435: Stepping into a God Dream - Building a Photography Studio From the Ground Up with Jon & Valentina Garcia

Summary

Summary of Episode 435: Stepping into a God Dream - Building a Photography Studio From the Ground Up with Jon & Valentina Garcia

In Episode 435 of The Heart & Hustle Podcast, hosts Evie McLeod and Lindsey Roman sit down with entrepreneurial power couple Jon and Valentina Garcia. This episode offers an in-depth exploration of the Garcias' inspiring journey to build their photography studio, Cielo Studio, from the ground up in South Miami. Blending faith with business acumen, Jon and Valentina share their experiences, challenges, and triumphs over nearly two years of entrepreneurship.

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1. Introduction to Jon & Valentina Garcia

Evie and Lindsey begin by introducing Jon and Valentina as seasoned multi-business owners with a strong emphasis on marketing, community, and faith. Their longstanding friendship and collaborative spirit set the stage for an engaging conversation.

Notable Quote:

Evie McLeod ([03:25]): "Val and John, welcome to the show. Friends, this is like Val for the..."

2. The Genesis of Cielo Studio

Valentina recounts her realization of the need for a local, aesthetically pleasing studio after frequently traveling to Fort Lauderdale for studio rentals. This inconvenience sparked the vision to create a space that serves beauty brands and entrepreneurs without compromising on luxury or accessibility.

Notable Quote:

Valentina Garcia ([05:32]): "I would always book these gorgeous studios... I wanted to serve my clients on a bigger level."

3. Overcoming Fear and Embracing Faith

A pivotal coaching call with Evie encouraged Valentina to move beyond fear and take actionable steps toward opening Cielo Studio. Despite apprehensions about financial stability and readiness, the couple decided to trust in their faith and pursue their entrepreneurial dream.

Notable Quote:

Valentina Garcia ([12:20]): "Everything you were saying was purely fear based... that's when I, as a coach and friend, was like, all righty, let's buckle."

4. Financial Strategies and Divine Intervention

The Garcias discuss the financial challenges of starting a brick-and-mortar business. They transparently share their funding sources, including savings and a business loan of over $60,000. Strategic financial decisions, such as leveraging zero-interest credit cards for equipment purchases, played a crucial role in managing expenses.

Notable Quote:

John Garcia ([43:58]): "We secured a loan for a little over $60,000... we factored that into monthly expenses."

5. Building and Designing Cielo Studio

Jon and Valentina delve into the practical aspects of constructing the studio. They focused on creating a versatile space tailored to various types of content creators, incorporating features like natural light, movable furniture, and advanced tech setups to enhance flexibility and user experience.

Notable Quote:

Valentina Garcia ([27:23]): "We have the flexibility to cater to the bright and airy natural light photographer... and also to someone who wants to do something a little bit more darker."

6. Enhancing Customer Experience

A key differentiator for Cielo Studio is their commitment to exceptional client experiences. From automated access systems that greet clients by name to thoughtfully designed amenities like baby changing stations and hygiene products, every detail is curated to ensure a seamless and pleasant experience.

Notable Quote:

John Garcia ([35:12]): "The door says your name when you walk in. How? Those little things make the world of a difference."

7. Achieving Financial Sustainability

Remarkably, the Garcias have managed to break even monthly within just a few months of launching, a rare feat in the business world. Valentina attributes this success to effective marketing, strategic collaborations, and maximizing existing resources from their content agency.

Notable Quote:

Valentina Garcia ([46:49]): "We've been hitting almost breaking even every single month, which is rare to see in a business."

8. Lessons Learned and Future Aspirations

Reflecting on their journey, Jon and Valentina emphasize the importance of combining faith with diligent work. They highlight the need for continuous learning in marketing and sales to stay competitive. Looking ahead, the couple dreams of franchising Cielo Studio, expanding to multiple locations, and mentoring other entrepreneurs.

Notable Quote:

Valentina Garcia ([56:04]): "Something clicked... this could be a franchise of some sorts... we want to help other people, serve other business owners."

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Key Takeaways:

• Faith and Action: The Garcias demonstrate how faith can propel entrepreneurs to take significant risks and make impactful decisions.

• Financial Transparency: Open discussions about funding sources and financial strategies provide valuable insights for aspiring business owners.

• Customer-Centric Design: Prioritizing client experience through thoughtful design and user-friendly features sets Cielo Studio apart in a competitive market.

• Continuous Learning: Emphasizing the importance of marketing and sales education highlights the multifaceted nature of successful entrepreneurship.

• Scalability and Mentorship: Future plans to franchise and mentor others underscore their commitment to fostering a supportive entrepreneurial community.

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Final Thoughts:

Jon and Valentina Garcia's journey in building Cielo Studio is a testament to the power of faith, strategic planning, and unwavering dedication. Their story not only provides practical advice for aspiring entrepreneurs but also serves as an inspiration for those looking to turn their dreams into reality while maintaining their values and integrity.

Listeners are encouraged to embody the Garcias' blend of faith and action, embrace continuous learning, and prioritize exceptional client experiences to achieve sustainable business success.

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Connect with Jon & Valentina Garcia:

• Cielo Studio Instagram: @CieloHStudio
• Valentina Garcia on Instagram: @ValentinaGarcia
• John Garcia on Instagram: @JohnGarcia
• Cielo Studio Website: theheartuniversity.com/cielo-studio

Transcript

[Evie McLeod]

You're listening to the Heart and Hustle podcast. We are your hosts, Evie McLeod and Lindsay Roman. And today, friend, we have an incredible honor.

[Lindsay Roman]

We have a three Pete guest coming on with her husband, Three Pete.

[Evie McLeod]

That was unique.

[Lindsay Roman]

No, that's. Isn't that a word? Three Pete. She's been on three times now.

[Evie McLeod]

I've never heard three peat. Anyways, anyways, that's brilliant. A three Pete guest. But this time she brings on her husband. They are two of our very good friends. One of our team members, Valentina Garcia and her husband, John Garcia. They are a powerhouse couple. This is if you're talking about multi passionate entrepreneurs, multiple business owner, you know, multiple business owners. Just brilliant with marketing and business and love the Lord. And they are incredible human beings. We love them, we love working with them. We love having them hang out with us.

[Lindsay Roman]

All the things.

[Evie McLeod]

All the things. Today's episode is going to be really special.

[Lindsay Roman]

So they came on the show to share about their journey over the last year and a half, almost two years at this point. Now sharing their journey on creating and starting from scratch a photo studio in South Miami. Now they're going to go into the nitty gritty. All the things that God worked and did in their lives and in this business and starting it. The, the doors that he opened and then also even a little bit of the logistics of starting a photo studio. All the things that you got to think about, just like the finances, they go into detail on like exactly the costs of how they did it logistically and they like, we're an open book the entire time. So if you want to hear an incredible God story of somebody just taking a risk in entrepreneurship, huge leap of faith, it paying off. Or you also want to like, possibly open your own photo studio and you want to know the logistics. This is your episode, friends. So stay tuned and don't go anywhere.

[Evie McLeod]

Let me guess.

[Valentina Garcia]

You're sitting on your couch feeling lonely as heck and desperately looking for a business BFF who actually knows what you're going through as an entrepreneur.

[Evie McLeod]

Once upon a time we were in.

[Valentina Garcia]

Your shoes and feeling that exact same loneliness.

[John Garcia]

Yep, we were. Can confirm before Evie and I met each other and grew our friendship to what it is today, we felt like we were just exhausting every option to find fellow creative entrepreneurs. And it can just be discouraging, spinning your wheels with little to no progress. But I just want to encourage you today there is hope and your desire for community is normal because you were designed for community, which is why we've.

