Meet Alberto Alvarez | Owner/Graphic Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alberto Alvarez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alberto, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
It started from one the most basic struggles. Financial security. I have a family and they were my first thought as far as figuring out that I needed something beyond the average 9 to 5. The typical day job just wasn’t cutting it for me, not in terms of hours or flexibility but having to deal with a standard job issues as far as being paid on time, being paid appropriately, being appreciated for said work. The next step was finding a need but I came to the conclusion there’s millions of needs but what need could fit with my skills or what I could do from scratch with little capital? The next one was putting that down as a list and figuring out what steps I needed to take. The need, how I can fill that need, how do I start doing that, what legal documents I needed to fill out or file and what needed to be accomplished to make this a real business.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Since I’m currently a one-man show I am many parts. Part sign maker, designer, salesman, and small business owner. I’m mostly excited to encounter challenges in the sign world. The more complex a sign or design is the more motivation I have to accomplish the end goal of a high-quality sign or design for my clients.

I used to work for FastSigns, I learned much of my Adobe Illustrator and sales skills from my time there. Prior to me working there I was not 100% familiar with illustrator and some other various design software so I am what you would call self-taught but truth be told I learned from a couple coworkers, a little from the internet, and some just from creating orders.

It wasn’t a walk-in-the-park, I’ve had many orders or situations that turned, for whatever reason, into a nightmare but those are the moments where you learn and sometimes even shine. I learned a bit about myself during those times. I work best under pressure, I even amaze myself what solutions and fixes I can come up with.

I like the world to see my brand as tried and tested. I’ve been through almost near impossible situations where I wasn’t sure what would happen. If I could hit deadline on time, if I could even help the customer, or if I could even design something that they would remotely like. People can be picky about design and rightfully so, but the thing about me is I try to find a solution to it all and I do not believe in NOT being able to accommodate clients in some form or another so I see even the most challenging of situations to be a problem that is to be solved. That’s my motivation.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I used to live in The Colony when it was mostly just a small city and now there’s so much development and things to do that would probably take them there.

There’s Lava Cantina, an awesome venue with some big name acts that roll through. There’s also the Truckyard, which I really love the atmosphere there. Big open areas, fire pits, food trucks for all tastes, plenty of drinks for everyone, sometimes axe throwing there and they have a stage as well.

I personally Formula 1, so I’d definitely take them to Andretti Indoor Karting and Games. It’s a fun place to eat and hangout as well.

For shopping I really like the outdoors so Scheels would be my go to, they have a bit of everything there.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give credit, my thanks, and all my love to my fiancé Brittany Licari. We’ve been together for 9 years and she’s given me two beautiful children. She’s been with me through the worst and the best of times and has been a huge part of my motivation and drive to start a business. She’s the reason I stay level headed and go beyond just simply trying. Without her I would not be where I am now.

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