I’m Tara Gentile and I’m on a quest to redefine commerce as the creation & distribution of meaning, relationship, and experience. And I’m more-than-okay making money doing it.
I am in business to change business.
Business should reflect what we value in life. What we treasure and hold most dear. I am challenging the assumptions we hold around work/life balance, the starving artist mythos, and true personal success to create a new paradigm for the 21st century & beyond.
We’re living & working in a new age. Fewer boundaries. More meaning. Unprecedented access.
- How do we use this extraordinary period of history to make the world and its economic engines what we want them to be?
- How do we determine our own wealth?
My work
I work with passion-driven entrepreneurs to actualize their ideas, visions, and dreams – turning them into dollars and cents. I bring creative planning to branding, product development, and marketing that incorporates both strategy and high-touch design. Through collaborative coaching, my clients and I work towards mutual success.
“Tara is clarity in action and you want that clarity. She has her smart mind trained on the on-line business world, learning, staying current with it, and then taking all that knowledge and helping you apply it to your business. I read all her stuff immediately, buy her products, and trust her insights and ideas. Tara is one of the few on-line businesses sources I trust.”
Jennifer Louden, best-selling author and creator of Savor & Serve
I write on the philosophy of the New Economy, creativity, social media, value & meaning, and wealth. I also share my personal journey – both its successes and its failures. And I relish the failures.
“Tara is the Seth Godin of our community.”
– Kari Chapin, bestselling author of Handmade Marketplace
I speak on making money beautifully, the New Economy, meaning marketing, and social media at conferences, retreats, and other live events.
“Tara Gentile motivates her listeners, readers, audiences with insight, honesty, enthusiasm and innovation. All delivered in a tone that is nervy and charming. There is no doubt our community needs her as the voice of creative small business reason.”
– Danielle Maveal, Etsy, Seller Education Coordinator
My story
I was supposed to be an academic. I waited my whole life to graduate from college and go off to grad school. Nothing less than a PhD and a full professorship would do.
That is until I got bit by the conventional life bug.
After forsaking a full scholarship to the Religious Studies program of my choice, I took a full-time job at a (now bankrupt) bookstore. I wanted the steady paycheck. And the stability. I wanted a sure thing.
What I got was indeed a sure thing: a ridiculously demanding work schedule for little pay, the worst depression of my life, and a complete disregard for my own health & creativity.
Academia is hard. But trying to find a fulfilling career with a BA in Religion is harder.
Nearly 4 years later, I was a new mom. My heart told me in no uncertain terms that returning to the job I hated would be impossible. I quit.
The economy tanked.
I founded my first website 6 months later. It grew quickly and taught me many lessons as I dove into this fledgling business further & further. By the next year, I had replaced my old salary and, within another 2 months, was earning more than my partner.
After another 4 months, he quit his job to become the primary caregiver for our child. I earned my first 6-figure year within the first 26 months of being in business.
I have served over two thousand customers and clients. I have spoken to countless entrepreneurs. The problem is always the same: understanding the value you bring to the world. Whether in terms of money, marketing, product development, brand positioning, or personal development, the problem is always the same.
And that is what I’m best at. That’s where your story meets my story.
Find me
Social: @taragentile, on Google+
Email: general [at] taragentile [dot] com
