Episode Summary:
In this podcast episode, Eric "Pacinos" Roa and Mauricio Londoño join Alex Quin to discuss tips on growing a personal brand. The conversation covers a range of topics including the importance of bringing enough value to the table, the role of social media in personal branding, and how to stand out from the competition. They also share their own personal experiences and advice on growing a personal brand.
Eric Roa is a celebrity barber, entrepreneur, and the founder of Pacinos; a line of men’s grooming products. He is also a popular social media influencer with over 700k followers on Instagram.
Mauricio Londoño is a Latin content creator and podcaster, whose name you might recognize from his work on the podcast Checking con Mauro! Mauricio interviews entrepreneurs, digital nomads, and other interesting people from around the world.
Wisdom Nuggets:
1. If You Don’t Ask, You Might Miss Opportunities
Asking questions is essential if you want to learn and grow. It can also help you identify opportunities that you might have otherwise missed. And it can also open doors to new and exciting experiences.
2. Bring Value To The Table
If you want people to take notice of you and your brand, you need to make sure that you’re bringing enough value to the table. This means offering something unique and valuable that others can’t or don’t offer.
3. Be A Big Observer
One of the best ways to learn and grow is to be a big observer. This means paying attention to what’s happening around you and taking note of what works and what doesn’t.
4. It’s All About Relationships
Building strong relationships is key to growing a personal brand. These relationships can be with customers, clients, colleagues, or anyone else that you interact with.
5. Feeling Down? Do Something Fun
When you’re feeling down, it can be tough to get motivated to work on your brand. But one of the best ways to get out of a funk is to do something that you enjoy. This can be anything from reading a book to going for a walk.
Podcast Outline:
Alex : (00:41) What's up everybody? This is Alex Quinn and you're listening to the Hustle Inspires Hustle podcast. On today's episode, we have two very special guests, Eric, better known as Pacinos, and Mauricio Londono.
Mauricio: (00:55) Thank you very much for the invitation, bro.
Alex : (00:57) No, man, Thanks for being here. I've, I've been wanting to do this with you and with you for quite some time and I'm glad we're, the three of us are here
Alex : (01:22) And that's when you introduce me to, to Eric and dude, I love what you have going on, man. Appreciate you have a serious track record. Just to give everybody a little bit of background, Eric is an entrepreneur, and Mauricio is a content creator.
Alex : (01:35) He's in the entertainment space, he's worked in radio. He's extremely known because of his podcast. And I seriously look up to the content he creates. So it's honestly an honor to have him here. We're used to all used to speaking in Spanish because of our Spanish audience.
Alex : (01:56) This is one of your creations, man. Wonder if we talk about this a little bit?
Eric: (01:58) Absolutely. So this is basically just years of being a barber and understanding all the different hair types and hair textures. And then me basically just branching off from the barber shop and saying, You know what? I wanna come out with my own line of hair products.
Alex : (02:46)I like that. So there's a lot of you that are watching, but there's a lot of you that are listening. If you're listening and don't know what we're talking about, We're sitting in front of some men's grooming products by the name of Pacinos.
Alex : (03:37) Hey, so talk to me about your, your days before this.
Eric: (03:49) So basically I started off as a barber, Well, let me take you a little bit farther back. Okay. Again, I know I look like I'm 21, but I'm not 21. I'm actually 22 now
Eric: (04:07) That's awesome. Columbian power. If anybody has any Latin parents, you know, parents hate to pay the electric bill. Right. So like living in sunny south Florida, it was like hot and I'd be in the bathroom cutting my hair like for three hours
Eric: (05:17) Was a little, I had just got out of the Navy. I was 22 years old. Okay. 22 years old. And, uh, looking for a job like bro, to be honest, it was like I got out and I couldn't find a job. Like I was looking in the newspaper and finally said like, shampoo assistant.
Eric: (05:29) And I was like, Excuse me, hairstyle assistant. So I thought I was gonna go in there and cut some hair. He was like, Nah, nah, you're gonna be in here washing all these heads. And I was like, Oh my God. So I was there trying to be like the best shampoo boy you could ever like meet because I was only getting paid $5 an hour.
Eric: (06:01) Yeah bro. I was like, man, this guy's really making some really good money, you know, doing haircuts. Right. And that's when I said, You know what? Like I need to just one day open up my own shop and, pretty much, you know, have the same model.
Eric: (06:35)
And I discovered the pomade they were using loud on the West coast. And, um, a lot of it was more wax not so water-soluble. Now, you know, there are a lot more pomades that are water. So water is soluble. And that's when I said, All right, I'm gonna get with a chemist and start formulating my own products.
