So Over Corporate Culture and Hate Your Job? Quit That Sh*t!

Hey! Welcome back to Trade Secrets 🔓 

If there's one thing we love, it's talking with female founders. This week, we were lucky enough to do just that with Corporate Quitter Founder Gabby Ianniello. Gabby has built a large following through social media, coaching and other various resources transparently telling her story and empowering others who have felt the effects of toxic corporate culture and burn out.

In this Trade Secrets, Gabby talks about her journey from burning out in corporate to founding Corporate Quitter, her company's mission, figuring out your goals, lessons learned, and more!

Like our newsletter? Share it with a friend and make sure you're subscribed to never miss a new send!

The past few years have brought to light corporate issues that are oftentimes (intentionally) ignored - from toxic grind culture, to bad management, to corporate politics that belong on an episode of Succession. This has sadly resulted a workforce that is underpaid, burnt out, and void of passion. But how bad could it be if you just… quit? 

Gabby Ianniello is the multi-hyphenate powerhouse behind Corporate Quitter. Acting as the brand’s CEO, podcast host, creator, and personal development coach, Gabby is shaking up corporate norms by empowering people to leave their toxic 9-5 and figure out what they want to do. 

2021 was known as the year of “The Great Resignation.” Why? Well, because over "47 million workers quit their jobs, many of whom were in search of an improved work-life balance and flexibility, increased compensation and a strong company culture,” according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Gabby recognized that this group needed some guidance – and helped create a safe community for them. 

Gabby has since built an engaged audience of over 46,500 on TikTok, along with an 100 episode podcast and countless resources dedicated to canceling corporate culture. Gabby is transparently and vulnerably discussing how she found herself outside of her career – and wants to help others to do it. 

Job-hopping has always been perceived as a dirty word, as if it means that you can’t keep a job or you don’t have your career figured out. Gabby’s journey from graduating in 2015 to where she is now with Corporate Quitter has been one of perseverance – full of trial and error, various jobs, and starting over. 

Gabby said career pivoting has made her adaptable and comfortable with constant change. Her final push to leave her last corporate job was a story too many of us have experienced – overworked, underpaid, bad management, and corporate politics. She had no plan and was completely burnt out, but knew she needed a change.

One of the biggest investments Gabby made was not just with business courses, but with self-development, which she defines as "anything education-based outside of normal schooling." She was expanding who she was as a person, picking up business skills, embodying feminine power, and learning about coaching. While healing from all the toxicity she experienced may not have a quantifiable  ROI, it has shaped Gabby into who she is since leaving the corporate world from who she is as a person and who she is as a CEO. 

Gabby has always had big goals, but she said doesn’t set up strict plans. If you are too rigid in your plans then you can’t adapt, move, or pivot when opportunities arise.

Fighting against the engrained mantra growing up that “quitters never win,” Gabby was quitting more than just a toxic job. She said she was letting go of everything she didn’t feel good about anymore. It was an act of rebellion, in a way of positivity rather than negativity. 

As she started talking with people from different industries, like investment banking, finance, teaching, and retail, she noticed that everyone was having the same issues with poor management, terrible pay, and mental health issues. It wasn’t just an isolated or even an industry issue – it was a huge problem that span across every corner of the corporate world. Gabby wasn’t seeing people speak about these issues openly and vulnerably. Thus, the Corporate Quitter was born! She began posting and expanded her brand more as the Great Resignation happened. She bet on the trend before it was a trend.

Looking for long-term sustainability, Gabby completely switched her mindset from Corporate Quitter being a hobby to being a business she could lead as CEO. Gabby started by expanding the brand beyond  TikTok,  starting a podcast and providing services and guides for her followers. Gabby said while looking through comments and DMs, she figured out what her audience wanted. 

The point of business is to provide a solution to a problem, and Gabby is trying to figure out the formula of what works. Being fluid has been key because she has created products and gotten rid of them before if she found that her audience or she didn’t like it. She didn’t buckle down on an idea and force it to work, she went with the flow of how her and her audience felt. 

You may be wondering: How did she figure out how to price her services? Just ask the buyers! She reaches out to her audience to ask how much, if at all, would they pay for this service? This feedback has been instrumental in understanding what the audience is looking for and where she can expand her brand further.

In addition to providing resources like Quitter Starter Packs, short-form videos, and Making Money with Your Platform guides, Gabby also provides  one-on-one 90-minute strategy calls to help people who feel stuck and unhappy with their career. It’s broken down into ]three sections: 15 minutes of getting to know each other, 30 minutes of brainstorming and 45 minutes of strategy building. 

Gabby said they need someone to function as a COO with a business brain to talk through their ideas and help build a strategy. It adds value for her followers because she has the experience, skills, and guidance to light their fuse to send that idea rocket off.

Corporate Quitter’s content goes beyond just quitting that job you hate, it’s about trying to create a real change for the workforce. We are constantly faced with the pressure, both internally and externally, to find a safe and secure 9-5 job to ensure that we can pay off our loans, buy a house, and have kids. But that norm, that dated version of the American Dream, isn’t real anymore. 

Life has changed so dramatically in the last few years, in the way we make money, but also in economic aspects like inflation rates, the housing market, average salaries, and the job market. The standard 9-5 doesn’t provide people the means of living, which is why there is such a pivot to content creation, side hustles, and freelancing.

Gabby was so unhappy in the corporate structure, even though she had all the things that should make her happy. So, she thought: “How bad could it really be if she tried something different?” Jobs are like revolving doors, you can always jump back into the job market if this new idea fails.

Trade Secrets asked Gabby what she would tell someone who is unhappy with their jobs and unsure what to do next. It truly starts with understanding who you are as a person. She didn’t spend the majority of her time and money learning business, she invested in understanding herself.

After you start to figure out the right path for you, Gabby’s three pieces of advice are:

• Know what you’re getting yourself into, because it’s not easy 

  • Spend time understanding who you are as a person. It may sound ridiculous, but there is no way you’ll be able to accept thousands of dollars in brand deals or that big salary offer if you feel like you’re not worthy enough to accept it. Put in the work to figure out who you are and expand that person so you’re able to do business confidently.

• Rest is important

  • Even though it is such a non-corporate and anti-grind thing, you need dedicated rest days because they’re a necessary piece of the creative process. Don’t beat yourself up for resting because that’s where the ideas come from! 

• Expect disappointment

  • You will be disappointed because we set such high expectations for ourselves, and we get brought down when things don’t go the way we wanted. But things will work out even if they’re not in accordance with your timeline. So, the sooner you go along with life, the easier things will be and less discouragement you have which means more runway to do more.

What’s next for Gabby? Well, she is shifting Corporate Quitter to being an extension of who she is, not all that she is. She is stepping more into who she is as a person and expanding those facets of herself. 

Continuing the same great Corporate Quitter content, including season 2 of her podcast, Gabby said she is also branching out into the entertainment space with her own documentary (coming out this month). She is going with life’s flow and ready for whatever is next 

Want to unlock more Trade Secrets? Read more on our website and subscribe to the newsletter 🔓

Read past interviews: TikTok Investors • Salary Transparency Street • Finance Unfolded • WOLF Financial