[Valentina Garcia]

Created a freebie for you.

[Evie McLeod]

How to build community.

[Valentina Garcia]

As an entrepreneur, we give you all of our tips and tricks to finding your people. All you have to do is go to theheartuniversity.com community to download that free guide today.

Hey.

[John Garcia]

Hey.

I'm Lindsey Roman.

[Valentina Garcia]

And I'm Evie McLeod. And we are family and legacy focused serial entrepreneurs and the founders of the Hart University, a business education company with a mission to help you thrive in.

[Evie McLeod]

Your business and life.

[John Garcia]

Welcome to our entrepreneur cocktail hour where business and marketing strategies meet faith.

[Lindsay Roman]

Real talk and raw and life changing conversations.

[Valentina Garcia]

At the end of the day, we are all in this together, figuring out how to navigate the ups and downs, the messy and the beautiful and everything in between. This is a community where you can come as you are, get inspired and walk away. Equipped to build a legacy filled life.

[John Garcia]

You're listening to the Heart and Hustle podcast.

[Evie McLeod]

Val and John, welcome to the show. Friends, this is like Val for the.

[Lindsay Roman]

Third time if I'm not mistaken.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah, she's like hair flip.

[Evie McLeod]

I love it. Guys, we are so excited. I feel like this conversation like when we thought of it, we were like, why have we not done this before?

[Lindsay Roman]

So well, especially it's, it's semi fresh.

[Evie McLeod]

Yeah, that's probably why we haven't done it before. But we're so excited.

[Valentina Garcia]

I'm so excited for this.

[John Garcia]

This is awesome. Thanks for having us guys. We experience that. We're gonna. At least for me first time.

[Valentina Garcia]

It's also such an honor.

[John Garcia]

Yeah, it really is.

[Valentina Garcia]

Their community is the best community.

[Lindsay Roman]

Val knows. If anybody does not know, if you have not seen Val hunched over a camera walking like heel, toe on the heel, toe, the heel toe Workshops. Our workshops, conferences. Yeah. She is our social media gal. She does the social media for the content, for the heart, for all our workshops, conferences, all the things. So she is our girl. She's one of our team members and they're some of our great friends. And I don't want to say it for you, what has recently happened in your life. Just intro us to who you guys are and what your new endeavors have been.

[Valentina Garcia]

Well, we had a new baby and it wasn't a human, it was a business. So a little backstory. So this is Jonathan, my husband. And together we've been in the creative space for a really long time. Like, we started when. Well, he started when he was like 12 in church production and then I started when I was 19 doing social media for my church. Eventually throughout the years, we launched a marketing and content agency called Innovative Media. And while doing that There was a very big need because I would always drive like an hour or two away to different content studios. And God called us to start our own studio here in Miami by where we live, which is called Cielo Studio. So that's our new business, baby.

[John Garcia]

Yeah. So it was kind of an interesting journey of how it came about. And, you know, we. We. She. She basically came to me one day and said, babe, we gotta open a studio. We had always spoken about it, right? Like, yeah, one day we're gonna own a studio. One day we're gonna go. And, you know, I was like, yeah, absolutely. And then, you know, one day she was like, no, no, for real. We're gonna, like, we need to open the studio. And I'm like, that's awesome. But, like, how are we going to pay for that?

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah, it was. It was after a coaching call with Evie. We did like a. I did a coaching call with her, and she was like, wow, the numbers make sense. Why don't you just go for it for this year? And I was like, wait, why don't I? And then it started.

[John Garcia]

Thanks for stretching my faith, Evie.

Appreciate it.

[Evie McLeod]

I apologize, John, for the heart attack that came after that coaching call when Val's like, honey, today we're doing it is today okay.

[Valentina Garcia]

With a realtor today at 4pm but that's a little bit of who we are.

[Lindsay Roman]

That's amazing. Can we back up just a touch? How did the idea to even own a studio, even as an idea, come into your guys heads?

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah, I had a lot of social media clients that I needed a space that was aesthetic because there were a lot of beauty brands or people flying in. And I want to make sure that I gave them not my townhouse for content and that it felt very luxurious because I wanted to serve my clients on a bigger level. So I would always book these gorgeous studios. And to give context, I live south of my, like, south in South Miami area, and I would drive all the way to Fort Lauderdale, which is like an hour away, to go rent these gorgeous studios. And there was a really big need because there wasn't one in my area of Miami. Like, there's always one in the. In the city. But where I live, there's also a lot of entrepreneurs, there's a lot of small businesses. It's not like, you know, just land. Like, it's still a really nice area. But we. There was no studios there, and I was tired of driving and I was like, man, I would love to one day have a space but a brick and motor. I Have no idea what that's like. It felt very scary. And just the thought of it was like, that looks like an immense risk that I don't know if my family's willing to take. Especially me being full time in business, still figuring it out. I feel like, I mean, it was. I quit my nine to five in 2020 and at this point it's only been three years. I was not ready. I had just had a baby too. So I was not ready to make a risk like that until I was like, wait, hold on. I think we need to take this leap of faith. And again, backing up to where we got to the point in the call. I had toured this shopping center. I would always drive by it. It's this gorgeous all white shopping center and I would always have to drive by it. And I was like, man, I would love for the studio to be there. There's so many windows. It's brand new. It's so beautiful. There's tons of parking. And then my little insecurities would always be. And fear would always talk to me, say, yeah, right, girl, you can never own a space there. That's impossible. Rent alone, is it even a profitable model? And it would always just creep in my head. One day I went to call in, I called the realtor and I was like, how much does this cost? Tell me a little bit about the monthly rate. It was like $10,000 a month. And I was like, yeah, no, I wait, was there.

[Lindsay Roman]

He's like, was there already an empty spot in the shopping center?

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah, the is brand new, so they were all like stone construction. So I was like, surely we're going to get a great deal, 10k a month. And I was like, I mean, it could work, but I don't, I don't know if we can make it happen. We tried crunching some numbers. I came to him and he was like, girl, yeah.

[John Garcia]

And it's crazy because even, even before the studio finished construct. I mean, I'm sorry, but even before the shopping center finished construction, you know, we would like, even before any of these conversations were had, it was like we would drive by and be like, man, imagine building a studio in that place. Like, it's close. It's 10 minutes from our house. It's really new and it's modern. It has like great windows. Like, that would be so cool. But maybe, maybe in the next decade. And we would just keep going, you know, and then it kind of just like went evolving from there until the point that, you know, the coaching call with every happen. Oh, no, I'm sorry. We had that. We called the realtor first one day, she's talking about it, and the lady was like, oh, you know, the units are between, like 8 and $10,000. And we're like, oh, yeah, no. And then I think from there it.

[Valentina Garcia]

Was gonna happen, though. I knew that it was gonna happen eventually. Maybe not in that shopping center, but that God was gonna put. Like there was a reason why that seed was planted. And then in 2023, at the end, I really felt the word pivot, like 2024 was going to be a year to pivot. I had no idea what that meant because at the time, it felt like all my clients were like, hey, we're going to cut down on services. Hey, I don't know if we're going to continue next year. Hey, financially, it was a tough market. You know, if I'm honest, it was really like, oh, I don't know what tomorrow's going to look like. I just know that if I let God lead me, then somehow it's going to work out. But I did know that there was going to be that. The key word was pivot. Come January, I had this coaching call with Evie and. And which I was already dreading, and I was like, this is my game plan. And then she's like, okay, but what's like your three year game plan? And I'm like, well, I would love to own a studio, mind you. The whole call was about something else, about, like, education and courses. And then she was like, wait, let's talk a little bit about this studio. And I was like, well, I don't think it's relevant because that's too far. Like, how do I take action now? And she's like, no, like, I think having a studio would make sense for you right now. What if you just, you know, tap into a little bit of faith? And I was like, well, yeah, you're right.

