Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in marketing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Giovanni Arias, Founder of Aria Creative, located in Houston, TX, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Aria Creative is a Houston-based creative studio that exists to help small businesses grow through strategic branding and effective websites.

Tell us about yourself

After always gravitating toward the arts through music and drawing, I began experimenting and learning graphic design over 10 years ago. Early on, I had the honor of working for some prominent churches in the Greater Houston area, which led to my work being discovered by local business owners. On occasion, I was able to work for some brands such as Pei Wei, Schlotzsky's, and more. Until I met my wife, it had always been a hidden hobby. If you knew I had a creative background, you knew - and if you did not, you probably would not find out.

During the pandemic, I had a recollection of my wife (then girlfriend) encouraging me to open up my own creative agency a few years ago. This memory stuck with me, and I could not shake it. In the spring of 2021, I finally acted and took a leap of faith by officially opening up Aria Creative. As a full-time consultant, I witness so many business owners being frustrated with their lack of growth within their business, along with carrying the stress of maintaining their marketing up-to-date. There's no other person I love to support more. Our home loves to shop locally, and we try our best to support small businesses. It was a no-brainer to dedicate my energy to empowering these small business owners that are typically balancing a dozen plates. I have found myself in a unique position to combine the best business strategies and creative design to provide small businesses with sustainable growth through strategic branding and an effective website.

I always tell our clients that the most important number we care about is the number in their bank account. We want to see it grow! This is what brings me joy through our services at Aria Creative. We truly want to see small businesses grow!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I'm not sure people say this enough, but it is easily getting started. Starting a business is easier said than done. There are logistics, finances, long hours, and even fear you have to work through before taking a leap. I believe taking a leap is one of the hardest things we can do. It doesn't matter if you're opening a business, becoming a parent, starting school, or a new job; that leap takes a lot of courage and grit. If you have started something (even if you fail), take pride in it.

As our clients at The League would say, "keep moving." Another accomplishment we celebrate is that we literally launched on Instagram. The original plan was to tease out Aria Creative on Instagram as we slowly built our website. We became so busy that our website did not come until almost a year after launching on Instagram. The community support has been an amazing experience.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Defining sustainability. Many would prefer to grow overnight, but there are headaches that come with that if you're not ready. There is also frustration by growing too slow. Defining sustainability is a consistently moving target that, as a business owner, you have to assess periodically. A close second or 1b would be a comparison. It really is the thief of joy. There will always be a different business with a different journey. If you're not careful, you can lose sight of your own victories by focusing too much on others.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Be Strategic. I often tell our clients that their business will not grow out of luck. Be strategic.
  2. Craft your message in a clear and concise way. Many businesses start out without doing #1 and often do not know how to market themselves. Who's your ideal client? What problems do they face? What solutions do you provide through your services/products? (These are questions we help small business owners walk through in our strategy sessions).
  3. Outsource when you can/should. I can admit I'm not the best graphic designer, so we went out and looked for the best to join our efforts.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Keep an open mind. Keep learning. We live in an age where we have so much knowledge available to us (sometimes free). Take advantage of it. The truth of the matter is someone else will if you don't.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.ariacreative.studio/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ariacreativeHOU/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariacreative/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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