The Alimond Show
Welcome to The Alimond Show --join us as we share our entrepreneurial guests' stories, uncover their secrets to success, and explore the unique paths they've taken to build thriving businesses in our community.
In each episode, our host, Aliyah Dastour, sits down with a diverse group of local business owners, from the corner cafe to the boutique shop, from tech startups to family-run enterprises. We peel back the curtain to reveal the trials, triumphs, and transformational moments that have shaped their entrepreneurial journey.
Discover the passion, perseverance, and innovative thinking that fuels these businesses, as well as the challenges they've overcome along the way. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur seeking inspiration or simply a curious listener interested in the stories behind your favorite local spots, The Alimond Show has something for everyone.
Our guests share their experiences, insights, and valuable advice that can empower you to turn your own dreams into reality. We discuss topics like marketing strategies, customer relationships, community engagement, and much more, offering practical takeaways you can apply to your own business or career.
Join us every week as we celebrate the unsung heroes of our local business community and explore the vibrant tapestry of entrepreneurship in our area. Tune in to The Alimond Show and get ready to be inspired, informed, and motivated to support and nurture the businesses that make our community thrive.
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The Alimond Show
Moises Cardenas Mendoza - Owner of SC Studios & Pop Up Party Solutions
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When a first-generation college graduate and new father lays bare the rollercoaster of building his digital marketing empire, you can't help but lean in closer. Our guest's narrative is far from a fairy tale; it's a no-holds-barred look into the evolution of his business from a camera-trade start-up to a team of five in just three years. He takes us behind the scenes of team management, the pivotal decision to invest in a studio space, and how heart and hustle led to his mother's pride and his own fatherhood journey.
Picture a world where Silent Discos and Pop-Up Party Solutions aren’t just the backdrop of a vibrant social life but the cornerstones of a thriving entrepreneurial landscape. That's the reality for our multifaceted guest, whose trio of ventures dances between the event-based ecstasy of Silent Disco and the meticulous craft of wedding films. Hear how a passion for horror films and diverse music tastes feeds into his professional aspirations, including a dream to pair weddings with craft beers under one roof, all while cementing legacy and values for his child.
And lastly, our guest turns the spotlight onto the soul of business: the intersection where profitability meets philanthropy. By crafting a children's book that educates and reflects the diversity of the world, this venture goes beyond the page, standing as a testament to the importance of representation in storytelling. It's a reminder that the true measure of success isn't just in the numbers, but in the lives we touch and the narratives we change. Join us for an inspiring conversation that celebrates the transformative power of innovation, representation, and the entrepreneurial spirit.
Digital Marketing Agency
Speaker 1So how long have you been doing your thing ?
Speaker 2About three years .
Speaker 1And what's your thing ?
Speaker 2So we do . It's kind of like a digital marketing agency . So video production , social media marketing , web design , seo , pretty much all that stuff , videography and then just that's kind of our model .
Speaker 1What excited you Like , why Like , why did you get into this , or what did you do before it ?
Speaker 2first of all , so I was running marketing for cybersecurity companies and just other companies up here in Nova and then also back in West Virginia , and I kept running into these situations where people would be like , hey , we want to start a marketing company for like the last one , I was with a mortgage company we want to market for all the agents and we want you to do it all , but you're not going to get any extra pay and you're not going to have any ownership over it . So when they position that and I asked , well , am I going to get ownership or anything ? And they were like no , I was just like okay , I went back the next day , I put my two weeks in and said I'm just going to start my own agency . So they let me go that day . And then I remember I traded my first camera for my first website and then I just started the agency from there .
Speaker 2Wow , Aren't those like great stories yeah it's kind of crazy to see , and I mean we've only been around for three years but I've already got five employees and we've just grown significantly .
Speaker 1How has that been going from solo I asked because I was in the same position going from doing it all yourself to managing a team .