[John Garcia]

A little bit.

[Valentina Garcia]

A lot I've been watching in fear. So then I was just like, oh.

[Lindsay Roman]

Guys, it's just not that hard. You just, like, have a little bit of faith.

[Evie McLeod]

I literally. What's so funny? What's so funny is, obviously I remember this coaching call, but in at the moment, I had no idea what this conversation was it meant for them. Yeah, I just. I think, Val, you. If I remember correctly, like, from my memory, I just remember, like, you were like, hey, I really want to, you know, dive in hard to education. That just feels like my next step. And, you know, we. I was just kind of like asking, like, okay, so what do you ultimately want to build? You're like, well, nothing with education, that would just kind of be, like, short term. And that wasn't. This is being dramatic. But you were basically like, hey, this is a stepping stone to this ultimate goal of having a studio.

[Valentina Garcia]

Right?

[Evie McLeod]

And I was like, okay, cool. That's great. Stepping stones are great. But why aren't you just going straight to the studio? Like, let me just understand, as a coach why.

[Lindsay Roman]

And then as you say in my brain, I'm like, studio would help you create educational content.

[Evie McLeod]

True.

[Valentina Garcia]

But.

[Evie McLeod]

But as Val was like, but you were, like, talking, and you were, like, explaining, like, here's why I can't do it. But everything you were saying was purely fear based. And so that's when I, as, like, a coach, but also as your friend, was like, all righty, let's buckle.

[Valentina Garcia]

And of course, me being crazy, right? Because anytime I'm like, okay, if you're gonna challenge me to have faith, I'm gonna have crazy faith. Like, it's gonna.

[John Garcia]

Yeah.

[Valentina Garcia]

I called the realtor, literally, after hanging out the call with Evie, and I was like, hi. How, like, can I go today to walk the units? And what are your current rates? Because it's so empty. And I'm like, I think there's a space there for me. And she's like, today at 4pm So I called Jonathan. He, like, comes home from, like, lunch break, and he was like, what? Like, how did we get here?

[John Garcia]

We went from I have a coaching call with Evie today to, like, I spoke to the realtor. I'm meeting her at the shopping center. Oh, okay.

[Lindsay Roman]

It wasn't escalating.

[John Garcia]

It was Evie installing, like, a jetpack on Val and hitting go. And like, all right. And now I'm sitting here, like, you know, like, with a string attached to her, like, flying away.

[Valentina Garcia]

And he couldn't go to the meeting because it was at fort. He still had to be at work, and he had already taken lunch. So he was like, I guess you're gonna go by yourself. And I was like, it's just a seat, and then we'll go together. It's just a seat. I just want to see if this is even something. And the first unit I toured is the very unit that we're sitting in right now. She gave me some rates that were really high. It was like, I forgot the exact number.

[John Garcia]

Like, yeah, it was like seven.

[Valentina Garcia]

It was like, seven something.

[John Garcia]

It was like 7,000 something, like a month. Yeah.

[Valentina Garcia]

And I was like, well, that's better than 10. So God is moving.

[Evie McLeod]

The number has dropped.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah. And then I just felt this urge to start documenting the journey. And I. Outside those doors that I have, like behind me, I recorded myself saying, I don't know why, but I feel like I'm gonna get. My studio's gonna be in the shopping center. It was like outside the doors where I eventually got the studio. Spoiler alert.

[John Garcia]

And we didn't know the unit yet. And if you look at her video, you see unit seven in the background, which is our unit.

[Lindsay Roman]

Yeah.

[John Garcia]

Which, you know, is like, it's kind of crazy. And. And the other crazy part is that, like, she's feeling this pull. Right. You know. Thank you, Abby. She's feeling this pull. And obviously, like, we're exercising faith. And literally, like a couple weeks before that, we had just exercised, like, crazy faith and I started a Turo business.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah.

[John Garcia]

And I went out and I. And I bought, you know, a really expensive sports car to put on Turo for rentals.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah.

[Evie McLeod]

Yeah.

[John Garcia]

And like, which was a hard check on our credit. Which was a hard check. Yeah. And it was like savings went into it. We tied up our credit. We're talking about, you know, like eighty thousand dollar plus car. And because we're like, you know what? Like, I did the math. This is gonna work. Like, like, I also had a. A semi coaching call with somebody who does not call, but meeting with somebody who does turo and. And you know, like, you know, they. I got inspired and I was like, all right. You know, I ran the numbers, everything, and we're like, all right, babe, we're doing it. Let's go. And we went and we bought the. Weeks later, she's like, we're getting a unit. And I'm like, we're what? We're doing what now?

[Evie McLeod]

This is not the logical time.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah. So I was just like, I don't know. I. It's. It's worth exploring. It's worth going through the process. Worst thing that can happen is just. It gets postponed, but let's just go for it. And we took some time to pray. And I was like, I remember what God spoke to me about the word pivot, like in 2024. And for the first time. Well, not for the first time, but I saw Jonathan, like, say yes, let's go. Like, how? Like, let's look into the operations. I love your vision. Very ambitious. But let's. Let's get a lawyer involved. Let's try to make this happen today.

[John Garcia]

So I kind of, like, crazy. Yeah. I. I kind of. I think, like, the When I, like, exercise my faith in this kind of way, and when I take these steps of faith when it comes to, like, making business move or big moves, like, I like, I kind of like, set conditions for God and I say, like, okay, God, like, if this is your will, it's gonna go through. Right. But if it's your will, I need this, this, this, and this.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah.

[John Garcia]

And I need these key points completed. And so one of them was like, I need. I need my build out to be, like, under a certain amount of money. You know, my. The whole construction build out. Yeah, I need the rent to be, you know, negotiated like significantly. Like, I needed. I need them to accept our negotiations. Yeah, I felt a number and it was like, like, I don't want to pay more than like $5,000 or 50, $500 a month for this unit because financially, it's kind of what makes sense, you know, running the numbers and all that stuff. And, and obviously, if you're watching this and you're like, wow, it's a lot of money. Well, we're in Miami and real estate's just very expensive here. That's just kind of how it is. And so, you know, I was like, you know, 50 500amonth is. We. We're not. I don't want to exceed that. And then, you know, a couple other conditions that I put in. I'm like, you're gonna make it smooth again. Like, when you're renting a space, they do hard credit checks. They do, they do income bank statements. Make sure the business is profitable. Like, it's, it's a whole extensive thing. And I'm like, and we had nothing. And we had nothing. Like, like.

[Lindsay Roman]

Well, you were fresh off of the, the Turo game.

[John Garcia]

Exactly. We're fresh off of taking out, you know, a really big loan for the.

[Valentina Garcia]

Car we file really low for our other business.

[John Garcia]

Like, like, yeah, you know, like, we, we weren't like, like the businesses were profitable. But, you know, our, our taxes maybe didn't reflect that. You know, IRS don't come after me. But, you know, like, it was kind of like one of those things. And so, you know, I was like, well, God, if it's your will, you're going to open every door. It's going to be a smooth transition. It's going to be a smooth process. And, and like, we're stepping into something that we've never done before. I've never hired an architect to do plans. I've never hired a general contractor to do a build out. I've never Leased a commercial space. We've never built a studio.

[Valentina Garcia]

Like, we've never remodeled anything besides, like, changing the floors in our house. Like, yeah, there's. We have no contacts. We. We just. I don't know, we had nothing. We knew nothing, and we had no one to, like, speak to about, hey.

