Today we’d like to introduce you to Vania Portilla.
Vania, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
For a long, as I can remember, I’ve always been a creative or involved in some sort of art form. I danced throughout all my school years and moved on to get my B.A from USC’s School of Dramatic Arts. After working in dozens of acting, dancing and modeling gigs and after probably hundreds of castings (okay, I don’t know about hundreds but definitely a lot), I quickly began to realize I wanted to be a bit more in control of my craft. I started making videos for YouTube and slowly it opened up a whole new world for me. The world of freelancing. I started taking on creative digital projects for different clients and quickly fell in love with the idea of being my own boss, living my life on my own terms and doing what I felt called to do.
I didn’t have any substantial knowledge in graphic design, marketing, branding or running a business for that matter, but I decided to take things into my own hands. I began to educate myself on all of the things that interested me. Skillshare and Lynda became my best friends and for a couple of months, I made it a point to watch a course every. single. day. I felt like I was back in school, but I loved it. This is was such an exciting time because I didn’t know where I was going, but I liked how it felt. I noticed how much I was truly impacting people and helping them bring their visions to life. After about six months, I realized that branding my creative services would propel it to evolve into something much greater than myself— VCREATIVE Miami launched in January 2019.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It definitely wasn’t as smooth as it might seem! I graduated USC in 2015 and VCM didn’t launch until January 2019. For four entire years, I didn’t have any real direction. But one thing I did know for certain: the thought of working a 9 to 5 literally made me feel sick to my stomach. I was approached with great opportunities in the corporate world and having to turn them down was very difficult— the pressures from society to land a “stable” job were real. I remember driving to a second interview crying the ENTIRE way there — I’m not being dramatic. I tried so many ways of plugging myself into creative fields, where I wouldn’t be constrained into a cubicle or a strict schedule, but nothing seemed promising… until I took matters into my own hands.
This is why I’m the biggest advocate about creating your own opportunities. You don’t need to wait for someone to open the doors for you; start paving your own way and you’ll be surprised how quickly things start coming together. And if you’re not sure what direction you want to go into: explore and try different things. The moment you open up yourself to new experiences without expectation is when the right opportunities will start to find you.
Please tell us about VCREATIVE Miami.
VCREATIVE Miami is a boutique creative agency. We focus on brand development, social media marketing and creative design. However, our mission extends beyond the work, we ultimately strive to create a space where entrepreneurs and creatives can come to feel inspired, educated and supported by our community. We believe in approaching all situations with a deep sense of clarity and always leading with love and intention. I’m so proud of the community we are building and I’m so excited for all the projects that are in the works!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I wouldn’t do anything differently. I believe that all of my experiences, hardships and struggles led me where I am today. Without them, I wouldn’t have evolved into the person I am now. However, a piece of advice I would give my younger self is to never stop pursuing your goals– no matter how big or small they might be. If you go confidently in the direction of your dreams, things will start falling into place and it’s important we never lose sight of that. I love the quote “Shoot for the moon. And if you miss you’ll land among the stars.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vcreativemiami.com
- Phone: 3054903861
- Email: vania@vcreativemiami.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/vcreativemiami
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vcreativemiami
Image Credit:
Cailin Bryne
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