We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elise Garcia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Elise, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I wanted to start this answer off with “I don’t know if I would consider it ‘happier'”, because I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but then I realized, yes, I am happier. Not happier than anyone else, but happier than my previous self when I was in a job that felt stuck. Ironically, my handsome husband and I have been helping on a project out here in California right now for the last two months and we’ve been in a weird position where we can still work on our own businesses from here when we’re not helping this company, but we have to work around someone else’s time schedule. It’s been really eye opening, because this is such an incredible company to be capturing art for, but we still have to show up when they tell us. We can’t just get in a car and drive somewhere beautiful for inspiration whenever we want. And that’s okay! I realize there are boundaries set in place to give us structure, and some people thrive off of structure. That’s just all about time and schedule! It’s a whole other ball game when we talk about freedom in business and creating what you want to create and not having to answer to anyone else. I think one of my favorite parts of my husband and I running our own businesses is that we can wake up and choose to get as creative as we want, and if we don’t like something in our jobs, then we can (98% of the time) just change it and course correct as we go.

Elise, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Elise Garcia, and I run a faith-based longboard shop + bakery called Bake and Skate! I make custom hand-painted longboards, and we bake plant-based goodies. Our studio is in Atlanta, Georgia, but until we can get a physical location/food truck, we’re a fully online business. Excited for the day when I can meet customers in person at our shop :’)

As if running that business wasn’t time consuming enough, to get even crazier, my husband and I also film weddings, we build and design tiny house Airbnb’s, we do Airbnb consulting, we run a retro camera shop, a photo studio, an apparel line, and we create branding content for businesses around Atlanta.

In everything we do, though, our focus is on loving and serving those in front of us. So yes, it seems like a lot, and I only say all that to give context on our back story, but it’s all one big creative life in which we get to serve people around us. That’s what I’m most proud of, is that we’ve created an environment where a client never feels just like a client or a customer, but they feel like a friend.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Canva :’) JK

But seriously, you don’t always have to pay for expensive products or memberships (although my second answer was Skillshare.) I don’t think Van Gogh or Picasso used the most expensive brushes or brands of paint, it was just them. They grew, they bettered themselves, they learned what worked and what didn’t, and their art became better because of it.

I’ve learned what materials are cheap and absolutely *do not* work, but I also think it’s about your natural talent and not the overpriced products some art stores try to sell you on.

It’s also vital to remember that art takes time. Monet grew his gardens before he painted them.

Don’t sleep on Canva. That junk can spark creativity.

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

Giveaways with brands and like-minded people! It’s underrated! Work together with people who share the same vision and mission and heart as you, and help each other grow. A giveaway can cost you like, what? $20-$100 of goods? How much do you spend on ads trying to gain new followers anyway?

Make organic relationships, then collab with likeminded businesses or people. Some giveaways will be great, others will flop. That’s okay! It’s about the connection.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bakeandskate.com
• Instagram: @bakeandskate @heyelisegarcia @holatinyhouse