[John Garcia]

You can't go to YouTube and just look up how to build a studio, you know, Like. Yeah, it's not. It's not like that. Right. It's not that simple.

[Valentina Garcia]

Granted, we. What we do have is experience in using studios. And on his side, the production world.

[John Garcia]

Right, the production world. My background is, like, live production, and I've done a lot of. A lot of, like, AV integration. So I'm familiar with, you know, reading plans and. And, you know, dabbling in those. In those kinds of things, but not actually building a space. Right. So that's kind of where. So, you know, all in all to say, like, I kind of. I didn't set conditions because you don't limit God, but I kind of set conditions for God. And I said, like, I need this, this, this, and this. And if it's your will, you're gonna make it happen.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah.

[John Garcia]

And I mean, spoiler alert, like, we're sitting in a studio right now, so obviously, obviously, God came through, but, you know.

[Valentina Garcia]

Well, we saw the rent go from, like, 7K originally when I quoted them to don't ask me how, our lawyers. And, like, in between conversation, they lowered it all the way down to 5,200amonth. That's including taxes, everything, fees. And I knew it was God because he's exactly the number that Jonathan said I would love.

[John Garcia]

It was less than.

[Valentina Garcia]

It was less than, but he was like, I would love for this to be this. God, if this is your will, please, like. Or, like, let us see your move somewhere there. I don't know. Again, to this day, this part of the story. I have no idea what part of negotiations we landed here, but we got a contract one day that that number came out, and we were like, sign it before it's gone.

[John Garcia]

Yeah. We even started seeing Grace in this. Like, when we reached out to somebody that we know, that's an attorney to just like, hey, how much would you charge us to review this contract? And off the bat, she was like, don't worry about it. I got you. I'll do it for free. And this is like. This is like 200 an hour legal service, right? And it's like a lot of back and forth. And she was like, don't worry about it. I'LL I'll take care of you guys. Like, like, it's, it's on me.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah.

[John Garcia]

So that was the first, like, green flag. I was like, okay, yeah, contract came back. It was very. It was like it was under. And then we kind of just from that moment, I think we started quoting out the, the build out, right? Like the actual build out of the space. So, you know, we got a couple quotes, you know, architectural plans. I think they quoted like 12,000. And, you know, I went and I was like, that's a lot. And then I found somebody that was equally as good, if not better, that did stuff that the other architects said we, you know, we're gonna. We couldn't do. And they charged me like under $7,000.

[Valentina Garcia]

And so, like, we just kept seeing this, details. Like you just saw God, like, in every single step that we took. It was like that, like the Bible verse that I was holding on to is a story of like Peter walking on water. That it was like, just stay focus. My eyes. Like Jesus was telling him that. And then the only moment where he started sinking was when he doubted and he looked down. And I was like, wait, I. At any point, I had to always check my heart, make sure, like, you don't doubt because. And keep your eyes, like, locked in on the Lord. Like, even if it doesn't make sense, even if you have no idea what you're doing, even if you're failing along the way, just really keep your eyes locked in. And that. I, I always have to share the God's side of the story because if I would just tell you the natural side, it would not make sense and we would look crazy.

[John Garcia]

Yeah, it literally didn't make sense. Like, we started quoting out, you know, our, our build out. And it was like, you know, we got a $140,000 quote and we're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, like, this is crazy. And then we went and, you know, the landlord ends up being the general. A general contractor too, you know, and he's like, I'll quote it for you. And we get the quote back. And it was like.

[Valentina Garcia]

It was like.

[John Garcia]

It was like. It was like. No, it was like almost one third. Yeah, it was one third of what he quoted us. And. And so we just start seeing God come through, like, step after step, to the point where I was like, all right, I can't even, like. Like, I was never fighting it. But you know how, like, internally you're always kind of, you know, finding the one thing to say. Okay, maybe it's not. It, like I couldn't even. I didn't have a chance to, like, say, this is not the will of God. Like, I didn't even. It didn't even. I didn't have a moment because everything just played out like. Like, thing after thing after thing just kept like, you know, checkbox, checkbox, checkbox. Green flag. All right, let's do it. We're doing it.

[Lindsay Roman]

That's amazing.

[John Garcia]

We're doing it.

[Valentina Garcia]

We signed and we're like, okay, what's next? And I mean, from there, I mean.

[John Garcia]

From there, the process journey, it was super cool.

[Valentina Garcia]

It was fun. It was a lot of waiting because we had a lot of permits. And in that time, I mean, there's different things that I'm sure everybody could relate to that. Everyone's like, are you sure that this is going to be profitable? Family's like, are you sure you were ready to, like, like, you know, sign onto this risk? And there's just so many things that I was just like, okay, that's like trying to, like, keep me off track from what I'm doing or making me second guess my decisions or, like, is this really, you know, gonna work out in the long run? And every single time, I was just like, there was just little things that I would either read or in conversation or even with friends that are in business. It just would reaffirm me. Things like, it's okay that you're stepping into an oversaturated market. That means that there's demand. Like, don't be scared to walk into an oversaturated market, because in Miami, there is a lot of content studios and you're competing with people with massive, massive budgets. At the time, by the time that we launched, there was four new studios that launched within two weeks of us launching. So it could be very scary in a city that this is a thing that it's very popular. But I think what makes you succeed in an oversaturated market is the fact that we're different and what do we bring different to the table and whatever, the things are the same. How can we over deliver and bring value to our customers and our clients so along their journey? It's been so beautiful to step outside of my comfort zone, step out him. Step out of his comfort zone and just learn this new side of business. Like, I feel like we can launch like 10 studios now, right?

[John Garcia]

I feel like we can become the people that you YouTube how to open a studio, right?

[Valentina Garcia]

And now, yeah, it's been so cool. And all the, like, different lessons that we've been Able to learn. It's just. Wow. I'm just, I feel so grateful to the journey. Yeah, I love it.

[Lindsay Roman]

That's amazing.

[Evie McLeod]

We've been trying to convince you guys to come up here to North Florida because there is nothing, nothing Absolute Jack Potty Poopy, nothing up here. I'm taking notes. We're like, we're like, please, we will put our podcast in your studio.

[Lindsay Roman]

Please, please.

[John Garcia]

Okay.

[Lindsay Roman]

When you, when you said like you were talking to architects, you were getting permits with the knowledge of like, it was clearly a God story of like you're going into like a new industry. Obviously you were in production and content, which is very, very closely tied to.

[Valentina Garcia]

Right. A studio.

[Lindsay Roman]

But as far as like brick and mortar, like a build out situation, like you said, that was like a whole new wheelhouse. Like it got clearly open doors. From like a logistical standpoint, how did you know what you wanted for a build out? I guess. And like, oh, this is maybe. I think. I'm pretty sure your studio has this. But like, I don't. Do you know the word for it? But where like the wall curves so you can't even tell it's like a ceiling or like a wall and then a floor. What's that called? Like a.

[John Garcia]

A psych wall?

