We recently connected with Jillian Navarro and have shared our conversation below.
Jillian , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
Being an artist inherently means you’re taking risks. However, that doesn’t mean it’s any less terrifying when you take one. After graduating from film school during the pandemic, I was lost and struggled to get into a routine or a place where I felt like myself. I bounced between a few virtual jobs, all that I loved and taught me many things, but nothing felt right. I wasn’t making time for my art or myself. I was not only in a depression, I was in a creative block. I finally found myself working multiple part-time jobs – a vocal teacher at a music school, an engagement coordinator for an up-and-coming international virtual music program, and from time to time volunteering at a climate organization. I fell into a routine, as so many of us do, that excluded making time for my creative expression. I would get up, work on my remote jobs, work at the music school, and come home drained from teaching. Never making time to write, sing, paint, or do anything creative for myself.
When the opportunity presented itself to me to buy a business I was hesitant. It would mean leaving the routine and job I cared deeply about. Choosing that path would also mean committing to myself and my art, for the opportunity would provide me with more time to do what I love and that was terrifying and also exhilarating. My family owns a store right outside of Yosemite National Park called the Mariposa Marketplace. When one of the vendors decided to leave the store, I was presented with the opportunity to buy their business, selling art supplies. This was terrifying. Saying yes would mean walking away from the carefully structured routine that I built for myself. Saying goodbye to the comfortable discomfort of never making time for myself – of having a built in excuse as to why I wasn’t choosing myself or my art. It would also mean spending more of my time in a small town where I knew no one, except for my parents, and going into business with my partner. I would have to leave my job as a music teacher, a job that left me drained yes, but a job that I nonetheless loved and cherished. Working with kids and being around other musicians was a blessing, and it was terrifying to think of walking away from that and starting again.
Coming to the decision to say yes and buy the business brought a lot of anxiety, confusion, and turmoil. How could I leave a job that I loved? How could I walk away from a connection to my music, to my creativity? How could I jump into the fear?
I realized that becoming my own boss, though terrifying, meant that I could be free. Free to carve my own path in life, to decide how I want to spend my time, and overall take charge of my life. That realization ultimately outweighed the fear of change and failure. Running my own company, though a little different than what I initially imaged for myself, would actually support my goals and dreams rather than inhibit it. It’s only been a few months of running the business, but I’m already seeing the benefit. My mental health is the best it’s been in years, I have time to breathe and actually live my life, I can prioritize those who are important to me and I can make time for what I love to do.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’ve always had difficulty defining myself, putting myself into a box. I’m so many different things, a musician, a writer, a filmmaker, an educator, an activist etc., that, like most of us, it’s hard to capture all of me in an instagram grid or in a single article. I have always loved a variety of different things and if I can toot my own horn, I’ve been pretty good at most of what I’ve tried. By nature, I am an artist first and foremost. I’m a singer songwriter working to create my own music, write, and lean into my creative side. That’s what I’ve always loved to do. Creating has always been my passion and I’m fortunate enough to now have a career that allows me to pursue and live in my creativity. I’ve always been interested in the arts – my family always says I was signing before I could speak. Music, singing songwriting, creativity, is everything to me, it’s what gets me through the darkest and brightest times in my life. I’ve dabbled in all sorts of art forms from musical theater, to being in rock bands, painting, writing poetry, filmmaking and more. Having a creative outlet, a chance to fully express myself in a variety of different art forms, is what I live for and what I grew up doing.
My love for the arts brought me to OCSA (Orange County School of the Arts) where my different interests flourished. I deepened my love of storytelling, music, education, activism, and creating in general. Eventually, these passions led me to a new, small film school based in Los Angeles. I took a risk going to an unknown film school, but that risk brought a huge reward. There, I was able to shape my own education, and create and discover an abundance of opportunities that led me all over the world. With the guidance of my college professors, I even started my own educational nonprofit while still a full-time student, filmmaker and artist. My passion for creating a change in the world through storytelling and education brought me to Denmark, Finland, Cambodia, and New Zealand both with the work I was doing with my NGO, and various school projects. In Denmark, I was one of 13 selected worldwide to attend a film festival and educational conference; something that wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my professors and Dean of my college. I lived in Cambodia for two months teaching about film and activism at a leading innovative school based in the middle of a jungle. While there, not only was I able to build programs for my ngo, I also had the opportunity to film documentaries and more. I traveled to Finland and New Zealand to make documentaries and attend international educational conventions. I had so many amazing opportunities and experiences while in school, all which further drove me to pursue my own path combining art, activism, education, and business.
