We recently connected with Candis Garcia and have shared our conversation below.

Candis, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Starting my own business has been one of the biggest risks I have taken. I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was. I knew it was something that I wanted to do, and I just had to make a move. I had been working at Mary Dewalt Design Group for 6 years. I would say that I moved up the ladder pretty quickly and felt a little bit stuck doing the same thing over and over again. Not only was the job getting a little boring but the commute in was starting to take a toll on me and to top it all off I was a new mother. Missing my son weighed heavy on me and not being there with him broke my heart every day. I always saw myself being a stay-at-home mom because my mom was with me growing up and I enjoyed that. I didn’t want to miss out on those moments that will never come again. After a year of complaining to my husband of how tired I was of working there and that I wanted to start my own business he finally gave me the green light once I started taking the steps to starting a business. One day I just woke up and decided to get an EIN. I had already come up with the name House Jefe. If you are wondering how or why I came up with that name, I will tell you. So, there was a time when everyone was something boss. We had cake boss, nail boss, boss moms, and boss baby. I mean everywhere I looked somebody was the boss of something. I mean who doesn’t like being called the boss. I knew deep down that I was a boss I always said I was born a boss. I needed to come up with a way to say I am the boss of homes. My husband is half Hispanic and Black and my last name is now Garcia. I decided to pay a little homage to his Hispanic culture and incorporate the word boss in Spanish and jefe is a word I love to say and for some reason it carries more weight than the English word boss. I felt like it made a statement and that I was serious business.
My next steps were to put in my two weeks. I did it without hesitation. I walked away from my salary like it meant nothing to me. It has definitely been a challenge losing that steady income but the reward of time doesn’t equate to dollars. The way I feel everyday knowing that I’m here working on my own business and showing up for myself but still being able to be here with my son is priceless. This risk was absolutely worth the reward.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I would say that I became an Interior Designer as a child. My mother was a fabulous home maker and it just trickled down to me. We always had enough and she made everything we had beautiful. I fell in love with interior design as a teenager. I was introduced to this computer game called The Sims and my life was never the same. I attended The Art Institute of Austin where I began my interior design journey. I learned a lot going to an art school, so design was more of an art to me. I graduated in 2014 and I immediately began working for Mary DeWalt Design Group. There we strictly focused on model home merchandising. My final job title there was Creative Director. I worked there for almost 6 years before I ventured off to start my own business right before COVID hit. I received my final boost of confidence when I was one of the lead interior designers on the Parade Home of 2020. I worked close with Sterling Custom Homes to design their model for the parade. All I remember is Duke McDowell being disappointed when he didn’t win the last parade of homes that he participated in. He even had a hard time selling it, so his goal was of course to win and sell the house quickly. With those goals in mind, I was determined to make sure we delivered on our end. The architects did a wonderful job with the floor plan and the model turned out stunning and not only did we win best interior design we walked away with 6 other awards for the model, and it sold before the parade even began. That was my first full design of a million-dollar parade home and one of my biggest accomplishments thus far.

House Jefe is a full-service interior design studio and I also offer e-design services. Most of my clients reach out to me because of my use of color. I do consider myself a fancier of color. Color is so important to our everyday lives, and you can’t be afraid to use it. I always push my clients to try to incorporate some color in their environments. I also have an online store of curated items of furniture, accessories, and lighting. I’m working on eventually opening a storefront for the shop.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I want to take a way the stigma that Interior Design is only for rich people. Everyone needs interior design and should be educated about it. It is a lot deeper than paint and pillows. I am also pushing to make my brand something that I can pass down to my son if he ever decides to go in a creative direction in the home industry. House Jefe is a lifestyle brand.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Absolutely. I have always been big on social media in my personal life. I go all the way back to myspace. I was serious about it. So translating that to my business was fairly easy. I designed my own website and Instagram by far has been my favorite platform. I set up a schedule to post content and I am consistent. I think that’s the biggest hurdle to get over is just being consistent. Once I implemented the schedule it became second nature. I try to keep up with making reels and posting to Tik Tok but it is like another full time job. If you have the time to do it then do it. You will get a lot of interaction and views on your reels with trending audio. I also would say don’t let your likes or lack thereof define you and your skills. It is strictly a tool to promote your business for free so use it. Anything can happen because someone is always watching.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.houejefedesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/housejefedesigns/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/housejefeinteriors
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/house-jefe/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/house_jefe
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/house-jefe-austin-5