[Lindsay Roman]

Yeah, that, that thing. And I feel like some studios have it, some don't. Was that like things like that? What, what were your. Like, did you have just like a. I know I want these things.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah, I think I did. So one of my goals was to obviously create a space that's gonna work for me because I'm gonna be one of the main ones using it and for people like me. And the thing is, when you're launching a content student, you wanna make sure that you find also your niche and the people that would book it. Whether you're catering only to family photographers, whether you're catering to models and influencers and fashion brands, or if you're catering to only a podcast content or just social media content with like different sets to make iPhone content. There's so many ways that you can go about it. And then don't even get me started with like the movie, the movie sets, the music videos, all of those things. So there's so many different ways to go about a content studio. We just had to, number one, consider the size of our studio. Although we would love to do everything, we had to focus on our one thing. And our one thing was we want to create a natural light, yet at nighttime you can bring in these lights that you can do Small productions that are really dope and a very versatile space. So I have two audiences that I can cater to. I can cater to the lifestyle, social media content, girlies. And I could also cater to the photographers that love to play with backdrops, create their own sets. And we went into, we had to narrow down who we wanted to serve. And then from there, Jonathan, I mean, led the, like, I had the vision and he led everything to build out the sets of production and also the architect, like the, the actual build out process. So you can share a little bit about that.

[John Garcia]

Yeah, so, I mean, we remember that we were users, right? So we were the creatives renting these spaces. So we knew, we, we kind of like, kind of what you wanted. Yeah, we dissected, we dissected a lot of the studios that we would rent and we would take, you know, take the good, leave the bad. Take the good, leave the bad. And so we kind of develop this thing where like, you know, this studio was missing this and, you know, this one was missing this. So let's bring these components, let's bring these elements together and kind of build it out in this essence. And so, you know, we have the flexibility to cater to, you know, the bright and airy natural light photographer. We have a giant rolling door that you can open up and get a ton of natural light in here. We have windows, we have this. But if you're also somebody who's, you know, moody, who wants to do something a little bit, you know, more darker, you can book in the afternoon. And we have colored backdrops, RGB lighting. We can do editorial stuff. We can essentially black out the space. We could essentially black out the space and do, you know, spotlight kind of stuff. And so there's just so much flexibility. Like we wanted to make sure that we were, we were building a space that was like she said it was, it was flexible. It was a flex space that we weren't just catering to one specific audience that obviously, you know, we're not going to get, you know, Marvel Studios coming in here to shoot a film in here. Like, we also have to be realistic.

[Valentina Garcia]

Promo content.

[John Garcia]

Yeah, maybe they're pro, but like, like, we also have to be realistic with ourselves. You know, we have to understand that we're not going to cater to everybody and we're not going to have, we're probably not going to have artists like, like big name, you know, rap artists booking our space to do music videos and, and that's okay, but we want to, we wanted to, you know, focus on a type of Creator and be as wide as possible within that niche, if that makes sense. So like, it's kind of like counterintuitive, right? You want to be wide within a niche. But it's kind of like we wanted to be versatile within a niche of.

[Valentina Garcia]

Creators, which with a studio I feel.

[Lindsay Roman]

Like is nice when you have multiple backdrop options, you have natural and artificial.

[Evie McLeod]

Light.

[Valentina Garcia]

And then, I mean, if there's anyone listening here that you've been interested in building a content space, there's so many different ways to go about it. But even going now in the natural, the social media creators that just want a space to batch content, the way that a lot of studios are structured is that they're very heavily like designed with interiors. But if you go that route, you also limit yourself for the creator that just wants to have kind of a blank canvas to play. They just want a blank white wall and they don't want, you know, frames and decor and shelving to move around. Because if you're renting a space for an hour, you don't have time to move around furniture. So it was also considering little things like that. When sourcing all our furniture and all our accent chairs, the desk, there were certain elements that I wanted to put together that could also be moved within five minutes. You can rearrange the entire space. And sometimes people have walked in here that they're like, wait, the studio looks so different. I love this. There's never been a time that they're like, oh, I can't move this. But everything is movable. Our pop up podcast set is literally like, we can assemble it within 15 minutes. And we have different things in our workflows that our systems that when people book this space, we call them or we text them saying, hey, like, is there anything that we could leave ready for you? Because we want to make sure that we have that one on one connection with them so they keep coming back. So those are little things that we've done in our space to keep it versatile, but also like while sourcing the furniture, while designing the space, keeping it a very simple.

[Evie McLeod]

It's not just a blank white room, but it's also very versatile.

[John Garcia]

It's versatile. And so like you don't, you know, like she said, you don't have an a fixed installation where when you're on this wall you have to have four frames and you know, a shelf that's anchored to the wall behind you. You can, there's modularity, there's flexibility. And so just to kind of piggyback on what you Said, you know, we try and cater to our, our renters because we understand what it's like, you know, to have to invest in, you know, renting an hour at a studio. And so when we have to, you know, come in and spend 30 minutes of that hour rearranging, moving stuff around like that kind of, you know, it, it kills the, the vibe and it ruins the mojo of you wanting to come in and create. And it adds stress. And so now you're, as a creator, you're creating flustered and stressed and sweaty because you just moved the couch. So like, so like we're, we're trying to, you know, be that, you know, at least provide a little bit of a step where we can kind of leave something somewhat set for our renters. So when they come in, it's just minor details that they're adjusting. And so like, it was things like that that we didn't experience in other studios that were like, we want to give this, we want to give this, this experience, this, this customer journey. Well, not customer journey, but we want to give this user experience to our, to our, our customers that are coming in to rent the space. And so that was kind of the intent. And everything was built and sourced and, and integrated with that intent down to like, you know, you have built in an in house, built in speaker system, right?

[Valentina Garcia]

Details.

[John Garcia]

It's the details where it's like, I don't have to, you know, we, where you got to go to the Bluetooth speaker and you have to press and hold and connect and pair your phone and you walk in, there's an iPad, you put whatever music you want. You have music done.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah.

[John Garcia]

And so it's kind of like, you know, things like that, that not to brag about how cool our studio is.

[Valentina Garcia]

Please brag.

[John Garcia]

We just want to, you know, we like, I guess this, this can serve as empowerment to people who, you know, are on their business journey. And it's like cater to your customers and even if you have to invest a little more to make their, their user experience like that much better. Like those little details mean the world to people when they come in.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah. Throughout, like conversations, always asking each other like, okay, how can we improve the experience here? I saw this person had a minor hiccup here. How can we make it better for them? Or just problem solving constantly with your customers and while building the space, while sourcing the furniture, that was the constant, like, question me as a user with other studios, what were the problems that I kept running into to cleaning the floors? Okay, we got a Robo vacuum that every night it, you know, it was 800. It vacuums and mops and it goes to work. But little things. Bathroom bobby pins, hairspray brushes, makeup retouching.

[John Garcia]

Wipes, like hygiene products for women, like table for babies.

[Valentina Garcia]

Because if you're a family photographer and there's not a place for to change your, your, like, newborn baby.

[Lindsay Roman]

I thought of everything.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah, you have to think of those things. And again, that's what keeps people coming back. That's what people feel like, oh, my God. Like, you thought of every. Literally all the time. They always like, oh, my gosh, Val, you thought of everything. Johnny thought of everything. XLR cables, extra stands, lights that are included that you don't have to pay for extra. Those are little things that, for the user, it's going above and beyond for them and to keep them coming back. Because at the end of the day, at the end of the day, we would love for the content studio to be, you know, passive income, where people could just walk in the door.

[John Garcia]

Even, even, even down to the door system. Like, we encountered instances where we would go to a studio and they're like, hey, the key is under a rock in the garden bed. Go ahead and take it out. And I'm like, hold on a second. Like, like, you know, with all due respect to the studios, but like, we wanted to make sure that our, you know, we didn't have people lifting up a floor mat to unlock. So, you know, we invested in waiting for the owner or waiting for the owner. We've had it tons of owners running late, and we can only get in with them.

[Lindsay Roman]

Yeah.

