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

Hi Andy , thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

We began our journey like many businesses do. Scared, confused and trying to do more than we probably should. We thought our paths where in many different industries before we committed to branding and media for the faces of brands and businesses. Through our failures we learned to go back to the fundamentals of videography and design. Using this we invested in ourselves by learning more about what makes businesses, and that has a lot to do with their ability to speak directly to their audiences and communities. Using this knowledge we give back to the community through our internal documentaries about the founders and hearts behind certain brands and communities. This is to ultimately help people learn how to use branding fundamentals and story driven content to really push their story and create creative business strategies. Going through our own pains of figuring out our path we sympathize with other creatives and entrepreneurs and make pieces of work that speak to those stories.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

We got our beginnings in the music industry. As a freelancer I fell in love with videography and ventured into making music videos and short form content for artists. Through that I met my network of cinematographers, photographers and other creatives. Over time our team was developed and soon pivoted to creating media and design pieces that took on a more commercial and documentary feel. This birthed Claze Studios.

At Claze Studios, we believe that every brand has a unique culture and set of values that should be celebrated and amplified. Our mission is to empower people to embrace their roots and unlock their brand’s full potential through creative direction that inspires and captivates audiences. With a commitment to genuine story and branding, we hope to leave an impact on the people we work with. This comes in the forms of strategizing organic content, advertisements and building our visual design identities. We our the powerhouse that works WITH businesses to provide value and commit to the results. We encourage people to view our most recent pieces of work as it represents what we can build visually for brands for them to elevate their position through videography.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

We recently had to pivot due to a partner in our business departing. This was a tough transition for us since they were the leader of the team. This meant that I had to step up to the plate and lead the team in the direction that I knew would lead us into a more focused path. This was a stressful time, both mentally and financially, yet we committed to our pivot and it has allowed us to make new relationships with new businesses that we cherish. We learned that partnerships do not work unless you share the same values and vision, if these two do not exist then there is no partnership. Once we put efforts in changing our focus and what we offer to clients, it gave us the confidence we needed to keep pushing forward. Leadership is vision through purpose.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Create and commit through accountability. If everyone is accountable, no one is. It important that everyone understands their roles and commitments and you set a structure internally where weekly you review those accountabilities. This then puts you, the founder, in the ultimate seat of accountability. You set the example.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://clazestudios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clazestudios/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxqVI4VGCt5k04T5hVDxgUw