Meet Erna Blooms | Branding Expert, Business Growth Coach & Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erna Blooms and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erna, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Five years ago, I left my 6-figure corporate job of 15 years to pursue my new life purpose. One day, I dedicated one of my Curious Morphologie art, called Hedgehog Dandelion, to a distant stranger in Germany on IG, named Tina. She told me she couldn’t follow me back because of her R.A. (Rheumatoid Arthritis) disease without possible cure. The moment I dedicated this art, with a concept of letting go of your pains and uncertainties in life and turning them into wish and hope, she immediately followed me. That moment made me realize how powerful a meaningful art could be in connecting people from different parts of the world to take action. Since then, I’ve made a decision to only work on inspiring projects that connect people or inspire positive actions. I chose to work with passionate people who love pursuing their brand and business excellence. Although my art brand, Curious Morphologie, sold well in local trade shows and on Amazon, I wanted to make a greater impact faster by helping more aspiring entrepreneurs achieve their vision and mission and creating their brand design excellence. While working with my clients, I’ve noticed that they need more support beyond design to create their sustainable business. After a few years of understanding these other business needs, during Covid-19, I formed a new team and launched a new company called Blooming Aces Creative. We now offer not only brand design and marketing services, but also business growth mastermind programs to help entrepreneurs grow to their next level, no matter what stage their businesses are in. I believe that each one of us is an Ace, which means no 1. It takes one to start the ripple effect of positive change. At Blooming Aces, we respect everyone’s growth pace and we are happy to support the hidden gems, the underdogs, the givers and the rookies of the world, who want to make their impact and embrace good core values. Starting my own business has given me the freedom to choose who I can help with my expertise, and how I am collaborating with them. It has been a fulfilling journey for me to see good people connect with their superpower and win through entrepreneurship.

Please tell us more about your career. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today business-wise. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I am a self-taught Artist growing up and I love creating conceptual art that inspires meaning or evokes emotions. When I was in high school, I failed my computer test. Not until I came to USA and met a great computer teacher in college, I’ve gained understanding on the basic functions of computer (this is before Mac was around). This made me realize how important having a good teacher is. Since then, I’ve been seeking for good independent study teachers and mentors to coach me on new subjects, including entrepreneurship. I also learned that my drive to achieve what I’ve envisioned is so great that I can overcome anything. I am resourceful and great at problem solving challenges to get to my goals. I am now very skilled in computer and can build my own e-commerce site because I couldn’t find a good web developer at the time to build my Curiousmorphologie.com the way I wanted it. The biggest challenge in my career has been the fact that I am bilingual. I am Chinese, who was born and raised in Indonesia. My artistic skills have helped me survived my language barriers at the beginning of my career. I’ve learned to write more direct and speak slower. Although I am always improving, I realized that I can’t let my limitations stop me from pursuing my vision and mission. So I’d hire copy editor to help me with copy writing, so I can focus on my areas of strength, which is visual communication. I have been told that I am fearless and relentless. Although I am a perfectionist, I am not afraid to make mistakes in new territories and stumble forward to gain new expertise that allows me to provide more values to my audience. I would like to be a role model for underdogs and hidden gems who succeed because they have clear vision, great work ethic, and strong determination to achieve their excellence, while upholding good core values and building genuine friendships along the way. I learned that when I am focusing on genuinely serving others with massive values in the spirit of paying it forward, the wealth comes naturally. I’d love to be known by many people to be one of the key people who helped them get to their path of greatness and stay there for long term.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Assuming the quarantine is over, for day one, I’d take them to L.A. Arboretum and Botanic Garden for a beautiful nature walk and chat. Then, we would go to either Din Tai Fung for fresh dumplings or Aburi Sushi in Pasadena. On our way back home, we would swing by The After Hours for cookie butter or jasmine milk tea-flavored ice cream then detour to Sierra Madre Canyon to see the city lights after sunset. For day two, we will go to Disneyland all day and stay at Disneyland Hotel for convenience. For day three, we will go to Corona Del Mar Beach or Huntington Beach for some sun and waves, then we will have dinner at Haven Craft Kitchen in Orange, one of my favorite restaurants. I would order corn & coconut bisque, tandoori-spiced grilled spinach octopus salad, and sweet corn agnolotti with tiger prawns. For day four, we will go watch a musical play or concert in LA and have dinner at The Derby’s in Arcadia, for lobster bisque, their pick-three appetizers, bacon-wrapped filet mignon, prime rib (to share) and crème brûlée. For day five, we will go to the mall to shop, maybe invite friends to karaoke, and have dinner at Pork-folio Korean BBQ or Mixa-Bowl.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It definitely took a village to get me to where I am, so I’d love to give my shoutout to: 1. Selena Soo for inspiring and showing me the right way to be a visible role model, 2. Simon Sinek for introducing me to Start with Why and Infinite Game leadership mindset, 3. Marie Forleo for empowering me to embrace my multi-passionate entrepreneurial spirit, 4. Cindy Wood for mentoring me in product and business development at the beginning of my career, 5. Michael J. Horn for giving me the freedom to create beautiful work and pushing my creative potential when I almost lost it from being in corporate world for too long, 6. My Blooming Aces team for believing in our mission to create Aceland, a safe haven, playground and ecosystem for entrepreneurs to find their superpower, get support, and collaborate with each other to grow infinitely, achieve freedom lifestyle and nurture inner peace, 7. My Dad, Arifin Setiadi, who has been my lifelong hero, the serial entrepreneur who is selfless and embrace the core values I have today, 8. Last but not least, my Mom, Natalia Liong, who has shown me true dedication to others’ needs even when things are hard.

Website: https://bloomingaces.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ernablooms/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erna-blooms-4b68371/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ernablooms
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bloomingacescommunity
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZI2r8qxKJ3ZL4prnv1a7VQ
Other: https://www.pinterest.com/curiousmorphologie/_created/

Image Credits
@showerpouch @meaningfulmantras