Today we’d like to introduce you to Max Patino.
Hi Max, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
6 years ago, I hit my glass ceiling in the service industry. I held every job from dishwasher up to General Manager, and I knew I had lost my passion in that field. I became very anxious about my life and where I wanted to go. I knew I loved helping people, I knew I loved art, but I also knew that there wasn’t any money in either of those fields. If I could mix art with helping others, that would be the dream job. I didn’t have an end game, per se, but I picked up a camera and knew I had to start somewhere.
After many years of grinding and learning a new craft, I started my own business, Violet Skyy Media. We specialize in offering affordable digital marketing solutions to restaurants that can’t afford big-time marketing. We also run quarterly events specialized in giving back to local charities as a way of staying true to our original mission of helping others.
Violet Skyy Media is my way of molding my two passions and making a career out of what I enjoy most in life!
Restarting my career from the service industry to digital marketing was easily the hardest thing I had ever done in my life. Eventually, though, you get tired of dealing with all the bullshit that goes into the service industry, and I just had to make a move elsewhere. Those first few years were hell, but completely worth it. Absolutely worth it. If you don’t like where you’re at in life, create a future you’ll love.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh man, I don’t think there ever was a smooth road or even a road close to smooth on this journey.
I’d find it easier to tell you all the things that have gone right. That list is next to non-existent. That’s part of it, though. It’s why 20% of businesses fail within their first two years. It’s an absolute ass-kicking. You run into vicious cycles, and you really have to dig deep and problem-solve to find solutions asap. The problems stack up, and the bills keep coming. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart or anyone with a weak mentality. You will get knocked down 1000 times, and if you don’t anticipate getting up 1001, it won’t work.
But then you make that sale, and everything is worth it.
Those negative thoughts begin to fade, and all the “I don’t know if I can do this” turns into “We did it once, we’ll do it again.” Then you do. When you’re up, you have to anticipate a downfall and be ready to roll with the punches once again.
My biggest struggle was anticipating major victories initially instead of appreciating the smaller ones. Odds are you’re not going to become a millionaire overnight when starting your own business. If you’re able to keep your lights on, pay your rent, and feed your family doing something you started on your own…
That’s a damn good victory. Celebrate it, and keep kicking ass.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Violet Skyy Media is a true one-stop shop for all of your digital marketing needs. We create content that we post, manage, and funnel leads from. We specialize in restaurants because that is my background; I understand the restaurant business fluently. Spoiler alert, you can’t get locked in a freezer like The Bear showed because you’ll never pass an inspection to operate with a broken push latch on the inside of the freezer. Episode ruined.
All jokes aside, my heart beats for mom and pop shops. Anyway we can help them; we do. Our plans top out at $1000 a month. We purposely set the price so that a busy lunch could cover your marketing for the whole month; however, we custom-tailor plans to fit the needs of those who want the marketing but can’t afford that much.
We also visit local spots weekly and video their best dishes. We give them the “influencer treatment,” except we never ask for anything free, ever. When we do get meals comped, we take the cost of the meal and put that into ad spend on the video we make, so the business gets maximum potential for views and reach.
Our proudest moments happen when we run our charity missions. Once a quarter, we either run our own mission or partner with Catering to Love (look them up if you love giving back) and run some kind of event or campaign that gives back to local charities. For instance, we ran a toy drive in December and raised almost $1000. We then took that money and went to Rebecca’s Toy Shop in Hurst, spent it there, and donated everything to Rescue Her in Hurst, which is an anti-trafficking organization. We just wrapped up a business pop-up class we did with Catering to Love over at Heritage Middle School, and we raised over $700 to GRACE Grapevine.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I love collaborations. If collaborating with VSM interests you, please email or DM me! We’re looking to expand here pretty soon. I’ll need a content grabber before long!
Local businesses that want to be featured, DM @Violetskyymedia. We’d love to work with you. Even on those weekly hot spot videos, we’re always open to throwing some kind of coupon code in there, anything that can help attract people to your business!
I’m also starting a YouTube series here pretty soon with business owners, just another opportunity for local businesses to get their stories out there.
If you made it this far into this interview, I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that. Every like, share, and follow does go a long way for us, so follow us on Instagram; we greatly appreciate it!
Pricing:
- $1000 all-in bundle
- *custom tailored prices available
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.violetskyymedia.com
- Instagram: @violetskyymedia
