Gabriela Reid
Owner of Colorful Events

“Women’s Initiative was a life opportunity for me and many other women with a dream, skills and a business idea, but not the resources or knowledge to manage a business.”

In 2005 Gabriela Reid was with her family in Orange, Texas, a small town on the border with Louisiana that overflowed with people seeking refuge from hurricane Katrina.. Gabriela and her niece helped to collect donations for survivors of the storm. Then hurricane Rita hit and Gabriela’s family found themselves in the same situation as the people they were formerly helping. After the storm Gabriela wanted to get back to the Bay Area and, after driving four days by herself, she finally arrived in San Francisco, asking herself “Now what?” Rebuilding her life was not easy, more so because seeing tragedy firsthand had left permanent open wounds on her soul. She was going with the flow, but not thinking much about her life

One day a friend told her about Women’s Initiative. At first, Gabriela was not interested; she did not see the value in starting school or writing a business plan. But her friend insisted over and over until she finally went to a Women’s Initiative My Business Action Plan session and, after that, enrolled in Simple Steps in June of 2007.

Despite her initial indecision, Gabriela truly enjoyed the program and benefited from it in many ways. She told us that the most important thing she learned from Women’s Initiative, in addition to cash flows and sales forecasts, was the fact that she was able to focus again, set goals, and reach them. She learned to value herself again and say: “I can and I will”. The program also helped change her life economically. She appreciated and enjoyed the program and thinks of Women’s Initiative as a family. “At Women’s Initiative, I found a sisterhood: a place where women help women who share the same dreams, goals, and even problems,” Gabriela said.

Today, Gabriela is the owner of Colorful Events, a company that offers floral design for weddings, parties, and special events. With a degree in Floral Design and background in Hospitality¬-plus many years of experience—she makes sure her customers enjoy their events and that her team loves to be a part of that success! For that reason she always looks forward to new opportunities. She is deeply involved with Women’s Initiative and enjoys taking on every opportunity to help her business grow. Gabriela also mentors other Women’s Initiative graduates and other women in her community, of which she says, “I am a woman with initiative.”

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