I Took the Leap...Again

4 years ago I took my first leap of faith. I left Wall Street to join a startup in Silicon Valley as its first employee. Today, I’m sharing an even bigger leap of faith. I call this leap — betting on myself.

Goodbye, Facebook.

Two months ago, I made the bittersweet decision to leave a job and company that I loved - Facebook. My last day was Monday, March 9th.

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” — Maya Angelou

I will never forget how working at Facebook made me feel.

My three years at FB were the most rewarding years of my career. And to be honest, the people had a lot to do with it. I felt loved, valued, curious, challenged, important, energized, and happy. I felt supported as a Black woman working in tech. I felt like my work was impactful to the company. I felt like I could bring my authentic self to the workplace (I’m not going to lie — I tried to be low-key about Gym Hooky & my deal with Under Armour, but my team wasn’t having it!). I felt taken care of (I mean…the perks at Facebook are insane!)

"I felt supported as a Black woman working in tech."

Was my experience at Facebook — perfect? Of course not. There were days of stress and overwhelm. I experienced imposter syndrome. I had long and late nights. I felt burnout. But in these moments, I never felt alone or helpless. I was blessed to receive endless support from my team, my managers, my mentors, and the greater FB community.

I was also blessed to be on the best team at FB (oh hey, People Growth team!).

There were opportunities for me to learn, grow, and do what I love. From project managing companywide employee engagement initiatives and rolling out big product changes, to stepping into a newly created role as Program Manager to build community within FB, to redesigning and launching FB’s Faceversary experience, to leading 7,000+ FB women through a movement session at Women’s Leadership Day — I learned that I was capable of much more than I ever believed.

I leave with nothing but gratitude. Thank you, Facebook, for an amazing 3 years!

Hello, Entrepreneurship.

It is no secret that fitness and health also hold a huge part of my heart. For the last 5 years, I’ve worn the #doublelife badge with pride — working in tech by day and doing the unimaginable with Gym Hooky as a Health Coach, Fitness Instructor, and sponsored Under Armour Athlete by night.

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” — Oprah Winfrey

After much reflection, I made the decision to leave Facebook to pursue my health and fitness business, Gym Hooky, full-time.

I always knew that one day I would go all in on entrepreneurship. But to be honest, never in a million years would I have guessed that one day would be in March 2020. I thought I was going to stay at Facebook a few more years. I thought I was going to wait until my business revenue matched my corporate salary. I though I was [insert laundry list of goals here].

So why did I decide to go all in now?

I had a mindset shift in the past 6 months. I had a boost of confidence and felt empowered after attending Pays to Be Brave and ICON Mastermind Live. I realized, after Kobe’s death, that life is far too short to just dream. My desire to help working women on their health journey grew stronger each day. And I had that unexplainable feeling that people talk about — that gut feeling — telling me it was time.

"I could no longer ignore this feeling. I had to follow my gut. I had to trust my faith. It was time for me to bet on myself and walk in my purpose."

And in mid-February, I gave Facebook my one-month’s notice. I took a leap of faith. My grand master plan was to take a two-month break before diving into Gym Hooky full-time.

But then COVID-19 happened. It was clear that God had different plans for me.

It just so happens that my last day at Facebook was the first day of lockdown in the SF Bay Area. By the end of that week, thousands of people living in the Bay Area were told by their employers to work from home. The need for Gym Hooky was unexpected and immediate.

If there was any confirmation that my decision to bet on myself was the right one — this was it.

I hit the ground running the same day that I left Facebook. In less than 2 months, I've been able to use the skills I learned in my 9 years as a corporate professional to make an impact as as a fitness professional during the pandemic. Some of these skills were strategy, partnership, project management, program management, process improvement, marketing, communication, community building, and collaboration.

• In my first week of entrepreneurship, I launched my free Guide to Staying Healthy While Working from Home. My guide had over 2,000 downloads across 31 countries in less than 48 hours. It was also promoted internally by HR execs at large tech companies.
• Between March 16 and May 1st, I hosted 40+ virtual workout sessions via Zoom getting 2,500+ women from over 10 countries to move their bodies right at home. The ages of my class attendees ranged from 7 years old to 72 years old.
• I’ve partnered with 3 fitness organizations to raise funds for frontline healthcare works and fitness professionals who have been impacted by COVID-19.
• I onboarded 3 large tech companies as clients to host virtual workouts for their employees.
• I am one of the faces for Under Armour’s Home Workout campaign.

God has me working, yall! I’m so excited for this new chapter and am grateful for all of the support I have received so far. I will keep you posted on the happenings.

ANNOUNCEMENT - JOIN ME FOR A FREE MASTERCLASS!

Are you a woman looking to get in shape while managing a busy schedule?

I am SO excited to announce that next Tuesday, May 12th at 4:00PM PST, I will be hosting a FREE masterclass for women looking to lose weight/tone up (see details below)!

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE

I’ve spent the last 5 years helping #bookedandbusy women across different industries transform their bodies in ways that they didn’t even think was possible using my LEAN method. It is a sustainable approach to weight loss that doesn’t include working out everyday or going on a strict diet. It is the very method I’ve used to lose and maintain weight while working in corporate and managing my side hustles.

This is the most valuable training I have ever hosted and it is going to completely change the game for you. Please be sure to sign up ASAP!

Also if you are interested in joining my VIP email list for weekly wellness tips and giveaways, you can sign up here.