IAM442- Multi-hyphenate Actor and Artist Helps Clients with Online Visibility

Rio is a multi-hyphenate film, television, and voice actor, commercial model, motivational speaker, writer, and event host in the entertainment industry. In the realm of digital marketing, he's a highly accomplished graphic artist, web developer, and branding expert. He believes in shattering all limitations of what humanity is capable of.

• CEO Hack: Structuring your day in advance
• CEO Nugget: Take more chances, don't play it safe
• CEO Defined: Leader and curving a path to your own destiny and legacy

Website: https://riorocket.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theriorocket/
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/riorocket
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rio-rocket/

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29

Hello, this is Gresh from the IAMCEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today, Rio Rocket of riorocket.com. Rio, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Rio Rocket 0:38

Thank you for having me.

Gresham Harkless 0:39

No problem. Super excited to have you on. What I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Rio so you can hear about all the awesome things that he's working on. Rio is a multi-hyphenate film, television, and voice actor, commercial model, motivational speaker, writer, and event host in the entertainment industry. In the realm of digital marketing, he's a highly accomplished graphic artist, web developer, and branding expert. He believes in shattering all limitations of what humanity is capable of. Rio, are you ready to speak to the IAMCEO community?

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Rio Rocket 1:11

Yes, I am.

Gresham Harkless 1:12

Awesome. Let's do it. So they kick everything off, I wanted to hear a little bit more about what I call “Your CEO story”. What led you to get started with your business?

Rio Rocket 1:19

Well, about 25-30 years ago, I always knew I wanted to be in control of my own destiny. I always had that drive in me. So, what I did was I found out what I was really good at, something that I could work at, that didn't feel like work to me, that I really loved and I had a passion for. I found a way to monetize that skill, that talent, which was originally graphic design, web development, and illustration, I kind of found my way as an artist without ever having to be a starving artist.

So as a CEO, one thing you always want to do is you want to keep your business and your movements profitable. So anything you love, and you really pour into, as long as the quality is there, you're going to find people who will compensate you for your work.

Gresham Harkless 2:14

Yeah, I definitely agree with that. I always say it's almost like a cheat code, so to speak, to be able to do something that you're passionate about that you're good at, and then also be able to monetize it, as you said, and I think so many people are trying to find that, especially a lot of times they end up being like that starving artists, but it sounds like you've been able to definitely, find that and be able to help so many people out as far as providing that those services.

Rio Rocket 2:39

Yes, definitely. It's never truly felt like work. Because I've always found a way to, just dig deep inside myself and say, You know what, what I did last time is not the best I can do, I can do better and I just continue to pour out higher and higher quality of work, effort, customer service and communication for the client. It's worked very well for me.

Gresham Harkless 3:04

Yeah, that's great to hear. The same goes, for finding something that you love to do you never work a day in your life. So that's definitely evident with you. So I wanted to hear a little bit, I know you touched on it a little bit, but did you just kind of when you said you did that exploration to find out what you really were good at, I think a lot of people that might be listening might try to find out or maybe not aware of what that is, did you just kind of try different things to kind of explore exactly what you felt like you were best at?

Rio Rocket 3:32

Well, I was born an artist I could draw before I could read and write. So I didn't know what I was good at. From a very young age. However, of course, I've tried many different things. Fortunately, when you do try different things, it helps you know what's not good for you, and what doesn't work for you. And I was I was just led back into a more creative space, eventually just just by, following that path. It's just blind faith and intuition that will lead you to the right thing.

It doesn't have to be intellectualized or calculated that much it really is just what you're feeling and what you're being pulled towards. That's how I got back into it into being creative after trying many other things. I like to live a good life and I like to provide for my family, and friends who are in need so I found ways to to use that as motivation to set a high value for my work.

Gresham Harkless 4:36

That makes perfect sense and I definitely appreciate that. It's funny a lot of times when I was trying to explore exactly what I felt was my thing I kind of went back to when I was a kid because a lot of times when you get into the world you get older, you start hearing all these things you start believing you have to go this path or that path but a lot of times when you were doing whatever you were doing when you were young you didn't really do it for money. You didn't do it because you got prestige or anything, you did it because it was your love was your passion.

