Meet Gabrielle Lopez

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gabrielle Lopez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Gabrielle, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

For me, it all began in 1994 when my family moved from Fairfax, Virginia to Black Forest, Colorado where everyone had horses. Being complete newbies, my sister and I were eager to ride horses, and our neighbors generously let us borrow theirs. Commonly, I ended up with the naughty ponies that no one else wanted, and during middle school, I had a particularly challenging pony named Moses. Despite his name, he was incredibly dangerous, often bucking me off, striking at me, and trying to bolt at every opportunity. When we competed, I would usually come in last or (in many cases) get eliminated. As difficult as it may have been, Moses forced me to become a stronger, more confident rider. I learned resilience and determination by brushing off the dust and, literally, getting back on the horse, even when I didn’t want to.

After two long years with Moses, I was able to hand him back over to his original owners. Not long after my experience ended with the world’s worst pony, I was introduced to the world’s best pony. A friend heard about my situation and ended up giving me her sweet, little Arabian named Bailey. I loved Bailey. He was gentle and considerate of my safety, allowing me to finally relax and truly enjoy riding again. Now that I was on a horse I could trust, everything became easy. For the next 15 years, Bailey and I won hundreds of competitions, multiple championships, and several awards, including Young Rider of the Year and Horse of the Year across six states in Eventing and Dressage.

The challenges I faced with Moses taught me many life skills including the value of perseverance and the power of self-esteem. Because of him, I’m not afraid of failure or trying something new. I know what it’s like to be knocked down and lose. More importantly, I also know how to keep going, learn from my mistakes, try again, and win. Nearly twenty years later, I continue to look back at all the crazy things I’ve done and accomplished and I’m grateful for all of these experiences – even Moses.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Hello! My name is Gabrielle and I am the founder and CEO of Morning Tea Coaching. We are a full-service business consulting firm located in Loveland, CO that provides business development, marketing, and sales consulting for small businesses, corporations, and non-profits.

I specialize in working with creative individuals that want to build a strong brand, clarify their message, and grow their business organically. As a multi-entrepreneur with over 12 years experience in operations, graphic design, marketing, and strategic planning, I know what it takes to run a successful business – big or small.

A large component of my work is teaching the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) which is a set of simple, proven and practical tools that will optimize your small business for revenue and profit. Over the past decade, out of the hundreds of organizations I’ve worked with, I find that the ones who use EOS have higher revenue, happier employees, excellent team meetings, and run more effectively overall. However, if you don’t want to use EOS, that’s ok! I love creating custom processes to solve problems. My goal is to make a system your business will actually use, not store away and never look at again.

At the end of the day, as a consultant I provide the direction, guidance and tough love that moves businesses forward quickly. If you feel stuck or overwhelmed, I offer individual and group consulting services on-line. Please visit morningteacoaching.com to schedule a session with me and start seeing results.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

If I could turn back time *cue the Cher music*, I would have done a few things differently. First off, I deeply regret going to college for a Fine Art degree, it was a total waste of time and money. I think a trade school in marketing would have been a much better fit and more practical for my career. When I started my first business, I went through years of trial and error. These are some of the things I wish I had known that would have made my life a lot easier.

1) My biggest recommendation is ASK FOR HELP. For example, if you’re thinking about starting a business or need help growing your current business, check out your local Small Business Development Center for free consulting services. The SBDC is a place where people can get advice from professionals in many different industries. I promise meeting with a consultant will save you time and money in the long run.
For more information about the SBDC and to find a consultant in your area, visit: https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/resource-partners/small-business-development-centers-sbdc

2) READ more books. We don’t need to spend $100K on a fancy degree to learn about business. These 3 books will teach you more than a MBA:
– Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman
– The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack
– Business Made Simple by Donald Miller

3) DON’T GET SCAMMED! There are a lot of businesses and influencers out there that sell big promises like “Make Passive Income With Affiliate Marketing”, “Make 6 figures in 6 months”, or MLMs disguised as a “great business opportunity for stay-at-home moms”. Remember, when something sounds too good to be true, walk away. I’ve seen too many people spend thousands (sometimes tens of thousands) on master workshops, online courses, silly degrees, worthless certificates, and cookie-cutter templates thinking they would yield huge profits only to find out, too late, it was all a gimmick. Which brings us back to my first point, ask for help. See if other businesses would recommend that product or service before purchasing anything.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

Social media for me has always been a challenge.

Personally, I think social media is incredibly unhealthy, that’s why I avoid it. As a consultant, I find myself in this strange position where I help businesses develop marketing strategies based around social media and, at the same time, I warn people of the negative effects it has on our society.

A question I hear a lot from business owners is, “Do I have to post on social media in order to have a business?”. My simple answer is – no. Millions of successful businesses market without social media. There are dozens of ways you can get in front of your target audience and make genuine connections that leave a bigger impact than any post or 30 second reel ever could.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.morningteacoaching.com
• Instagram: @morningteacoaching
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/morningteacoaching
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielle-lopez/