00;00;30;12 - 00;01;03;25
Speaker 1
Hello and welcome to Building Leadership Community Podcast. I'm your host, Dora Mendez, and I'm just so excited about this episode. We will be interviewing one of the first people who watched our first episode, in Season One. when we launched was texting me saying how much loved it. And so, before I bring, our guests to the stage, I just want to thank all of our listeners and viewers.
00;01;03;28 - 00;01;29;13
Speaker 1
And if you're new to our show, don't forget to like, share and subscribe. Make sure you click that little bell. Button, so that you get notified when new episodes post. So don't forget to like, share and subscribe. And since launching Building Leadership Community Podcast, the journey has been nothing short of transformative. As a champion of inclusive leadership growth and connection.
00;01;29;14 - 00;02;04;05
Speaker 1
Season Two is all about deepening the conversations and expanding our impact. At its core, Building Leadership, Community Podcast is about fostering authentic leadership and empowering professionals to build stronger, more engaged communities. Every episode dives into strategies, insights, and personal stories that help leaders navigate their leadership journey with confidence and purpose. Today, as I mentioned, I'm so excited.
00;02;04;07 - 00;02;37;10
Speaker 1
To be diving into the crucial topic of Building Leadership Community with someone who is not only a, true expert in branding and people, but is also a dear friend. Yeah. Years ago. We were roommates years ago. Many, many years ago. And we have stayed connected. I don't want to go into all the funny stories of when we were, living together.
00;02;37;12 - 00;02;47;24
Speaker 1
But I'm thrilled to welcome the founder and creator of GASM Brands, the incredible Gilleon Alexis Smith-Mercado.
00;02;47;26 - 00;02;54;17
Speaker 2
Hi. I'm sitting here laughing so hard at the background. We were roommates.
00;02;54;17 - 00;03;01;28
Speaker 1
Yes, we, that's how long we've known each other. You forgot that we were roommates.
00;03;02;00 - 00;03;33;24
Speaker 2
I do not forget. I have to say that living with you was not only my entry way into New York City, but it was my entryway to having family. And in New York City and I'm just so, so grateful for the experience of being your roommate and laughing at all of the funny things that did happen, because there were a lot.
00;03;33;26 - 00;03;58;06
Speaker 1
That's also for another time. But I'm gonna I'm going to make you, hopefully, I'm going to I'm going to for the audience. I'm going to read your, your bio, because I think it's important for the audience to learn a little bit more about you. And that you're not just a guest because you were my roommate, but you are really just,
00;03;58;08 - 00;04;19;04
Speaker 1
I don't know how to how to describe you. You're just like this force of nature and everything. You. Everything that you put, you just set your mind to, you accomplish. And I really admire that about you. So I'm sorry. I didn't know I was going to get emotional. I want all our listeners and viewers to to, hear.
00;04;19;04 - 00;04;34;00
Speaker 1
But you have to say so just give me a moment. Branding and people. Expert, founder and creator. Gilleon Alexis Smith-Mercado is a brand strategist, web designer, and founder of GASM Brands. That I pronounce that correct.
00;04;34;03 - 00;04;36;02
Speaker 2
Yes. You did her.
00;04;36;05 - 00;05;14;02
Speaker 1
A creative agency helping entrepreneurs who are typically the face of their own brand elevate their online presence with bold strategy, esthetic clarity and high converting visuals visuals with over 20 years of entrepreneurial spirit, Gill blends creative intuition with sharp business acumen to help her clients build brands that actually pop. She is about authenticity, intentional design, and making your brand unforgettable online and in real life.
00;05;14;02 - 00;05;29;17
Speaker 1
And that's part of the reason why you're here today. Our mission is really aligned. We're all about authenticity. And so I love for our, listeners and viewers to hear from you about your leadership journey, your leadership story. Yeah.
00;05;29;17 - 00;05;58;02
Speaker 2
I mean, when I really say, I mean, it's kind of become a little theme of the, you know, chat. But, you know, when I met you, literally, I had just graduated college and I had met your younger sister through a friend and you guys just took me in as family and just I, I grew up in Oakland, California.
