We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Neysa Garcia-Muhammad a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Neysa, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
“How did I find my purpose?”
That’s a profound question. I’ve been thinking about my purpose a lot lately, and I’m learning that it’s my purpose to be a light. I am here on this planet to find joy, community, and make memories.
The wrench in that plan is the fact that we have to work. We live in a capitalist economy and as a result, we spend most of our time working and sleeping. With that in mind, finding work that aligns with what gives me joy and connects me with my community became the priority of my career.
I have heard arguments around purpose being an unnecessary component for work. That we should just stick to what we’re good at and what’s lucrative. I flat out disagree with that. The joy and ease has to be a part of that picture in order for life to feel full and for my light to come through in any room. I’m creating a life that I love. Not one that I’m desperate to get away from for 2 weeks out of the year.
When my husband, Tabari and I founded Ginger and Carrot Productions, we were creating the answer to this question:
“How can I create work that brings us joy, inspires us, connects us to our ideal people, and supports us financially?
As small business owners, we make sure that this intention guides every decision along the way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I heard a brilliant question shared by Felecia Hatcher. She asked “who are you uninterrupted?” I had to chew on that one for a while, but so far what I came up with was asking myself…who am I without the expectations of others?
This is what I have so far: I’m a creative spirit, deeply intuitive, and I’m a storyteller. What lights me up is using my gifts to elevate people.
At Ginger and Carrot Productions, we produce documentaries, brand videos, social media content, and photography for print and campaigns. What makes us different is that we’re good listeners, and we hold space that is safe and judgement free.
As a team of creative directors, strategists, videographers, and photographers, we’re not just here to get likes and comments. When brands are at a tenured stage in business, these metrics aren’t predictors of success like they were in the beginning. We use storytelling to create meaningful connection and inspire loyalty. Now, it’s about taking the experience of the brand and expanding it long after the purchase or the visit. That’s the process of keeping the relationship with customers and guests thriving over the years. To learn more about how we support you with an upcoming creative project, you can schedule time with us at calendly.com/gingerandcarrot .
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The 3 most important qualities or skillsets to have is your ability to listen, empathize, and iterate. It’s easy to make assumptions about your industry, the clients you want to work with, or the clients you’re not yet ready to work with.
Of course, you want to be good at what you do and provide a great result…but if you can’t put yourself in the shoes of your clients and think about what they might be going through, business will be difficult.
We don’t believe there is a “business to business” transaction. You’re always working from person to person. When there’s people involved, there are feelings involved. Honoring that takes you much further and makes you much more effective as a leader.
This doesn’t mean saying ‘yes’ to everything. This doesn’t mean answering emails at 2 am. It means, listen to what your clients are saying, pay attention to the behaviors of the industry, and make informed decisions from that place.
Knowing where they’re coming from, empathizing with their pain points, and aligning your unique creative ability with possible solutions is the recipe for growth.
Getting great at this comes with practice. Sometimes, we launch an offer and no one wants it. When that happens, we learn from what didn’t work and iterate. Business is all about experimentation, so we do our best to approach it with an open mind.
As long as you learn from failures, then it will always work out in your favor.
How would you describe your ideal client?
Our ideal client is someone who values food and culture, storytelling, inclusivity, and has a big why behind the work that they do. This can be an entity like The Boka Restaurant Group scaling with artfully curated chef-driven concepts each telling their own story. It can also be a software product like Spotify who has recently been creating more food content to highlight playlists that would go perfect with a dinner party.
We’ve even seen brands like Madeira creating a mini-documentary series to highlight mexican restaurants people should know about. There’s so many amazing opportunities to use food to grow your brand and connect with your audience. Leadership teams at these companies now have to ask themselves, what inspires people to come back over the years? How can we expand the experience we provide in our brand and become a meaningful part of people’s lives?
If you have a project that centers food, connection, and people…then we’re your go-to agency.
To get started with working with us, you can always schedule time on our calendar to get a quote at calendly.com/gingerandcarrot .
Contact Info:
- Website: http://calendly.com/gingerandcarrot
- Instagram: @gingerandcarrotprod
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neysa-garcia/
Image Credits
The fried squash blossoms was made by Chef Ryan Randeno. The vanilla, strawberry, and basil cake was made by Chef Nicole Redd-McIntosh. The crispy eggplant dish was made by Chef Wendy Zeng. The mushroom and purple beet dish was made by Chef Ayo-Cherry.
