IAM2768 – Multi-hyphenate Actor and Artist Helps Clients with Online Visibility

Hear Gresh's story, learn the 16 business pillars from the podcast, find out about CBNation Architects and why you might be one and so much more. Did we mention it was FREE? Download it today!

Transcription:

Rio Rocket 00:00
I would say take even more chances, you know, take even more chances. Don't, don't play it safe. Anytime you play it safe, you're probably missing out on an opportunity to learn or, or to grow. That's my advice.

Gresham Harkless 00:43
Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I Am CEO 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 00:52
Thank you for having me.

Gresham Harkless 00:53
No problem. Super excited to have you on, and 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. And 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 IMCO community?

Rio Rocket 01:24
Yes, I am.

Gresham Harkless 01:25
Awesome. Let's do it. So to 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 01:32
Well, about 25, 30 years ago, you know, I always knew I wanted to be in control of my own destiny and I always had that drive in me. So, you know, I, 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, I had a passion for, and I found a way to monetize that skill, that talent. Which was originally graphic design, web development, illustration. I kind of found my way as an artist without ever having to be a starving artist. So as a CEO, you know, 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 02:26
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 artist, but it sounds like you've been able to definitely find that and been able to help so many people out as far as providing those services.

Rio Rocket 02:50
Yes, yes, definitely. And it's, it's never truly felt like work because I've always found a way to, you know, just dig deep inside me 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. And it's worked very well for me.

Gresham Harkless 03:13
Yeah, that's great to hear. And, uh, the saying goes, you know, find something that you love to do, you'd never work a day in your life. Um, so that, that's definitely, uh, evident with you. So I wanted to hear a little bit, I know you touched on it a little bit. Um, could you, did you just kind of, when you say 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, try to find out, or maybe not aware of what that is. Did you just kind of try different things to, to kind of explore exactly what you felt like you were best at?

Rio Rocket 03:41
Well, I, 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. And fortunately, when you do try different things, it helps you know what's not good for you or it doesn't work for you. And I was, I was just led back into a more creative space eventually, just, just by, you know, following that path, you know, it's, 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. And that's how I got back into it, into being creative after trying many other things. And, you know, I like to live a good life and I like to provide for, you know, my family, 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 04:44
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 like was my thing, I kind of went back to when I was as a kid, because I think a lot of times when you get into the world, you get older, you start hearing all these things, you start, you know, believing you have to go this path or that path. But a lot of times when you were, whatever you were doing when you were young, you didn't really do it for money. You didn't do it because, you know, you got prestige or anything. You did it because it was your love. It 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. I know you touched on this as well too, but I wanted to hear how exactly you work with the clients. Can you take us through a little bit more about what you do?

Rio Rocket 05:26
Well, every client is different. Every client is unique. And the first thing you have to do is communicate with the client and understand what their objectives are. What is their goal? What are they trying to accomplish? What's their biggest pain points? And 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, uh, PR, social media marketing, things like that. You know, I'm going to give a client a package, uh, maybe a few different choices to see what they can afford, something that'll fit within their budget, maybe something that might stretch their budget just a little, just to get a little bit more out of them. And that's really how you do it. That's the formula.

Gresham Harkless 06:21
Yeah, I definitely appreciate that because I love kind of like that process because, um, a lot of it is, you know, like you said, based off of having that conversation and that interaction with the client. And I usually say a lot of these tools out there, um, that we have, whether it be like PR, web design, brand, whatever, you know, 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, you know, I have a business, um, 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 06:51
Yeah, exactly. Um, it's, it's going to be a learning process. It's 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 and you'll learn how you communicate and how you interact with clients and how you address their needs. Um, it's, it's just, it's a relationship like anything else. You don't, you're not good at a relationship from day one unless it's that perfect match. You're, you have to kind of learn the other person.. So if you frame it that way, you'll be fine.

