We Have Arrived

While Gab Communications has only just recently made its official business debut, the dream of planning, forming and successfully executing this company first happened long, long ago. Everyone has a story, right? Here’s mine.

It was 1996 and I was 10 years old when I designed, wrote and published my first newsletter completely on my own. It was geared toward kids who love their pets (Kidz’ Farm – yep, spelled with a ‘z’ for extra cool points), and there were about a dozen issues that I produced (using – brace yourself – Windows Paint) by printing copies from my parents’ home printer (sorry for using up all that ink mom and dad). My team of “freelancers” included none other than my little brothers and cousins, and my subscribers were my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and my best friend.

In retrospect, it’s easy to glance at an old, faded copy of that newsletter and think how beyond embarrassing and goofy it was. But the more I think about it, the more certain I am that the publication I created at 10 years old put me on the path to where I am today.

As I entered my teen years, my little kids-themed newsletter began to lose its luster, so I decided it was time to start my own retail business. I thought about what I was good at and enjoyed doing – which at that very microsecond in my preteen life was making jewelry. So I bought a domain, designed a website, published a catalog and began my first venture with ecommerce. To everyone’s semi-disbelief, that jewelry business I started at 12 years old was actually relatively successful. I had a business bank account, my own P.O. box, and people were sending me check after check in the mail. I even did my own PR and was featured in a 1999 issue of Girls’ Life magazine.

Throughout all this, I was constantly surrounded by a solid business team. Most parents would probably cringe at the thought of their 12-year-old starting an online business – my dad encouraged me, and my mom would sometimes let me skip algebra (my brothers and I were homeschooled) so I could work on my website or jewelry. (side note about algebra: I literally put off taking algebra in college – the only math course I needed for my major – until my very last semester because I despised it so, so very much. But I passed, and I’m happy to report that I have not once used algebra in my life since).

When it came time to decide on a college, I pretty much had it all mapped out. I’d major in communications, take a variety of classes that would introduce me to all related fields, take an internship in the field that interests me the most, and then have a job waiting for me as soon as I was handed my diploma. Easy as pie, right?

Not exactly. The year was 2008 and our country was in the middle of the economic downfall known as the recession. Companies across the nation were slashing budgets and cutting jobs relating to everything I had spent the last four years studying – journalism, marketing, public relations, etc. A few semesters before I was set to graduate, I took an internship with Clear Channel Radio (93.1 WPOC) in Baltimore doing radio marketing and promotions. Was it an awesome experience? Yes. Did I get to go backstage to hang out with Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts and Joe Nichols? Yep. Did I learn a lot about what goes on behind the scenes in radio? Yes again. Was it what I wanted to do with the rest of my life? Not really.

There’s certainly a lot of learning that goes on during college, but I think I learned the most after college. I came home with my diploma, but no glamorous job. I waited tables at a sports bar for a while – and let me just say that I think everyone should wait tables at some point in their life. Actually, I think it should be a required course for all communication majors because of the numerous valuable lessons it teaches – lessons that simply cannot be taught from a text book. It was a slimy, gross job that at times forced me to interact with some lowly people, but I’m genuinely glad I had that experience for a lot of reasons.

During the time I was busy waiting tables and applying for jobs, I found that I really missed writing and exercising all these natural skills and passions I’d had since I was little. It was around that time I read that a new community newspaper would soon debut in my hometown of Pasadena, and they were hiring paid freelancers. Within a matter of weeks, I was writing again.

I ended up taking as many writing assignments as I possibly could. I guess they liked me, because they hired me full-time as their assistant editor about a year later. Two years after that, I was promoted to managing editor, in which I oversaw the editorial department and all freelancers. I had the time of my life working there and being able to interact with and help promote local businesses on a daily basis. There were many days I went into the office well before sunrise and left well after dusk, not glancing at the time even once because I was so busy.

I grew up a lot during my six years at the paper – both personally and professionally. I was proposed to, planned a wedding, got married, bought a house, found out I was going to be a mom, had a baby, and then learned all that goes into balancing a full-time job and a full-time family.

Somewhere in the hurricane of getting through college, finding the perfect job, landing the perfect job, starting a family and maintaining the job, I lost a large piece of that creative entrepreneurial spirit I first discovered at 10 years old. Life was blowing past me at a thousand miles per hour and I wasn’t sure if I was totally in control anymore.

I wanted to reinstate that creative spirit, and I had a vision for making it happen. So, while today is the day you’re maybe first hearing about Gab, it’s actually been an idea for the last 18 years. And remember, all great projects, campaigns, events, businesses and stories start out as just that – an idea.

I’m so happy to share with you that this company, Gab Communications, is that idea and vision. We are here to help your business rise and conquer through creative, editorial-based marketing strategies. Have an idea for your business? Let’s make it happen. Contact me directly by emailing hayley@gababoutit.com.

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