Meet Jessica Garver

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

Hi Jessica, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I don’t think of myself as someone who enjoys playing with risk, but when I look back at my life, I see it’s been a series of big leaps.

After high school, I joined a humanitarian aid program instead of heading straight to college. I raised the funds myself and moved from my small, safe town in northeast Ohio to one of the roughest neighborhoods in San Francisco, where I worked with the homeless. That was followed by time in Thailand and Vietnam — my first experience traveling abroad.

When the program ended, I came back to California to visit a close friend and explore whether I might want to move there. One thing led to another, and soon I was living in an apartment with new friends, having moved across the country with eight boxes of books and a suitcase.

I worked in hospitality while I tried to figure out what I wanted to do — and whether that included college. I stumbled into a job selling wine for a small winery and learned sales and wine knowledge in what I call the Viking school of swimming. I kept following opportunities in that industry, eventually starting my own small business.

The most rewarding part of it all? Coaching and growing a sales team — watching people develop their confidence and hit goals they hadn’t imagined. That experience changed me. I decided to get trained as a coach, and just as I began my certification, the “safe” plan I had to ease into coaching work for other companies fell apart. So I took another leap and launched my own business as a holistic vocational coach for creatives and entrepreneurs.

I watched my father work long hours — evenings, weekends — at a job he was miserable in, just to provide for us. Seeing how much he suffered, and how much he missed out on enjoying life, made me promise myself that I’d find a way to love whatever I do to earn a living. I wanted to enjoy as much of this one wild and precious life as possible. Now, I get to help other people do the same — to find what they love and do it in a way that lets them make the most of this experience of being human on planet Earth.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I help entrepreneurs and creatives build a healthy, fulfilling, and successful relationship with their work by unsticking the stuck places and building a foundation of trust with themselves that supports and expands their zone of genius.

Business coaching is often thought of as a very linear, strategic thing — but for creatives and entrepreneurs, the path isn’t usually a straight line. They’re building something no one else has built before. No formula, no roadmap. That can be incredibly lonely, confusing, and sometimes panic-inducing.

A lot of wise people say that the most important thing in becoming who you want to be — and building the business you want — is surrounding yourself with the right support. That’s where I come in. I’m a native to this terrain. I help people find their way, stay with it through the hardest and scariest parts, and develop the tools they need to keep going through the jungles and the breakthroughs.

What sets my work apart is how deeply personal and holistic it is. I don’t coach from a playbook — I coach from lived experience, intuition, and a deep understanding of what it means to build something meaningful from the inside out. I bring together mindset, emotional resilience, nervous system awareness, and the creative process in a way that helps people feel more whole — and more powerful — in their work.

Was it easy getting here? Not even close. I’ve had to reinvent myself more than once. I’ve had plans fall apart, income vanish overnight, and seasons where I questioned everything. But each time, I came back to the same thing: this work matters, and so do the people I serve. That belief kept me moving forward and taught me to trust myself more deeply than I ever had before.

What I want the world to know about my business and my story is this: creative entrepreneurs, especially those who are neurodivergent, are often building their lives and businesses without a map. Creativity and neurodivergence often come together — the same differences that make someone think, feel, and experience the world differently are the source of their incredible creativity, and also the reason traditional systems don’t work for them.

Many of my clients come to me feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or isolated, struggling to find a way of working that actually supports who they are. One of the most important parts of my work is helping people recognize the strengths in their neurodivergence and find or create tools that support the way their minds naturally work.

I help entrepreneurs stop feeling trapped by one-size-fits-all advice and start building businesses — and lives — that actually feel good to live inside. Your work can be nourishing. It can support your creativity instead of draining it. And you don’t have to figure it all out on your own. I’m here to walk with you — through the sticky parts and the breakthroughs — as you create something that fits who you really are.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Although I live in Santa Barbara, I love — and have spent a lot of time in — Los Angeles. As we all know, LA is a city whose major industry is entertainment, which means there’s no lid on the creativity you can experience here in so many ways.

One of the places I need to visit regularly is The Getty Center. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been there. I think I’ve received the equivalent of an entire art history degree just from their world-class exhibitions and the incredible education they provide alongside them. Plus, it’s simply a beautiful place to hang out and enjoy the gardens and the views of the city.

I’ve also had so many magical experiences at The Hollywood Bowl. Now you can have an amazing meal there too, because one of the city’s treasures, Chef Suzanne Goin, oversees the food program. You can enjoy the best picnic ever and experience a fantastic concert in one of the most iconic venues in the world.

I also love The Huntington Library and Gardens, especially in spring when the camellia trees are blossoming and everything is lush and green. I make a point to visit at least once a year.

Now that we can rent movies from home in our pajamas, we don’t go out to the theater as much as we used to — but the Arclight Theater still offers an experience that’s absolutely worth getting dressed for. I’ve had some unforgettable evenings at Walt Disney Concert Hall, too. I love the architecture — it feels like being inside a piece of beautiful music.

And then there’s the food. I come from a long background in hospitality, and in my opinion, LA is by far the most exciting food and drink city in the U.S., and one of the best in the world. I wish I had kept a running list of all the places I’ve loved over the years, but here’s a short version of unmissable places: Kato, Bestia, Bavel, Pine & Crane Silver Lake, Little Dom’s, Intelligentsia Silver Lake, Capri Club, Eataly, Felix Trattoria, Tsubaki, Providence, Here’s Looking at You, AOC, Little Sister Redondo Beach, and Pizzeria Mozza.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I wouldn’t be the person I am today — or have the opportunities I do — without the love and effort my parents poured into homeschooling me. They instilled in me a lifelong love of learning and the skills to teach myself just about anything.

My dear friend and mentor, Ade Collie, and his wife have been like West Coast parents to me — believing in me, supporting me, and offering a safety net when I needed one.

I’m eternally grateful to Martha Beck for her books, podcasts, and coaching course, which have guided me toward my “right life” — the full expression of myself and my gifts — and connected me with my tribe.

And I’m especially thankful for my dear friend Yvonne Randolph, and Frank and Allison Paolino — beloved friends who have seen my potential, encouraged my growth, and loved me into my future self.

Website: https://www.jessicagarvercoaching.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-garver-33504813/

Other: Substack: https://substack.com/@findingthegiftofyou

Image Credits
portrait image credits – Matt Roberts