Exploring Life & Business with Ariana Sanchez of Aria Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariana Sanchez.

Hi Ariana, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born and raised in Puerto Rico where growing up I always had a bit of an artistic curiosity, now at 22 being creative is my full-time job as I’m running a design studio called Aria Studio.

While Aria Studio was founded over two years ago, this wasn’t my first rodeo with entrepreneurship. In high school, I fell in love with a girl who was just as passionate as me about being vegetarian and being a sustainable girly. And as seventeen years old who were into the zero waste movement, we set out to create a soap brand that was plastic-free without problematic ingredients. We took a soap class, prioritized aesthetics along with quality, started an Instagram page, and began selling. This period of time taught me a lot about business, having a business partner and really pushed me to be scrappy and solution-oriented.

6 years later Kelly and I are still working and living together and though we’re no longer making soap, that was our first taste of entrepreneurship. As we went off to college for marketing, our interests started getting more refined. I found myself drawn to graphic design and branding, which had been my main responsibilities with the soap brand.

When March 2020 rolled around, I suddenly found myself with a lot of free time (as we all did). I decided to use that time to dive deeper into my love of art and digital design, which led me to take several courses and watch countless YouTube videos. As I became more proficient in graphic design, I started sharing my work on Instagram. To my surprise, some of my friends and family members expressed interest in hiring me to do design work for them. That’s how I got started in taking on clients and building my design portfolio.

In June 2020, I launched Aria Studio, initially offering brand design and later expanding to custom website design. At the time, I was only 19 and still in college, so I experienced a lot of fear and imposter syndrome. However, I took a leap of faith, hoping that it would all work out. Later on, my partner Kelly joined me, bringing her website development and business operation skills to the table. Together, we became a powerhouse: I as the creative, and Kelly as the business operations expert.

I started Aria Studio in search of freedom – the freedom to express my creativity, the freedom to have control over my time, and the freedom to pursue what excites me. That’s why I’m so passionate about helping other Latinas achieve the same kind of freedom by bringing their own brands and businesses to life. Starting a business can be one of the most transformational journeys one can embark upon, and it brings me immense pleasure to be a part of that journey for someone else.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve faced a number of challenges in my journey as an entrepreneur, such as perfectionism, lack of confidence, unclear boundaries, sales, and inconsistency. All of these obstacles, I realized, are interconnected with self-worth.

I didn’t understand how so many aspects of business were a personal development game and how it all comes down to your inner confidence and belief in yourself. There have been times when I’ve felt completely stuck and it seemed like nothing was going my way. But I learned that I couldn’t just sit around and wait for opportunities to fall into my lap. I had to go out there, knock on doors, and take action to make things happen. However, when you believe deep down that you’re not good enough to even try, that’s a deeper self worth problem that can be incredibly paralyzing. It’s a struggle that I continue to face, but I’ve learned that you have to do things even when you believe you’re not ready for them, do things despite feeling like an imposter. Slowly but surely the feeling of “not being good enough” will have less and less power over you.

As you know, we’re big fans of Aria Studio. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Aria Studio is where visionary digital creators come to elevate their aesthetics, branding, and online presence – and not just for their business expansion, but for their digital footprint to fuel and match their inner purpose, creativity, and mission.

We like to work with service-based creatives or content creators that want to turn their followers into clients. Since we started we have supported over 70 brands in developing their own distinct visual identities including Barbie Brignoni, Marce Holistica, Dani Vasallo, Andreina Valderrama and Vic Styles. Through brand strategy, visual identity, art direction, and custom website development, Aria Studio crafts visual identities that translate to empowered impact. We have a soft spot for Gen-Z and Latina creators. Our style is artistic, elevated with a slight edge in hopes of taking ordinary brands and making them highly distinctive to the right people.

The studio has come a long way in the past two years! We’re now expanding our offerings to bring more value to people on different levels. That’s why we launched our website template shop last year – our mission is to provide people with modern and strategically designed websites that are easy to DIY. We want everyone to feel confident with their online presence because we know how a great website has the power to completely transform a business.

Our newest project, which I’m thrilled to continue working on, is our recently launched podcast, Creative-ish. This show is all about the joys and struggles of being a creative in your 20s. Our goal is to help spread the idea that creativity is not just a skill – it’s a mindset that we can all cultivate by understanding other topics like perfectionism, self-care, productivity, and emotional wellness. We wanted to create a space where we could talk candidly about what we’re going through and how we work through the ups and downs of feeling inspired. It’s from the perspective of 2 gen-z Latinas who are trying to figure it all out. So that’s a new project I’m really excited about and can’t wait to form a community of like-minded creative business owners over there.

And that’s what we do at Aria Studio. We like to think of ourselves as your new creative besties except unlike best friends who will stay up all night with you binging Netflix or indulging in a gossip session, we will build your digital brand so that you can get out there and stand out with your business.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
When you’re an entrepreneur, taking risks is part of the job. I recently took a risk by pausing client work to focus all my energy on creating our new template shop. Looking back, I realize I could’ve balanced things out better (hindsight is 20/20). It’s always a gamble when you try something new in business – you never know if it’s going to be a hit or a flop. But I firmly believe that you should follow your desires and pursue things that make you feel giddy in the morning because you can’t wait to start working on them, those things are always worth the risk.

And even if the results aren’t favorable, that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road. You can always adjust or pivot. When you’re bringing a new product or service to the business, involving your community as much as possible is key. Getting feedback and data from your community can be incredibly helpful when you’re taking those types of risks. So don’t be afraid to ask your customers and followers what they think – their support and input could make all the difference.

Contact Info:

• Website: ariastudio.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariastudio.co/
• Youtube: @creativeishpod