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

Miriam , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I remember that feeling; the rush of excitement. An idea was born in my head, something clicked in my mind and a wave of energy went straight to my heart. “I’ve got an idea, I’ll create my own business. I’ll be an entrepreneur, it makes sense! I’ll never get bored! I’ll decide my own limits!”

If you’re like me, the emotion that comes with new ideas can be strong; but then, after a few days, I start looking for reasons why that idea won’t work. Maybe I mask it as being realistic. Although I consider myself to be a fairly optimistic person, sometimes I think my idea just wasn’t good enough.

The thing is… when an idea stays in my mind for days, weeks, and months, I’m pretty sure it’s a good one. It evolves through time, I begin adding details, and start becoming more interested in the tools that will help me accomplish it.

One of those ideas was creating my own business—my own branding agency. This was way before Found Brands was born. I was 21, hungry, and eager to be independent.

And, at the same time, I was completely unaware of the difficulties and challenges that I would face as an entrepreneur (solopreneur at first). But I was excited and ready to learn.

And I did learn a lot. Guess how—from the mistakes that almost cost me my business, because I just didn’t know better.

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?

From a young age, I knew that I wanted to create something meaningful. At 6, I dreamed of becoming an artist and expressing myself through my art. But as I grew older, my passion for design and brand-building took hold.

At 12, I knew that graphic design was my true calling. I spent my teenage years honing my skills and gaining experience in marketing and public relations agencies in Los Angeles.

In 2010, I graduated with a degree in graphic design and began my journey as a freelancer. But I knew that I wanted to do more and make a greater impact.

In 2014, I founded Porta Creative, a creative agency where we have helped over 100 businesses to create their own unique brand and communicate their message to the world.

In 2021, I embarked on a new journey with Found Brands, a company focused on branding and brand strategy for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small businesses. I want to empower the small business owners and to help them to achieve their goals through the power of branding.

I’ve also had the honor of mentoring university students, passing on my knowledge and passion for design to the next generation.

Through my work, I strive to not only create visually stunning designs, but to also tell the story of each brand and connect with their audience on an emotional level. I believe that a great brand has the power to change lives and inspire people to dream bigger.

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

As a proud graphic designer, one of the first things I did when setting up my business was to create a logo, define its visual identity (colors, typography, and more), and build a website.

And then, I started working hard, I networked, I scheduled the meetings, I closed more deals, I rented an office, I hired a team, I worked even harder… And I ended up exhausted.

The business was managing me, instead of me leading my business.

That exciting feeling of independence and financial freedom that came with the original idea of owning a business seemed so far away. I felt lost.

I was doing everything I thought I was supposed to do: booking as many projects as possible, advertising, expanding our menu of services to meet all of our clients’ needs, and being always available for them. It was crazy.

The problem was that I was missing one important thing—my purpose. I hadn’t defined WHY I created a business in the first place, apart from making money and being financially independent, but that wasn’t enough.

 After feeling tired and burned out, I knew something needed to change. But the change had to start with me—why am I doing this? Where do I want to go?

So I did the homework. I started learning and applying brand strategy to my own brand. I did the exercises, went deep into my motivations, and redesigned my brand to express my real values and attract the right people.

I defined my brand’s purpose, personality, style, and voice. I clarified who my clients were and who weren’t. I could easily set goals that were aligned with my vision, and it was so much easier to make business decisions because I knew where I wanted to go with my brand.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

After many challenges as an entrepreneur like many of my clients, now I can say  I feel way more confident than ever before. I can easily engage with new clients that feel the same way as I did, excited, hopeful, and ready to show the world what they are made of.

The main reason why I started Found Brands is to help entrepreneurs like you avoid the same mistakes I made. Because you deserve to be on the right track from day one.

The good news is that I can help you achieve that for your brand, and by doing that for your business, you’re doing it for yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.foundbrands.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/foundbrands
• Facebook: facebook.com/foundbrands
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundbrands/
• Twitter: twitter.com/foundbrands
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@foundbrands
• Other: Contact me directly at [email protected]