We recently connected with Cesar Ramos Ortiz and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Cesar, thanks for joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I was 19 years old when I decided to quit my grocery store job with no plan, a small savings, and a dream to create something bigger than myself.

The risk to jump out on your own and to go full time into a creative business is a very scary thing to do. That first leap is often the biggest one as these are the first steps not only into being a business owner, but also taking your first steps into a completely new and different stage of life.

For me, it was a combination of multiple life changes coming together. I was dropping out of college, moving out on my own for the first time, and learning how to be on my own with family across the country. I operated and made all of my decisions fully based on the fact that I knew this business would need to take up 100% of my life in order for me to live the way I wanted to live.

My life from there on out had been nothing but research, networking, building relationships, and honing in on my talent to get better with each passing year. It wasn’t really until recently when I was able to acknowledge how much of a life changing experience taking this risk was for me.

Don’t get me wrong, it was incredibly hard work, and there were many times where I felt defeated and lost. The important thing is that I focused on my mental health. I went to therapy when needed and I took time to look within myself. This is what helped me keep my head on straight through the struggles and madness of starting a business in this way.

Thankfully, my business was able to grow far beyond what I ever thought was possible for myself. Through it all though, I always kept my same mindset. I always just wanted to make beautiful imagery that people could relate to. My motivation was the drive to just be better. Not only be better at my craft, but be better in life and as a person.

I truly believe that as long as you are a great person, can believe in yourself fully, and have the energy and mental fortitude to do it, that any risk is no true risk at all, but a mountain that you have to figure out how to climb.

Cesar, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Cesar Ramos-Ortiz, and I am a filmmaker/cinematographer based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. My company is called ‘Trust in the Vision Media’ and I focus on commercial ads and films while also doing some work in the documentary space.

I first started my business when I was 19 years old (I’m 25 now). I actually started off as a photographer, mainly specializing in portraits and commercial work. I transitioned over the years into film and video because I really enjoyed how much of a different kind of story I was able to tell through my imagery. I felt like it really encapsulated what I was trying to do as an artist. I appreciated and loved the art of cinematography and filmmaking.

I transitioned over to cinematography fully around 3 years ago, and now am mainly working as a Director of Photography or Producer/Director on most of my projects. I really enjoy bringing visions to life through my lens.

I am really proud of how far my business has been able to come over the past few years. I’m currently working on one of my biggest projects yet. It is a docuseries called “Balance” and I am the Director of Photography. I am extremely excited to show this project to the world. This docuseries is focused around peri-menopause and HRT. It is an impressively powerful and meaningful telling about how women have been done wrong for so many years by our medical/professional communities, as well as our government surrounding this topic.

My only goal and hope is to create amazing and captivating projects. I love working with creative and like-minded individuals in this community. Coming together as creatives to make beautiful things come to life from nothing is one of the biggest blessings I am able to have in my life.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I truly believe in the power of people. When I first started my business, I really wanted to focus on making sure I give the best possible experience and customer service to my clientele. Apart from having great work and producing a nice product, you must also have the communication and people skills in order to continue moving forward.

It is so important to be the best version of yourself. Learning how to read emotion and how to conduct exceptional communication is a great way to set yourself up for success, and it really shined through with my business.

Today, I can really call all of my clients my friends. We all feel confident in each others loyalty and long term visions, and always find ways to help each other out. I feel like relationships in this kind of business are always top priority when looking for longevity. The art and the quality of work needs to always be a very close second.

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

Something that I had to quickly unlearn was the idea of doubt. Doubt is a small business owners strongest adversary. When getting into this business, I feel like there is a common misconception that you will have “more free time” or be able to enjoy more of the things you like to do. While I do think that this is an outcome of owning a successful business, it definitely is not the reality when trying to build it up from scratch.

When building up my business, almost 100% of my time was dedicated to some aspect of the growth. Even if I had some free time, or was doing something for fun, I still would never technically be off the clock. A lot of the people I have met and the things I have been able to do, were all a product of the hard work and continuous dedication that I had to my craft. Even in the face of obstacles and hardships, you can not let doubt overtake your dream. A dream can only become reality if you remove doubt from the scenario, and make yourself truly believe that the only way to succeed, is by never stopping.

Contact Info:

• Website: trustinthevision.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/cesarramoss_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU4bIuddjB5jmF1ly2F7BsA

Image Credits
Ashton Angle