Gabriela Margarita Padilla Gomez is a Business Coach. She helps women entrepreneurs create customer-centered success.
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your corporate journey/venture/initiative.
I was born during the civil war in El Salvador, I was 9 when the war ended, so my childhood was different from that of most kids in other parts of the world. After graduating in business and economics, I began working in my father’s company, and we established a new software company together in 2007. In 2009, I opened a pastry shop, but I had to close it in 2011 so that I could fully focus on the software company, as my time was really limited, we were in the process of implementing ISO standards, and my father and I had to create all the standardized processes.
In 2016, the crime rates in El Salvador became unbearable. After witnessing a dead person hanging from a tree, witnessing the extortion of a potential client that I was visiting and seeing the car in front of me being assaulted by 2 men with a gun one in each side of the car, I decided to leave the country. The quickest way out was to pursue a master’s degree, which led me to the Netherlands. My primary goal was to find a company that could help me change my visa status, and I eventually joined a multinational company that sponsored a high-skilled visa for me, allowing me to stay in the country. This year, I obtained Dutch citizenship, and I’m now embarking on a new entrepreneurial journey.With 18 years of experience in customer care, my focus is on coaching women entrepreneurs. I have the dream that I can make enough impact in the world, so when my daughter grows, she gets an amazing service from all her providers/suppliers and not being treated just like a number.
Every industry that is now a large-scale, top-notch business once started as a small idea in the minds of entrepreneurs. What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business /initiative? What motivated you within to say YES, go for it!”
I believe I have an entrepreneurial spirit, and my passion lies in making a difference and creating a positive impact while helping others. My primary drive for working is the sense of contribution.
Residing in the Netherlands, where direct communication is highly valued, I’ve come to realize that customer service isn’t a subject commonly taught to entrepreneurs. I’ve witnessed cases where business owners treat customers rudely, as if they are doing them a favor. That made me reflect on all the clients I visited in the past and revealed a common issue: many entrepreneurs struggle with delivering difficult news or managing interactions with angry customers. They all say they care for the customer, but many of them don’t receive the feedback from the customers, among other challenges.
Recognizing this gap in knowledge and skill, I became inspired to bridge it. I see an opportunity to make a positive impact on both entrepreneurs and their customers by providing guidance and training in effective customer service practices.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
Of course, I aspire for every entrepreneur to comprehend that establishing a company should not solely be about pursuing financial gain. It should be rooted in offering a product or service that fulfills a genuine market need. By consistently delivering exceptional service, financial success naturally follows. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs approach business from the opposite perspective, hindering their ability to establish swift and lasting connections with clients.
If we could make a shift in our perspective towards viewing business, we would have better service in all industries, more creativity, better treatment to the employees and customers, better quality in the products/ services and thanks to the empathetic and assertive approach this will create stronger companies in the long term.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. There are cracks in glass ceilings everywhere, with many women breaking through to carve out a space right at the top of the pyramid. What are your thoughts about women leadership today?
I love the question. In my experience, both the software and the forklift industries are mainly man driven, so I had to prove myself more than a man would have to. This is the reason why my niche is women entrepreneurs. In reality, what I teach can be applied to any entrepreneur either man or woman, but I want to reduce the gap, I want to promote women’s business. I want to teach them essential mistakes to avoid and show to the world that we can have better companies by having empathy and genuine care for the customer.
Times are changing, the demands of the customers are higher than ever, you cannot continue doing business like 5 years ago, that’s not enough. For us women we have great advantages: we are more flexible, we accept easier constructive feedback, we adapt better to the changes and usually we tend to be more empathetic than the man. So it’s just a matter of time, we’ll flip the coin and we’ll show the ideal way to run a company.
What’s the most important thing you have learned in your personal life and professional journey? What is your personal motto in life?
The most important lesson I’ve learned in my personal life is the importance of gratitude. At times, we tend to take things for granted, losing sight of reality. Just the simple fact of being healthy and alive, having our eyes, hands, and legs is a gift beyond measure. As a mother, I was amazed at how my body, through my milk, provided everything my daughter needed during her infancy for health and growth, without requiring water or food. For most people that’s just normal, to me, that’s truly emotional. We possess these incredible gifts, yet we often fail to appreciate them fully.
Just think how your life would change if for example you had an accident and you became blind. You will have to adapt. Of course, you can always succeed and irradiate joy, but in that moment, when you are missing something, you realize you had a great gift you didn’t appreciate in the past. So for me, I thank God every day for everything that I have, I thank my husband for all the details he has with me and this has brought immense happiness into my life.
In my professional life, the most important thing I’ve learned is consistency, you cannot expect to do something once and get immediate and long lasting results, you need to be consistent in everything to get the results you are looking for.
Finally, my personal Motto: Don’t work harder, work smarter and remain humble enough to understand that you don’t have the whole truth.
With your grit and determination, you are making a considerable impact, breaking through, and serving as role models for many budding entrepreneurs. What would you want to say to our young women leaders/audience reading this?
The life of an entrepreneur is something you must enjoy. There will always be obstacles in the way, but check who has been there before, ask for help so this person can shorten the path, you are not alone! Many people say entrepreneurship is a lonely path, but it doesn’t have to be like this, just find the correct groups. And don’t forget, if in one moment you are doubting yourself, about your capabilities, think about the great things you’ve accomplished so far. You are good! You can do it! You are enough! you just need to find the correct customers that resonate with your thoughts. And from the bottom of my heart, I wish you the best success in your business.
