Gigi decided to step back and focus on her financial future. While building a sweet empire was never part of her plan, Gigi realized that her culinary and business skills could take her places she never dreamed about. She decided to take a chance on her other passion – baking.

Gigi learned her love for baking at an early age as she came from a long line of bakers who taught her unique family recipes. As an adult, Gigi felt that baking had become a lost art that needed to be resurrected. Even though people rarely have time to bake from scratch, they still enjoy eating delicious home baked goods, especially ones that reminded them of their childhood.

After being turned down by various banks and down to her last $33, Gigi went out on a limb and in 2008 leveraged several personal credit cards to fund the first Gigi’s Cupcakes store. She gambled everything she had to open her first location. Fortunately, her sweet treats quickly became Nashville’s delicacy dessert of choice. Shortly thereafter, Gigi’s Franchising, Inc. was born, and Gigi’s Cupcakes locations began popping up throughout North America.

Among her other duties for Gigi’s Cupcakes, Gigi served as Head of Product Development, Through her own creativity coupled with a unique open relationship with and feedback from customers, Gigi was responsible for expanding the initial menu offering from 32 to over 278 cupcake recipes.

Gigi had the honor of being on the hit CBS TV Series “Undercover Boss”. Gigi’s episode, which was viewed by over 15 million people and continues in reruns, became one of the show’s fan favorites. She wears her heart on her sleeve and in the show, interacts with employees incognito. Gigi claims this was one of the most rewarding experiences in her life.

Over the course of the next decade and as the number of Gigi’s Cupcakes locations grew, Gigi became a sought-after public speaker. Her motivational, inspirational, and entrepreneurial ‘rags-to-riches’ story has become a centerpiece for corporate events, business, and social gatherings as well as on college campuses (and especially those with entrepreneurial programs). Always leaving the crowd wanting more, Gigi offers the attendees access to her deepest thoughts, fears, successes, and failures, with an emphasis on how to fight fear and look at it as a motivator rather than an obstacle.