However, that’s not to say there weren’t challenges. I graduated from film school during the height of the pandemic (getting my BFA in Film and Digital Media and Entrepreneurship), dissolved my nonprofit, moved out of LA all within a month. The carefully laid out plan I thought I was building for myself suddenly got derailed and I was forced to embark on my next journey. I retreated into myself, lost, unsure of what my next steps would be. I had multiple jobs throughout the pandemic working as a vocal teacher at a music school, an administrator at a documentary film marketing company, volunteering with an international virtual after school program called Link Online Learners, and working for a virtual climate nonprofit called EcoActUs. All of these jobs and opportunities I loved and am grateful for, but something was missing. I wasn’t making time for myself or my art and I found myself in a deep depression. I wasn’t sure what my next step would be.
Through the connections I was making, I stumbled into working for a virtual international music program called Peace Tracks. I immediately fell in love with the mission of the program, the ability to connect with youth from around the world (especially those in war impacted areas such as Palestine and Ukraine), and the opportunity to combine all that I love; education, activism, and music. I worked my way up from a teacher at Peace Tracks to becoming the program coordinator, designing and implementing the curriculum. For a while I continued to work multiple jobs as a music teacher, at PeaceTracks, and the climate ngo, until the opportunity to run my own business came to me. Now I own and operate a store located outside of Yosemite National Park that caters to fellow artists and outdoor enthusiasts, while continuing to work with PeaceTracks and volunteer with EcoActUs.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
My partner and I just bought the business and took over at the end of October, right before Halloween, so we are still pretty new to marketing and getting used to running the shop. However, right after Thanksgiving, I had the idea to plan a Christmas Scavenger Hunt event in the store to help bring people in to shop. We were (and are) still newbies when it comes to running a business and marketing – In November it had barely been a month of being shopowners! – so coming up with an event and implementing it on this scale was a big risk. My partner was rightfully doubtful about how something so last minute could be successful. With lots of hard work in the few weeks leading up to the event and grassroots marketing, our first event and marketing plan was a huge success. The kids and parents alike loved the event and raved about it for weeks. People across the small town communities came to Mariposa just to participate in the event. We brought hundreds of people into the store that weekend and the following from that event. We even had our biggest sale day of the year!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I’m trying to unlearn is a common one many artists and creatives face – perfectionism.
I’ve constantly struggled with the idea of trying to be “perfect” or waiting to do something until the moment is right my whole life. It’s a mindset that has plagued my creative existence every step of the way. This is so silly because perfectionism itself is such a ridiculous concept; it’s impossible to be perfect, and perfection is an impossible standard to reach. However, I’ve realized over the years struggling with this mindset, that it’s less about wanting to be perfect and more about the fear of being seen as a failure, or being imperfect, or not “enough,” of doing something wrong. It’s a protection mechanism that inherently limits you to keep you “safe” from rejection. It stops you from taking risks, from trying things, it’s everything that creativity isn’t. Having a perfectionist mindset means you’ll never create anything, which is exactly the point of it, if you never do anything how can anyone reject you? All of this to say, I’m continuously unlearning this mindset. Every time I sit down to write or paint or sing and play, I have to constantly battle the little perfectionism voice in my head that is telling me to wait, to stop, to not take risks. But if I keep waiting for things to be perfect or the right time to do something, I’ll never do anything. Making mistakes, learning from them, and trying new things, are how innovation happens both in the artistic and business worlds. Leaning into my creativity has helped me expand upon the business, my artistry, and my self-love. I think being creative is all about trusting yourself, and your instincts, and learning to love yourself. One of the biggest things I’ve learned to help combat my perfectionism/procrastination tendencies is to lean into my flaws, mistakes, and failures and love myself through it all.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mariposamarketplace.net/
- Instagram: @jillian_navarro @themariposamarketplace
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567893144252
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jilliannavarro4845
