We recently connected with Rosella Papale and have shared our conversation below.

Rosella, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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.

The backstory of my entrepreneurial journey is an immigration story with wins and losses, but overall a happy one.

I decided to come to the United States in 2014, looking for opportunities, and the way I made this possible was by opening a business. I bought a franchise in the sign and printing industry. Honestly, I am formally trained as an Anesthesiologist MD. I didn’t know anything about having a business or signs and printing, but I liked the fact that it was a creative and dynamic business.

I learned everything I could as fast as possible before opening the business, and then I was learning on the go, but the adrenaline of this new challenge fueled me. I was happy and willing to learn because I wanted to be the best. We were helping people promote their businesses with signs, printings, and graphics. Seeing a sign, we made in the streets of Miami, and Coral Gables was both a proud and exciting moment. My team and I gave our best every time, and I am proud of that too.

After a couple of years of having this business, two important things happened. First, I went back to school ad got an MBA in Marketing Management. Second, I started my immersion in the fantastic world of branding because I noticed clients’ main struggles in communicating with their audience, being consistent, and growing their businesses. Most of them didn’t have developed a brand, they just had a logo and colors, nothing else, and this was a recipe for inconsistency and wasn’t going to help build brand awareness and recognition.

This knowledge about branding and marketing made us different, and we were able to offer a different kind of approach to our clients. We made sure they had the right assets to communicate their message effectively to their target audience., keeping their brand -or what they had at the moment- consistent.

We worked with small and medium-sized businesses in all industries. Nevertheless, this business -after many struggles- had to close. I guess this was the “universe forcing me” to make a change and fully dedicate myself to what I loved the most: bringing brands to life.

The most difficult part of this transition was learning to deal with failure -because the business didn’t work-. Having to deal with the consequences of this situation had an emotional toll on me. It was exhausting and devastating. However, the now “new business” was on, and I had to keep moving forward. Then, the pandemic happened. Things were complicated, to say the least, but we survived.

We started as RP Branding Studio but recently went through a much-needed rebranding, and now we are HIGGS HUB.
We bring brands to life with a comprehensive and customized approach to our customers’ needs.

I consider myself a Brandketing nerd; I am always learning new things to help my clients better. Each project is unique and exciting.

For me, brands are living beings; giving them life is a fantastic feeling.

Rosella, 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?

At HIGGS HUB, we are BRANDKETING NERDS bringing brands to life.

Our CREATIVE BIG BANG -a.k.a creative process- is fun and stress-free, and most importantly, the client is part of this process every step of the way as another team member so that they can feel proud of the result. Our clients are willing to invest time and money to create with us a strong brand.

Brands are not just a logo and a color palette. They are living beings with purpose, vision, personality, style, voice, etc.; we help our clients find that, and later we design the visual elements to convey all these.

We bring together all the elements needed to bring the brand to life. We use BRANDKETING STRATEGY (branding + marketing) to make sure we give life to brands that will be recognizable -because they are different-with a clear message that connects with their target audience and with functional assets that will help promote them almost anywhere.

After a brand is born, we celebrate! Then we help our clients with online and offline applications such as copywriting, email marketing, websites, social media, promotional products, apparel, tradeshow material, and printed marketing material. We can also handle the brand application in their stores or offices.

We understand that sometimes there are budget limitations when a business is starting, so we found a way to be with them as a consultant that guides them on how to do some things by themselves in a successful way so they can promote and grow their businesses. We answer business questions about products or services, pricing, naming, etc., brandketing questions about social media, email marketing, and websites, or give them tips and best practices on a specific topic they need.

We help our clients to create a brand experience at every touchpoint of their customer journey so they can be successful.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

For me, reputation is built on trust based on keeping your word and good ethics.

Some things that have helped me to build my reputation are:

There have been times when things you can’t control happen, but keeping honest and open communication with your clients will help build trust. Don’t keep them in the dark if you are having issues; they probably won’t be happy about delays, but they will appreciate you are looking for the solution to the problem and keeping them in the loop.

If you commit to something, make sure you deliver; if you don’t, clients will feel you are deceiving them and lose their trust. If something happens along the way, remember what I mention in the previous paragraph, communication is key.

Get involved with your community. You can become a member of your local Chamber of Commerce or any other organization with which you share values that helps the business community or other groups of your interest. Here you can build meaningful relationships -because people get to know you and trust you- that will lead to partnerships, clients, and even friendships.

Don’t forget; people do business with people they like and trust.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

For me, networking has been a great way of getting new clients.

I started networking just because I wanted to meet people because I was an immigrant and knew nobody, and I also wanted to let people know I had a business in Coral Gables. All these years of networking have given me a good reputation in the community, clients, awards, good friends, and growth -as a person and in business-.

Have you heard about “Your network is your networth”? Well, this is true. All the relationships you build sooner or later will give you something in return, whether they become clients, connect you with someone you want to meet, referrals for new clients, strategic partnerships for collaborations, and even friendships.

Don’t join a networking event with an “I have to sell something” mindset. Go with the “I want to build relationships” mindset. Let yourself have a friendly conversation with someone and get to know them, and then nurture that relationship; it will be worth it.

Networking is one of my favorite things to do. It might not be the faster way to help your business grow, but if you are consistent, people will have you top of mind.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.higgs-hub.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/papalerosella/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosellapapale/
• Other: HIGGS HUB IG @higgs hub https://www.instagram.com/higgshub/

Image Credits
Pictures by Presenceology Award picture Smash Pixel Studio