First off, thank you for taking the time to read this blog and considering working with us. I’ll be sharing a bit about myself and how The Roots Creative came to be.
For those of you that do not know me, my name is Marvin Castro, the owner and creative director of The Roots Creative. My home base is currently in Virginia, also known as the state of Love. I’ve spent my whole life in Northern Virginia surrounded by my favorite people and environments. I’m less than an hour from the Shenandoah mountains, a 30-minute drive from DC, and a 90-minute drive from the beach and smack in the middle, the suburbs. Really, what more can you ask for?
Growing up, the arts were a passion of mine. I’d spend countless hours painting and drawing while listening to music. It was beautiful knowing that my imagination had no bounds or limits. Unfortunately, the older I got, that creative spark started to take a back seat, moving my interest into more left-brain centered activities. So much so that I ended up going to school for Finance and IT. The better part of my adult years I spent working in Banking and Investments. That was until one day.
I had strutted too far from what really made me happy and who I really was at my core that everything started to fall apart. With a general idea of how I had gotten there, I began to connect to that creativity and joy, with the help of mentors and coaches. Within some time of inner reflection and guidance, I had clarity on what I was supposed to do. I began to connect to that creative spark again. And with a leap of faith, I decided to quit my job and start The Roots Creative.
The excitement of being my own boss and working whenever and wherever I wanted to was incredible. My business was birthed as a general practice, creating websites for various industries. I enjoyed connecting entrepreneurs to the connected world online. Every project was unique and with its own set of challenges. The more I dove into my new work the more I realized that I wanted to contribute to a cause deep and dear to me: mental health and wellness.
I knew how much it had helped me and how much clarity it brought me at my lowest. I wanted to do my part and contribute in the ways I could at the moment. My attention shifted from generalization toward entrepreneurs and businesses conscientiously making a difference in individuals’ lives within the wellness and mental health industry.
This brought me to the next part of my journey. The more I worked with people the more I began to realize that most entrepreneurs lacked clarity on why their business existed beyond making money, which then shows up in blurred market positioning, and an unclear positioning for future direction. Like humans, if you don’t understand your higher purpose for doing what you do, you’ll tend to find friction and stria from your values. So, I began to offer in-depth brand strategy sessions (find out what brand strategy is) that cover your business’s “why”, positioning, market research, and more. I found that the clearer you are on where your business is and where you want to be in 5-, 10-, or 15-years’ time, and more importantly the why behind everything, the better your odds of success are. Brand strategy could be looked at as brand therapy for your business.
In short, when you combine brand strategy with design, you get content that is highly targeted to your audience without losing your voice or direction.
My “Why” and Mission
The reason I do what I do is to help entrepreneurs shine their light bright into the world. To help you give your gifts to the world because I know how liberating it can be. I do that by helping clients get clarity on who their brand is, who their target audience is, and aligning the two to communicate authentically to their audience to increase trust while increasing conversions.