Speaker 2No , one's going to care about your business like you do . But if you find good people and really train them , you can expect them to do about 70% of the way that you would , and then you just have to finish that 30% . It's a full-time job in itself managing employees and making sure they're happy , they're fulfilled , but they're also having enough work and project management and stuff . So it's definitely a learning curve but if it's done right , you can really let them go and kind of do things .
Speaker 1And do their thing .
Speaker 2Yeah , and just expand the business , because you can only do so much for yourself for so long .
Speaker 1So you don't . You don't . What would be like your biggest if you could look back and change something ? You've only been in it for three years . You already have five employees . So that's freaking amazing , especially in our . You know , in our industry Most people try to like buckle down and do it all themselves until they get so burnt out . But if you could look back , what would you change ?
Speaker 2Well , we just did the studio and I didn't know what we wanted to do . So we just built a bunch of sets and I , you know I probably spent like close to $150,000 just remodeling the entire thing Holy crap , well , equipment and stuff like that . And then we just tore down like three sets and I was just like I wish I wouldn't have spent the money to build those sets because they weren't going to stay like , but I just it was the first time we'd ever ventured to something like that . So now I know what I want to do in there and stuff like that . So , and just seeing what the demand in the area , I thought , you know , I just didn't know exactly what I was going to do with that space , so I probably would have taken more time to figure out . This is what I want the studio space to actually be .
Speaker 1Yeah , no , that's smart . I got a Sterling studio before after the pandemic , with all these big visions and plans for it , and we just recently closed it down because I was like it's way too . If had I done my research I would have known it's way too close to Leesburg you know the , in terms of demographic wise , we didn't have enough necessarily differentiated business .
Speaker 2Yeah , from Sterling yeah .
Speaker 1From Sterling People just want to come out here . So I definitely learned my lessons . I should have slowed down .
Speaker 2You never know until you do it . But you know as a solvable . You got to spend money to learn sometimes .
Speaker 1That's right , that's right . 150 is a lot though . But then you got more than just the three sets .
Speaker 2Yeah , a lot of our equipment and stuff like that so too . So , yeah , very cool .
Speaker 1In terms of your story , like if you could encapsulate like your overall story , besides the fact that with the mortgage company piece like , what does that look like for you ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I think I was just always determined to be successful . Like I went to West Virginia University of College and my degree was in social media marketing , which is an actual degree . A lot of people are like , well , it's like you're not going to ever get a job in that . And now I'm like , well , everybody wants digital marketers now . But I can remember , you know , I didn't have a car in college or anything , so I worked like three jobs to put myself on the first generation college students so I would walk them out of sheets and walk them out back home , even at like two in the morning , just because I was always determined to just be successful and just kind of break that curse of you know , as my mom was an immigrant , I've got a lot of siblings and I was just the first one to kind of just go to college , graduate and kind of do it all . So that's kind of just determination and grit . I feel like you're like kind of what my thing has always been .
Speaker 1That's awesome . How does your mom feel about you ?
Speaker 2She's very proud , you know . So it's been incredible . I just had my first son recently , so he's about seven months old . So it's just been cool to see her in that capacity as a grandma and just like , and I'm the youngest out of all my siblings , I'm one of eight , so there's a lot of us , so it's just been cool to see like different dynamics and stuff like that .
Speaker 1Do you feel like you inspired anybody else in your family to like pursue their passions ?
Speaker 2Yeah , so I have a lot of nieces and nephews because I have older sisters or some of them are in their 20s now and I'm 31 now . But I remember one Christmas or something that we were just talking . They were like , yeah , all of the nieces and nephews are like , yeah , all the cousins talking . We said that like you're an inspiration to us to just go to college and just do something with our lodges and stuff like that . So that felt good to me , Like that was one of the reasons I did . What I did is because I wanted to inspire my family .
Speaker 1Now , do you feel like college had a hand in you doing what you're doing now ? Or do you feel like you could have done it without college ? Or did you need college to get to where you are ?
