We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Richard Ragudo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Richard below.
Richard, appreciate you joining us today. Do you have any key partners or vendors – if so, how’d you find them and start working with them?
In 2020 I had met a photographer who goes by the name of Vicky Secrets at an underground Hip-Hop show in Los Angeles, California, right before the pandemic happened. She had just started working with folks in LA and I decided to hit her up for her creative services. We became cool friends from the start and just kept up with each other throughout the rest of the year. At times we would just hang out and get some stills done out in public or sometimes we would just chill at her house trying to put our visions on paper.
Through trial and error, we figured out an easy outline for my stills objectives and also figured out a way to cross promote each other on our social media platforms (tagging each other on posts or hopping on each other’s live feed). We also decided to go to networking events together as a team to shake hands with other creatives and promote each other’s work every chance we got.
Since then, we have built up a local network of music artists, small media companies, and cannabis companies in Long Beach, California that we can collaborate with. Our new goal now is to figure out a way to tackle bigger budget clients where we can use all of our resources to execute goals/exceed our clients expectations.
Now, my experience is obviously going to be different from the next person… but, what I would like for people to take away from this is that you may be already chit chatting with people who can help/build with you to get to those new heights. Find a way to collaborate with each other and push each others platforms (if it makes sense obviously). If you do come across a bad collaborator, just take the feedback from the experience and learn to set up your boundaries with future collaborators for the next time around.
Richard, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a singer/songwriter that specializes in R&B music/performances (covers & personal catalog). I am using my platform to venture off into becoming an influencer or personality for curated podcasts/shows/events/etc.. I eventually would like to venture off into artist development for the newer generations to come, and build other platforms for creatives (I feel like there are some many platforms to build for creatives and where to host their work).
What sets me apart from others is my ongoing collaborations with other creative services and influencers. I use my influence to promote others and vice versa (cross promotion). I love to show off visuals of all sorts from cover arts, to photo stills, to video shoots, to blog/article posts, and other related services under that umbrella.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Most of my audience had already stemmed from friends in high school, and some from a dance crew that I was apart of. I think what kept me relevant is that I would always post things about my personal life and not so much pushing my music out. There was a time where I’d do the whole “DM every follower” thing to showcase a new music project but that was killing my engagement honestly. I just stuck to doing some cover videos every now and then, and hung around friends in the music studios who were working on keeping their image up too.
It was not until 2021 where I started getting more traction from collaborating with Long Beach artists and getting my own catalog nailed down. Once I started seeing engagement go up on Instagram I started putting money behind ads and let the automaton do the work for me. Afterwards I started focusing on my branding and visuals by working with small creative services to help me shape my ideas. It’s a constant grind in re-inventing yourself once it dies down, but it pays off in the end.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to learn that I can only control my creative ideas and not sour other’s ideas. Sadly, I had so many fallouts due to my ego and power trip, especially with family members. Nobody likes an agenda being pushed on them. It’s an ongoing battle to humble myself and just reminding myself that everyone has their boundaries.
Some relationships have been resolved and have even prospered, but some have not and that is okay. That’s just the price to pay when you make mistakes. My advice is… if you are looking to bring your ideas to life pay people for their time. Do not sway someone into doing things for your benefit if that is the end goal. You will have way better business relationships if there are clear understandings/agreements from the start.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://promo.v13.net/richard-luis-media-kit/?fbclid=PAAabNVxbJjLcLJd3c64CYXFtQQ7VsrMyYRUHu6c9u59Q3alxtpyQ7yAQsyKU_aem_ATpExgD0tAzM4ZkpQudud4-30nOE4o7VTIQ7bP-iJalITx5fQuSA69Q8HBrInY-3Gz8
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/richard.luis3?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng==
- Twitter: Twitter.com/richard_luis3
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@richardluis3?si=KyB_V0zj81EcfSJr
Image Credits
Vicky Secrets Ross Deater