Reclaiming Confidence: Gabrielle Neal’s Journey to Empower Women to Live Boldly

In this inspiring feature for Women On Topp magazine, we are thrilled to introduce Gabrielle Neal, an online coach who’s transforming the lives of women everywhere by helping them reclaim their confidence. Gabrielle is the founder of GNF Confidence Co., a business she launched in late 2023 after completing her own six-year journey of self-reinvention following a challenging divorce at just 20 years old.

A self-described “unique, wonderfully weird, bubbly, kind, big-hearted soul,” Gabrielle is on a mission to empower women to become the bold, confident versions of themselves that they deserve to be. In addition to her coaching, she is expanding into creating affirmation jewelry and clothing to help women wear their confidence with pride. Gabrielle’s personal story, marked by perseverance and spiritual growth, fuels her passion for helping others do the same—without the long wait.

Through her business and her deep-rooted belief in self-love, Gabrielle is not just a coach, but a guide and friend for women striving to live their dream lives, confidently and unapologetically. Read on to learn more about Gabrielle’s journey, her insights into confidence building, and how she’s helping women reclaim their power.

1. You mentioned that it took you six years to reclaim your confidence after your divorce. Can you share some key moments that helped shape your journey to becoming the confident woman you are today?

Honestly, there aren’t any specific key moments. I was divorced at 20-years-old, and it hit me hard. I fell into unhealthy and toxic habits to try to cope with what I was feeling. Every weekend you’d catch me drinking, out at a bar meeting guys, or scrolling on dating apps. Like many women, my confidence was destroyed in that marriage and I had lost who I was. I kept looking for a new identity, my confidence, and my self-worth in other people.

I was constantly looking for validation from others, not caring about my own opinion. Then, quite literally, I woke up one day and I said to myself “girl, you’re so much better than this. It’s time you start to see that.” So from that day forward I worked on falling in love with myself. I started following through on what I said I was going to do. This built trust and belief in myself and this was the first step to my confidence taking off. Looking back now, I realize that random morning thought was God telling me to get it together haha.

2. What was the turning point where you felt a true shift toward confidence, and how did that experience influence the way you coach others now? 

I would say the biggest turning point where I really felt that my confidence had bloomed was when I no longer cared what people thought of me. I remember someone made a comment regarding something about me (I care so little I forgot what the comment was), and instead of it hitting my soul and really messing with me, I shrugged it off, looked them in the eyes and said “my light is clearly too bright for you, if I had sunglasses I’d let you borrow them” and I walked away.

That was the first time in my life I had ever really stood up for myself and I was 25. That experience has guided me into really focusing on how each client sets boundaries and how much of an impact other people’s opinions have on how they show up. 

3. How do you balance the demands of being an entrepreneur with your personal life, especially while nurturing your own self-confidence?

Routine and structure. I am such a routine type of lady. You can ask my fiance, lol. When you have a lot on your plate it’s important to prioritize what’s most important, but also prioritize things that fill your cup. I have a morning and night routine, both include things that fill my cup (a walk outdoors, quiet time with God, and reading). When balancing so many things at once I make sure to implement things that fill my cup, every single day. For me, it’s important that I have a plan for each day.

On Sundays I try to write out each thing I want or need to do that week and then I fill in my week accordingly. I am constantly pouring into myself and my growth as a woman and a business owner. My business, my relationship, and my mental health would all deteriorate if I let chaos take over and don’t take care of myself. Plus, I have learned that when you prioritize yourself and things that bring you joy, your confidence continues to grow because you’re telling yourself that you’re important and worthy of self-love. 

4. Many women struggle with self-doubt, especially during big life changes. How did you overcome that feeling, and what advice would you give to women facing similar challenges?

No matter how confident you get you will doubt your ability to do things sometimes. The difference? You snap out of it within seconds. I have three big things that helped me overcome constant self-doubt:

1) Trusting in God and His plan. When a doubt pops into my head I remind myself that God put this situation or opportunity on my path for a reason. God does everything on purpose. 

2) Positive self-talk. I constantly talk about positive self-talk and how important it was to get my confidence to where it is. Now those positive affirmations crush negative thoughts almost instantly.

3) Reminding myself of the (paraphrased) Steve Harvey quote “you’ve made it through 100% of the hard things you’ve been through.” Reminding myself of everything I’ve gone through, how I made it out, and of everything I’ve accomplished helps defeat those ‘I’m not good enough thoughts’.

I’m a badass and I constantly remind myself of that. I actually made a bracelet that says ‘badass’ and I wear it everyday.

My advice would be trust in whatever higher power you believe in. Lean on that power, you don’t need to go through this alone. Alsoo, make sure you’re saying positive affirmations everyday. Write them on sticky notes and stick them on your bathroom mirror, make an affirmations board. Simply, make sure you’re talking to yourself in a kind, loving way everyday and when you have a negative thought or self-talk stop it and correct it.