Alex : (07:00)
There. Yeah. Cuz it's part of the process too, like Absolutely. Did you get a chance to open your barbershop or you worked outta a barbershop and learned then maybe did cuts like on, on a one-on-one basis, private cuts? Or how did that work?
Eric: (07:11) So, so good question. So basically I started off as a, actually, I started out a salon first cutting hair. And then from there, I went to another salon. And then while I was in that salon, I literally just started going to the nightclubs and I would shake the hands of all the owners and ask 'em, Hey, listen, I wanna cut you here for free.
Alex : (08:55) So yeah. Essentially what I'm hatching from that is that you bring value to the table. So like you, you know, you need something and you know who you need to reach out to. Yes. But you reach out to them and you already bring value to the table.
Eric: (09:10) Yes. One hand watches the other. And it's all about just understanding. It's like anything in business, you have to understand first about, you know, what's your niche? You know mm-hmm. like, what, what is it that you're good at?
Eric: (09:31) And those are the people that don't mind spending a little bit of money. Yeah. You know, so for me, it's almost like, all right, do I go for that or do I go for the guys that like, you know, with all due respect, maybe they're, you know, they have a different interest and they don't really care about their hairstyle.
Alex : (09:58) Right. And you know, it's interesting that, that you, when you were working at the salon, you did it with Pride and you wanted to learn because you know, in salons there you're more used to seeing these types of products, especially back in that day. Right?
Alex : (11:06) So you, you, started off in Columbia, How far back Mao
Mauricio: (11:10) In 1993? I started as a, I was born in 1993. Yeah.
Mauricio: (11:18) I started as an assistant, you know, for, the DJ. And they, they only, you know, let me in, in, in the studio. And, and that's it. They, don't allow me, to talk on air or, you know, just answer the phone. And people requested songs..
Alex : (12:14) It was very different back then. There's no computer where you go, All right, let me put this song or mix it in. You actually have to put the vinyl on.
Mauricio: (13:07) But, you know, I, I was, I'm surprised that I was making content without knowledge, you know? Yeah. Right. Zero-knowledge. And, and I'm impressed about that because nobody, you know, I, I, I was burning a little town, you know, with no radio stations, no opportunities.
Mauricio: (13:57) My passion for the music, you know, takes me to the radio to, to start listening to the radio. Right. And then, uh, I, I, I used to listen like 10 hours per day. I was obsessed.
Mauricio: (14:24) I used to listen to, you know, the late night shows until 4:00 AM you know, imagining things, because radio is the theater of the sound. Right. And yeah, One day I used to, I was thinking, why don’t I Look for a job in the radio? Okay. Yeah.
Alex : (15:53) Somebody with hunger. Yeah. And that's probably one of the best people you could bring to your team. Honestly. It is.
Alex : (16:22) So, bro, how did that evolve into what you do now? Why don't you talk to us a little bit about what you do now, your podcast?
Mauricio: (16:38) Yeah. Yeah. I love to have deep conversations with, you know, interesting people. Mm-hmm. , I, I'm not pursuing only artists. You know, I, I, most of the time I'm, I'm interviewing artists because, you know, I, I'm in the, into the music industry. But my goal is to talk with, you know, actors, you know, entrepreneurs, you know, like you.
Alex : (19:35) You guys wanna know something interesting, right? Because my main thing, I'm a digital marketer. Okay. So, companies pay me to run their ads and make them money, whether it's products or services. Yeah. So naturally, I post a lot of content online about digital marketing, or I consume a lot of content online about digital marketing.
Alex : (19:50) And check this out, the hashtag digital marketing in English. Right. On Instagram. And, and YouTube. And TikTok specifically has fewer posts and reach than hashtag marketing, In Spanish. In Spanish. So there is an explosion of Latin content, specifically in the marketing world.
Alex : (20:43) Let's talk a little bit about how you guys came together on that, on, on that podcast and how you, how you're essentially a supporter and sponsor of, of, of Mau a show. Yeah, absolutely. So, checking with Maido,
Eric: (20:52) So I was in Las Vegas, I was actually out there for the Latin Grams week. Mm-hmm. . And, uh, we were also, the same thing, doing an activation, cuz I'm always big on just marketing.
Eric: (21:38) And I'm the type of person, I always like to invest into people. I'd rather invest into people first before I invest into anything else. Because for me it's almost like, alright, again, I rather go to war with people.
Alex : (23:13) You guys are very connected. You get, you're in every event ever. Like ever
Eric: (23:22) Listen, at the end of the day, for me, it's always been that way with me. It's like, you know, like ma like what he was just talking about the radio station.
