Meet Sabrina Guler

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

Sabrina, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

I didn’t develop confidence by believing in myself. I developed it by going through moments where I had no safety net and realizing I could still stand on my own.

For a long time, my self-esteem was tied to external proof. Titles. Momentum. Other people’s approval. When things looked good from the outside, I felt confident. When they didn’t, I questioned my worth. What shifted everything wasn’t a big win. It was losing things that looked right on paper but felt wrong in my body.

I’ve had to walk away from relationships, environments, and opportunities that slowly disconnected me from myself. Some of those decisions cost me money, stability, and the version of success I thought I was supposed to want. Making those choices was terrifying. But each time I chose alignment over comfort, I felt a quiet strength return.

Self-esteem grew when I started keeping promises to myself. When I honored my intuition even when it would have been easier to ignore it. When I stopped shrinking my ambition to be more palatable. When I trusted that I could rebuild, even if I didn’t know how yet.

Over time, those moments added up. I learned that I could handle uncertainty. That I could recover from disappointment. That I didn’t need external validation to feel solid.

Today, my confidence is calm. It’s rooted in self-trust. I know I can navigate hard conversations, start over if I need to, and listen to myself when something feels off. My self-esteem comes from knowing that no matter what happens, I won’t abandon myself again.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I work as a strategic growth advisor to founders in consumer goods, wellness, and beauty. My focus is helping entrepreneurs build companies that are profitable, clearly positioned, and able to scale in an ecommerce landscape that’s changing every day.

I’m most interested in the stage where a business has traction – real customers, momentum, and the potential for brand differentiation. Early momentum in the brand world doesn’t equal scale. What works at the beginning often breaks as complexity increases, and that’s where many companies stall or make expensive mistakes.

I work with founders to clarify what actually drives the business, pressure-test strategy, and make deliberate choices around positioning, operations, and timing. The goal is not growth at all costs, but building a company that can support its next phase without losing focus or control.

The through line in my work is bridging the gap between early traction and businesses that are truly ready to scale. Companies built with discipline, focus, and internal clarity tend to perform better over time and adapt as conditions change. That foundation gives founders more control and far more optionality as the business evolves.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1. Learning to trust my instincts early
The most impactful shift for me was learning to trust my instincts before I had all the proof. I used to override that first internal signal, telling myself I needed more information, more validation, or more time. What I eventually realized is that hesitation often wasn’t wisdom, it was fear dressed up as logic. My initial read was usually right. The work was learning to listen before over-complicating things.

2. Setting boundaries before they were forced
Alongside that came the ability to set boundaries sooner rather than later. Early in my career, I thought boundaries were something you enforced once a situation became uncomfortable. Over time, I realized they’re actually preventative. They protect clarity, energy, and decision-making before friction builds. The moments where I felt myself over-explaining, resentful, or justifying were almost always signs that a boundary was needed.

3. Taking action with self-trust and discipline
The third shift was learning to take action without overthinking. Not recklessly, but decisively. Self-trust without discipline can turn into avoidance, and discipline without self-trust can feel rigid. What changed everything was pairing the two. Making thoughtful decisions, committing to them, and adjusting as I went instead of waiting for certainty.

For anyone early in their journey, my advice is to pay attention to what shows up quietly at first. Respect your instincts, set boundaries before they’re forced, and move forward with intention rather than perfection. Growth doesn’t come from having everything figured out. It comes from trusting yourself enough to take the next clear step.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

Over the past year, my biggest area of growth has been developing a deeper sense of certainty in my own judgment. Not certainty about outcomes, but certainty about my own path and decision making.

I used to spend a lot of time analyzing, pressure-testing, and revisiting decisions, even after I already knew what the right move was. This past year taught me that clarity doesn’t always come from more thinking. Sometimes it comes from deciding, committing, and trusting yourself enough to follow through.

That certainty has changed how I show up. I set boundaries earlier. I move with more intention. I don’t over-explain or wait for permission. When something feels off, I listen. When something feels right, I act.

The biggest shift is that I no longer need everything to make sense before moving forward. I trust my judgment, back it with discipline, and let results refine the path. That sense of certainty has made me calmer, more focused, and far more effective as a leader.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

SheaLyn Anderson
Rachel Solomon

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