Speaker 2today . I think I needed college because I went into my field was communication studies . I thought it was actually communications , I didn't realize it was a different thing , but it was cool because they had tracks geared towards digital marketing , where journalism courses actually didn't even have anything like that . So we took one course , social media in the workplace , where we actually worked with a real business developer social media plan . And then I went to this something called the Eastern Communication Association , and I went and pitched entire social media plan and just like I kind of learned by fires . I look at it and I feel like that was the best way to learn . So I think college definitely helped me in terms of like the filmmaking and stuff I learned on YouTube . And then there's this course called Full Time Filmmaker . That's really incredible . If I would have known I would probably would have just jumped into that , but I do think it helped me kind of figure out the overall arch of everything that I wanted to do .
Speaker 1Yeah , that was amazing , and sometimes you just need that time to figure it out for you know what I mean . Yeah , yeah .
Speaker 2I mean , I would say college gives you an extra few years to figure out what you really want to do with your life . Exactly , if you're not ready to just jump head first . But one of my employees he's only 20 years old and I started working mentoring him when he was 16 , we found each other on a Facebook group for wedding filmmakers and I've just been teaching him . So he's really , really just . He hit the ground running , so that's been really awesome .
Speaker 1What are you gonna do when he leaves you ?
Speaker 2cry . No , that's okay , whatever happens , you know it is what it is , but he seems very happy and I'm always checking in on my employees to make sure they don't need anything . It's kind of an open line of communication . If you need something , just let me know , we'll figure it out .
Speaker 1What type of people do you look for when you're growing your ?
Speaker 2team . I'm not really looking for people who like or like 20 years in a marketing , because I think they have a different mindset of what needs to be done . Now A lot of stuff is just purely digital . There's still room for , obviously , some of that print and billboard and stuff like that , but I'm looking for somebody that is just really open to learning and I don't need somebody who knows everything , but somebody who's really wants to be skilful in one specific area . But I can teach a broad range of things .
Speaker 1So do you take pride in teaching and mentoring ?
Speaker 2It's fun , but it's a lot of work too . It's an all job in itself . So I am kind of just one of those people where I'll give my employees the tools that they need to be successful in any resource that they need . But I try to like to say you need to actually go on job sites , because what you're learning on YouTube and other things is going to be significantly different than when you're working with small businesses and clients , and they're always kind of shocked when they work with small businesses and see that they're just normal people .
Speaker 1Yeah , or even I mean I'm sure they're like nothing yeah .
Speaker 2And even like CEOs of million dollar companies . When they get behind to do a video , they're nervous , they stumble , and then it just really humanizes everybody . And I tell people like don't be scared of the CEO , Don't be , they're just people like us . They do the same things we do . It's just like there's no reason to be scared .
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah , I have to clarify . I don't mean they know nothing , as in , like you think , especially if you're coming in and you're 20 and 21 , 22 , you think that they like know a lot about social media marketing . But that's why they hired you . Just because you're like this isn't my wheelhouse . I'm really really good at all these things , but I need you to like handle .
Speaker 2And that's what we tell them . Like , your job is to be good at what you do . Our job is to help empower you with social media marketing , and that's what we focus on .
Speaker 1So what do you do outside of work ?
Speaker 2I'm pretty nerdy so I like enjoy going out to like I don't do bars and stuff anymore just because our first kid and stuff like that .
Speaker 1But I enjoy just going . Where'd you grow up ?
Speaker 2dang it I know I enjoy going to like restaurants and friends . I'm a big foodie too , but I also like play Dungeons and Dragons and stuff like that , so I like just different things .
Speaker 1You're like I'm not going to grow up in that sense .
Speaker 2Yeah , I'm always going to have that kid at heart , yeah .
Speaker 1I love that . What do you see yourself in five , 10 years ?
Speaker 2So I like to think of myself as like an aspiring serial entrepreneur
Entrepreneurial Ventures and Inspirations
Speaker 2. So I own , like technically , three businesses . We have the SC Studios , which is the video production marketing agency , sc Wedding Films , which is our wedding site . We did about 30 wedding videos this year , so it's really busy . And then I started a third company this year which I'm going to really propel next year , and it's called Pop-Up Party Solutions . So have you ever done Silent Disco ?