[John Garcia]

And so, like, you know, we invested in a security system where you put in your custom PIN code that every renter gets and you put it, the door opens, it says your name, it says, welcome. Welcome, Val. And it's like those little things for people make the world of a difference. I know it sounds so silly, but, like, the amount of times people have come to us and been like, the door said my name when I walked in. Are you kidding me? Like, how? And so we're so extra. And so we're so extra. Like, we're so extra. But also we're really wanting to make sure that people leave here with a smile on their face. And ultimately it's, it's, it's, you know, it's business investment. You're, you're making your customers and your clients happy and they're just going to keep coming back.

[Lindsay Roman]

Yeah, well, and you're, you're doing it in a smart way where you're not also relying on your own physical presence being there. Like where, where when most studios are waiting on the owner to come unlock. Think about that. As the owner, you have to interrupt your day. How many times a day? Every time you get a book, it's no, yeah, well.

[Evie McLeod]

And it's also you guys like, like everything you're saying and doing. You are in an industry with this studio where a lot of your business could be from and typically is from repeat regular clients. And so when you do invest in advance with something that sets you apart from everything else that makes their entire experience super seamless and easy, you are investing in a long term significant like investment from each of your clientele. It's. You're not in an industry where you're like, hey, I do this once for you and then you have no need of me ever again. Like you will never come back. And not that you still shouldn't invest in incredible client experience, but you guys are literally in a like, hey, we have monthly clients who pay a monthly fee and are members to our studio. Right? Like, you guys have a membership?

[John Garcia]

Yeah, yeah, we have a membership.

[Evie McLeod]

Like, and not that everyone has a membership, but that's like you have the option of a membership where people come consistently regularly. Like having those things is literally investing in a business that is going to explode and serve people for a very long time. So it's not. You're like, we're so extra. That's not extra at all. You guys are brilliant.

[Lindsay Roman]

You're just smart business owners.

[John Garcia]

All right? Entrepreneurs, let's face it, you're in a pickle. You're not attracting your ideal clients because your brand visuals are just meh at best and you're not showing up as the professional ready to make their life 500 times better. Do you honestly feel like your website just sucks? Like your branding feels like you created it in Microsoft's Paint? Anyone else remember Microsoft's Paint?

[Lindsay Roman]

Is that just me?

[John Garcia]

Okay. And your, your client experience just overall feels like it's seriously lacking and you just need a change right now. But let's be honest, you're not ready to drop 8k on a custom web and brand design. Well, don't worry, that's where we come in.

[Valentina Garcia]

Introducing the solution to all of your website struggles. The Heart Shop website templates. Now, we spent hours designing these customizable professional and conversion intense website templates with our incredible designer Sarah Crook of Elizabeth Designs. They are so incredibly easy to use and customize with Showit's user friendly interface. Yes, by the way, you can easily learn how to work with Showit, even if you've never touched a website or any design platform before. And you can change literally anything you want. No more being limited to squares on your website. It's a drag and drop system that is freaking easy and looks incredible. Oh, oh, you want more information?

[Lindsay Roman]

Cool.

[Valentina Garcia]

I got you. The templates come already SEO optimized with copy prompts from Lindsay and I included. Yeah, you don't just get nonsensical filler text. You get bomb education and prompts from Lindsay and I to help you wow your potential clients and crush your website copy. And we designed a variety of these in different styles so you can find the closest match and then tweak it to make it fully your own.

[John Garcia]

If you're ready to save thousands of dollars and hours upon hours upon hours of your time and get clients flooding through your website, you need to check these out. So grab [e-mail] website templates one more time. That's theheartuniversity.com website templates. If you're enjoying what you're getting in this podcast for free, then you're about to get your mind blown with what we offer in our education courses. If you're ready to uplevel your business, serve your clients like never before, and reach revenue goals that you've barely dared to dream of, then we're ready to help.

[Valentina Garcia]

Our courses are packed full of tools, formulas, strategies and resources to help you kick freaking butt in biz. Whether you choose the Photo Major, a complete course for photographers, or the Content Photo Minor, a mini course on how to finally slay your content photos for your blog, insta headshots, whatever, you will walk away with more knowledge than you ever thought possible. And here's the reality. We are here to see you succeed always and forever. And that is why we created each and every one of these courses.

[John Garcia]

To check them out for yourself, read the reviews and look at each course syllabus. Go to TheHeartUniversity.com courses. That's TheHeartUniversity.com courses.

[Lindsay Roman]

The whole process I think, especially from what I'm hearing from just knowing your guys story, but also just what I'm hearing you say right now on the podcast. It seems like a huge part of the God story of this was financial. Would you agree with that?

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah.

[Lindsay Roman]

Or like providing people in the right time at the right moment and like just make almost opening all the doors. Would you be willing to discuss like physically how you like paid for it, like like, as far as, like, did you get a business loan? Did it come from, like, a savings? Especially if this had been a dream for a while, but also kind of like after Evie's call, you were like, okay, now just like, to give. If anybody else is wanting to either start a business, brick and mortar or, you know, whatever, or even specifically a studio. Like, the logistical. Like, I think people think, okay, in order to start a business, especially brick and mortar, I feel like that just feels more intense or maybe a higher investment or a higher. What's the word?

[Evie McLeod]

Overhead.

[Valentina Garcia]

Capital.

[Lindsay Roman]

Yeah. Overhead.

[Evie McLeod]

Yeah.

[Lindsay Roman]

I think we think, like, oh, okay, I have to have, like, $50,000 in the bank in order to do something like that.

[Valentina Garcia]

That.

[John Garcia]

Yeah. So I can go over basically how we built out the studio from the perspective of financial, like, the financials and all that stuff. Because we love, like, being transparent with people, because we wish that somebody would have been transparent with us in this process. Like, we wish that. That the information was out there so we would have had kind of like, at least a road map of what we were going to encounter right when we started this process. But. But quickly, before I say that, like, I really wanted to. To talk. Like, we're talking about the faith to kind of build this out. And so, like, one of the things I really felt to share was if you're building, you know, if you're in the process of building a business, a studio, you know, what. Whatever it is, like, like, and you have the God dream to do it, and you have the faith to do it. Like, stand by, number one, stand by that. But number two, like, faith, like the Bible says that faith without works is dead. And. And the truth of the matter is like, yes, like, have the faith. Faith that God is going to provide. Have the faith that the doors are going to open. Everything is going to fall in your lap. But if you do not. If. If you do not do the work and you do not exercise that faith, and by exercise, I mean, like, not sit back and be like, yeah, my faith is running. I'm waiting for the hundred thousand dollars to fall in my lap. Like, I'm sorry, but it's. It's not gonna happen. Like, it doesn't work that way. So it's something that, you know, I always tell people, like, like, have the faith, but do the work. Like, get up and put the work in and do your marketing and do your content and do your, you know, your X, Y and Z. Learn research, read the books, listen to the podcast. Like, do the work and everything else will Be added when God sees your effort because you know, how is he going to bless you with something or give you something if you're not willing to work to start it? How are you going to maintain it?

[Valentina Garcia]

That. Right, right.

[John Garcia]

So I just wanted to share that because it's something that, you know, it was on my heart. But getting into like the, the nitty gritty of kind of like how we built the space. So the primary funding we had a little bit of savings and so obviously.

[Valentina Garcia]

We put down 15,000. Yeah, we put for first lesson deposit.

