Lilly Garcia

If you’ve been reading along since November, you already know that after my daughter was born, it took me quite a while to get the ball rolling and jump back into my business. Every day felt so rewarding once I finally had a plan. I could see how the couple of hours I got to invest each day were moving me toward my goals. And right as I was settling into a comfortable and productive pattern, my husband and I did something crazy. We left our long-time home base in Las Vegas to start over in Salem, Oregon.   We’d […]

Brand Discovery and Direction are a huge part of my client process. Before any sketches are made, before I open any design programs on my computer, before I even consider any ideas, my clients and I spend a few weeks getting to know one another. We talk about their goals and challenges, audience and message, competitors and peers. This is where I encourage them to let all their thoughts and ideas pour out, to dream big and stretch toward their biggest goals.   I take it all in, let everything they share with me seep for a few days, and organize […]

You jump out of bed at 5 in the morning, make a pot of coffee, and start editing yesterday’s new product shots while the kids get ready. By lunch, you’ve dropped the kids off at school, answered emails, prepared the week’s Facebook posts, updated your ledger, solved a staff scheduling conflict, cleaned the shop bathroom, and worked the front desk for an hour.   I’ve always admired entrepreneurs like you. You work harder than anyone, tackling whatever needs to get done. You’re brave and unfazed by new challenges, trusting that you’ll figure things out as you go along. And you […]

Few things compare to the excitement you feel when you have a great new idea for your business. Something clicks into the right place and you’re all of a sudden flooded with inspiration, motivation, and the drive to make things happen. It’s an amazing energizing feeling, but it can easily turn overwhelming.   That is exactly where I found myself once I’d gotten my momentum back and found the purpose for my business. All my energy and excitement quickly turned into frustration. My ideas kept bumping into each other inside my head, all competing for my complete attention. It made […]

The biggest challenge I had to tackle when returning to my business was finding time to work. There was a time I could juggle full time classes, a part time job, and an internship all at once, but even that didn’t compare to the demands of parenthood. Who would have thought that children could take up so much time?   I really wanted to get back to work, so I tried a bunch of different approaches and plans. Nothing seemed to work. I tried working during Ellie’s naps, but as soon as I felt like I had her schedule figured out, […]

I didn’t expect motherhood to completely change the direction of my business, but that’s exactly what happened. Wild Olive Branding Studio sprung roots during my pregnancy and has been steadily growing ever since.   Before Ellie came along, we’d been trying to have a baby for eight years. When we found out I was pregnant, we felt like we needed to do everything “right”. For us, that meant eating organic, learning about essential oils and herbs, switching to natural beauty products, planning a home birth and, basically, embracing our inner hippy.   I felt so empowered and confident in those parts of […]

I’m going to be completely honest. Having a kid totally kicked my butt. Here’s the thing: when people find out you’re expecting, they tell you how much work it’s going to be, how much sleep you’re going to lose, and how your life is going to completely change. But there’s no way anyone can fully describe what really happens.   As my due date got closer and closer, I prepared myself for the biggest change in my life. I wrapped up the projects I’d been working on, let my repeat clients know I was going to be out for a few […]