Facilitating Change - Galloway Gonzalez Consulting

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Allison Galloway-Gonzalez, Founder and CEO of Galloway Gonzalez Consulting, located in Jacksonville, FL, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Galloway Gonzalez Consulting is a woman lead consulting firm for non-profits and creative industries. We support these organizations and individuals through significant moments of change, from strategic planning to executive searches to increased budgets or program sizes. Our clientele ranges from emerging grassroots organizations to thriving community institutions. We provide direct mentoring and support to employees, board members, executives, and stakeholders.

Tell us about yourself

At the start of 2020, I was fulfilling many of the goals I had for my life. I was an incredibly happy wife and mom. I had become one of the highest achieving, highest paid, and best-networked arts non-profit leaders under 40 in my community. I had been named 40 under 40 by our business journal, along with a number of other leadership and peer-voted awards. I had also been in the running to lead our local arts agency.

When COVID hit, both our staff and board asked me to lead the business and emergency planning for our organization. With our executive team, I provided a deep analysis of our situation, both immediate and projected, with several fiscal scenarios - the bear (absolute last) case was laying off staff. That Monday morning at 8 am, three other women on staff and I were let go.

The next day, I reached out to several close colleagues to get some leads, and to my great surprise, they showed excitement about my availability to work on projects with them. I quickly formed my LLC and took on a few project management gigs. Less than three weeks later, my former CEO called to ask me (and the other three women) back. The organization had received a PPP loan (as predicted in my base case scenario) and would have to pay those funds back if they had fired the staff in those positions. Because of my financial insecurity, I went back to FT work, promising myself to make a new plan. I spent the next 10 months strengthening my team (for them to be ready to steer the ship without me), and I made my business plan.

In June of 2021, I landed a very competitive national contract and gave my notice. For the next eight months, I thrived!! I loved working with my clients, achieving far more than I allowed myself to imagine, spent more time with my two children, and brought in enough revenue to increase my salary from my FT job and build the business infrastructure.

On February 16, 2022, I received a call that would again shift my world. I had breast cancer. On top of the full-time job that was now my treatment, I balanced my family life and my current client load. Everyone was incredibly patient, and I even hired a partner/previous co-worker to stand in for me for a few weeks after surgery. I even had new clients who got to me by word of mouth and were willing to wait until I was ready to contract with me. Everything seemed to be running as smoothly as can be expected, but I couldn't go after new contracts due to so much unknown and because of my waning energy levels. By July, I was in the midst of chemo treatment, and another miracle - that same colleague left her full-time work and offered to work with me. I told her I didn't have the contracts to support her yet but she said not to worry because she was there to help maintain and grow the business to support both of us. And that she did!!

I am now cancer free and we are projecting a 200% revenue increase in 2023. We are helping non-profits of every size thrive. From children's food banks to arts education for foster teens, we are finding joy in helping each organization and individual. Working with other artists, administrators, and advocates is the most rewarding and energizing part of any project. Each team, project, and organization is offered a carefully curated array of experiences, ideas, and perspectives.

A special focus of our work has been on supporting executives of color and organizations focused on DEI&A through transition, growth, and positive company culture changes. We have a waitlist of women who want to work with us both internally as consultants and as clients. The culture we have built has been transformative for all of us. We all deserve the dignity of doing what we love, being compensated fairly, caring for our loved ones and ourselves, and living a creative life!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I take great pride in hearing from others that their experience has been transformational. My partner says although she feels busy, it doesn’t provoke the stress and frustration she had in other roles. We also have discovered that there are several other women who want to leave their current situations to work with us because we have built a strong supportive culture. I feel exactly the same and am so glad that I'm able to pay it forward. Here are several more quotes that have made me incredibly proud of the positive impact we have had:

“Allison is extremely strategic and smart enough to see the big picture while commanding the small details to ensure success. I [ ] can vouch for her excellent leadership, communication, and organizational skills. Allison’s work is consistently a notch above.”

“Galloway Gonzalez stepped in at a time of abrupt transition and not only helped us stay the course but also brought brand new ideas, enthusiasm, and strategies to the table. We were able to plan and implement our goals to higher standard.”

“Allison is a great strategist, partner, and doer. She moves seamlessly between big-picture strategic thinking, collaborating with and bringing together diverse stakeholders, and making sure that the work gets done.”

“Working with GGC has been a dream for my organization. They are knowledgeable and professional and know what is necessary to help navigate the different processes for arts and culture organizations. A reliable source of information. They are an incredible resource.”

“This is the best rejection letter I have ever received! Thank you for the opportunity. It has sincerely been a great experience.”

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

The hardest part of being a business owner is not the task of running a business but the weight of responsibility for caring for your people – colleagues, and clients. Everything should come back to this. Your income and work/life balance are important to your business culture. Your standard of work is important to your clients. If you are always circling back to what is best for people, the other pieces make sense.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Have the confidence of a child. You CAN do this, and it's actually easier than you believe. There will be plenty of days of worry, but pressing on and learning to adapt are the top skills you need to succeed.
Ask for help. There are far more people who are willing to share their experiences with you, and from those stories, you can piece together a best practice for yourself.
Decide on your core ethics now and stick to them. You are making this company, and it should reflect your priorities (personal and professional). If you do this, you will not be chasing money; you will be projecting strength, and money will come.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://gallowaygonzalez.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gallowaygonzalezconsulting/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/galloway-gonzalez-consulting/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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