We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christian Ochoa a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Christian, thanks for joining us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?
Your first clients should be your family and friends. When I started my marketing firm I helped my mother-in-law create the branding and website for her business. Most small business owners can’t afford high-class marketing strategy and design so that was my way to support her company but it also helped me to build my portfolio so I can land my next clients. That was a win-win situation. If you’re starting your business, my advice is to ask your friends and family to be your first clients. It will strengthen your relationship and it will help you fine-tune your processes before dealing with real clients in the future.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Hi, I’m Christian Ochoa, Creative Director of Ochoa Brands. My marketing firm helps entrepreneurs and business owners with digital marketing and web design. The biggest challenge that I see when I meet first-time entrepreneurs is to get clients online. I understand how frustrating it can be to create content, publish it on social media, and hear crickets because nobody interacts with your brand. Indifference is our common villain. Customers can’t pay attention to every single brand because there’s too much information out there. How can you become memorable? By delivering a message that’s compelling to your ideal audience. That’s why I help entrepreneurs figure out who their ideal clients are and, based on that, we create a brand identity, marketing message, and website that generate leads so they can grow their businesses.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My mission is to help others succeed. Sometimes we think that being a creative person is kind of selfish because we seek to do what we are passionate about. But what I’ve learned over the years is that the real fuel that drives my creativity is to help people feel more comfortable with their marketing. There are great small businesses that are built with heart and passion and it drives me crazy that they can’t get customers. I want those entrepreneurs to know that they’re not alone. My big motivation is to create something they can feel proud of and show them the true potential of their brands.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
Read the book Marketing Made Simple written by Donald Miller and Dr. J. J. Peterson. That book helped me a lot to understand all the pieces I need to create successful marketing campaigns. If you are a creative person or an entrepreneur who wants to bring a solution to the world, you have to know how to market your ideas and this book will show you step-by-step. Also, if you feel stuck with digital marketing, I created a free PDF that you can download here: ochoabrands.com/marketing-
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ochoabrands.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ochoabrands/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ochoachristian/
Image Credits
Ochoa Brands