00;05;58;02 - 00;06;27;22
Speaker 2
I went to UC Santa Barbara, which was a very homogenous school to go to. So it was like I went from like, you know, frankly, just a very white place to the most diverse place in the universe. And it was like literally so crazy because you guys helped me through so many things. You just showed me the ropes of, like, New York City and all of those, you know, just like the nuances.
00;06;27;22 - 00;06;51;21
Speaker 2
I remember one of the first days, the first day I, I, I went, I got, I got to New York, I set my things down and I went to go for a walk. And I saw your little sister Rocio on the, on the street. And she was like, welcome to New York. And then she said, here, take my umbrella.
00;06;51;21 - 00;07;15;19
Speaker 2
It's going to rain. And like, within two minutes, like just started dumping down on the street. And it was just like that type of moment where you guys just really helped me through anticipate so many things. But with that being said, I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. When I came to New York, I had no idea what really what I was going to do.
00;07;15;19 - 00;07;34;28
Speaker 2
I just knew I was going to hustle and do what I needed to do to survive. And I think that I've always come from that standpoint of work, like, okay, we got to do it. We got to survive. We got to, you know, get, get going. I got to make money. But, you know, I had a theater degree and I really wanted to do acting.
00;07;34;28 - 00;07;55;26
Speaker 2
And of course, like I studied Shakespeare and Moliere in the classics. And I was like, ready for my, you know, Broadway debut. And I came to New York and I very quickly realized, you know, that wasn't for me. Not only did I not like it, but I just didn't want to, like, I just didn't want to do it.
00;07;55;29 - 00;08;25;09
Speaker 2
And I also professionally had a completely different idea of what it was. And the one thing that I remember being in those auditions and going to different places is that there was a person there always judging me, like there was a person sitting there who was like, you know, making the call on what was happening. And I just remember wanting to know who that person was.
00;08;25;09 - 00;08;48;23
Speaker 2
They were able to eat chips and like that. They're just like, I judge people. You know what I mean? Like that was like, right? They were like, why am I not eating chips and sitting here judging people? Like, that's way better than, like showing up with my weave wet, sweaty from the subway, you know what I mean? Like trying to, like, be judged, like.
00;08;48;23 - 00;09;10;29
Speaker 2
That's insane. Like, what are we talking about? So I, you know what? I exactly what you're talking about. I made it happen. I found out who that person was. I found out that that was the casting director, and I got to work. I found a casting director. I started working for the casting director. And then I started working for many casting directors.
00;09;10;29 - 00;09;42;05
Speaker 2
And then I became a casting director. And I built a business in New York City, casting and helping people. And I think it's always, for me, been about amplifying people, taking people and giving them opportunities and and giving them, you know, a chance to see themselves in a way that they've never seen themselves before or, you know, do something that they've never done before or just have coin in their pocket.
00;09;42;05 - 00;10;00;26
Speaker 2
Like, that's the biggest thing is like, if I can be an agent for you and your evolvement and your career, like I was all for it and I really did, it felt so rewarding. You know, being a part of, you know, someone's journey, someone's success.
00;10;00;29 - 00;10;03;08
Speaker 1
And,
00;10;03;10 - 00;10;28;23
Speaker 2
You know, I did all kinds of different casting. I works in commercial, and I did a lot of New York Fashion Week, runway casting and big high fashion production. And you know, I did it. I was in the trenches. There was a lot going on. The documentary, Supreme Models that just came out on Netflix, really documents a lot.
00;10;28;24 - 00;10;31;19
Speaker 1
I hadn't seen that. Oh, it's so good.
00;10;31;23 - 00;11;03;21
Speaker 2
But it's like in two. It's it's a lot of like, they talk about my era, like the 2000, six to like nine era when I was like, really like in the trenches of working in fashion. And it was the whiteout. It was what they called it. But, you know, it was like the supermodel era was kind of come, you know, the Naomi Campbells were getting too big for their britches and all the, the, the designers decided that, no, nobody was going to be too big for them.
