I Love My Job: Kim Gabuardi

Meet Kim Gabuardi, founder of Not Just Danze Zumba studio in Toms River, NJ. Before starting her own business last May, Kim spent four years teaching Spanish to High School students in New Jersey. On July 29th, we had the opportunity to speak with her about the unique path she took to find her niche.

What Gave You the Inspiration to Start Your Own Business?

"I’ve really only been doing Zumba for two years and teaching for a year and a half. I was really lucky because I didn’t even have my license to teach, I was just taking classes and I fell in love with it. I also loved my instructor, who actually became a really great friend, and she decided she was going to sell her studio. She kind of nudged me and said, ‘Hey Kim, if you’re thinking about this, now’s the time. Go get licensed and maybe you’ll take over the studio!’ I thought ‘Oh, that’s so nice’ and ‘you’re crazy’ but that’s actually what ended up happening. It was great to have that little push from her."

How Was the Transition from High School Teacher to Running Your Own Business?

"It was amazing! Looking back, I didn’t think it would happen this quickly. I figured, maybe in five years, it was something I could accomplish. I never thought I could really do it in two. It was really exciting. First, the Zumba thing happened, which made me think, if I’m teaching three or four nights per week and then burning the candle on both ends, waking up to teach [high school]… I’m taking so much away from the kids and from anybody else who wanted to teach. I was never in love with teaching; I just did it as a fallback plan. I had lived in Costa Rica and when I came home, there was a teaching job available. I was like, ‘I’d be stupid to say no to a salary and benefits now’ and I just kind of got stuck. So, I said, ‘teaching is getting in the way of my fun life’. I just wanted to coach people on weight loss products, I want to be happy and I want to dance. That [realization] was what made my decision, so I cut out teaching because it was just not working for me. I thought, ‘I just can’t get passionate about this’. If I have to force myself to get up every morning and convince myself on the way to work, ‘Ok, this jobs isn’t so bad; I get home around 2:00 pm’, that’s not the way anybody should live. It was scary but I said ‘if I don’t do it now, when am I going to do it? Am I going to wait 10 years?’ Then, I’d feel like I would be really stuck."

How Did Your Friends and Family React to Your Change in Employment?

"I’ve had some interesting jobs, so people were like, ‘Oh, this is right up your alley!’ I did have a lot of support from everyone but it was a little tricky when I decided to leave my high school teaching job to take this on. That was where I met a little resistance from my family because my dad was a teacher, my mom always pushed it and my brother became a teacher… so it’s always been a pattern in my family."

What Else Do You Have Going On?

"I have a nutritional cleansing company, which I run from home and it’s actually my main source of income. It’s really big in the States now, so that’s really exciting. It’s wonderful because it goes hand-in-hand with Zumba. I feel as though it’s been a really good marriage between the two things and it’s something that I can offer my Zumba participants because most of them are coming because they want to loose weight or get in shape. It’s the perfect way to get your nutrition and your physical activity. It’s a shake-based product called Isagenix. I also work part-time as a Spanish interpreter. This is actually what I do have a master’s degree in. It’s funny because I never had a job offer before, but when I left my teaching job, I got three different companies calling me. I do it for several reasons; it gets me out of the house, it gives me a way to contribute back to the community and it keeps me mentally active."

What Direction You See Yourself Going In?

"Right now, it’s been awesome having the combination of everything because it never lets me get bored of one thing. In the same respect, I also struggle with ‘Ok, I’m doing all of these things, but am I doing any of them well enough?’ I’d have to say that I definitely see my nutritional cleansing business growing. With Zumba, I may get to the point, maybe a year or two, where I say I’m not going to be teaching anymore, but traveling and doing fundraising teaching."

What Advice Do You Have For Young Professionals?

"Don’t get stuck and don’t feel like you have to take the first thing that comes along. Do whatever speaks to you because it has to be something that you feel passionate enough about to wake yourself up in the morning and to go to work every day. Don’t get stuck in something just to pay your bills or just because your parents say you have to. Don’t ever stop dreaming; your dream when you were 7-years-old wasn’t to pay your bills. Don’t be afraid to dream and don’t get stuck. Follow your passion and don’t worry how it fits on a resume."

What Did You Want to Do/Be When You Were Little?

'When I was little, I used to dance all of the time. I used to dance for 13 years and I loved it but I gave it up to play sports in high school. I always say, that’s the only thing I regret in life. I wish I had kept doing it because I wanted to be a Knicks dancer, for the basketball team. That was always one of my dreams, as well as to dance in a rap video."

