We recently connected with Alexis Aguirre and have shared our conversation below.

Alexis, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)? Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style.

I think internships and apprenticeships are a fundamental part of being successful. A lot of times we pass up on great opportunities, because we immediately ask ourselves, “how much does this pay,” instead of asking, “how will this help me grow and what can I offer?” I believe that by becoming an asset and serving others we can quickly build meaningful business relationships that we can leverage in the future to land higher paying positions. A lot of internships will help you get in the room you want to be in, but if you’re too shortsighted to see the longterm benefit, then you will miss out on countless blessings.

There have been times that ,I, as a creative have worked for free. Countless times actually. But in the beginning those opportunities didn’t lead anywhere because I took them for granted, and didn’t do my best. I didn’t put in the effort that was required to perform at a high level. Why? Because I was too fixated on the fact that I was working for free. I cared more about my pride than my overall well-being. I was looking at the situation with a short-sighted and immediate lens rather than thinking about how it would benefit me long-term. If I had just shown up, and done a great job (for me, not for anybody else) then I would have been able to leverage being in the room in order to land better (paid) opportunities.

Always use what you have. If all you have is an invitation to help someone and be an extra pair of hands on a project that is in a field that interests you, then take it. Make the most out of it. Everything is what you make of it. If you go and want to be lazy and slack off then don’t expect any great results from it, but if you go in and your objective is to deliver a high quality service regardless of payment, then that is will people will see: high quality. And what comes with high quality goods and services? A high price tag. So value yourself before anyone else does, so that when they look your way, they see the value you have already assigned yourself.

Before I leave, I want to give you an example of a project that I’m currently working on for free. Right now, I’m working at The Artist Shop (FOR FREE) helping to develop an artist by the name of SNACO. I’m in charge of video, creative direction, talent acquisition, and brand development and I’m doing it all for free, because the networking opportunities there are priceless. The experience I’m gaining and the people who I’m learning from are great and are helping me to become a more refined business owner and human. I know that sooner or later that position will lead to a job, but as of now part of my job is to help get the business off the ground and to a place where it can bring in money and pay for everyone on the team. That’s why I show up every week and make sure that I’m doing the best job I know I can. You never know who is around watching and paying attention. It may just be your next boss or business partner, so do it for you. Perform at a level that would make YOU proud.

Alexis, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For those of you who don’t know who I am, my name is Alexis Aguirre. Some people know me by the name Atex. Whatever you want to call me I thank you for taking the time to read this.

I am an artist. Plain and simple. I record music, I write, I produce, I shoot videos, I deal with creative direction and creative problem solving, and I’m also a business owner. I would go as far as calling myself a business junkie. I love financial literacy, learning about new business strategies, and just anything to do with art and business.

When it comes to how I got into the music industry and business in general, I have to explain my musical journey and one of the earliest memories I have of listening to music. When I was a young boy I was on the way to school. Now, usually I would take the bus, but sometimes my mom decided to drive me to school for whatever reason which was cool. I was listening to the radio which was tuned in to the local hip-hop/r&b station ( at the time it was 95.5 the Beat). I remember listening to artists like T-Pain, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Beyonce, Lil Wayne, Lil Jon, the Ying Yang Twins, Jeezy, Yung Joc, and so many more. Ever since that early period in my life, I have been madly in love and passionate about music. I would sing these artists’ songs at the top of my lungs and it would fill me with such a great sense of euphoria that I don’t even have the words to describe. I was hooked, and ever since then I knew I wanted to do something involving music.

Fast forward to my last summer break of high school before becoming a senior. I’m 17 now and being from Atlanta, all I see around me are young artists blowing up on SoundCloud. 18-year olds, 19-year olds, 17 year-olds, and where was I? What have I been doing this whole time? I’ve been fixated on school, and I’ve been broke. I didn’t have a job. But, I still wanted to make music. So that summer I got a job working for my dad’s concrete business. This was a task I had been avoiding for YEARS. Ever since I can remember, my dad had pushed me to go work with him outside in the hot sun doing heavy physical labor. “The pay is good,” he would always say, but I wasn’t interested in payment. I wanted glory. And I wanted fame. I wanted to be praised for my musical creations, but the only problem was I didn’t have any means to record music. I didn’t have money to book a studio session, heck, I didn’t even know where the studios were back then. So, my only other option was to build an at home studio which required me investing in myself and getting a job. So, there I was: working a job I hated just to get paid, so that I could have enough money to buy a laptop, interface, microphone, and headphones. My spending habits were horrible back then, so it took me all summer long to save up just enough to pay for all my equipment. All together I ended up spending around $2,800 for my set up, and boy was I happy when I finally got it all. Now, all I needed was to practice and learn the business. A task that is easier said than done. MUCH easier said than done.

So, that’s how I got into the music industry, now how I got into business relates to this story, but is completely different, so let me explain.

Like I said, my dad has his own concrete business. More specifically, he’s a subcontractor. So the contractor gets the job from the builders and hires my dad and his company to do the work and get the job done. So, growing up I have always had a different outlook on working a regular job and assimilating to archaic structures of the financial system. All throughout middle school and high school I said “I ain’t working no job.” I knew early that trading time to payment was not for me. I saw it as a trap, and that has always motivated me to figure something else out. That has always been the energy that I have carried inside of me, so when I finally met people who thought similar to me, in 2021, who had successful businesses, and were also creatives I thought to myself, “I finally made it to where I belong.”

In July of 2021 I was presented with an opportunity to fill in for a dear friend of mine who was doing video work for a multi-media company by the name of North 13th. He was overwhelmed with other projects and asked me if I would be willing to do the job for him instead, so I said yes not knowing what to expect or who I would be working with. When I met these people, I instantly knew I was in the right place. Not only did they pay me, they made me feel at home. They made me feel like family; like I wasn’t broken. They validated all of my thoughts and desires that I was growing to doubt. They showed me that the lifestyle I was searching for actually exists.

How does this relate to my business journey? Well, my first assignment as a new member of the North 13th family was to shoot Invest Fest; the biggest revolution in financial literacy ever hosted. That weekend, not only was I shooting video and meeting so many awesome people, but I was learning. Learning about investing, about business structure, about applying for business loans, business credit, partnerships, taxes, write-offs, strategy, you name it. That weekend all I heard was nothing, but valuable information. It shifted my perspective from being interested in business to actually doing business, and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity.

So, that’s how I got into business.

These days I like to help clients live a stress free life. I like to come in on projects and figure out how we can make the whole process smoother for the client. Whether it’s video production, music recording, jet-ski rentals, graphic design, or creative direction; I like to listen to the client’s needs, listen to their problems, and help them find a solution, so that they’re happy. I get paid to make the client happy.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I actually had to pivot quite recently when I decided to finally quit my construction job in order to have more time to focus on my creative endeavors and businesses. I quit a week ago, and I have been living on my own for about a month, so it’s an interesting time for me, but I’m very hopeful for the future and I’m keeping busy. I’m always looking for new clients and people to work with, but now more than ever.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I think the best thing you can do when it comes to building a social media presence is to stop caring about how you look. Just post content, man. Nobody cares if you look goofy or silly or lame. I think the lamest thing you can do is not try out of fear for what others might think. Don’t let fear stop you from doing what’s necessary to succeed, man. Just post content everyday and try something new everyday. Eventually one of your experiments will hit and you will have a niche that you actually care about with an audience to back it up. Once you have that audience, you can sell them anything, but you gotta put in the work first and start posting.

Contact Info:

• Website: lonestartrapstar.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atexlt/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-aguirre-853742245/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzaUVSBunpYW0zXnzlrPnjg