00;11;03;21 - 00;11;25;00
Speaker 2
And so then they wanted to take the models down and make them neutral and have them all be the same look and the same type. And it was just like there was only like three black models that they were looking and, you know, and one of was, Joan Smalls is one of them. She talks about it on the documentary.
00;11;25;00 - 00;11;56;28
Speaker 2
But, you know, it was tough. It was a struggle. It felt very uninspiring. But we were, you know, we were working in fashion and we were doing it, and it was so cool. But that did also create kind of a lane for me to be able to kind of go in and make change in that area. And I was able to partner with some really cool, up and coming designers and start casting my own shows for New York Fashion Week and creating a way for diversity and inclusion on the runway.
00;11;57;00 - 00;12;13;01
Speaker 2
And that really opened the door for me to really come into my own as an entrepreneur and make a choice of the type of work I wanted to do and the type of people that I wanted to work with. And yeah, good.
00;12;13;02 - 00;12;16;07
Speaker 1
To work for yourself, if that's the biggest.
00;12;16;07 - 00;12;38;02
Speaker 2
Thing, is like, I was just I've never had a 9 to 5 job. I've never had one. I don't I feel like I've said, I've said this before, but like when I get a 9 to 5 when I was like in high school or like junior high school, but and you know, when you would like, you know, hang out with your boyfriend or whatever, but it wasn't your boyfriend yet.
00;12;38;02 - 00;13;02;08
Speaker 2
And then but it was, you could tell that it was like going somewhere. Well, the boy would, like, ask me, okay, like, can we be boyfriend and girlfriend? And I would say, sure. And then I would get home and I would freak out, like I would just be like, oh my God, I can't, I can't do this. And I feel the same exact way about a 9 to 5, like the minute they're like, okay, you're in.
00;13;02;10 - 00;13;23;13
Speaker 2
Like, here's your salary. I like start breaking out in hives like I'm like, no, I can't do it. Like I just need to be my own person. Like, I just feel like there's so much. Not only is there the freedom of like, okay, I can do this call in my car and it doesn't matter. I'm the boss of myself.
00;13;23;13 - 00;13;30;20
Speaker 2
But there's also the idea of like limitless income. Like I am limitless in what I'm doing.
00;13;30;23 - 00;13;39;02
Speaker 1
And while I love, I love to get some of that limitless because I have, that is there are ups and downs.
00;13;39;05 - 00;13;43;23
Speaker 2
One person, but it's but it's limitless and so.
00;13;43;23 - 00;14;06;07
Speaker 1
Well, what I want to share with my, listeners and viewers is, that leadership is so important. And it can be lonely, though, Gilleon. It can be lonely. Yeah. So that's part of the reason why I was the inspiration for this show was I started, you know, I said, oh my God, I'm going to start my own business.
00;14;06;07 - 00;14;30;28
Speaker 1
I want to finally take control. But there's some ups and downs. I, I'll be, you know, you've been doing this now 20 years, but I'm still, new. Yeah. Yeah. And and, every time I start to get, like, down, like, oh, my God, what did I do? I'm. I'm totally crazy. Like, when I first started my first doing this and then.
00;14;30;28 - 00;14;58;11
Speaker 1
Right. And then and then I, connect with people like you and other people. And that really helps. Helps me remember to stay. And I love this idea of limitless, of being limitless. And so if you can share kind of, you know, if you can go back and tell your younger self something, or if you want to share with the next generation of leaders, what advice would you give them?
00;14;58;11 - 00;15;06;04
Speaker 1
Because I love this idea of limitlessness. Is there any any other nugget there that you'd like to share?
00;15;06;07 - 00;15;31;18
Speaker 2
Okay, well, this is twofold. So number one, the the idea of like limitless and being lonely and being an entrepreneur, I would say is the number one gripe I have about being an entrepreneur is that I have to network. I have to communicate, I have to, you know, make so many decisions and there's nobody, like, helping me, like, do I want this to be green or blue?