If you or someone you know is working at a job they love and would like to be featured on our blog, reach out to us at kevin@thenichemovement.com.

10 Career Tips for the Young Professional

Establishing a career as a young professional is no easy feat. Rather, this goal is actually a lengthy journey filled with self-discovery, experimentation, and lots of trial and error. Coming out of college, graduate school, and/or the military is a milestone in itself. Yet, most of us take little time to bask in the glory of achievement of everything we just conquered. Instead, we move straight ahead onto the next milestone, which for many of us is establishing a lifelong dream career.

What most of us fail to realize early on is that it is very rare to discover what you want to do for the rest of your life at age twenty-two, twenty-five, or even thirty. We may spend the majority of our twenties job hopping and job shopping, determined to find the perfect match; and that's okay! Cut yourself a little slack. Accepting that your twenties is a chance to truly unravel your passions, discover yourself, and experiment along the way is bound to make you enjoy the job hunt a little more. Establishing your dream career will come in due time, but it does take time.

Here are ten practical, logical career tips for the young professional attempting to establish a career:

1. There is no clearly defined pathway to success. Sorry, it's not quite that simple. Even if you went to college and successfully earned a bachelor's degree in marine biology, for example, there's no guarantee you're going to land a job as a professional research coordinator or go on to earn your PhD. Of course, there's a chance, but there is no clearly defined pathway before you that will lead you straight to this success. You have to make it yourself. Your degree is a stepping stone. It demonstrates you are academically qualified to apply for a position, but it by no means bridges you directly to an established career. You're going to have to work for the job you want to earn your royalties and rewards.
2. Begin making connections early on. Many of us find ourselves qualified for little better than entry level work right out of college. Even when your first job or two seems like a complete waste of time and isn't even remotely connected to what you majored in, learn to network. Networking is a powerful tool that makes lasting connections. You may encounter new faces during company-wide meetings and discover someone from a different department that shares your employment values and goals. Introduce yourself! Invite him or her out to grab coffee during your lunch break to start a conversation and see if this new connection will open doors for you. Sometimes it really is about who you know and it could make all the difference.
3. Cooperating with others is a continuous part of career development. It's very common to encounter challenging colleagues, bosses, and even clients we don't quite get along with. Sometimes it's a power struggle, other times it has to do with ego, expectations, and/or baggage. Whichever scenario fits your situation, understand this happens at any job — even your dream career. In the workplace these personality dynamics shape the relationships between everyone. Learn to work with these types of characters because chances are they won't ever disappear. Making peace with your differences will ultimately improve production and polish your career development.
4. Do your best to stay at a job for at least one year. Starting off in entry level roles is often degrading and miserable. Most everyone has been there, between the dumping ground of miserable tasks that has become your to-do list to the lack of recognition for your hard work, it comes with the territory of being a young newbie in the office. Even if it's a struggle to get out of bed in the morning, the job you have is better than the alternative: unemployment. Do your best to push through for at least one year. By doing so you'll learn a lot about perseverance and you won't have to worry about explaining any significant unemployment gaps when you begin interviewing for something better and more fulfilling down the road.
5. Finding your dream job is a process of elimination. Most of us don't decide at age five we want to become a doctor and actually grow up to pursue it. As a child, any job can seem enchanting and feasible. As a young professional it's important to remember that finding your career niche is a process of elimination. You probably won't wake up one morning with a lightening bolt of inspiration striking you. It could happen, but more often than not you'll learn what you want to do for a living by trial and error. Sample different jobs during your twenties. Try knocking out a year or so at a couple different spots before setting into a career you love. You may think a job reads as the perfect fit on paper but actually going through the daily motions of the job's responsibilities could shock you. This is a great time to look into internships, as well. They require less commitment and formality, and give you a taste of the job before you sign your contract. Remember, it's a process of elimination.
6. Remain open minded. If you don't really know what career niche you belong to then there is no harm in being open minded to pretty much anything. Coming out of college with little to no experience is the perfect time for you to experiment with different job opportunities. Even if you have never considered becoming a marketing specialist, research coordinator, admissions counselor, or financial analyst, allow yourself some time to experiment. You may discover skills and talents that you never even knew you had. Be open minded to any possibility that comes your way.
7. You will probably fail, but get back up again. There may come a point during the early stages of your career that you find yourself making mistakes. You know what? Brush it off. With any job there comes a list of rules, regulations, and expectations to abide by. If you slip up once or twice all it proves is that you're only human, just like the rest of us. No one is perfect. We all fail at something, but it doesn't mean we are failures. It means we are learning. There's a learning curve with any new job and we have to take risks to become better. Not taking risks is risky. Allow yourself to slip up but get right back up on your feet again.
8. You are so much better than you know. At work you are going to be tested. You will be purposefully put in situations that will challenge your instincts and force you to act quickly. Use these opportunities to demonstrate your resilience. When you're new on the job and your colleagues and boss are busy with their own agendas, things will happen that will require you to act off the cuff. If you find yourself bombarded with customers as a receptionist with no back up, politely ask clients to take a seat while you check-in your customers one-by-one. Or, thank everyone for their patience. Courtesy goes a long way and you will come out on the other side so much more resilient and better than you ever knew.
9. Adopt a "what can I give" rather than a "what can I get" mindset. We work to earn a living. Our money pays our bills, cares for our families, and if we are lucky allows us to take vacations and buy the things we want in life. Even though we are looking to get the things we want, we must learn to give first. Adopting a "what can I give" mindset improves your attitude. Consider the types of skills, talents, experiences, and unique traits you can offer a company. You have to give before you can receive. Once an organization sees all of the wonderful things you can do for them, they will be more apt to offer you things in return, like the dream title, salary, and benefits you've been waiting for.
10. Follow your pursuit of happiness. You will learn in time that work is about finding your craft and polishing it every single day. If your real passion is writing, art, music, travel, and more, follow it. Determine your pursuit of happiness and see where it guides you. There's no greater reward than loving what you do and doing what you love. Truly being passionate about your work shines through and others do notice. Once you bring that attitude to the table, there's no stopping your professional development and subsequent success. Everything will fall into place.