Gresham Harkless 07:26
Yeah, absolutely. That's a great thing to kind of keep in mind, especially with business owners that are thinking, how do they connect with their clients? How do they do that? And understanding that it isn't an overnight, um, process. It is just like you said, a relationship, and it does take time to develop, grow, nurture that, um, and, and develop that, that really strong connection. So 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, but what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Rio Rocket 07:50
You know, I don't have anything that I identify as a secret sauce, but someone else may perceive something I'm doing as 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 people, what does everyone do on social media? They copy someone else. You know, 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 08:33
Nice. I definitely appreciate that. And I think that you're so right. Cause I think especially with people that want to be successful, whether that be on social media or in business or in life or whatever, you know, aspect that they're trying to be successful in. A lot of times we will emulate each other. And I think that you're, you're absolutely right where that does take away from like 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, you know, our gifts, our passions, what we do best, then it's hard to really lose or not have any type of success.

Rio Rocket 09:12
Exactly. Uh, you know, if you, 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. And so staying true to yourself, it sounds cliché, but it actually is the most important thing when it comes to branding, when it comes to setting yourself apart. What sets you apart most are the things you already have within you.

Gresham Harkless 09:38
Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. This, it was the, I think quote is, uh, be yourself because everybody else is already taken. So that is definitely something that, that rings true. So 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, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Rio Rocket 09:58
Writing down your itinerary for tomorrow. The night before, always writing down your to-do list, segmenting it as far as priorities, the things that you have to get out of the way really quick 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 10:22
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that's a huge thing and I don't know if you find this. I find the exact same thing happens where you get a lot of energy Um, in 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, um, you're kind of scram— not scrambling, but you're not as much in, I guess, offensive mode as you would be if you actually did that the night before.

Rio Rocket 10:47
Yeah. I mean, when you wake up in the morning, you're not thinking at peak levels. So trying to structure your day that the morning of, it's just never going to work.

Gresham Harkless 10:58
Exactly. 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 can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Rio Rocket 11:11
You know, I, I would do it exactly the same way because I like where I'm at right now. I wouldn't, I would say take even more chances, you know, take even more chances. Don't, Don't play it safe. Anytime you play it safe, you're probably missing out on an opportunity to learn or to grow.

Gresham Harkless 11:31
That's my advice. Nice. I definitely appreciate that. And I think that, you know, there's a lot of peace around, you know, being able to say that I like where I'm at. And 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., um, that to happen. But I, I think there's a lot to be said, just as you said, is like, if you are definitely, you know, good with where you're at and good with where, um, things are going and you want to wish you would've did it to, you know, maybe even more chances, I think that's always a great thing. Cause 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 could seem negative, but there's always some positive that comes from it. Always.

Rio Rocket 12:13
I mean, you can never, you never lose when you try something new that you otherwise would've never gained the experience of knowing whether it was right for you or wrong for you or where it could've led. So you gotta go for it every single time, pretty much, you know?

Gresham Harkless 12:32
Absolutely. Absolutely. And, um, 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 quote unquote CEOs on this show. So Rio, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Rio Rocket 12:44
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 12:59
Absolutely. I definitely appreciate that definition, especially the whole legacy piece. ‘Cause I think a lot of times, you know, I think one of the, I think the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is always to begin with it in mind. If you're thinking about your legacy, you're thinking about how you're gonna be remembered and you start to drill down from a day day-to-day basis, just like she talked about, uh, make sure that you plan your day ahead. So just those little small things start to build up into, you know, being your legacy. And I think if you have that perspective, then that changes everything.

Rio Rocket 13:25
It, it definitely does.

Gresham Harkless 13:27
Nice. Well, Rio, I, 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 13:42
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. And just like myself, I started out as a graphic artist, a designer, and a marketer, and I moved into acting. Not something I thought I would ever do., but I, I took the shot. I took the opportunity and here I am 6 years later into acting and loving it. And I still get to do the things that I was, I was born to do, which is, you know, create art. I'm just creating art a different way. And I haven't let go of my previous business. So you can do 2 things at once, as long as those 2 things complement you. If you want to see my work or see how I'm able to marry the two together, uh, just follow me on Instagram @therealrocket or take a look at my website realrocket.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 15:10
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, being bold. It kind of gives us permission and reminds us to be bold as well too. So I appreciate you for going forward and, uh, definitely, uh, 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, and catch up and see all the awesome things you're working on.

Rio Rocket 15:33
But again, appreciate your time, and I hope you have a great rest of the day. Thank you for having me, Gresham.