We were lucky to catch up with Elise Garcia recently and have shared our conversation below.
Elise, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I had to realize that someone will always be better than me at what I do, and someone will always have more experience than me in an area. So it’s not about me claiming to be the best at something, it’s just making it known that “hey! this is something I do and enjoy! and I run a business around it!” If they like what I’m putting out, they support my business and artwork and if they want to go somewhere else, they can do that freely.
I’ve learned it’s not about me claiming I’m the best, and that way I can’t even have imposter syndrome. If I make art, I’m an artist. Simple as that.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Hi! I’m Elise Garcia! I run a hand-painted longboard shop + vegan bakery (coming soon!) called Bake and Skate. I also turn my longboard artwork into larger scale murals around Atlanta and paint murals for businesses. It’s my dream to have a physical “food truck” style store on wheels so hopefully that dream can become a reality soon and you can find us around Atlanta with our longboards and vegan goodies!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Prayer, being true to my own brand + dreams, and knowing the basics of how to paint. 😉 I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing at all if I hadn’t prayed for this dream to happen, so I’m incredibly thankful that it’s been blessed in the ways it has!
Don’t try to blend in with everyone else out there, because there’s probably a huge company that can pay more in ad spend and get your target audience before you can if you’re just trying to be like them. Do something different, and make sure you have an answer to why your company stands out from someone who could easily go buy the same product on Amazon. How do you make your customers feel? What value do you bring to them?
Understanding how to paint from a young age has definitely helped me in my business venture journey, as most of my business has to do with painting things. 😉
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Oh my goodness yes, always. You probably know that saying, “you can go faster alone, but you can go farther together.”
I always want to collaborate with people who can get behind my vision of my shop. For Bake and Skate, I love collaborating with girls in their 20s, because that’s who I love to make clothes and longboards for. I love partnering with people who don’t just want to get things for free, I want someone who I can consistently make content with, and do fun photoshoots with, and trust them that they’re going to bring new eyes to my shop.
For my murals, I always love to collaborate with businesses who need a little pop of pizzazz to their office or restaurant. I like bringing things to life, and I know the impact it has on a shop when someone feels GOOD walking into that location versus just a boring atmosphere.
Contact Info:
- Website:www.bakeandskate.com
- Instagram: @bakeandskate and @heyelisegarcia
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bakeandskate/