These top ten practical career tips are essential for every young professional searching for their dream career. There is no magical recipe that will establish your career for you. Rather, finding your career niche must come from within. Only you know the type of work that inspires you and makes you happy. There will be ups and downs along the bumpy road it may take to get there, but never give up. Perseverance and passion payoff big time!

Defining Your Niche

Defining the career you want to pursue with your life can seem daunting and limiting. From a very young age, our parents, teachers, friends, and elders ask us the same mundane question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”.

The question is never “Who do you want to be?” or rarely “Where do you want to live?” or even more infrequently “How do you want to impact the world?”. We are expected to decide what we want to be before we even experience real life.

From children, to adolescents, to college graduates we are cradled by society’s comforting protective hands. The rules and regulations we are expected to abide by to maintain order is a small price to pay in exchange for meeting our basic survival needs and the comfort of life in the 21st century. We adapt to a way of life that shields us from raw adulthood. Up until the moment we graduate college, sign up for the military, and/or enter the workforce, we are gifted with a sense of freedom. It is not until we turn the ripe age of eighteen that our reality begins to change.

Eighteen is a milestone age in our nation. It is the age we are deemed adults and independent contributors to society. We are less protected from comforting hands and now must graduate from dreaming up our potential careers to actually living them. We are told to attend college, join the military, enter the workforce; to do something because that is what’s expected. It is the path into our twenties that becomes the defining decade of our professional course.

The pressure is real and unwavering. How are you supposed to know what you want to be when you grow up at age eighteen, twenty, twenty-five, or even thirty? How you feel here in this moment is no indicator of how you’re going to feel in twenty years. For this reason, and so many others, it is significant to your employment satisfaction that you choose wisely. You must define your niche now to ensure you won’t be disappointed or unfulfilled later.

Follow these five core ways to define your niche and navigate yourself to employment happiness:

1. Take a personality check. What type of person are you? Does giving back to the community by helping others invigorate you? Do you enjoy crunching numbers under time sensitive deadlines? Are you happiest in an isolated office space working alone or do you prefer collaborating in large groups? Understanding your personality will aid you in finding the ideal niche to share your talents, skills, and experiences.
2. Network. How are you supposed to successfully discover what you want to do for a career if you haven’t experienced the possibilities? Networking is a great tool to overcome this obstacle. You must direct your efforts to identifying the key players in industries and organizations you believe you identify with. Look to these figureheads for guidance. Do you agree with their professionalism? Is their work reflected in your own professional values and goals? Strategize to build meaningful partnerships in niches you believe you could work in someday.
3. Volunteer for your niche. Everything might seem perfect on paper, but before you sign employment contracts or accept a position it’s wise to really experience your decided niche. Explore the industry or organization that appeals to you. Do they offer internships or shadowing appointments? If so, seek those opportunities. Even a brief taste of the daily routine will give you a better idea of what’s to come than reading a summary of the job on paper or electronically. It’s your due diligence to explore before committing.
4. Remind yourself this is the “real world”. It’s challenging for some young professionals coming right out of college or grad school and entering the workforce. We have these illusions of what careers are like based on our school experiences, and most of us end up floored by the “real world”. You don’t work for a few hours and take the rest of the day off. There’s no schedule of five week vacations plus summers off anymore. You don’t get to call out sick every week and get away with it. Real work equals real responsibility and accountability for your actions. Consider this when defining your niche. If you can’t sit at a desk for eight hours a day, working in an office might not be your best match. If you’re the type of person who constantly needs to have variety in your day, working a strict routine of completing the same tasks day in and day out probably isn’t for you. These are important factors to consider when you begin defining your career niche.
5. Remember, you’re not stuck. Even if you think you’ve found your professional niche in your twenties or thirties, you aren’t trapped there until retirement. Our interests and goals change all the time. You might realize you want to teach or be a career coach during your youth and find out as time passes that you’d like to try working behind the scenes in administration or make changes on a political level for your organization. We aren’t ever immovable. That’s the beauty about work in our generation. There’s fluidity and we have ever-growing opportunities laid before us. Your niche may be one thing now, but could become another down the road. Don’t be hard on yourself or feel limited if you change paths. We all have the power to change our minds to redefine our niches.

Defining your niche is possible, but may take you some time. Even if you thought you had your whole life figured out, it could change paths right before your eyes. We are constantly moving, growing, changing, and adapting. Every age is a new milestone that brings with it new purpose and possibility. Defining your niche isn't as simple as telling your parents you want to be a doctor when you grow up. You might want that at age six, but discover you want to teach at age twenty-five. Life is unpredictable, but that's what makes it so fun! Be aggressive in your search, truly take action to find your niche, but allow yourself to enjoy the journey. Defining your niche comes from within and needs to be about discovering who you are at your core. We believe in you!

Rise to the Challenges in Front of You

Do you rise to the challenges in front of you? Let me rephrase. Are you making the most of the opportunities you come across? Are you showing up and challenging yourself to be better?

Unfortunately, too many of us let these moments slip right by.

How many times have you skipped out on something that had the potential to be awesome and life-changing because you were afraid?

Maybe you were afraid you wouldn’t be good enough or that you would fail. Maybe you were afraid you weren’t ready. Or maybe you just didn’t really feel like it at the time. I’m guilty of assuming each of these, and I’d bet you are too.

If we fall into the trap of passivity, we let the opportunities that will change our lives pass us right by. We fail to rise to the challenges in front of us, and therefore fail to create the space we need for growth.

One of the most important things I will always advocate for is trying new things and constantly exploring new ways to pursue a life you love. We get stuck in ruts and routines which only lead us to complacency and further unhappiness. Rising to the challenges that are presented to you, gives you the chance to disrupt the routine you've become so used to. Changing your routine and getting outside of your comfort zone will give you a new perspective. It will challenge the way you think and the way you see your life. Staying in the same place day in and day out doesn't do anything for you.

The best way to combat falling into this cycle is simply to say, “yes.” Say goodbye to passivity and hello to action. 

After you've said yes, show up! Bring your A-game and be ready to learn and absorb the knowledge and experiences from those around you. Ask questions, engage, and be innovative. Look for problems that need to be solved and then find a solution. Go the extra step and implement the solution. Volunteer to do the dirty work. Ask yourself what else can be done? How can this be improved? And then go do it. Be present and be open to the opportunities that present themselves to you. But don't stop there. Why wait for opportunities when you can chase them?

I suppose I should give you a disclaimer here: It’s not going to be easy and it’s not always going to be fun. It probably won’t always feel worth the effort either. In truth, you’ll end up finding things you're pretty terrible at, don’t enjoy in the least, and you’ll no doubt find yourself in awkward situations. But the truth is we need to experience the awkward and cross off the things we don’t like in order to find the things we do like and are indeed extraordinary at.

Look at it this way: Every time you say no or turn down an opportunity, you’re giving up a chance for greatness. More importantly, you’re giving up a chance to find your greatness and your niche.

In my own niche journey, I’ve found that the good will outweigh the bad every single time. Have you always wanted to start a blog or a podcast? Go for it! What’s stopping you from sending an email to your boss’ boss and asking to have coffee? Be brave, be bold. Step up, you may be surprised of what comes of it.