A lot of times it was your gift. So a lot of times, I would go back and look at that. So I appreciate you for sharing that with us. And I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper. Now, you touched on this as well, too. But I want to hear how exactly you work with the client. Can you take us through a little bit more about what you do?

Rio Rocket 5:20

Well, every client is different, every client is unique. The first thing you have to do is communicate with the client and understand what their objectives are, and what is their goal. What are they trying to accomplish? What are their biggest pain points? Based on what you can offer, formulate a plan, send them a proposal, or verbally explain to them, this is how I can address your pain points.

And it's usually growing their business, it's usually visibility. So whatever you provide that offers visibility, in my case, branding, web development, PR, social media marketing, things like that, I'm going to give a client a package, maybe a few different choices, to see what they can afford something that'll fit within their budget, and maybe something that might stretch their budget, just to get a little bit more out of them. And that's really how you do it. That's the formula.

Gresham Harkless 6:15

Yeah, I definitely appreciate that. Because I love kind of like that process. Because a lot of it is, like you said, based on having that conversation and that interaction with the client. I usually say a lot of these tools out there that we have, whether it be like PR web design, brain, whatever, these aspects are they're kind of tools that you can use to kind of increase that visibility. But just like you said, a lot of it comes down to, I have a business. I'm really good at what I do but I feel like I'm the only person that knows that I'm good at what I do. So how do I kind of make that happen?

Rio Rocket 6:47

Yeah, exactly. It's going to be a learning process. It's not something from day one that you'll know how to do, there's no book that can explain it, you have to go through it, you have to learn on the job. You'll learn how you communicate how you interact with clients and how you address their needs. It's just, that it's a relationship like anything else. You're not good at a relationship from day one unless it's that perfect match. You have to kind of learn from the other person. So if you frame it that way, you'll be fine.

Gresham Harkless 7:22

Yeah, absolutely. That's a great thing to kind of keep in mind, especially with business owners who are thinking, about how they connect with their clients, how they do that, and understanding that it isn't an overnight process, it is just like you said a relationship. It does take time to develop, grow, nurture and develop that really strong connection. You might have already touched on this, but I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce, it could be you or, or your brand. Well, what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Rio Rocket 7:47

You know, I don't have anything that I identify as a secret sauce but someone else may perceive something I'm doing is very unique. I'm not trying to be unique. If I'm perceived that way, I just am. And it comes from not trying, a lot of what everyone on social media, they copy someone else. They post things that look similar to what other people have been doing, or they follow a trend, right? So if you follow trends, you'll always have to change who you are constantly. But if you really know who you are, you'll always be unique. And you'll never have to change that aspect of yourself.

Gresham Harkless 8:31

Nice, I definitely appreciate that. I think that you're so right because I think especially with people that want to be successful, whether that be on social media, or in business or in life, or whatever, aspect that they're trying to be successful, a lot of times we emulate each other. I think that you're absolutely right where that does take away from who we are.

I usually say this phrase where you can never lose if you run your own race and I think so many so many times we're trying to run somebody else's race, when in reality, if we stay true to ourselves, and we understand our gifts or our passions, what we do best, then it's hard to really lose or not have any type of success.

Rio Rocket 9:11

Exactly. If you try to be someone else, you're not going to be as good trying to be them as you would just being yourself. So staying true to yourself sounds cliche, but it actually is the most important thing when it comes to branding when it comes to setting yourself apart. What sets you apart from most of the things you already have within you?

Gresham Harkless 9:39

Absolutely. Yeah, I think the quote is Be yourself because everybody else has already taken so that is definitely something that that range true. I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app or a book or a habit that you have but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient

Rio Rocket 10:01

Write down your itinerary for tomorrow, the night before, always write down your to-do list, segmenting it as far as priorities, the things that you have to get out of the way really quickly, and the things that are going to take some time. So make sure you do it at a time of the day uninterrupted. That's everything structuring your day.

