We were lucky to catch up with Giselle Gonzalez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Giselle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I was in the process of creating my company, Monarch Consulting Firm, LLC I was having a heavy struggle with identifying what I wanted my company to represent. I knew I wanted to create a different experience for those wanting to start new businesses, but I had a difficulty identifying who I wanted to impact and serve. I always liked to tied my passions and my personal experiences, I am a firm believer that my identity as a woman, and as a daughter has been politically tied my entire life. This led me to pursue a career in community organizing and the non profit sector from a young age. During the planning of my business structure, I knew that I wanted to serve and impact the immigrant community. Being the oldest daughter to Mexican immigrant parents, I was a witness to the struggles that our community has when wanting to enter the journey of entrepreneurship. Quite often, resources available on how to launch, operate and maintain a successful business are limited to Spanish speakers, or are difficult to access if no previous knowledge is held. Once I identified who I wanted to serve, I went back to my passion and my identity. I am the daughter of Mexican Immigrants, that is who I am and who I have hoped to represent in the spaces IK have walked through. After much debating back and forth with myself, I remembered how significant the Monarch butterfly is to our community. The Monarch butterfly travels 2,500 miles from Mexico to the U.S and Canada and goes back and forth as the seasons change. Its long and continuous migration is special and unique to this butterfly, to the immigrant community it represents the right of all living beings to move freely. Similar to the Monarch butterfly human beings cross borders in order to survive and in search of safer habitats. We all deserve to experience the life we desire, our communities are filled with the entrepreneurship spirit but lack resources in order to establish a proper business. Our communities bloom when we create the resources for our own community members, we need to assure we establish the proper resources and make them accessible for all individuals and not just those who come from generational wealth. It is our time to create the generational wealth that for so many years our families have struggled to create.

Giselle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an aspiring attorney specializing in criminal and real estate law, with a background in public policy, government relations and grass-roots organizing. I have co-founded two non profits focusing on social and gender equality. I am a published co-author for the Today’s Inspired Young Latina series and I currently work and reside in the Chicagoland area. As a nationally recognized expert in community organizing and non-profit public policy, I strive to bring a unique multidimensional approach to my work. As the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first generation student, I recognized the importance of building solidarity amongst community. I am dedicated to empowering communities of color and have a passion for social, racial and gender justice. In 2021, I created and launched Monarch Consulting. A firm dedicated to business formation, business planning and assuring that your assets work as such and are never a liability towards you. Being the daughter of Mexican immigrants, I witnessed first hand the entrepreneurship spirit that our immigrant community has, but often lacked guidance and resources to allow them to strive in their businesses. When I created Monarch Consulting, I wanted to assure our mission was to serve and dedicate our services to assuring our immigrant community is well equipped and prepared to launch a business. Our speciality at Monarch is business formation, we assist individuals in identifying what is the best business legal business for their business goals, assure they are in good standing to conduct business in Illinois, provide EIN numbers, as well as any agreements or contracts needed for their business, and/or clients. We also help structure a business plan so that our clients enter this journey with a visual and written image of their goals and how we will accomplish those goals. What sets Monarch different from other consulting agencies is that we are dedicated to assuring you feel as supported as possible, as you embark on the journey of creating a new business. We are a private, low staffed firm. When you work with us, you have direct access to us for any questions or needed support. Your success is our commitment.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

For as long as I can remember, I knew I wanted to become a physician. As a young girl, I used to always say I wanted to become a pediatrician. I entered college pursing a major in biology on a pre-med track, made my way as Chief of Scribes for Rush-Copley and constantly dreamed of becoming the physician I always dreamed of. In 2020, I decided to run for a local political office in my hometown, I wanted to create a difference in our community and knew that if I wanted the change, I had to be a part of the change. As I ran for office, and experienced my campaign, I came to the realization of how important advocacy was for me. Shortly after I realized my passion for advocacy, I knew I wanted that to be my lifes mission. Although I lost my campaign, I left with a new mission. After constant deliberating back and forth, and the fear of disappointment and awkward responses, I decided to pursue a career in law. I realized that although I had a huge interest in healthcare, I was limited to how much and how big of an advocate I could be. I did not want to be limited within my advocacy, and decided that I could provide a bigger impact as an attorney than a physician. This was a huge pivot in my life because the response I received from my family was relatively awkward. They always pushed me to become a physician, and to now hear their daughter wouldn’t become that, was a disappointment to them and that made me feel like a disappointment myself. It took a while for me to realize that I have to live for myself and for myself only.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I am a huge believer in the power of networking. It is indeed true that your network is your net worth. 90% of my projects and endeavors have started because I connected with someone and a lightbulb was lit in the process. There is power in partnership and collective liberation. When you enter a Target, you see Ulta and Starbucks inside. Target’s net worth has grown tremendously after they created and added these partnerships. When you partner up with someone, or create a project together, growth on both ends happen. The goal is to be strategic, and intentional with the work that you want to accomplish.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: gisellegonzalezesq
• Facebook: Giselle Gonzalez
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giselle-gonzalez/

Image Credits
not applicable for pictures submitted.