We were lucky to catch up with Tony Lopez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tony, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?

Well, People Still Matter! In this digital age & industry; where convenience & instant satisfaction rule. Where everyone is looking for the push button solution, the automated approach, telling you to look at the stats, analyze this data set, portray this, act like that etc. etc. blah. blah. blah

I think people forget they’re an individual person & not just some cog in the digital system. These developments of decentralization & peer to peer marketplace dependencies aren’t just about the innovative technologies behind them from blockchain to web RTC. It’s about how at both ends of the spectrum & all across, they’re still PEOPLE! People with emotions, desires, needs, opinions & innovations. What it looks like, how it sounds, or what it does only matters if you care about how it makes them feel. EMPATHY. Making it imperative to understand people & furthermore, a person; whether that’s looking around or inward for intel before leveraging technology & data to further develop a brand, be it personal or enterprising.

That’s why we continue to rely on people as the driving force of our growth. Not relying completely on technology; using it as tools to help with execution of strategy, instead of being the strategy with no mindfulness behind it.

Tony, 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?

2nd generation Cuban-American who’s taken advantage of the “American Dream” my family provided for me. University of South Florida grad that has seized opportunities allowing me to grow as a professional in business development, marketing, advertising, content creation & event management. From club promoter to published sports writer to business owner & eventual investing entrepreneur; I’ve used every personal interaction as a learning lesson to grow as a person who can mentor business owners, creatives, artists & innovators in several facets.

Paying attention along my path, I’ve aggregated best practices to put together my own approach to business development. Allowing my teams at Executive Digital, Fit Life Productions & Hangout Creations to execute strategies that create systems to best help our clients, customers, sponsors & partners to thrive while doing business with us. I’m proud of the constant added value we strive to provide alongside the level of unrivaled transparency we provide for everyone dealing with me & my teams. We truly approach working with people from the perspective of being a partner & not just an outsourced resource.

Whether you’re working with me to develop & market your business, on-set filming your next music video or attending our Miami International Fitness Expo as a spectator or competing athlete; I truly care about your experience & I work very hard to ensure that is reflected in every project & relationship we develop.

How’d you meet your business partner?

After I sold my first business in Tampa & went back to finish my degree at USF. I returned back to the South Florida Market to take a job to learn stuff I didn’t know too well in multi-media advertising. I felt the position would give me some insight on something that could help me become a better entrepreneur. Fortunately for me at that time, the company I was working for had hired an outside consultant to help them build out the digital side of their business & train all the account execs about digital marketing & sales. That consultant, Aleksandar “Sasha” Jovicic & I quickly hit it off on some real recognize real type stuff lol. I did a lot of listening & while selling the digital solutions to clients; I began to build Fit Life Productions with my childhood best friend & other business partner Geobanny Paula. Together we built one of the more popular fitness events in the state of Florida. Shortly after the success of that first event, Sasha approached me with the prospect of partnering with him to take his consulting agency from a fulfillment house to a full service agency that worked directly with clients to help them develop their business. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. After 2 meetings, we agreed to partner & it’s been nothing but continued success over the past 7 years. I am forever grateful for his mentorship & partnership.

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

INTEGRITY. As a Cuban from Miami with a scar on his face & named Tony; I like to joke around that “The only thing I got in this world is my balls, and my word, and I don’t break ’em for nobody”. My homage to Tony Montana lol; but on a serious note, I think that’s how I’ve been able to build my reputation as a businessman. By being a man of his word. Operating with integrity & full transparency. Actually caring about my clients & partners as human beings first and foremost. By doing this, it built goodwill, afforded opportunities & allowed me to manage expectations for both myself & others. I’m not for everybody, and that’s ok because for most people, I’m like baby bear’s porridge; just right!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.executive-digital.com
• Instagram: @tonesetter @executivedigital

Image Credits
Manuel Macia Carlos Palma