SONYA GILL
BRIEF HISTORY, BACKGROUND, UNDERTAKINGS, AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
My story involves a lot of moving around. I moved from Vancouver to Toronto, yet raised in Northwest Territories. I attended University, however, I dropped out because I wanted to pursue a career in television and radio. I took the leap and did this with a vengeance by taking any course I could find on the industry. My first step was making a demo reel and submitting it to various media outlets, literally from scratch and no experience. The sky was the limit, and I would end up working for various TV and radio stations and would even go on to freelance in the Big Apple, I worked with some of the most talented people in the industry until one day I was barred from entering the states.
Back in my old bedroom in Vancouver, I had to start all over again and took up blogging. I had no idea what I was doing at the time, and it snowballed into a PR and marketing firm which I named Youzus.
As I made strides with Youzus, people started to take notice and I would go on to eventually sell the firm to Cummins & Partners which is one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. I had the privilege of working with the founder Sean Cummins and many other talented individuals. I felt I had the opportunity to work with the best of the best and learned so much more about branding and digital marketing.
After I exited, I went back to the drawing board, because I knew it was time to make my next move. I launched a mobile app called Take My Sari which caused a lot of noise in the community and grew to have a user base of 5,000 users in 2 short months. However after MANY hiccups, we had to take a step back and rethink the direction as the app kept crashing and was poorly built, so we pivoted to something now I think is going to revolutionize the way South Asians shop.
WHAT FUTURE PROJECTS CAN THE COMMUNITY EXPECT FROM YOU?
I’m a forward-thinking individual and love taking things to the next level. I just recently launched Doyenne Capital alongside my husband and have been diligently working in growing my marketing consultancy company. When building a business, I ensure to work with the best of the best in making great things happen. This is the vision that I’m creating for my company which will help various female lead start-up firms. I’m all about creating a game-changing philosophy.
WHAT FUTURE PROJECTS CAN THE COMMUNITY EXPECT FROM YOU?
I’m a forward-thinking individual and love taking things to the next level. I just recently launched Doyenne Capital alongside my husband and have been diligently working in growing my marketing consultancy company. When building a business, I ensure to work with the best of the best in making great things happen. This is the vision that I’m creating for my company which will help various female lead start-up firms. I’m all about creating a game-changing philosophy.
WHAT DO YOU DO ON YOUR SPARE TIME? HOW DO YOU BALANCE IT WITH YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE?
First things first, I don’t believe in being busy. I feel that when you’re ‘busy’, you are completely out of balance. For starters, my sleep is very important. It doesn’t matter what time I go to bed, I need to have a proper sleep. Even if I’m in bed by 11, I need to sustain at least 8 hours of sleep to help me balance. The gym is also important to me, and I never skip a workout. I ensure my day is completely balanced to avoid exhaustion.
Family is also really important to me and I ensure to spend time with my husband, stepchildren and close friends. The majority of my family live outside of Ontario in BC and I always make sure I see them at least once a month.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT SOME OBSTACLES YOU FACED IN YOUR LIFE? HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?
I never see anything as an ‘obstacle’. Every failure I experienced is the universe guiding me in the other direction. If I find myself in a situation that would be labeled as an ‘obstacle’, I take a step back and think ‘what am I not understanding, and what is the message’? When this situation occurs, I meditate, surrender, and let it go. The answer to that obstacle will eventually come to me.
This has been a big lesson throughout my journey. I used to look at obstacles as a failure when I was younger, but as I’ve grown spiritually I only look at obstacles as the universe guiding me in the right direction.
WHO ARE YOUR HEROES? WHY?
Oprah (laughs)
I adore Oprah and anyone else who is a spiritual and business game changer in society. There are so many individuals I know personally who have stepped up their game to a point where their character completely changed – for the better. It’s not only inspiring but motivating in so many ways. Integrity, growth, and positivity are qualities I always find in people when I think of ‘heroes’.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A LEADER?
To be a leader you have to think outside the box. When you lead a team, people are counting on you to know the next move, the rights answers, and the best approach with people skills. Furthermore, you must take risks to make all of this happen. A leader has strength, empathy, perseverance, but most importantly they need to think outside the box and put themselves in other people’s shoes.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU PROVIDE SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO FOLLOW THE SAME PATH AS YOU?
Don’t do it for the money. If you’re going to do it for the money, you’re not going to last. Do it for your calling. If you only do it for the money, you won’t love it, and you will not last. When you pursue something you love, you will eventually get signs to remind you that you’re on the right track.
ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?
Ask the right questions in life. People need to question more about why things are the way they are. Regardless if its business, friendship, romance, etc, tough questions need to be asked, regardless of how dumb or challenging they are. People experience so many breakthroughs and experiences when they ask the right questions, and sometimes even wrong questions (even though there is no such thing!). We live our lives stressing out about various circumstances, but asking the right questions and also practicing mindfulness can truly validate our purpose in life so we can make ourselves better every single day.