Eric: (23:32) If you just crack the door open a little bit for me, I'm gonna find the way to get
Eric: (23:36) I'm, I'ma find the way to get in there. And again, it's like, you know, I just feel like with anything like, you know, I've worked with different artists and stuff like that, like, you know, top tier artists, like people like Puff Daddy, Jay-Z, Nas, and that's one thing, you know, I'm a big observer.
Alex : (24:27) When I was younger, I was trying to figure out ways to get in. How do I communicate, how do I bring something to the table?
Eric: (26:08) So yeah, before I got into the products and stuff like that, as a barber, ironically enough, like just networking, you know, I met this gentleman by the name of Curtis Smith.
Eric: (28:13) We did a whole tour with me, him, and Snoop, where we literally did 30 cities in Europe and I would just like his barber.
Eric: (31:10) Yeah. I was like, yo, this just got real. Like, I'm not going out to like, yo, I gotta figure this out. So I started going to production. I was like I started to get on my Puff Daddy. I was like, yo, where are the outlets? I was like, I need an extension card.
Eric: (34:08) Artists would just come to his house and I'd be there like, Hey, can you cut up this guy? You know, can you cut up this guy? And it's like, all right.
Alex : (34:29) What was the catalyst? Right? So you're, you're, you're, you're hanging out with all these guys, you're doing business with all these guys.
Alex : (36:33) What was the first product of Pacinos?
Eric: (36:34) My Pomade Yeah. And then the matte. Yeah. The pomade was, again one of the biggest reasons because it used to work on me, and then all of a sudden when I found out there was a matte paste that would still give you a hold but wouldn't give you like that shiny look.
Alex : (37:32)
Did you start selling first before you were a rockstar?
Eric: (37:39) Well here's the thing. It's like for me it's like I've always just felt like if I push, if I pushed this brand enough, somebody's gonna take notice.
Eric: (38:33) And so doing that, I caught the attention of a gentleman that basically sells to Target.
Eric: (40:22) Yeah. And I told him, I said, Well, everybody keeps telling me like 75% of the shoppers that target is women, so how are we gonna win that space? And he was like, What you're doing, there's a need for it. It'll happen. Yeah. And sure enough, he had just got that position to be able to pitch like that.
Alex : (41:53) So the question for you, for somebody at home that's watching this, and this is heavily inspired by, by your story, Eric, what are a few things, maybe a handful of things that you recommend to somebody who's looking to start a consumer package brand that wants to get out there? What are the, like the pillars that they should have like locked in before they even consider maybe doing an approach to one of these big retailers?
Eric: (42:16) That's a good question. I'd say the first thing is to understand, really understand what you're trying to sell. Mm-hmm. , that's just number one.
Alex : (45:43) Yeah. So what I'm catching from everything you're saying is to have a quality product, understand who you're selling to, and why they're buying. Yep. Create great content. Absolutely. Understand that social media is important, right? Yep. What else am I missing? Ads. Ads, Right? Understand marketing,
Alex : (47:33) I love how you guys support each other. I fuck with that.
Eric: (50:18) I'm just a firm believer of like, you take care of those people who take care of you.
Alex : (53:47) Question, how long has this been, how has this brand been alive?
Eric: (53:51) I'd say since 2012. Mm-hmm. It's been, uh, 10 years now since we started it. But I'd say our biggest break was probably like in 2016 when we got on target.com.
Alex : (54:28)
Now to finalize, you're in all these great locations. Do you have anything on your wishlist of anything, anywhere you would like your products to ultimately be?
Eric: (54:39) I'd say probably just, I wanna tap into Asia. Well, we actually got into Asia. We were in Aloft stores and there's another store called like in Japan.
Alex : (55:08)
I love learning from guys like you. Like, you know, it's, that's why I do this podcast, you know, people are learning with me so whoever's listening right now watching, they're learning from what you're talking about.
Alex : (58:31) First of all, make sure if you speak Spanish and you like entertainment, you like content, you like anything related to the entertainment industry, check our Mauricio.
Alex : (59:30) All right y'all, this is hustle inspires hustle. We're in Miami today, honoring Pacinos and honoring these two great guys!
Power Quotes:
Alex : (16:17) “Hard work beats talent. When talent doesn't work hard.”
Eric: (23:32) “If you just crack the door open a little bit for me, I'm gonna find the way to get.”
Alex : (24:52) “People will remember you because of your word, because of your work ethic, because of your empathy.”
Eric: (49:03) “I don't think anything in this life means anything. If you're not able to give back to those who like really were there for.”
Resources Mentioned:
Hustle Inspires Hustle website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.