If you’re thinking this means you need to say “yes” every single time, you’re missing the mark. Say yes when something gives you butterflies but also a touch of nerves. These feelings let you know that you're a little bit nervous and afraid, but also excited. They're speaking to you and saying, "hey, maybe this could really be something for you."

I challenge you to rise to the challenges and opportunities in front of you. Go after what calls to you, chase it with abandon, and go home satisfied but hungry for the next go round. Don't get down on yourself if something doesn't work out; write it off as a lesson learned and keep on keeping on.

When it comes down to it, you know you best, even if you haven't realized it yet. If you’re still in the “trying to figure it all out” stage (don't worry -- most of us are), remember that what it boils down to is that you have nothing to lose by trying. You have everything to lose by letting another chance pass you by.

On top of all this, you’ll end up leagues ahead of those people who are still stuck at home, refusing to rise to the challenges in front of them. As they say, always go the extra mile, it’s never crowded.

Looking to Relocate For a Job Opportunity? Ask Yourself These Four Questions

Two years ago I graduated from college. Two and a half years ago my then-boyfriend-now-husband was offered a position at a tech company. The kicker being it was on the other side of the country.

After going to college within two hours of home, were we really prepared to pack up and move to the other side of the country? After a week or so of debating and weighing the pros and cons, we decided to go for it. We asked ourselves a myriad of questions before we made our final decision, and in hindsight, some turned out to be much more relevant than others.

If you are on the fence about relocating for a job opportunity, I suggest you consider these questions and your answers very carefully: 

1. Do you have a support system?

Yes, you can move on your own and start over in a new place where hardly anyone knows your name, but it’s a lot easier when you know you have people behind you who support your decision. 

Making friends outside of work and school is hard. We connect easily to the people who are connected to us by a place or time, but once you start looking to make friends outside of those places it is much more difficult. While most people are friendly, it seems like the older we get, the less people actually want to be friends. 

Having an established support system (even on the other side of the country) to keep in touch with will provide you support when you are really worried about things but also will (hopefully) give you the kick in the pants you need to get out of your apartment and make friends.  

2. Can you afford to be homesick? Could you get back to your family quickly in an emergency?

Living so far away from our family and most of our closest friends is really tough sometimes. We aren’t able to celebrate many milestones in person and miss out on a lot of bonding time. Occasionally, I want nothing more than to hop on a plane back to the land of the familiar.

It is a luxury to be able to travel at the drop of a hat, and if you the type of person that is really close with and dependent on your family and friends, you’ll need to budget that into your lifestyle. 

Additionally, consider the expense of a family emergency. How far is the flight or drive between your new home and your old one? This was something my mom brought up before we made our final decision. 

Luckily, because she brought it up well ahead of time, we have set up an emergency travel fund that we can use in case of an emergency with our families. Unfortunately, we had to use it this year when my mom suffered from a ruptured brain aneurysm (see - anything can happen at anytime). Because I was prepared, I was able to be at her side within 12 hours of getting that phone call, and I am extremely grateful that it was something I was ready for ahead of time. 

3. Will it be worth it?

Is the job something you really want to do and are interested in? It’s one thing to accept an offer where you are already established and could easily leave the job if it wasn’t what you really wanted. Once you’ve moved and set up shop somewhere else, it could be a lot more difficult to leave your position.

In our case, the company relocated us, however, if we had decided that it wasn’t going to work out, the second relocation expenses would be on us (something we weren’t truly able to afford at the time).

Another thing we considered was the type of jobs in our current area. The type of position my husband was looking for wasn’t readily available and the advancement opportunities and challenges within the position also weren’t favorable. If you are serious about your work, relocating might be worth it just for this aspect - it has been for us so far. 

4. Have you ever been to the place you’d relocate to? 

Please do your research on your new area. If you can, make a trip out before you make your final decision and give yourself some time to scope at neighborhoods and interact with locals. Look at things like the rent prices across the area, the commute to work, and the public transportation (especially if you won’t have a car). These things are logistical, but if you really dislike the place you live, your commute, etc., it can leave a sour taste in your mouth for your new city before you’ve even had the chance to experience it.  

Ultimately, what you put into the pro and con categories will depend on your situation. As you get older, packing up and relocating for a job will be a bit more of a hassle when you have a family with established routines, so right after college is a good time as any to set out on a new adventure. Just make sure you are prepared and good luck!