Today we’d like to introduce you to Gayle Roberts.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
After a 20-year career as a construction project manager, I decided to take a career break for a couple of years. My husband and I set out to travel as much as we could and spent about 18 months having adventures around the world. I didn’t want to go back to the corporate grind with all the stress and commuting. I looked around for something else that would be in my wheelhouse, but could be done remotely and with some hope of work-life balance.
In October 2025, I started researching and planning to open a marketing agency. I launched in February 2026. So this is all still very new.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t been the bumpiest road, but not entirely smooth. I started with some very unrealistic expectations around acquiring clients. It has taken a significant amount of effort to get my first few clients and my current sales methods have very low conversion rates. Obviously I need to make sales to survive and it has been the biggest challenge by far. I’m still working on this piece of the puzzle.
Much of setting up a business has just been a big project management exercise. That fits right in with my previous experience. Work has changed significantly in the past few years with the adoption of AI. I call my AI my best and worst employee. It has been fun to learn how to use it and it is usually a great help. But it can also be very frustrating to get weird results and hallucinations.
I wouldn’t say a struggle exactly, but I had to learn the technical parts of my business. I needed to know how to do the online optimization and be an expert at something I hadn’t really done. I did a lot of research and helped some businesses for free to get that necessary experience. I had someone tell me the other day that I didn’t need to be at the Lebron James level, just at the high school coach level. I liked that analogy.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about MapYourBiz?
MapYourBiz helps small business optimize their presence online to help them win more local customers . The majority of consumer decisions start with Google search and Google Maps. Businesses need to optimize and update their Google Business Profiles (Google Maps), social media sites, review sites, and their websites in order signal trust. A lot of people talk about their SEO and AEO which is important, but once that consumer finds that business they need to show that they can be trusted to do the work correctly and with integrity. In the digital world this means having photos, reviews, and regular updates showing they are engaged with their customers. It’s not super complicated from a technical standpoint, but it must be done regularly to move the needle.
My business focuses on helping home service contractors like home builders, plumbers, landscapers, etc… These are businesses that go into people’s homes so they need to build an even higher degree of trust. I understand the work they do and can interface between the builders and the public to represent them in the best light.
MapYourBiz offers one-time services to set up and optimize online sites. We also offer training and coaching to those businesses that want to learn these skills. Or we’ll manage their online sites on a monthly basis to take it off their plate.
The ultimate goal is to boost our clients reputation and visibility online to drive more leads and ultimately more revenue.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
First and foremost, my husband Mike, who is taking this leap of faith with me. He’s more risk averse than me so it’s not easy for him to trust the process, but he’s hanging in there so far. He also takes care of all the little things in our life so that we can spend quality time together when I’m not working.
I’ve had two amazing mentors. Adam from Business Impact NW and Kirk from SCORE. They both have decades of sales experience which is my weakest area. They are honest and kind and keep me on track.
It’s kind of daunting to tell people that you’ve started a business. Every person in my life, friends and former colleagues, has been so supportive and helpful. I’ve gotten support, encouragement, and even referrals!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mapyourbiz.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapyourbiz_co/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mapyourbiz/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mapyourbiz/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MapYourBizLLC
- Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/llNzQYtRn8xwGI3Z5jA9bw
- Other: https://nextdoor.com/page/mapyourbiz