Gresham Harkless 10:27

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that's a huge thing. I don't know, if you find this, I find the exact same thing happens where you get a lot of energy the next day because a lot of times when you sit down I guess the next day, you're trying to sometimes if you don't do that the night before or day before, you're kind of scrapped not scrambling, but you're not as much in I guess, offensive mode as you would be if you actually did that night before.

Rio Rocket 10:53

Yeah, when you wake up in the morning, you're not thinking at peak levels. So trying to structure your day, the morning up, it's just never going to work.

Gresham Harkless 11:06

Exactly. So now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Or if you could happen to be a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Rio Rocket 11:17

I would do it exactly the same way because I like where I'm at right now. I would say take even more chances, take even more chances. Don't play it safe. Anytime you play it safe, you're probably missing out on an opportunity to learn or to grow. That's my advice.

Gresham Harkless 11:41

Nice, I definitely appreciate that. I think that there's a lot of peace around, being able to say that I like where I'm at. I think sometimes when we do go back and you make any type of adjustments or changes, it adjusts also exactly where you're at. So sometimes you don't necessarily want that to happen.

But I think there's a lot to be said, just as you said is like if you are definitely good with where you're at and good with where things are going, you want to wish you would have done it to maybe even more chances. I think that's always a great thing because just like you said, there's nothing but good that can kind of come from that, even though when you're in it. Sometimes it can seem negative, but there's always some positive to come from it.

Rio Rocket 12:23

Always. You never lose when you try something new that you otherwise would have never gained the experience of knowing whether it was right for you or wrong for you or where it could have led. So you gotta go for it every single time. Pretty much.

Gresham Harkless 12:41

Absolutely. So now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different “CEOs” on the show. So Rio, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Rio Rocket 12:55

CEO means being a leader, and carving out a path to your own destiny, and ultimately where you're going to end up in life, and what legacy you're going to leave behind.

Gresham Harkless 13:12

Absolutely, I definitely appreciate that definition, especially the whole legacy piece. Because I think a lot of times, I think one of the things of the seven habits of highly effective people was always to begin with an end in mind, if you're thinking about your legacy, you're thinking about how you're going to be remembered, and you start to drill down from a day to day basis, just like she talked about, make sure that you plan your day ahead. So just those little small things start to build up into being your legacy. I think if you have that perspective, then that changes everything.

Rio Rocket 13:38

It definitely does.

Gresham Harkless 13:41

Nice, well, Rio, I truly appreciate your time and I appreciate all the awesome things that you're doing. What I wanted to do was pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you can let our readers and listeners know and then of course, how best they can get ahold of you and find out about all the awesome things you're working on.

Rio Rocket 13:55

Yeah, you have to be bold, you have to be brave and be unique. Just go out there. Don't think about it. Do whatever you need to do to get to the next level, take advantage of every opportunity make every single opportunity worth it. Just like myself, I started out as a graphic artist, designer, and marketer and I moved into acting, not something I thought I would ever do. But I took the shot, I took the opportunity and here I am six years later, into acting and loving it. And I still get to do the things that I was born to do, which is create art. I'm just creating art in a different way. I haven't let go of my previous business.

So you can do two things at once. As long as those two things complement you. If you want to see my work or see how I'm able to marry the two together, just follow me on Instagram @theriorocket or take a look at my website riorocket.com I like to keep things fresh and new there posted so that I can inspire people who are maybe having second thoughts or just need a little bit of confidence boosting to say that you know what, I didn't think I could do something but now I look at this person who moved from this point to this point and they did it. They're still here. They're still breathing and smiling and I hope I can have that effect on you.

Gresham Harkless 15:26

Nice. Well, thank you so much, again, Rio, I think there's an incredible amount of energy that goes with hearing somebody that's going after this as being bold, it kind of gives us permission and reminds us to be bold as well too. So I appreciate you for going forward. Definitely, it reminds us to do the same as well. So we will have your information and all the links in the show notes as well too, so that everybody can follow you and catch up and see all the awesome things you're working on. Again, appreciate your time and I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Rio Rocket 15:51

Thank you for having me Gresham, and thanks for your time.

Outro 15:53

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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