Gabrielle Thomas, the Founder of Upwellery Marketing & Design, is driven by her passion for supporting the creation of exclusive health and wellness membership clubs that offer exceptional and individualized care.
With a career spanning more than two decades, Gabrielle has amassed valuable experience in several roles, from running a private Functional Medicine practice and establishing a mobile whole-food business to serving in various front-line hospital positions. Her unwavering dedication to helping brands in the health, wellness, beauty, and lifestyle space make a significant impact on more people led her to establish Upwellery Marketing & Design. Today, Gabrielle and her team strive to redefine their clients' online presence and help them achieve greater impact.
In our conversation with Gabrielle, we delved into what sets Upwellery Marketing & Design apart from other companies, the most unexpected aspect of her entrepreneurial journey, and her plans for the future of her company.
Q: Tell us the story behind your company’s founding. How and why did you start working on Upwellery Marketing & Design?
A: I started this marketing boutique in 2017 as a product of my search for self discovery. I stripped away the fluff and set out on a truth seeking journey and decided to regard everything that happened to me as a clue. I found that I had to bring my whole self to the table if I wanted to make a difference. I began to see all those years of not fitting in and being told that I was different is at the heart of marketing. Today, I get to help brands to stand out from the crowd and embrace their differences.
Q: What makes Upwellery Marketing & Design different from other, similar companies?
A: We believe life and business is good because we’re not passive about it. We want to help our clients to do good in the world and make money simultaneously, and we want to do it without wasting time. Fast and effective is our love language.
Q: In what ways has your upbringing or past experiences contributed to how you operate as an entrepreneur?
A: My mom, Christine Thomas, raised me to have a strong spirit of generosity, kindness, and compassion. My dad instilled values such as hard work, discipline, and fearlessness. The sexism that I experienced contributes to my fierce loyalty to elevating women to create financial independence. Like everything else, I work hard to keep each of my qualities in balance and avoid the darkside of overgiving and putting too much pressure on myself to be perfect.
Q: Have you ever felt like you’re “different”? If yes, in what ways has this contributed to your journey as an entrepreneur?
A: Yes; I’ve always been honest and direct. That hasn’t always been easy in a world that prefers women to be passive, well-behaved, and conforming. It turns out marketing demands the same—to stand out, think outside the box, and actively build memorable and meaningful experiences.
Q: What’s been the most unexpected part of your entrepreneurial journey?
A: Most of the skills that I need as an entrepreneur are found outside of the industry. The industry is filled with tactical work and tends to ignore skills like courage, compassion, empathy, connection, and effectiveness. I became a more confident marketer when I developed my muscles in those areas. I used conscious awareness meditation to observe things as they are, not as I want them to be. I started practicing radical acceptance, minimalism, did pilates, exercised, and fasted. I make a re-commitment each day to practice courage and to ask myself what my intention is with every idea, opportunity, and ask. What do I really want here, and why? It keeps me accountable to align my personality with my intentions.
Q: What are the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
A: I tend to make my biggest mistakes when the fearful part of me becomes activated. At that point I’m no longer anchored in my journey. I end up moving from drama to drama as the wind blows. When my fear center is activated, I tend to retreat, compare, doubt, judge, and become critical and controlling. I don’t make good decisions that are aligned with the greatest good of all involved. Self awareness has been such an important tool in recognizing what the frightened part of me feels like as well as what the anchored part of me feels like. So when the fearful part comes up, I catch it right away and never take direction from it.
Q: Have you struggled with self doubt as an entrepreneur? How do you navigate this?
A: Yes; there was a point in the beginning that I went into detox mode with everything, because I didn’t know if my thoughts were my own or something I heard. I stopped listening to podcasts, stopped taking courses, reading books, and talking to people about my ideas. Only then did I begin to hear myself think and began growing my business from that place. This helped me to trust my own thinking and follow my breadcrumbs. I always knew what was for me because, if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be curious about it.
Q: Have you felt like giving up? What made you persist?
A: Yes. I became someone who doesn't give up—someone who sees failure as an opportunity. Me and my inner critic have come to a good understanding of who makes the rules: he talks and talks and I just observe and never take direction. I decided a long time ago that I would be in charge. The inner critic is the only one who wants to quit; I don’t.
Q: What would you tell your younger self if you were to start your entrepreneurial journey all over again?
A: The most important things you have to share, you may feel like no one wants to hear. Remember it's the 50,000th time that you’ve said it and it's the first time they’ve heard it. It matters to them. They are in your presence for a reason.
Q: What’s next for you and Upwellery Marketing & Design?
A: Growth; being diligent about working in my zone of genius and growing my team to work in theirs. We’re in the early stages of spinning out one of our own brands in the skin care and food allergy/sensitivity space.
Gabrielle is a member of Dreamers & Doers, an award-winning community that amplifies extraordinary women entrepreneurs and leaders by securing PR, forging authentic connections, and curating high-impact resources. Learn more about Dreamers & Doers and get involved here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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Gesche Haas is the Founder/CEO of Dreamers & Doers, a private collective that amplifies the entrepreneurial pursuits of extraordinary women through visibility opportunities, resource exchange, and collective support.
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