Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kayleigh Eilenberger. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kayleigh, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later?

I absolutely wish I would’ve started my business sooner. I’ve always wanted to be my own boss, and have my own business. In 2020 I was ready to figure out how to have my own business, but I was overwhelmed and nervous where to start. I was working on an in-house marketing team at the time, and it was during Covid lockdowns.

I decided to hire a creative coach to help get the ball rolling, which definitely helped. She helped give me some direction and goals to work toward that I wouldn’t of been able to come up with on my own.

However, it took me 2 years to register for a DBA and decide to push full-steam ahead with Banana Press Design.Co. One contributing factoring to me slowly pushing full-steam ahead with my business was working a full-time 9-5.

Looking back, I wish I would’ve pushed harder right after my coaching session was over, I dedicated too much of my energy to the 9-5 and not enough to my personal business.

Kayleigh, 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?

Currently, by day I’m a freelance Graphic Designer & Illustrator, and by night I’m a Bartender. I’ve always been interested in art and design, and as soon as I could get my hands on a “cracked” version of Adobe Illustrator I did (this was when you purchased the programs outright, creative cloud was not in existence yet)!

I took classes at my local community college, followed YouTube tutorials, and found a mentor. I eventually moved from my small hometown in the Poconos of Pennsylvania, to sunny San Diego, California where I continued my education. Eventually I transferred to Otis School of Art and Design and moved to LA, where I intended on finishing my degree.

Unfortunately Otis wasn’t the right fit for me, so I withdrew and decided to work full time in hospitality until I could figure out my next move. In the midst of bartending a regular connected me with a design job on an in-house marketing team for a cannabis group. I worked there for 3 years before moving on to another marketing job.

I had already started my freelance business at this point, but working 9-5 left me burnt out and with zero energy to put into my business. I decided to quit the 9-5 and go back to bartending, so I’d have more time and energy to focus on pursuing my goals and dreams with Banana Press.

Now I create and sell my own quirky, fun, light hearted products. Food and Beverage is a big inspiration for things I create. I make stickers, art prints, apparel, greeting cards and more! I sell them in my online store and at pop-up markets. In addition to creating and selling my own things, I help other small businesses with design and illustration work.

I offer branding and custom design & illustration services that empower small businesses, and helps them connect to their target audience. Having professionally designed branding and marketing assets helps to build trust with clientele.

I’m proud of myself for continually pushing toward my end goal, I may not be 100% where I want to be, but in-time I will get there. And I’m so happy I get to help other small businesses reach their goals alongside me!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I think a great book to read is Atomic Habits by James Clear. This book talks about how end goals are made up of a bunch of small goals. I think this is a great reminder when you’re feeling overwhelmed that you’re not as far into your business or goal as you think you should be. Breaking goals up into smaller easy to achieve goals has definitely helped me to keep pushing towards the end goal.

Being an entrepreneur is hard, and it’s easy to think to yourself, I should already be at my end goal or feel imposter syndrome. It’s also very overwhelming and hard to know where to start sometimes. I think that’s another plus of breaking things down into small achievable tasks, it gives you a starting place and creates a path forward.

Another book that’s similar in topic to Atomic Habits is The Subtle Art of not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. The humor and writing style of the author makes it a real easy read. Highly recommend.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think sometimes people who aren’t creative look at creatives and think what we do is easy, and that we’re just having fun doing our silly little drawings and that’s not the case. Most creatives have spent years, studying, learning and perfecting their craft.

When I worked on the marketing team, the non-creative departments never took us seriously. We would give our professional opinions and explain why something being asked wouldn’t work, and we’d always be dismissed and told to do what was being asked anyway. This would often lead to us re-doing work because what we explained wasn’t going to work, in-deed did not end up working.

It’s my hope that more non-creative people will look at creative’s as professionals and respect what they’re saying. A lot of design work, especially marketing and branding, is researched and strategically created by the designer to help the business further succeed. It’s not just based on what looks “cool”.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bananapressdesign.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bananapressdesign.co/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayleigh-eilenberger-62a0b79b