Today we’d like to introduce you to Jimmy Aranda.
Hi Jimmy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My sister has a quote about me that I enjoy, “you’ve always liked a lot on your plate and not just food.”
I like keeping busy and juggling projects.
My “first” business was a band I was in at the end of high school. As much as I joke about it, I learned so many skills: leadership, marketing, branding, HR (firing band members and finding new ones), vendor relations (the guy who printed our stickers and the other guy who made buttons for us), PR, and so much more.
Now I have Positive Design Company, Studio 411 in Downtown El Paso and my music project, The Dead Electrics. I feel like they are more refined versions of what I’ve always done.
I never knew what graphic design was and didn’t know what producing music meant or all that even went into a studio session for one song.
Having the opportunity to work with businesses and musicians on their branding and hearing upcoming artists to working with The Atlantic and Texas Monthly on podcasts is such a fantastic experience.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The only smooth part was how a roller coaster smoothly takes you up and down, haha.
I always relate my story to my musical journey because it helped me navigate my business journey. At some peaks of my previous music projects, I have had bandmates leave. A perfect example was I booked a show at The Viper Room in Hollywood after we finished opening for The Sounds (a Swedish Indie Rock band). I didn’t want to start on the wrong foot with the venues we booked – especially The Viper Room, so I figured it out. I had a friend fill in on drums, and we pushed through. The “I’m going to figure this out because this is going to happen” attitude is so necessary for business.
Things go wrong, and you can’t just go back out.
That mindset helped me so much through 2020. Closing the studio down multiple times but finding a way to get business and same for Positive Design Company, we had to figure out a way to make it through.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My primary specialization is Branding and Digital Marketing.
What sets me apart is understanding both the creative and analytic sides of things and breaking them down simply to clients.
There are so many creative factors regarding branding that sometimes it’s all intuitive, and I see creatives struggle to communicate that to clients. At the same time, digital marketing can be so complex. I mention digital strategy, pixels, tags, and customer audiences, and the glazed eyes come out. I’m proud of being able to help musicians and artists understand the landscape a little better, so they feel empowered.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was a shy kid. Haha. VERY shy kid.
I’ve always loved art and music and picked up drawing before any instrument. Always been a creative and a bookworm.
A part of why I chose retail as a job growing up was because it forced me out of my shell. Sure playing music in front of people was nerve-wracking but didn’t it compare to starting conversations with a complete stranger.
Pricing:
- For Branding/Logo projects, they start at $1500
- For Digital Marketing, our process begins with a digital audit priced at $150. We can’t tell you what’s wrong without taking a deep look first.
- For Studio work, we start at $68 an hour depending on what you need
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jimmyaranda.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thejimmyaranda
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/thejimmyaranda
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thejimmyaranda
Image Credits
Janene Rojas
Gibel Amador
Chris Baylon