Speaker 1No .
Speaker 2So basically , do you know what it is ? Yeah , when people have the headphones and three different music . So I bought 50 headphones and started that . And then we bought a blow up inflatable nightclub so like somebody could be in their backyard and blow up an entire party for their 16 year old . They don't have to go out to somewhere in a person's house .
Speaker 1That's amazing .
Speaker 2And then we bought a 360 photo booth and just going to start building kind of an event management company in terms of like providing those type of solutions , because it kind of fits into our other models , because we do a lot of events and weddings and we're able to upsell that stuff . So that's going to be the third thing , and then my ultimate goal is to have a wedding venue so and yeah , and a brewery kind of food thing , because I actually went to culinary school as well . So that's kind of my background is what I really I just man of many talents .
Speaker 2I just I'm creative , I love . I think cooking is another form of creativity . So what ?
Speaker 1do you say cooking ? Yeah , oh , 100% yeah , experience yeah .
Speaker 2My wife is always like , um , we'll have people over . And she's like have you ever made this recipe ? I'm like , no , I just want to try it . She's like you're going to test it out on people ? I'm like , yeah , that's the best way to do it , to see if it's good or not .
Speaker 1You probably usually get positive reactions .
Speaker 2It's usually pretty good . I think I made one thing that she didn't like was just fine , because it's something that my mom made and I try to do it and I just can't do it like my mom . You can never do it like my mom no , they don't do measurements or anything .
Speaker 1They just know how to do it . Why not ?
Speaker 2They're like it's easy , Just do this and I'm just like I'm not going to try again .
Speaker 1She said that your mom was an immigrant . Which country did she come from ?
Speaker 2Mexico , mexico , yeah , okay , cool , and how many years has she been here . Um like 30 or 40 .
Speaker 2Yeah , Okay so she's yeah , she's been in a long time and she just I owe everything to her . She gives the opportunity to really build a life over here . And she always told me like she worked in factories all her life because she didn't have much of an education . So she always told me , like , just go do something with your life , because I'm sacrificing a lot of my life so that you guys are able to do whatever you want .
Speaker 1So try to repay that to her now I'm gonna say you didn't , you took that so hard and you definitely went after it .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah , you have to . I feel like when you get that opportunity , what do you ?
Speaker 1do you have any like goals or wishes for your child ? What's His or her name ? Him , it's a hobby , okay .
Speaker 2Yeah , um , yeah . I think just just to be a good person , it's all I can run . I think that's anyone wants that with their kid at least . I'm only seven months in , so I don't know much as other parents , but I just wanted them to be a good person and kind of . I know . When I was growing up we didn't have a lot , so I would have friends who would let me stay with them during holidays or , you know , let me stay summers with them , because we didn't have , like my mom had moved down , we didn't have a house in the area anymore , but that was my hometown . So I just want him to be that friend , that if somebody needs something there he will offer us up and we're always gonna be open to that . I think that just to be a good person is all I can really ask .
Speaker 1If you can make a film about anything , what would you make it about ?
Speaker 2Oh man , that's a tough one .
Speaker 1Have you ever thought about it ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I have . It's just I don't know . We do so many corporate videos and stuff like that .
Speaker 1That's like different .
Speaker 2Yeah , it's a whole different world than I actually making a film . I don't know . I like horrors , I like horrors , so something horror maybe to be fun .
Speaker 1You and Lil will get along really well , just like horrid too .
Speaker 2I love horrors and my wife hates it , but I love it like I try to watch anything scary , so I'll probably do a horror film . That would be pretty cool .
Speaker 1Why horror ?
Speaker 2I don't know . I think it's just exciting to get scared , but you're like , it's like a challenge . You're like , is this actually gonna scare me ? Is probably not gonna scare me , I don't know , and you're just looking for that thrill . I got a lot of haunted houses and all that . My wife just gets so mad when I make her come to them .
Speaker 1Slurrious In terms of , first of all , what type of music do you listen to ?