[John Garcia]

Yeah, first, first, last and security deposit was a little over 15,000. We had that in savings that left us with like maybe like another 10 or 15 I think that we had in savings more that obviously we put towards, you know, the architecture which was like seven and like six and change and a couple of like big ticket items that we, we decided to pay with with cash. The rest of the build out we went and we secured a business loan and so we went out and we got a loan for a little over $60,000. And so you know, I found a lender that approved us with everything that with our, our financial situation in the moment, not situation, our financial status in the moment and you know they, they took into account everything and it was, and it was a. Yeah, it was basically just a loan. And so we found really good terms and all that stuff. And, and the monthly payment was worked out to fit in as a monthly expense for the studio. And so like you know, we basically factored that into monthly expenses and so we, we, we secured that loan and then on the other side we did take out a couple of. So like for example we bought a lot of stuff from you know, like Best Buy when it comes to the tech stuff and like B H photo like for the lights and the tech stuff and stuff like that. So, so I kind of figured that the best route to go for that wasn't was to save the, the quantity to save the, the pool of money that we secured from the loan for the things that would incurred credit card fees. So like paying our general contractor, you know, we would have to pay 3% on top of of you know, 50 something thousand dollars of build out. So I wanted to make sure that we were paying that with the pool of money that we got from the loan. But then all the other things that were on top of that we secured long term zero interest credit cards. So but like specific to the vendor. So B and H, we bought all our lighting. We did you know, 20, 24 months, 0% financing and obviously we're tackling all that faster than, you know, the minimum payments or faster than the 24 months. But at least we secured the funding at zero interest. Which if you do the math, it's technically better off than paying, you know, using your loan money that in this case we're paying I think like 9 or 10% towards that. We're getting it at 0% interest. And so we kind of just played that game of like, you know, moving numbers around and saying like, hey, we're gonna, we have to, we have an expense, we have $5,000 of furniture expenses. I can put this on this zero interest card and then this stuff that's all gonna incur credit card fees if we use that, that we're going to pay this cash from the loan or utilize our savings that we had. And so like, like, yeah, you know, it was something that again that we didn't make a move unless we felt peace from God. And so we, God opened every single door in that realm, in the financial realm for us to achieve that. And, and we kind of just, you.

[Valentina Garcia]

Know, we factored everything into our like monthly expenses. And with obviously a lot of good marketing, some collaborations that we've done with influencers, it's been able to fill up our calendar a lot from the very get go. Like we've been hitting almost breaking even every single month, which is rare to see in a business.

[John Garcia]

So that's like we've only been open for like three, four months.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah, that's like taking consideration like a lot of the reason why we were able to do this because I was really confident in my marketing and my sales for the studio and that's not a cost that I have to take extra into our expenses like hiring a social media manager, manager or marketer or you know, someone to run our paid ads. Like all of that, I do it on my side of the stuff because I am a marketer. Like that is my main thing. Email, this website, branding. All of that was me doing it under like two hours just because I got excited and I did it and I, once I got the name of the company it was like everything just clicked. So there's a lot of expenses in that area that we didn't have to outsource or like, like our speaker system, our AV system, all of that Jonathan takes care of. So if this is something that you would want to pursue one day, consider like the fact that there's a lot of things that we did get to see on because of our, because we also are in this world, you know, so. And we had cameras before because of our content agency. We had pod. There was some stuff for podcasting that we had our laptops, some things that we already had because of. Of the content agency that I own. So.

[John Garcia]

Right.

[Valentina Garcia]

Those are little things to consider with, like your expenses and your financials. Like, who else do you have to outsource in order to make sure that you kick off the studio on the right foot? Because first impression is everything, especially in the studio space. When you launch your business, or any business, really, like the way that you launch a rebrand, you know, or the way that you launch, the way the momentum gets built, I feel like it sets, like, track for everything else.

[John Garcia]

Absolutely.

[Valentina Garcia]

So, you know, we've been. We've been able to, like, do that for ours.

[Evie McLeod]

You guys have been crushing it.

[Lindsay Roman]

Absolutely crushing it.

[John Garcia]

Yeah. And we're, we're very, you know, we. I analyze the, The. The business and just businesses in general and, you know, like, when you're starting out, you know, for the most part, not. Not all of them, but for the most part, your first, you know, six months of business, you. Sometimes businesses are not even breaking even. Yeah, right. And usually they're operating at a loss. And. And it's. It's. It's normal. It's normal in the business world. Right. That's why you have financial contingencies, have, you know, you know, savings and all that stuff. And, and we're. We're, you know, again, just a reaffirmation that this was God's, you know, will, and that this was God's vision, was that, you know, we have been breaking even, if not profitable, every single month since we opened. And so obviously, you know, we're at the point in business where we're not pulling profits yet. We're just using that to pay down stuff or reinvest it into the studio. But every single month, like, God hasn' failed us. Like when. When the beginning, you know, like I've told her, it's like, you know, the 15th of the month, and we're like, you know, babe, like, you know, it does. It's not looking good. And then from the 15th to the 30th, it's like, you know, like, like 25 bookings come in and we're like, okay, I mean, I'm just gonna stop talking.

[Evie McLeod]

I'm gonna stop sinking with my eyes off of Jesus and go back to him.

[John Garcia]

Exactly, exactly.

[Valentina Garcia]

And I think a very key thing that I think is going to help help all small business overall is I speak to A lot of photographers or a lot of, you know, small business owners that are like, well, I just don't. Social media is just not working out for me. I'm posting and I'm not getting bookings and I'm doing everything. And I'm like, the problem is that you are learning a lot about marketing and yes, it's doing your posting consistently, that's great. But if you don't know sales and to design something that's going to bring in sales, you need to, you need to start consuming some content like that. Or you can be a great photographer. But there's a lot of things in business that you need to learn. So one of the things that I did, because this is also new to me, is I like watched and read so many books on what our membership models are like, what are brick and mortar's like, what sales, other areas of marketing that I've never tapped into before. Paid ads. What. What is the best way to collaborate with influencer? What contracts do you. So there's just so many things that you, if you want to do things right, is to really become a student at the end of the day and don't get comfort with the fact that you just have. You're just really good at art. Because that's not going to cut it.

[John Garcia]

Absolutely.

[Valentina Garcia]

If you want to make it on the long run, you have to invest your. But if we have chat GPT, like the. I have a whole channel just for legal questions for ChatGPT. I have, I have questions on my ChatGPT for copywriting. I don't know how to like the legal side of terms and conditions. So there's so many free resources. You have no excuse to suck at marketing and sales in this day and age. Age. You, you have no excuses to suck.

[Lindsay Roman]

At marketing in this day and age. Put that on a T shirt quote.

[Evie McLeod]

And I love that I can literally be here and say to our, our girl who creates the reels for the podcast, can you just clip that into a reel?

[Valentina Garcia]

Right?

[Evie McLeod]

Yeah, literally upload it myself, time stamp it.

[Valentina Garcia]

I feel like so many people are just like, oh, but I'm posting my work. Wow. And I'm sure you guys get this all the time with your students, but I'm posting every day. I feel, I feel like I'm being consistent with reels and I'm not seeing them. And I'm like, are you just copying another trend and using it?

[Lindsay Roman]

Are you just. Are you just creating bad content?

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah. Or no. No, the bad. Some content is really good. And I'm like, the reason why it's not hitting is because you look like everyone else. Like, why don't you start looking into marketing psychology, sales psychology and innovate. Try. Get off scrolling. Like, just stop scrolling. If I scrolled every single day what all these other studios have with way bigger budgets, I would do nothing. I would just sit there and cry because they're so good and they look like they have massive teams. So I had to stop the scroll and get to work. Like, just do something.

[John Garcia]

I'm playing the organ. Because she's literally preaching right now, this is a word.

[Valentina Garcia]

Do something about it. Like, stop scrolling. Because that's just going to keep you paralyzed and you're never going to market your business and you're never going to hit your goals by scrolling and looking at everybody else's content. So I hope that that encourages you. If you feel in that place that you're like, my bookings are low, I'm doing everything right by the book.

