The Palacio Podcast
Businessperson Joen Garnica says Yes to Opportunity
Joen Garnica is President of Garnica Interiors, Inc., a full-service interior design firm located in Long Beach. This year, she celebrates 15 years in business. Born in San Pedro but raised in Long Beach most of her life, interior design was not a career she set out to build at an early age.
Joen Garnica
Garnica has a backstory that begins in the Washington neighborhood of Long Beach which, at the time, was considered one of the toughest in the city. To Garnica, growing up in a tough neighborhood was softened by a single mom who wanted something different for her children. Ask Garnica who the biggest influence and mentor in her life and she’ll quickly answer, her mother.
“The lessons that she taught were about respect, about hard work, about perseverance…those were really not only what she spoke to us to teach us but also what she emulated herself.”
PalacioMagazine.Com interviewed Joen Garnica at her Garnica Interiors business in downtown Long Beach. We spoke about the influence of her mother, the power of saying yes to opportunity, and why giving back is enriching.
The Life Lessons of Joen Garnica
Those early lessons served as important tools for her life.
“So, having that perspective, that modeling growing up has allowed me to overcome some very tough things in life and just perhaps what others may see tough.”
For Joen Garnica, the oldest of three siblings, all this just meant living life.
Saying Yes to Opportunity
Garnica didn’t start out with interior design as a career or a business in mind. She was smart enough, however, to grab a merchandizing marketing degree at the Fashion Institute of Fashion and Merchandising. That degree would come in handy for her business career but it was her love of interior design that pushed her forward. An opportunity to design the interior of a couple’s new home was presented and she said yes. Up until then, it was more a love than a profession.
“I didn’t do it professionally because again because not growing up in this world, I didn’t know that you could get paid for doing something you love. I just used to do it on the side.”
That first assignment led to another and another and Garnica Interiors, Inc. was born.
For More on Joen Garnica
Joen Garnica has much to say about the lessons learned and the challenges of starting and running a business. What is equally as important is the giving back to the community and city she calls home. Listen HERE to hear Joen Garnica share her experiences. Visit HERE for more on Garnica Interiors
A Short Biography of Joen Garnica
Joen Garnica came from humble beginnings, living in one of Long Beach’s roughest neighborhoods at the time. As the oldest of three siblings, Garnica has worked since the age of 15. She worked her way through college, working two jobs while going to school full time. Joen Garnica graduated Cum Laude with a Marketing degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.
Over the years, she has been involved in diverse causes that give her a unique perspective; it’s a perspective that has served her in business, her community, and in her ability to connect with people.
As a Rotarian, Joen Garnica truly exemplifies the Rotarian way, Service Above Self. Being civic-minded started at a young age for Joen. Her mom instilled in her the need to help others. Although her beginnings were humble, it never stopped her and her family from giving back.
Garnica has served on several non-profit boards over the years including Long Beach Day Nursery, Downtown Long Beach Associates, Long Beach City College Foundation, Women’s Business Council, International City Theatre, and YMCA of Greater Long Beach amongst others.
“Her determination and perseverance have allowed her to thrive in adversity, from successfully taking a luxury business through the toughest economy in decades to re-envisioning a broken neighborhood association into a fair, equitable, positive, and dynamic neighborhood association.”
