Hector Antonio Ruiz-Santiago, most commonly known as Antonio Ruiz (@imantonioruiz) is an entrepreneur, digital creator, and podcaster. Antonio was born and raised in Puerto Rico. At the moment he resides in Los Angeles, CA where he has been working on developing his brand and started his podcast The Candid Creative in July.
Can you share a little bit about yourself?
I am a 24-year-old Puerto Rican entrepreneur. I grew up in Puerto Rico and then moved to Miami when I was 16. After I graduated, I moved to California. I originally intended to pursue an acting degree, but dropped out later when I realized it wasn’t the path for me. Instead, I chose to get a business degree online.
I later started my brand using what I’d learned from the experience of having aon online print-on-demand clothing brand. I decided in January to start building my Instagram page organically, then included the use of targeted ads.
With digital marketing and entrepreneur experience, I decided to help other entrepreneurs learn to develop and grow their brands. This way they can establish their mark on social media.
How did this develop into a business for you?
I’d recommended a few carousel creators which include graphic designers, entrepreneurs, and creatives. When I realized that I could bring what I had learned from school and previous experience to help others get started, I knew I was onto something.
Not only would I lean on this experience, but I could also use the experience of acting school and running an online store. In growing my brand, it taught me how to navigate the digital landscape. I knew I could relay this to others and help them do the same.
At first, I was more focused on teaching digital marketing and content creation, but I realized that people were following me for different reasons. It was about my mindset and branding. I decided to shift my brand toward those topics since they seemed to resonate with others.
One important factor is that I didn’t want to box myself in and only discuss personal branding and mindset. It’s topics within those niches I want to go deeper into and explore. I’m currently working on a couple of projects, one of them is a newly launched podcast called The Candid Creative (@candidcreativepodcast).
I always wanted to inspire others and help them find their passion. When it comes to the podcast, I think about how I wanted to create a podcast where I could interview people. Now, that’s a reality! Working on my podcast has primarily been about giving creatives and entrepreneurs a way to learn a wide array of topics.
What do you want your brand to represent?
I always do my best to maintain my brand as honest and personal as possible. I believe that since I am building a personal brand while creating personal branding material, mindset, and podcasting content, this is critically important.
I strongly believe that it is also my responsibility to discuss other topics whether they are social, ethical, or even political on my platform and brand. It wouldn’t be a personal brand if it doesn’t talk about the things I am passionate about and the things I believe in. More brands and especially personal brands should do this.
I always do my best to deliver my audience and connections with fresh, new, relevant topics and perspectives. It has always been a priority to inspire others to take the steps they need to create something themselves.
Is there something you would tell those just starting?
The main thing would probably be that your prior experiences can help you create something. I never thought that two years of acting school would help me develop my brand, but it has helped a lot. When I started to create video content that background began to show up. It opened me up to understanding how it was helpful.
Then of course there is running an online clothing brand for a year. While that company didn’t yield much revenue, it did teach me a few things: patience, branding, and how to define an audience. Never underestimate your prior experiences because you never know when they will become helpful.
What challenges have you come across in creating your brand?
The main challenge when working on brand creation usually comes down to differentiation. You always think you have this new and unique perspective, but there are probably others doing something similar. When I started my brand, I quickly realized that what I thought was different was quite similar.
Creating a brand is creating a persona. When it comes down to a personal brand it’s about finding who you are which is where it gets tricky. You need self-awareness and self-preservation.
What did I do? I decided to go deeper into my own experiences and explore the following: who am I? Because while there might be others doing similar content or talking about similar ideas nobody can be you as an individual.
Daily, the challenges come down to staying fresh and relevant. We live in a world where it’s constantly changing. You must always be on your feet and prepared to pivot. When something doesn’t work. quickly find a solution to make it work, otherwise, someone else will. The other challenge is related to self-awareness and self-preservation.
I’ll be honest, self-awareness is not my strong suit. For me, it means I have to constantly remind myself to be self-aware enough to be consistent in my brand. Also, to stay away from creating a persona. Comes down to being myself.
How are you handling the financial end of your business?
You know that’s a question that should be asked more. The first thing I do is identify priorities. At the moment the priorities for the business have been towards growth, meaning spending on podcast production costs. Soon, I hope to start also giving priority to paying myself more than I do now.
How do you hope to grow your business? What do you want for the future?
At the moment I want to gain traction on my podcast, The Candid Creative and hope to expand my brand through podcasting. However, a medium that I want to expand my brand into further would be video content. primarily YouTube. I do have some ideas on a YouTube channel…just working on the details.
Aside from that, I want to continue inspiring others, and for my brand to be a symbol & inspiration for others to begin their journey in business or entrepreneurship. I do think at some point I want to create something that can help people monetarily to create their first venture. A business that “scouts” potential talents and helps them grow. Sort of an incubator for entrepreneurs.
Do you have a message for our readers looking for motivation?
My message would be to start. Get started on developing a strategy, then begin doing it. I was always scared to start something. I always told myself next month I’ll do it and then one month turned into two years.
My second piece of advice would be to never underestimate yourself and have a plan. Never start something in a rush. It will not turn into something of value. My first business, the online clothing brand was one of those mistakes. I rushed into it. I didn’t establish a clear brand or audience which cost me money.
Lastly, know your purpose. Have a plan and be clear about your goals. What will you bring new to the table that others are not or cannot bring? And always be prepared to fail over and over again. That is something I have to remind myself of every single day.
Website: www.thecandidcreative.com
