposing his cultural shortcomings on a reality dating show awith my Cuban, non-english speaking Grandma. Yes, he was just as confused but totally along for the ride.
“Meet My Abuela,” was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I am so fortunate to have shared with my loved ones and to have recorded as a forever memory of the journey leading up to my wedding. Did you know Visit Florida and Visit Tampa Bay produced this project, with a budget of more than $1 million? It was so exciting to be part of a new type of tourism marketing project, designed to organically showcase the Tampa Bay community while sharing the real stories of hispanic residents.
The best part was that because of my flexibility as a creator, I ended up also working on as the voice and narrator of the series, along as an assistant producer for a few episodes. A project that I truly poured every part of my creative being and life during the summer of 2022.
Launched St. Pete Gals
Upon moving to St. Pete, Florida a few years back, I fell head over heels for this community and the amazing individuals that make it thrive. I wanted to launch a community to empower women to shine their individual light proudly and to inspire and empower one another, hence the birth of St. Pete Gals! Not only has this community grown to almost 2,000 since its inception just a few months, I’m so proud to share we’ve hosted more than five St. Pete Gals community focused events this year, and held the first annual Fiesta Tampa Bay celebration in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month!
Fiesta Tampa Bay was truly a landmark moment for the St. Pete Gals, where we had more than 20 vendors and more than 60 attendees, with workshops and live music, honoring Hispanics throughout Tampa Bay! One of my goals in the launch of St. Pete Gals was to provide more visibility to Latina creators in my community, and this felt like the perfect way to celebrate all of the diversity that makes Tampa Bay the uniquely special place that it is.
Follow St. Pete Gals on IG and subscribe to join our 2023 events and workshops!
TV & Media Appearances
As a public relations pro + on-air talent, my goal was to increase earned media opportunities where I could share more about my entrepreneurial journey while creating further visibility for my brand, The Gala Life.
Guest Hosted a Spanish Lifestyle Television Talk Show
Not gonna lie, I’ll always dream of my own morning show. Galavant with The Gala Life? Still working on it. So a total “you never know what might happen when you say yes experience,” occurred this year when I was asked to guest host two episodes of Todo Tampa Bay TV, a local lifestyle talk show for the Hispanic community in Tampa Bay.
Planning My Dream Wedding
After getting engaged in 2020 (right before the world shut down), I was finally able to begin planning my 2023 wedding this year. I visited my family in Miami in June to have the traditional Miracle Mile dress shopping experience, not thinking I would find a dress easily. I found THE DRESS by designer Ines Di Santo at, Chic Parisien, the same store where my mom purchased her original wedding dress in the 1980’s. It was the second dress I tried on and I spent days after trying to figure it (as it was over the set budget) but after much ethical a dilemma, I bit the bullet and bough the absolute dress of my dreams. Cannot wait to share it with the world next year!
Returned to the HSN Studios as a Fashion Guest Host
After more than two years working as a Fashion Guest Host for the Home Shopping Network from home (we were forced to air virtually from home as soon as I got hired right at the start of the pandemic, just my luck). Not gonna lie, it was pretty cool to get to air on national television to millions of viewers from my living room wearing pajama pants, but I think it’s even cooler to get to air live from the HSN Studios (which also happen to be about 10 minutes from my home in St. Pete).
Worked with more than 25 Brands as a Paid Content Creator
2022 was my highest grossing year as a content creator (I hate to get specific with numbers but more than I made as a full-time publicist/account executive if you can believe it), where I got to partner with brands as a spokesperson or to create user-generated content to share across platforms. I got to work with brands ranging from Autograph Hotels, Office Depot, First Watch, Ashley Furniture, Naturopathica, JW Marriott, Resort Pass, to name a few, and I got to create stories and concepts around brands that I use in my day to day.
Like I shared earlier, my biggest lesson this year was to say YES to every single opportunity that your gut feels privy to - on the flip side - be sure to follow your instinct as it will guide you to the right decisions (easier said than done). The greatest step you can take is the first one, towards the fruits of life that trigger your passions (AKA DO WHAT YOU LOVE)! I could cry typing this recap (actually may be doing so a little), knowing all of the hard work from the past year is only solidifying my path to greater achievements in the next year. I am so grateful for an incredible year of all things Gala Life and look forward to an even more monumental 2023!
Looking to elevate your brand and align your work with your passions? Send me an email and let’s chat and give me a follow on Instagram and YouTube to keep up with the latest #GalaLife updates.