“Women empowerment is about collaboration over competition.” | From Health Advocacy to Hosting Influence : Meet Gigi Robinson

Gigi Robinson, M.S., BFA , is a multi-hyphenate creator, speaker, children's book author and advocate born and raised in NYC. After getting her BFA and MS from the 美国南加州大学 she moved back home during the pandemic. From there, her social media business was born. She spent the past 2 years building It's Gigi and is currently working on scaling a brand new company, Hosts of Influence to help creators go from average to thought leader!

Miss EmpowHer: What does women's empowerment mean to you? Why is it important?

Gigi Robinson: Women's empowerment is about always lifting others up. It doesn't have to mean always focusing on lifting your friends up but really anyone in the community or industry that you in. I believe that it's about collaboration over competition. I believe that it's about unequivocally supporting women's rights and women owned businesses and companies. I believe that women's empowerment is important because it helps to inspire current and future generations to get out of their comfort zone and navigate the world.

“I believe that it's about collaboration over competition.“

Miss EmpowHer: What advice would you give to other women looking to succeed in your industry? What qualities are the most important and what skills should they focus on developing?

Gigi Robinson: My biggest tip is to, one, just start and go for it. It can be really hard especially when posting on social media to want to hold back. I feel like that typically comes from the fear of being seen and the fear of success actually. We're all deserving of money, we're also all deserving of success in our careers! I think that it's really important to not only trust your gut button networks super efficiently. A lot of people think networking is just knowing a lot of people but it's all about relationship building. It's about finding ways to uplift other women while also helping yourself. If you want to succeed in the social media world, I suggest using one platform and scaling them first; but you can always create your handles on other platforms and start cross posting. Eventually though I think that content that is unique to each platform performs the best! Also not getting too hung up on numbers and being OK when things flop is just more information for you to do better next time.

“A lot of people think networking is just knowing a lot of people but it's all about relationship building. It's about finding ways to uplift other women while also helping yourself.“

Miss EmpowHer: Tell us about a woman who has influenced your career and how their guidance has impacted your professional growth.

Gigi Robinson: I don't have anyone specifically but I have a few in mind! I think that all of the incredible creator managers at big social media platforms have been so supportive and helpful as I have tried to scale my business. It's been amazing to not only get first hand support but get to know my Creator managers and listen to their advice and see it succeed in action. I also think that listening to other women who have billed out successful coaching programs and businesses is really important to pay attention to.

Miss EmpowHer: How do you handle work-related stress and pressure, and what techniques or practices do you use to maintain your well-being while pursuing a successful career?

Gigi Robinson: At the end of the day we work to make money and to have a sense of purpose in life. Overall I would say that it's so important to shut your computer off at certain times, take breaks throughout the day and make sure that you treat yourself! It can be really hard to do this when you work in a field like social media where you are busy literally all of the time. But if you're able to take those moments to stay present and trust the process it alleviates a lot of the work stress and pressure. Especially if you don't use numbers as the only metric of your success.

Miss EmpowHer: Can you share any lessons or insights you have gained from failures or setbacks in your career, and how you have turned them into opportunities for growth and learning?

Gigi Robinson: I think that certain failures have just been redirection and teaching me how to build and innovate in new ways. I think a lot of the time we see a layoff, or a lack of income, or a failed relationship, as something that we failed at. But we can learn from all of these things and find ways to do what we're doing but better! We can find ways to grow through challenges.

Miss EmpowHer: Can you share any strategies or tips for building a successful network and fostering meaningful professional relationships that have helped you in your career?

Gigi Robinson: Networking is probably one of my absolute favorite things. I think if you're doing it in person, always being friendly and bubbly and mentioning what you do from the start kind of breaks the ice on whether or not you're trying to get something from somebody. If you want to successfully network with a journalist for example the best way to do that is by reading their stories and also talking about your story. They might come to you one day because you're a thought leader or an expert in your specific industry and include you in a press piece. If you just email pitching yourself without doing the networking and recognizing and reading their actual work, you will NOT have as much of a chance at success!

“If you want to successfully network with a journalist for example the best way to do that is by reading their stories and also talking about your story.“

Miss EmpowHer: What strategies or tactics do you use for setting and achieving your career goals, and how do you stay motivated and focused on your objectives?

Gigi Robinson: Every single year at the end of the year, I typically take a few days to Pinterest board, vision board, and goal set for the year ahead. I find this extremely cathartic but also really exciting. It's a time that I can create a bunch of different goals, review my business plan/reinvented and innovate on it. I also find time to be realistic about where my business is at and see what worked and what didn't work so that I can improve next year. Not thinking big enough is the worst thing that you could do for your career. Last year I put a picture of The White House in the United Nations on my vision board and this year I was invited to both places twice for the work that I do. Some people may have thought that that was crazy but I knew that it was possible I just had to believe it.

