Today we’d like to introduce you to Gilberto Sauceda.
Hi Gilberto, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I studied at the Art Institute of Houston; after high school, my initial plan was to be an illustrator, which I did for 20 years. I illustrated several publications and illustrated several children’s books. I was named the illustrator of the year by the AGAS. I believe I was their name, but I may need to be corrected. I went into sales and fell in love what the idea of how the sales cycle/process worked.
During the initial stage of my sales career, I brought my daughter to work with me during a bring your daughter to work field trip; she was in 5th grade at the time. I had a closing meeting with a large national client, so I called and asked if it was ok to bring her along to our lunch meeting, they agreed, and she sat quietly during our hour-and-a-half meeting, which we finished with a signed contract. In our car drive back home, she summarized what she perceived about what I did every day; she said, “so what you do is make friends and buy stuff from you,” I remember a major shift in my thinking about sales. My job was not to sell stuff or convince someone they needed to buy what I had to sell; my job was to make friends, find out their needs and offer solutions.
After 13 years in sales, I decided to launch my own business, I wanted to combine my passion for sales and design with my wife Mary and my brother Ron, and the Color Factory was born. We started as a screen printing business, but I hope to use my marketing and sales experience to help other small businesses grow. I had done freelance work with bigger agencies in the Austin area and learned just how much money it took to launch a marketing campaign. I remember thinking that mom-and-pop shops would never be able to afford the services of such agencies. So I decided that my niche market would be the small business that did not have a big marketing budget but still needed to get their name out there.
My first client is still a client today; they are a summer day camp that, at the time, had the third generation camp director who was looking to do something different with their marketing budget. He took a chance on me simply because we met him at the right time, and he was looking to take some of his tv advertising money and move it over to the internet. I remember the first meeting with the founders, who were in their 80s, and after my pitch to them, there was an awkward silence. One of the owners broke the silence by saying, “I do not want to be on the internet” I remember looking at her grandson with horror in my eyes and thinking no internet; well, I got nothing if we don’t use the internet. I then responded by saying the question is not do you want to be on the internet, but do you want to control the narrative on the internet? I then showed her how her camp was all over the internet, and then she realized this was happening and decided to take a chance on me. This started what now is a great relationship and a very successful transition from tv advertising to marketing via the internet.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I would not call it a smooth road but a learning and growing journey. We jumped in thinking we could grow a big firm and bright in some investors, hired a few employees, and went through my initial money quickly. After some soul-searching, I realized that I needed to run a lean ship and do the best job possible. I was in a networking meeting every day, and never eating alone was my motto; if I would slow down long enough o eat, why not have someone I could build a relationship with in front of me? After two years of this, every business client I have had has been a referral or a repeat client. When I figured out how to have my services become a retainable service, my business became a lot more stress-free.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Our services include brand development. As a marketing firm, we help our clients build a name and a client base by building a bridge of trust. And we do that by using every mode of messaging that we can use. I have created hundreds of logos and brand messages for our clients. We introduced video into our storytelling which has become one of our flagship services. Social media has been a channel that we use to reach our audience.
What makes you happy?
I am truly blessed to have an amazing family and support system. My wife loves and encourages me to no end, and my kids brighten up my day and give me a reason to lead by example and always live to serve. I have many friends and live in a community that feels like a small town, although it’s a large metroplex. My goal is to help small business owners succeed; everything we do is to ensure our clients win. Zig Ziglar said you could have everything you want if you help enough people get what they want. Along the way, I have made many friends around town. Ultimately I want to leave my little piece of this rock we call home just a little better for the next guy. I truly love what I do, design, storytelling, video, and helping people succeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.colorfactoryllc.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilbert-sauceda-2568a47/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_5_xlcchHLL_Vv0sWVIwRw
- Other: https://vimeo.com/thecolorfactory
Image Credits
Head shot from David Vox Avila, DP in video clip is Alfredo Diaz
