We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aaron Cameron a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Aaron, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

In my experience as a basketball player, one of the best things my trainers did for me was show up for me both physically and mentally. Not a lot of trainers take the time out of their weekend to go and show support for their trainee(s) at tournaments, which I can not fathom. On the other hand, as a trainer, you play the role as mentor as well. One must understand the mental state of their trainee(s) and must know how to precisely show support and encouragement. My trainers executed their roles at a high level and were tremendous support systems for me growing up.

Now that I am in the position as a basketball trainer/player development coach, I take it upon myself to do the things that many do not- show up for my trainees as my trainers did for me. Showing up to tournaments, shouting out my trainees on social media for academic excellence, inviting them over for a client appreciation gathering in the holiday season- all experiences that you do not hear other trainers in the basketball world doing. My goal is to develop smart, well-rounded basketball players, but, more importantly, people as well. I know that the parents of these young men and women strongly appreciate my approach and dedication to their kid(s) because of how they show up and support me in return without hesitation. Without them, dare I say, my business and name does not grow and ring out across the city.

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For Capitol Creatives, my team and I, in these early stages, have shown success in hosting both open and exclusive events. On that garnered quite some attention was our appreciation party for the creative community- The Top Notch Mixer. Strictly formal and themed. People answered the call, dressed up, and showed out. With food and drinks, raffle prizes, and a great mixture of music from our DJ, the community grows anxious for it to come back. As we grow, Top Notch will be an annual event and I am sure it’ll grow even larger than I could imagine. For now, we host meets ups, fashion shows , vendor at larger events, and continue on a journey to live up to our tagline. Be where CREATIVITY MEETS COMMUNITY.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

First and foremost, I am a proud Sacramento native. I have seen this city transform in various ways in my short amount of time on this Earth. I grew up an athlete, which has molded much of who I am as a businessman, professional, and as a person. My ideals and perspectives of life itself has been greatly influenced by sports. With that being said, my career as basketball player has pushed me into being a man of service. To be more accurate- quality service. The amount of hours I have dedicated to the profession (basketball) has instilled discipline, resilience, effective communication and observation skills needed to make any sort of impact in the business world. Hence, my choosing to start up my program, One Shot Coaching, to be not only a basketball trainer, but a player development coach.

Much like other trainers out in the world, I provide individual, group, and team training services. I also provide film services where I and the trainee(s) study film together, tackling the issue of a lack of IQ and/or awareness on the basketball court. The difference, though, between me and other trainers (not all) around the city is the intent behind being a coach. Being in this profession can be unbelievably lucrative, which can mislead or bring about the wrong type of people. You see it everywhere. The AAU scene is saturated with start-up teams with “coaches” that have not done the proper work in understanding what it means to actually coach and how to develop players. Plenty of them merely throw the ball out there and say “Go play,” and happily take the parents’ money. Even worse, they try to promote their services and/or their team as top-tier to bring in more clients.

On the other hand, there are self-proclaimed trainers that are teaching advanced moves to kids without even tackling the fundamentals first. Kids want to emulate what they see on television and YouTube, so they will naturally skip the proper steps to get there. Egging on the eagerness to be great over night is a dangerous thing and too many parents, trainers, and coaches participate and/or allow it. The game I love has slowly become a sport of “showcase and spotlight” instead of “drive and competition.” I don’t even recognize it. This is why in my training services, I am solely quality-oriented. I refuse to teach anything advanced if the fundamentals are not up to par.

In another light, I tackle another issue- personability. As a coach/trainer, you wear plenty of hats. One of the hats that I’m most proud of is the MENTOR hat. I want my clients to feel as if they’re family to me. How I do it? I show up. Plain and simple. Whether it is a tournament, a music recital, a graduation/promotion, a party, etc, I will dedicate my time to being there for the kid(s) (with an invitation of course.). Also, mentally being there is key too. Confidence typically fluctuates in and out of sports and it varies per kid. In life, doubt takes over and somebody that is NOT a parent/relative has to step in to be encouraging and offer some reassurance. Surprisingly, not many trainers take the time to show up in such a manner because it directly does not benefit their bottom line… or so they think.

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Capitol Creatives, founded in April, 2021, started as collective that only hosted meet-ups, much like plenty of other collectives around California. How it came about was through my own experience in a collective that existed pre-COVID called “Project: Uplift.” This is where I fell into becoming a freelance model. The numerous meet ups from Sacramento to San Jose, San Francisco, and even Vegas were inspirational and helped me understand how to grow a community/network. Some models even became ambassadors for fashion and beauty brands. When COVID arose, folks were skeptical of going outside. Some branched off into other creative ventures while others stopped all together. The flame seemingly went out, but the spark was still subtle.

I wanted to create something much like Project:Uplift, but I wasn’t aware of the voids between the general public and creative community in Sacramento. Meet up after meet up, it became glaringly obvious that Sacramento didn’t have a collective creative support nor did it have something to latch itself onto. Portland is seen as “weird” and Austin is seen as the “live music capital,” but what does Sacramento have? The list of disconnects were eye opening. The lack of accessible creative infrastructure, inaccurate perception in the value of the arts, limited cross-industry collaborations, etc. All issues that have existed for years with little to no intention to solve.

Therefore, as I formed a team of well-connected, creative-minded, and determined individuals, Capitol Creatives has forged its own name in the creative community behind the mission of being the bridge that connects the creatives with the general public. As the head of the agency, I’m proud of the fact that my team sees no ceiling to how much we can grow. Growth exists not only in a growing roster, but in growing support and loyalty. Artists have openly and proudly vouched for us in being responsible for the start of their careers and the network that they have built. Furthermore, artists continuously come back to our meet ups and express their interests in being a part of our events. I anticipate that we will be a talent agency like no other and will take the world by storm.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson that I had to unlearn in my life was that support isn’t always loud. No matter if it is in business or in one’s personal life. One particular backstory with this lesson was in my basketball business. I do not expect or require people to spread word of my business. I provide what I can while being the best human being that I can be. That’s it. When I first started out, I was receiving maybe 8 players per class. A mom, who’s daughter I trained, spread the word of my business around several teams of various leagues including her daughter’s team. Much like the game of telephone, people were hearing plenty of things about my training. Before I knew it, I had nearly 30 kids coming to my classes on a consistent basis, several kids signed up for individual training packages, and I was offered a head coaching position at a high school a year and a half later.

This mom didn’t have to let me know she was telling people about my business, but the action in itself had a domino effect and propelled me to a level in seemingly record time. She operated, on her own accord, in the background and saw my business as worthy of ascension WITHOUT asking for anything in return.

Grand gestures are not the only sign of support. Someone doesn’t have to stand on a balcony and yell, “I support such and such” to be seen as supportive. It’s possible to operate in the shadows and push someone forward.

Any advice for managing a team?

Managing a team and maintaining high morale is difficult for business OWNERS. Especially if they are the type of person who has a hard time accepting help and/or delegating tasks to make that vision come to life. I found that out the hard way. It takes a high level of trust going both ways. The team has to trust that the head of the company will entrust them enough to do their job and delegate tasks. The head of the company has to not only trust the team, but trust him/herself to allow others to take part in their vision.

So, to any and all business owners who have a team beside them (never under or behind), TRUST that they’ll get the job done, no matter what it is. Also, put TRUST in yourself that you’re vision has room for more than 1. It’s a table you’re sitting at. Trust that others are bringing nutrients to it and not poison.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @the.acamm / @oneshotcoaching / @capitolcreatives

Image Credits

Arianna Maddox / Erika Bean / Tré Pearson