Carly Gilleland is the founder of The Good Vibe Media & Studios, a woman-owned and -operated video production company in Phoenix. After being exposed to video production during her years attending Arcadia High School and creating a documentary about her sister who has special needs, Gilleland quickly realized this is what she wanted to do for a living: tell people’s stories that have a positive impact. Learn about Carly Gilleland…
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
First job: Babysitting. Made more than $1,000 over the summer I turned 10 years old!
Favorite ways to spend your free time in AZ: Exercise and enjoying an amazing meal on a patio! We are spoiled in Arizona with incredible fitness studios like Radi8 and The Madison Improvement Club as well as great mountains to hike…but also spoiled to indulge in great dining like Chelsea’s Kitchen and Gooder Goods inside the Madison.
Your biggest accomplishment and why: Being a mom. Also, running a full marathon when I was seven months pregnant with her.
The biggest obstacle you overcame: By far finding solutions to keep my business alive and support my employees during the first COVID-19 shutdown. Not only that, I was able to triple the size of our team and our revenue one year after the first shutdown.
Someone who inspires you and why: In business, Sara Blakely is by far my biggest inspo. I was in awe at the fact she gave $5 million of her own money to woman-owned businesses during the first COVID-19 shutdown. Reviewing one of her grants was by far a highlight in my career and absolutely catapulted my mentality to find the kind of success she has gained in business.
Advice to someone pursuing a career path in what you do: Turn the word “fail” into “opportunity for growth.” It’s taken me many years but I feel like I have experienced so much growth the last few years because I was actually eager and excited about failing. Each hiccup is a massive opportunity to learn something that is only going to take you a few steps closer to the end goal you have in mind.
Favorite quote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” –Maya Angelou
Something someone would be surprised to learn about you: In college I traveled across the country in an RV with a few other students to Barack Obama’s inauguration. We filmed the journey, and had plans to make a documentary. Dr. Phil even did a segment on us when we were passing through Chicago.
What makes someone fabulous: How they treat others and the way they make people feel!