[Evie McLeod]

Yep.

[Valentina Garcia]

Maybe you just need to stop for a second and what do you want to do? What, what's your secret sauce? How are you different? And then double down on learning. Instead of learning about how to edit photos and what other preset you can buy, why don't you go and read a book about sales? Why don't you read a book about marketing psychology Podcasts. Don't even buy it. Like, if you hate reading books, like me, me, I just do audiobooks. Like, go listen to all the books that Evie and Lindsay recommend. I literally devour them because I hated books until I found the Hard and Hustle podcast. So there's so many free resources, there's so many podcasts, there's so many scroll through TikTok and fill your cup, your at least your knowledge in that area and I guarantee you that your business is going to explode once you learn marketing and sales. The sales part is.

[John Garcia]

And to piggyback on that, what she said, like, learn what your secret sauce is, is and sell the heck out of it.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah.

[John Garcia]

You know, like, like and, and just to kind of like go off of that. Like, you know, you're people spend. And this is something I've learned in the past like six months probably that we've had to like learn to sell a space and we're, you know, we also have other businesses and learn to sell in these other businesses and, and it's like, like fill your, like, like obviously read your books. But if you're going to scroll, like, like look at sales content, you know how much you know how Many little nuggets I've picked up. I've picked up from just the free content that sales trainers and. And people. And yeah, they're, you know, you could.

[Valentina Garcia]

Maybe sometimes too hustle, bro.

[John Garcia]

There's sometimes too hustle, bro. But. But what they're saying has a. Like, it makes sense. Like, some of the things they're saying makes sense. And so when you dive into learning how to sell your secret sauce and even, like, understanding sales scripts, when you. You get on a zoom call with a client, think of that as a client that you're trying to close. Don't just, you know, maybe don't just be like, oh, you know, these are my photos. Cool. Hope you book me. You know, if you're a photographer, whatever your line of work is. But it's one of those things where, like, I promise you, I guarantee you that the minute you begin to educate yourself in the world of sales and marketing, like, she's saying, you and you. You begin to practice that with your clients and your leads and your potentials and stuff like that, that you're. It's only uphill from there.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah.

[Evie McLeod]

So good. My dry gosh, guys.

[Lindsay Roman]

Wow. Okay, well, now that you took us to church, we have been fully. We have been fully mic drop educated. Like, let's just settle that. Like, everyone's. Everyone's like, oh, wow, I'm feeling it. Okay.

[Evie McLeod]

Digesting.

[Lindsay Roman]

Where, like, I guess, do you have. I guess this is maybe my final question. Do you have any, like, future dreams and goals with.

[Evie McLeod]

Where do we see Cielo Garcias going?

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah, well, first, I can speak for Cielo for sure. Something clicked to me, actually. We were hanging out with Lindsay and Andrew, and Andrew was like, hey, I'm kind of down to, like, see how you guys do it and invest. And I was like, that's, like the third time that I hear. And something clicked with talking with Lindsay and Andrew that I was like, wait a second. This could be a franchise of some sorts. Or we could really bless people with, like, teaching them how to build content, studios. So I don't know. I'm just. We're so praying about it. We're trying to, like, not bite more than what we can chew. But I do see the need of building spaces like this around at least, like, Florida and getting. Getting used to that. So definitely franchise.

[Lindsay Roman]

Franchise.

[Valentina Garcia]

Franchise. Yeah, so definitely, like, seeing different ways of doing that, for sure. Lessons learned.

[Lindsay Roman]

Investors. Investors. Okay, sorry.

[Valentina Garcia]

Lessons learned with studios is.

[John Garcia]

It.

[Valentina Garcia]

Is. It can be very profitable. But now that we have a system down, like, looking at Those systems, building those systems really strong now that I feel really confident in the systems. I would never build a studio from scratch. I would try to either buy existing studios out or remodel spaces that might.

[John Garcia]

Already be established and not have to go through permitting an architect and build out and all that stuff. So those are like the lessons that we've learned along the way.

[Valentina Garcia]

Way the way contracts are negotiated. I would probably make sure that the space is always long term. If it doesn't end up being a studio. One of the things that we've done with ours is making sure that it's versatile. So in case we want to rent it out to a real estate office or make it a co working or make it a pop up like a. Just a meeting space, whatever it is, that there's room for that. So for sure, considering the fact that we want to scale this to be multiple studios.

[John Garcia]

Right.

[Valentina Garcia]

It's that.

[John Garcia]

Yeah. So like the, the. One of the contingencies we have within our contract is that we allowed, we put in there that we're allowed to sublet the unit. So if one day we go and we move to a larger studio, this specific location to a larger studio, we can still maintain ownership of the lease and sublet the unit and essentially generate, you know, some, some cash flow or some profit in that as well. So that's kind of like one point as to what we did. But then yeah, like, like she. We're.

[Valentina Garcia]

We're still more spaces.

[John Garcia]

Yeah. Building more spaces and either mentoring and coaching people on how to build spaces because that's something we wish we would have had. I think with a mentor in this area, we would have probably avoided a lot of headaches and a lot of, you know, sleepless nights. Even though God was in it. There's still, you know, stress and sleepless nights in it. But you know, either doing that or you know, also, you know, just us, ourselves franchising or expanding the business to multiple locations outside of Miami.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah. And we want to host a. Events so we want to keep going with that stuff. And I don't know where God's going to take us there. But for the future things, John and Val, we want to, you know, help other people, serve other business owners and buy other businesses.

[John Garcia]

Buy other businesses and amazing. And coach coach people how to, you know, how to, what's the word? How to build up like coach coach people on how to believe in themselves to open up businesses or how to, you know, improve businesses and get them to, you know, of, of revenue per se. So that's that's on our roadmap.

[Lindsay Roman]

You guys are crushing it.

[Evie McLeod]

We love y' all.

[Lindsay Roman]

Yeah.

[Valentina Garcia]

This is. This is.

[Evie McLeod]

Friendships are like. This are just gold mines. And we love it. We love it. Like, you guys are a wealth of information, and I know that our listeners just got so much out of this today. Thank you for just coming on, being vulnerable, being open with numbers, with the God story, with the, you know, the things you've learned and. And taking us to church.

[Lindsay Roman]

Yeah. And all the things.

[Evie McLeod]

You guys are just a powerhouse couple, and we've known that for a very long time. But I feel like our listeners just got to experience.

[Lindsay Roman]

They got the power of Fallon. John. Magic. Magic.

[Evie McLeod]

So thank you for being here, guys. Where can everyone find you? Where can they find Cielo? Like, all the things. Pitch yourself. Plug yourself. All of it.

[Valentina Garcia]

Well, Cielo Studio can be found on Instagram everywhere.

[Lindsay Roman]

Can you spell that for people?

[Valentina Garcia]

It's called Cielo with an H at the end, so we spelled it with a little bit of pizzazz. So C I, E L O H Studio. I was like, cielo Studio. And then, I mean, ourselves. I mean, it's Valentina Garcia on ig.

[John Garcia]

And I'm John J O N Garcia. Yeah. And then once you're there, you'll see everything else that we work with and everything else that we do. But yeah, the.

[Evie McLeod]

We'll put all the links in the.

[Lindsay Roman]

Show notes, too, but amazing, guys. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for sharing your journey. Just the God incredible story of taking a risk and watching how God moves.

[Evie McLeod]

Yep.

[Valentina Garcia]

Yeah.

[Evie McLeod]

We love you guys.

[John Garcia]

Thank you guys for having us and letting us share this story with everybody else. Of course. Sam.