Speaker 2I listen to everything so Big into like pop , rap , rock , r&b , pretty much anything that my wife got me into country a lot , so I'll really look country music .
Speaker 1West Virginia .
Speaker 2Yeah , so there's a lot of country and you kind of when I went to Western University a lot of people listen to country , so you kind of happen . I was like , okay , you know what ? This isn't that bad .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2I used to think it was like the stereotypical , like Riding in my truck and stuff like that , and I was okay , there's a little bit more substance than that in country music .
Speaker 1I'm funny in terms of Okay , so five to ten years out , you're gonna have your own wedding venue . All three of your businesses are gonna be thriving . Looking out from that point , what do you hope to look back and see ?
Speaker 2Mostly that I was just able to make an impact in my community and just inspire Other minority business owners to kind of go out and just don't put any limitations on what you can do . I I sit in a lot of board meetings and I'm on a couple different board of directors and stuff and I I'm always the youngest person in there most of the time and I'm usually one of the only minorities , if not the only Hispanic person in there . So I really just wanted other Hispanics or just minorities general , to look and say , hey , you might not have anything , but you can work your way up to kind of Everything is so much more accessible these days that it's okay . If you're the only person in those you should . You also have a voice and you're just as smart , if not talented , than any of those people in that room and you've kind of earned your spot . So just trying to inspire people and just continuing to help our community , help nonprofits in the area and stuff like that's really important to me . Why is it important for minorities to show up ?
Speaker 1I think you know .
Speaker 2It's . It's part of that inspiration . You know , there is a lot of diversity and the new generation of people that I've met , the new generations , are a lot more accepting of that and there's more pathways open to that . But I think some people think like you know , oh , I can only own like a Latino Store that sells like Latino stuff , like that . I'm like you can do a lot more than that . That has you don't have to own a Mexican restaurant or which is great stuff . I mean , we need those things , but I want to see more people doing different things , like filmmaking , and you know , I T there's just so many opportunities out there that I think they should know like , hey , there's , there's no barriers anymore . You can really break those now .
Speaker 1I love that You're such an inspiration . I .
Speaker 2Just , I always tell people what you see is what you get . I'm pretty shallow when it comes to all that stuff . No , I know it's not shallow .
Speaker 1In terms of like two or three things that you wish business owners knew before you are reaching out to you .
Speaker 2Um , I think one would be to just Don't be afraid to just reach out and we're never gonna make you feel like you're dumb or like you don't know what you're doing . I have a lot of people that like I'm sorry , I'm just really terrible with all this stuff . I'm like it's okay , you're not supposed to be good with this stuff . Like if you and I think you would know this too Like if you're not up to date with all the platforms that are consistently changing every single day , it's really hard to keep up with all that stuff . Yeah , it's really hard .
Speaker 2The second thing I would say is just Don't be afraid to just try . I think a lot of people are like we need really fancy camera equipment and stuff , and well , obviously I would love them for them to come to us for that stuff . Your cell phones really powerful nowadays , you can do a lot of content on there . So just trying to at least do something will get you a lot further than just sitting back saying I don't know how to do this , I can't even try . So those are , like my top two things I would say , and three like websites are still important . So please don't just like get your cousin and do your website because it's gonna impact how people perceive your business .
Speaker 1Now , when do people go to people's website Like why is that important , especially with social media , with people on the platform ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I think it depends on your industry , but for me I think of your website as a digital billboard representation of your business . So you have kind of a funnel . Your social media and all the other stuff that you do is your first point of contact with that person . But if they want to know what services in depth you provide or what you can give them , your website should really be a reflection of that and they should go on that website and be able to get anything they need to know about your business so that they get excited and say , okay , this person is definitely an expert in what they do . I want to make sure that I Hire them because their website really tells me everything I need to know about them .
Speaker 1I love it . I agree . I just have to ask yeah , no .
Speaker 2I think a lot of people are like you don't need websites anymore and I'm like it's still really important . I mean , even when it comes to Google is really important too .