“Not thinking big enough is the worst thing that you could do for your career.“

Miss EmpowHer: What motivated you to choose your current career field, and what do you find most fulfilling about your work?

Gigi Robinson: My career has definitely taken a lot of different forms. It started with health advocacy and scaling my community that way because of the personal health struggles that I myself have dealt with. Then I started falling in love with the creator economy and teaching people how to grow their own brand and business. Now I do public speaking on both topics and also coach people on both behind the scenes. I find all of this work fulfilling because through this I get to serve other people and help them excel in different areas of their life based on their goals. Whether that's personal health or creator business!

“I find all of this work fulfilling because through this I get to serve other people and help them excel in different areas of their life based on their goals.“

Miss EmpowHer: Can you discuss any specific trends or changes in your industry that you see impacting careers, and how you are preparing to adapt to these changes?

Gigi Robinson: The biggest trends that are happening right now have to do with brand deals, the lack thereof and ways to succeed when brands are cutting their budget. I think that creating a product/business that helps people through this is super important which is why I'm super excited to share that I am launching Hosts of Influence . It's a company that helps diversified creators income through community building, thought leadership, and public speaking. Creators shouldn't just rely on Brand deals for money -which too many do. Not enough creators are actually making enough money to succeed full-time. Therefore it's time to start teaching people how to actually run and scale a business that isn't based on brands, but more so based on their community.

“It's a company that helps diversified creators income through community building, thought leadership, and public speaking.“

Miss EmpowHer: What advice do you have for individuals who are starting their careers or looking to make a career change, based on your own experiences and lessons learned?

Gigi Robinson: I would say to just go for it! Sometimes I think when you are starting a career or making a career change it's great to take a break to reflect and really figure out the ways that you want to scale your personal brand and career. Once you've gotten clear on that, start networking, and talking to people in your industry. Sometimes the saying ask and you shall receive is the best way to land your next big gig or Brand deal!

Miss EmpowHer: How do you approach professional development and continuous learning to enhance your skills and stay relevant in your industry??

Gigi Robinson: I do my best every day to read articles, listen to podcasts/radio and continue creating constantly. I think it's important to also talk to people at social media companies that have the potential to help you scale. It's also important to always audit yourself and your content and to iterate on what worked / what didn't work!?

“It's also important to always audit yourself and your content and to iterate on what worked / what didn't work!“

Miss EmpowHer: Can you discuss any significant achievements or accomplishments in your career that you are particularly proud of and what you learned from those experiences?

Gigi Robinson: Some of the proudest moments of my career include being invited to speak at 美国哈佛大学 , 耶鲁大学 , and 美国哥伦比亚大学 in one year, speaking at Vidcon/being a official creator for meta-during Vidcon, be invited to The White House twice because of my health advocacy work, and focusing on building my newest company. I think that each and every thing that I have accomplished to date flows into one another and everything that I've done has come from an intuitive place. I know that health advocacy and being a champion for women who are dealing with health issues is so important to me and as a result I have opportunities to publicly speak, ended up writing a children's book, and as I mentioned getting invited to The White House. I think that it's important to trust your intuition but also do it in a calculated way. Come up with what you wanna do and a roadmap to achieve it!

“I think that each and every thing that I have accomplished to date flows into one another and everything that I've done has come from an intuitive place.“

Miss EmpowHer: How do you balance your career ambitions with other aspects of your life, such as family, hobbies, and personal well-being?

Gigi Robinson: It's definitely hard to balance career with personal life especially when you work for yourself and you work from home. I have found that taking breaks throughout the day actually helps me be a lot more productive. It helps me to time block my schedule and make sure that I get done what I need to get done while also honoring my relationships, hobbies, and well-being!

“Taking breaks throughout the day actually helps me be a lot more productive.“

Miss EmpowHer: Are there any specific books, podcasts, email newsletters, thought leaders/influencers, or training courses/programs that you would recommend for personal or professional growth?

Gigi Robinson: I love listening to Mel Robbins and Jay Shetty podcasts, I also love You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero and When Women Lead by Julia Boorstin . I also would recommend doing some sort of journaling, mindfulness/meditation practice daily.

Miss EmpowHer: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Gigi Robinson: I'm officially taking on clients as a Hosts of Influence ! I am super excited about that and would love to start mentoring creators who are interested in scaling ASAP!

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