Lastly, remind yourself of how incredible it is that you’ve gone through some really, big challenging things, and you made it out. Each woman reading this has been through some hard situations that I would never fully understand, and that’s incredible. They’ve been through it and made it out. It’s important in these times that they remind themselves of that and everything they’ve accomplished, especially the things they didn’t think they would.

Bonus, remind yourself that you’re a bold, powerful, badass woman, because you are.

5. What do you feel are the biggest misconceptions people have about confidence, and how do you work to dispel them?

I feel like there are quite a few misconceptions about confidence, but I’m going to list, in my opinion, the top three. The first one is that confidence equals perfection. The second one is that confidence equals fearlessness. Lastly, that confidence is something you’re born with. I’m working on dispelling these misconceptions by doing what I’m doing in this article, spreading the word. I talk about these on my socials often.

Just because you have confidence doesn’t mean you won’t have fear, you simply do the thing, terrified. You will be confident and not be perfect, trust me, and that’s how it should be. A quote I created and say often is “confidence isn’t about being perfect, but about loving the imperfect parts of you.” Lastly, I’ll end with people aren’t born confident, it’s built and worked for. You can have it, too.

6. Can you tell us more about your decision to expand into affirmation jewelry and clothing, and what kind of impact you hope these products will have on your customers?

How I got started is kind of silly. I had hip surgery in June and had to take it easy for a couple of weeks, so I decided to get a bracelet making kit. I was making an affirmation bracelet for myself one day and realized how much I loved doing it and that so many women and young kids need the reminder sometimes, too. I expanded into necklaces and earrings, and now I’m moving into clothing.

Even the most confident people need a reminder sometimes that they’re badass, powerful, worthy, etc. This is why I decided to expand into products. My hope is that these products help people feel more confident in who they are and that they can use these products as a form of self expression. I want my products to help remind people (those who wear them and those who see them on someone else) that each person can be confident in exactly who they are and that they deserve to be. 

7. When you envision your ideal customer, what do you want them to feel or experience through your coaching and products? 

I want them to experience shedding the need to people please or the need for outside validation. I want them to experience what it’s like to let go of hurt, trauma, and insecurities that hold us back from being the confident person of our dreams and living the life we dream of. I want them to feel so in love with themselves that they can’t help but to show up as their full self in every room and go for their dreams, even if they’re shaking in their boots. I truly believe that each person on this planet, no matter the mistakes they’ve made, deserve to love and be confident in every part of themselves, especially the flawed parts (those are the best parts). 

8. How does your personal journey and unique background set you apart from other confidence coaches in the industry? 

I have the experience of being divorced, and at a young, impressionable age. I used unhealthy/toxic habits to cope with how hard it was for me, so I can relate to people who have lost themselves inside of a relationship and aren’t sure where to begin afterward. I also have experience working in mental health, domestic violence, and with men and women who have been incarcerated. I’m trauma informed, inclusive, and have worked with all different types of people. I’ve truly seen how certain situations and trauma can impact people and their confidence and it’s different for everyone.

I know how to approach almost any situation in a straight-forward but kind way. Because of my background I know how to pick out what you want to say, but you can’t figure out how. I also know how to help you put your fears and thoughts into words so we can take actionable steps together. I know what it’s like to feel broken, alone, and like no one gets you and that’s why I created GNF Confidence Co. because if someone needs a person to guide them, to understand, to listen without judgment, and help them become the person and live the life of their dreams, I will be that person. It’s my goal and passion to make sure all people feel included, loved, and supported. 

9. You’re clearly passionate about empowering women. What methods or strategies do you use to help your clients build confidence effectively and sustainably?

I don’t actually have a specific strategy or method. My coaching is personalized based on each individual person and I let God guide how I serve in my business. I do, however, create a ‘toolbox’ with each client that they can return to anytime they’re feeling themselves backtrack. I also use the confidence formula I created, PUB. PUB stands for Purpose, Unapologetic, and Bold. I like to say “when you’re feeling stuck go to PUB.” Which is perfect, because I love to crack a joke and sarcasm is my second language. I create each coaching curriculum based off of this formula and what that client needs.

10. If you could give one piece of advice to women aspiring to start their own businesses or rebuild their confidence, what would it be?

It’s probably pretty predictable advice, but hire a coach/mentor. Going at it alone makes the hard journey even harder, more stressful, and potentially longer. My confidence building journey took me six years because I did it alone with no guidance, tools, or resources. I was out here winging it. Within the first month of starting my business I hired a coach to help me and I’ve been working with one since (almost a year). Having a coach helped me from avoiding really big mistakes and it was so helpful having someone I could ask questions and ask for feedback.