Walked into the Wrong Office and Changed Her Life

When Chelsey Gray walked into the Marine Corps recruiting office, she thought she was meeting with the Army. It didn’t matter. She signed up on the spot.

“They said they were the best, the toughest, the strongest,” she says. “I said, alright. That’s where I belong.”

That decision set the tone for everything that followed. Chelsey grew up with a relentless drive to win—whether in gymnastics, diving, or track. If she lost, she believed it was because she hadn’t worked hard enough. That mindset followed her into the Marines, where she graduated at the top of every class, earned multiple commendations, and learned how to “play the game” of life by treating every goal like a mission.

Today, she’s building a business on that same philosophy.

From Braids and Babysitting to Business Strategy

Her first exposure to entrepreneurship was simple. High school track meets. Prom season. Ten bucks to do your hair.

“I was the girl everyone came to for styling,” Chelsey says. “I’d post on social, collect payments however people needed, and just kept building from there.”

That instinct carried her through the Marines and into civilian life. When she got out, she bounced between roles that didn’t fit. She cleaned houses. Ran a massage business. Took every 1099 job she could find. The goal was always the same—stay independent.

“I realized I was doing things I could do, but they weren’t my strengths,” she says. “The one constant was relationship building. That’s what always worked.”

After sitting down with hundreds of business owners and consultants, she realized what she wanted wasn’t just a gig. It was a real company. Something that could scale.

Spotlight Strategies Was Built to Serve

She started small. No LLC. No logo. Just a test to see if anyone wanted what she had to offer.

Her first contract was a part-time, three-month deal for three thousand dollars. It felt like a breakthrough.

“I realized people weren’t hiring me for marketing. They were hiring me for energy. For follow-through. For getting stuff done,” she says.

That clarity led her to build Spotlight Strategies, a business coaching and consulting firm focused on helping private and government clients with operations, leadership development, and organizational strategy. From CRM setup to executive coaching, Chelsey’s team helps clients scale smartly—and authentically.

She now operates as a fractional chief of staff for multiple businesses and was recently brought into a government contracting firm as a partner. Her company is expanding into the federal space, leveraging veteran, woman-owned, and Native American certifications to win and deliver on strategic contracts.

Her Real Mission: Serving the Ones Who Serve

Chelsey’s passion for business is only part of the story. Her deeper mission is rooted in her experience as a veteran—and as a woman in the military.

“Transitioning out is hard. It doesn’t matter what year you do it. It’s always hard,” she says.

She’s building relationships with commands on Camp Pendleton to improve transition resources, leadership training, and pre-separation support for service members. Her goal is to become a central hub—connecting nonprofits, government orgs, and military units that often operate in silos.

“I want to leave Marines better than we found them,” she says. “And I want to create real change inside the system.”

Building With Grit, Giving With Purpose

What keeps her going isn’t money or prestige. It’s impact.

“I ask myself every day, how can I give first?” she says. “That’s when the biggest opportunities show up.”

In the past week alone, she landed a chief of staff partnership, secured hard-to-reach connections on base, and started conversations with companies she had been trying to reach for months.

“Once I aligned my business with service, everything changed. I’m not here to build the Chelsey show. I’m here to bring the right people together and make something better.”

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