Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cata Balzano. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cata, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

I started as a news reporter for the Miami Herald. I was an intern and then freelanced for them for about five years. With the Herald, I learned everything about proper storytelling, and I was also given a crash course on the art of freelance writing and how to work independently. Once I grasped that concept: pitching to different outlets, networking to acquire a strong group of people who believed in my work – especially editors – as well as coming up with great stories worth telling, I was able to branch out.

As a freelancer, I had the freedom to explore other fields within creative media production, such as copywriting, digital content production, social media marketing and the creation of appealing and visually enticing content. Cata Balzano, Inc, then became a company that offers services in media and communications that not only involved telling stories in transparent and credible ways, but also that show people…consumers…why they should invest in a certain product.

I also became really good at branding that, branding me and the fact that I have those skills. But I wanted to share the skills, and in 2021 I launched Content Beast, to help people do the same with their vision, business and goals whether personal or from a brand or product they wanted to launch or sell.

Cata Balzano, Inc has taken more than half a decade to establish, but it has grown more and more every year. I’m such a hypercreative person, so being able to put all my ideas under that umbrella is exciting and it gives me security, because I believe that everything is possible.

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

I’m a journalist and TV Host, and I own my own creative content production company. I’m from Miami, but at this point, I’m a real polyglot. I’ve also lived in New York, Bogotá, London, Cote d’Azur and Rome. My job allows me to move around and enjoy my time wherever I go.

I tell stories via audiovisual content or articles, on things that happen and are worth covering. I’m proud of how I’ve worked and what I’ve created. I’ve been able to work with companies in the UK, France, Italy, Latin America and the US. I’m respected for my work and for what I do, and it’s taken me time to earn it and grow into the business and brand that I am, because that, in essence, is what I am. I’m a brand.

You hire Cata Balzano, Inc because you want to work with me. You want my words, my input, my style, my way of working. It feels good to know people respect your work and want to have it be part of building their brand and their story. It’s also because I love watching other people grow, create, accomplish dreams, and if through my dreams and goals I can make them shine and find their joy and passion, then it’s a win!

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

During Covid-19, it was hard to do any work in entertainment, travel, lifestyle reporting. Nobody was traveling, no concerts were happenings, no album releases, no nothing. Everyone was at home looking for things to do, and that’s how Content Beast came about. I was like, ‘how can I help people build their business’ brand in an easy way, that is affordable and form home?

So I’ve pivoted more than once because we can only control what we do, but not the way the world works or what it does or how it reacts. That control is all we need in order to make things happen.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Honestly, it was through mini investments from what I would make at work – be it at American Apparel or interning at the Herald – I was a hostess at a restaurant in Miami and worked at the Miami Herald before my internship.

When the Herald offered the internship, which was paid but at a minimum, my father told me to go for it, and he would help me make ends meet month-to-month which he did. He also bought me my first Apple computer, which is what I’ve used to create so many projects in the past decade. My mother bought me my first DSLR camera, and with that I’ve also traveller the world and done amazing photographs.

I have to give it to my parents because though my father hasn’t always been present, he has helped me financially at certain points of my life. But my mother, especially, has been unconditional and has always had my back financially. I am not one of those stories (nor do I want to pretend to be) of someone who doesn’t come from a family that has the capacity to back me financially on my goals and who isn’t willing to. My mother, even when the capacity to finance my goals hasn’t always been there in large sums, has always been willing to help however she can. And I have to recognize that and say it.

We’ve made lemonade with lemons, but we have always had lemons. Not millions and millions of lemons where we can waste them and not take advantage of them, but enough so that if we do things right, we reap the results of our hard work.

Though stories of people making something out of nothing are incredibly inspiring and my hat goes off to everyone who has. a circumstance such as that one, it hasn’t been my case, and I’m grateful for that and have never taken it for granted.

Thank you, mom, for always giving me lemons and the discipline to continue making lemonade regardless of how difficult things look at the time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.catabalzano.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catabalzano/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catabalzano
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catabalzano/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/catabalzano

Image Credits
Cata Balzano, Inc.