We recently had the chance to connect with Lila Jimenez and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lila, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
Thanks for having me! This year has been a year of growth for Calor Creative. We’ve grown our team, which has made systems a huge invisible focus this year. That has been super helpful in translating things that have lived in my brain for years into documented processes and thoughts. We have a huge Notion workspace that has grown to include task lists, design resources, project schedules, social strategy, and more as we’ve refined things as a team.
I’m also really proud of striving to make Calor a place where people want to work. We recently started doing a Friday Power Hour – basically an hour each week for everyone on our team to learn a new skill. My team gets super pumped every week, and we’ve already used a ton of these new skills in various projects!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Yes! I’m Lila Jimenez, founder and brand designer at Calor Creative. We’re a design studio based in Athens, GA building brands and websites for small to medium sized businesses.
Calor has been my full time job (and basically my personality) since June of 2022. I love the process of meeting new people, hearing about the ideas that set them on fire, and translating that energy into visuals and messaging that get other people just as excited as my clients are. Sometimes the branding process feels a little like magic. It always feels a lot like fun. We work with a lot of business owners here in Athens, which is super rewarding because we get to see how the brand resonates with the community once projects are done. We love our remote clients too, though!
In the past year and a half, I’ve been finding a little more balance between Calor and my actual life. I spend my free time looking for a new read at the ACC Library, going for walks (and sometimes runs!) with my husband and dog, and sketching in my little yellow notebook. I’ve dipped my toes into gardening and have been learning French just for fun.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I’ve always been creative. When I was a kid, I created outfits and props out of materials I found around the house for my dolls. I wrote tons of short stories and illustrated them. I collected business cards and paper packaging. I 100% chose books from the library based on their covers. I knew I loved art. I thought maybe I would be an art teacher. I had never heard of graphic design or even realized that it was a career option.
In high school, I did really well in Biology so I started off there when I went to college. I had a lot of back and forth, and finally switched my major to Art at the end of my second year. I picked Graphic Design kind of at random. I took a course on branding my last semester and knew I had found something I loved. It combines the creativity I’ve had since I was little with research and problem solving that I loved about science. Looking back, it all makes sense to me now. I mean, what kid collects business cards?!
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
Starting Calor was not the first time I tried to freelance. I left a job at a tshirt printing company in Fall of 2020 and decided I would just figure it out. I did NOT figure it out. I had two clients – a lead off of LinkedIn and my uncle. I worked at Jittery Joes to pay my bills and spent all of my free time learning about design, branding, and how to freelance. College Lila never thought she’d be running a business, so I was learning about entrepreneurship on the fly.
I ended up working for a while at another branding studio here in Athens, Hinge Creative Co. I had a super supportive boss at that job who was generous with her knowledge about running a creative business, and she helped me build up confidence again. I started to build a freelance base on the side while working that job full time, and got the courage to leap again and go out on my own.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
I used to think that constantly hustling was the only way I could make it. I worked really hard in the beginning, working long days and pushing myself to learn even more outside of paying work. I thought that if I started work late or took a day off that I was being lazy or failing. I would make up that time at night or on the weekends. Part of it was passion and being excited about my job. Part of it was guilt for anything about my job that didn’t look like a “traditional” workday.
I still think that working hard and continuing to learn are important values, but my mindset has shifted a lot. My husband and I are starting a family, and I’ve realized that I want my life to be a lot more than giving it all at work and having no time for anything else. I think that hustle mindset was right for me at the time, but I no longer think that that is the only way to be successful. I want to reflect on my life one day and have Calor be a significant part of it, but not the only thing. I think a lot of people are started to push back against hustle culture.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
“She cared about people and creativity.” That would be a win.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://calorcreative.design
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/calorcreative
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/lilajimenez