00;15;31;18 - 00;15;59;00
Speaker 2
Like, do I, you know, like, should I go left or right? Like, that is the biggest problem. It's very lonely. But that's the thing is you you get out of your comfort zone and you do things like this, like, this is, this is a big thing that you're doing. And in the sense of like, the world and technology and what's happening in business, like a lot of people are saying that the podcast is the new website.
00;15;59;00 - 00;16;25;26
Speaker 2
So like if you don't have a podcast in 2030, like it's like not having a website. So this is the way that people are growing and expanding and communicating. And I'm doing my own, you know, interview series and this is the way forward. So don't stop communicating because that's the biggest thing is, you know, you never know what doors are going to open from those conversations.
00;16;25;26 - 00;16;35;19
Speaker 2
And you're you I gain something from every conversation I have. So and you should, you know, if you don't, then “Bye!”, you know.
00;16;35;21 - 00;17;01;10
Speaker 1
I like I like the, community. I guess, if you boil it down to a nugget, it's communicate is communication is really kind of what drives you because like, for me, like you were just such like this for you have like, this vivacious, this effervescent energy that I think will come through. And to our listeners and, and to our viewers for sure.
00;17;01;13 - 00;17;17;17
Speaker 1
And and not everyone is like that. Not everyone has that kind of personality. So true. But but I but I think regardless of your personality, I think communication is key, right? It takes courage.
00;17;17;19 - 00;17;37;23
Speaker 2
And you can do it. You don't have to be on video every time you do something. You can do voiceover, like there's a whole market. I'm doing a whole thing on faceless marketing. You don't even need to show your face. Like there's so many things that you can do out there. Like no excuses, just do it. Like just do it.
00;17;37;24 - 00;18;14;23
Speaker 2
You're doing it. And and that's the thing. It's like, if you don't ever do it, you're never gonna know what what you're doing. You know what I mean? You're never going to know your potential. So that's number one. I would say that. But if you ask me because this is that that's a totally the other question. If you ask me if I can tell my younger self something, one of the main things that I would tell my younger self is to treat social media as a part of my business, like I never used social media to socialize.
00;18;14;26 - 00;18;29;12
Speaker 2
Like I think we got it all wrong from the very beginning. And I, you know, as millennials, like, you know, I did the Myspace and Facebook and I've been through all the iterations...
00;18;29;12 - 00;18;31;07
Speaker 1
What’s Myspace.? Let me stop, lol.
00;18;31;09 - 00;18;59;17
Speaker 2
And every iteration was used to like make friends and show my show my family and my life and whatever the heck is going on. And that was wrong. That was very, very wrong. And, you know, I just wish that I had looked at it as a marketing tool, as a business tool, as, you know what I mean?
00;18;59;17 - 00;19;16;05
Speaker 2
Expansion tool as all like as you know, now, when I'm looking at social media, I look at it as the same way as, like doing accounting, like, I've got to calculate my profit and loss. Like I got to get online for 15 minutes and, like, engage and never.
00;19;16;05 - 00;19;16;27
Speaker 1
Schedule.
00;19;17;03 - 00;19;18;06
Speaker 2
Yeah. Like I don't have a.
00;19;18;06 - 00;19;28;26
Speaker 1
Schedule a calendar. You have it and then you leave the now there's WhatsApp and I just have a family group. That's where I share the stuff with the family. Yeah.
00;19;28;26 - 00;19;35;12
Speaker 2
And that's where, frankly, what Facebook is for. You know, Facebook is kind of like, okay, like, let me keep up with the family too.
00;19;35;12 - 00;19;54;10
Speaker 1
But I have two versions of Facebook. I have the business, the business, the Coach Dora Facebook page. And then I have the, the page that I've had for, since, like, Facebook started, which I don't even want to date myself.