Speaker 1Oh yeah , no , I agree , especially when you don't own the platforms . They can literally shut it down anytime they want or
Running Facebook Ads and Helping Others
Speaker 1Not .
Speaker 2Show your stuff to someone and you know I mean you have to run Facebook ads pretty much for every type of content . You know really good at where you were walking down the road and you were that was awesome at . I saw that . I was like Okay , she knows what she's performing at . Yeah , I saw it and I was like she killed it . I was like that's a really really good style of ads .
Speaker 1So you know , you know yeah , in terms of when all is said and done , what would be your one message to the world , whether it's really that's a business , or just about being active in the community , or just like your life's mission ?
Speaker 2Just try to help people . I think that's it's a pretty simple statement , but really it doesn't have to be any grand gesture . It could be something small , but just try to help people . Use your talents everybody has some type of talent and use them to help people . We do a lot of stuff for free for nonprofits or for people who just need help , or things that are close to our heart Animals , things like that . Just try to help out it .
Speaker 2You know , obviously you have to run a business and keep your lights on and stuff . But if you're able to donate 30 minutes here , donate an hour there to help somebody or an organization , get a message across . Don't be afraid to do it , because it'll come back and pay for itself . We we've done a lot of that and those nonprofits and organizations and stuff always refer us to everyone they know and that's how we've been able to grow our business so quickly . So we're just not afraid to say , yeah , we'll come do this for free . We know you don't have a big budget right now . We know it'll come back . Just recommend us to everybody , you know .
Speaker 1I love that and I like that you actually have the . Please recommend us .
Speaker 2Yeah , you have to , like you know they're you are not a nonprofit , yeah you have to give them a message to let them know . This is what I'm expecting , and it would be nice if you did this , but we're willing to help you however we can .
Speaker 1Quick question what type of animal person are you dogs , okay .
Speaker 2My favorite thing no hesitation . Yeah , cats are okay , but you know I like dogs . I just so . Something else I did that was just like I'm one of those people that I'm just like , if I want to do something , I'm just gonna go try to figure it out . So I wrote a book this year .
Speaker 2Oh , wow , yeah , yeah so we we are self illustrated , self-route , everything , um and it's about kids with their pets and learning how to help take care of them . Because I noticed I had friends I'm at the age where all my friends are having kids and they were like , yeah , our kids would just grab our dog and just like any . So it's kind of a book teaching kids how to like , learn how to be careful with their pets and stuff like that . So one of the cool things that I'm doing with it is I'm actually picking all my friends and using their kids , so their kids are actually in the books and their pets . So they kind of feel like , oh look , here's our daughter right here in this book . So kind of just trying to do something .
Speaker 1What's the name of the book ?
Speaker 2This one's called Javi and Louie , so it was about my son and our dog , louie , and just uh , and my wife sent it to just learning how to Help take care of them and stuff like that .
Speaker 1So how can somebody purchase it on our ?
Speaker 2website at seabookswvcom and they can just order it directly through there .
Speaker 1That's so cool .
Speaker 2Congratulations , yeah we're gonna do a few other ones that we're gonna do . We want to just show diversity . So the next one is , um , one of my best friends . They're a interracial couple and they have a biracial daughter , so with their cat . And then I want to do stuff about senior dogs and I want to make sure I'll just show kids in wheelchair . Just a
Appreciation for Inspiring Representation
Speaker 2little bit of everything .
Speaker 1So anybody mara loves you so much .
Speaker 2Mara's awesome to you , though I've learned a lot of this stuff from her actually , so she's just a really given person .
Speaker 1Yeah , no , I love that . I love that you got a whole series going with your body .
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean , why not I ? I just like I said , it's important for that representation . I want somebody to be able to see that and be like hey , look , that's me , that inspires me , that's me right there in that book .
Speaker 1So yeah , that looks like me .
Speaker 2Yeah , exactly , yeah , that's cool .
Speaker 1Thank you so much for being on the podcast . I so appreciate your time , your inspiration and the talents that you share with the world .
Speaker 2Thank you , I appreciate you having me .