00;19;54;13 - 00;20;18;27
Speaker 2
I mean, I honestly, that's the thing. It's like, yeah, I use it for ads and I do use it, but honestly, like, it's just a business tool at this point. Like it's nothing more than that. And, you know, I think I went away from it and rejected it. And, you know, it's like number one, it's a business. Well, number two, like stop comparing yourself to other businesses on it.
00;20;18;27 - 00;20;43;04
Speaker 2
Like there's nothing personal. Like just get on it, come conduct your business and get off and leave the rest like, I just wish that I had not gotten so wrapped up in the socializing of social media. That is like the one thing, because I think I would be much further like in my digital, you know, savvy like. And you know what I mean?
00;20;43;04 - 00;20;55;20
Speaker 2
Like, I just think that I kind of took a break and I treated it as this, and I did that. And, you know, at the end of the day, these kids, the 19 year old TikTokers, they got it right. They started from the the.
00;20;55;23 - 00;21;02;08
Speaker 1
Yeah, they're making so much money. I need to, I'm afraid of TikTok. I, I don't understand it.
00;21;02;10 - 00;21;22;03
Speaker 2
Its the best, its really good. But that's what I'm saying. It's like now like TikTok, TikTok is like bigger than Wikipedia for like, searches, you know? And it's definitely one of those things that, again, use it as a business tool, like if you want to get it on it.
00;21;22;05 - 00;21;31;00
Speaker 1
Yes, influencer is a job now, which is like boggles my mind. But my children remind me, my children like remind me. They ground me.
00;21;31;02 - 00;21;56;29
Speaker 2
They totally. And that's a thing. So, you know, I just think like in terms of life and business or whatever, it's all going to work out. Like you're going to figure it out. Like you're going to just like if it fails, then you figure that out. Like, you know, you go through life, you say yes to things, you take chances, you get out of your comfort zone, you do your thing, you know, and you'll be great.
00;21;57;02 - 00;22;17;21
Speaker 1
So, Gilleon, this is wonderful. So why don't you share? You have so much wisdom. We could probably talk all day. We could talk about so many things, but, Yeah, we are going to... I would love for you to tell our listeners and viewers how they can keep in touch with you, how can they learn more about your business?
00;22;17;23 - 00;22;18;28
Speaker 1
What would... Share, please.
00;22;19;00 - 00;22;54;20
Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So you can find me Gilleon Smith @GilleonSmith on Instagram. That's G-I-L-L-E-O-N and S-M-I-T-H. My website is ILoveGASM.com. That's “I love G-A-S-M”, which is my initials, everyone's. So in case anybody was wondering and yeah, so we, I work with I work with the people, I work, I work with.
00;22;54;22 - 00;22;57;16
Speaker 1
Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you.
00;22;57;18 - 00;23;24;11
Speaker 2
No, no, no, no worries. I work with entrepreneurs of all different types, all different levels, but usually people who are the face of their brand or solopreneurs. I help them develop their brand and their brand voice. And, it's really, a really like a collaborative, effort. But I have all kinds of different ways that you can collaborate with me, whether it's one on one.
00;23;24;11 - 00;23;44;10
Speaker 2
I have a course, I have a lot of free resources. So please check out ILoveGASM.com., and, you can also book a call with me, a free call with me, and I can, you know, give you a little read. I could do whatever. So, a free read, if you want.
00;23;44;12 - 00;24;03;20
Speaker 1
So I'm going to put all of those handles and your website; it'll be in the description of the episode. So if folks so folks who are listening in their car, you don't have to pull over and write it down. It'll be in the episode. And if you're watching on, on YouTube, it'll be in the, in the description there.
00;24;03;22 - 00;24;25;29
Speaker 1
So, Gilleon, I just want to thank you so much, for, helping me build this incredible community—one meaningful episode at a time. Thank you so much for being here. I can thank you for having me. I think that people are going to get so much from, listening to your story.
00;24;25;29 - 00;24;26;18
Speaker 2
Thank you.
