Manifest Community As An Entrepreneur with Heidi Luerra of RAW Artists

Zaakirah Muhammad

In today's episode, I have the honor of interviewing Heidi on with 20 years how you had worked with artists of all creative Jonathan. She started her own clothing line at a very young age, which is how she kind of earned her business. They might after graduating high school, she moved to LA and she ate chili beans and rice cake to sustain it though. You manage a small team at a retail store and one of the youngest managers in the company. She also balanced additional jobs as a maid and a cut co seven, one day customer for tuxedo Rancho but given her the opportunity to work at a fashion show room, and that started the year that we spent with so see Started VOD, which is the US based monetize space at it independent artists organization that brings together artists from music, visual arts, fashion, film, photography, you name it. It's now in over 80 cities around the world, including Nashville, Tennessee. And as of 2019, she released a book I did 10 years celebrating. She released a book called The Work of Art, which is a no nonsense Field Guide for creative entrepreneurs. It's an honest, Essential Guide for turning your creative work into a thriving business. Heidi shares her own personal stories, experiences and mistakes, to demonstrate key lessons for creative including patience persistence, and the best practices. So without further ado, please welcome Heidi, thank you so much for being here on your podcast.

Heidi Luerra

Thank you for having me. So great intro.

Zaakirah Muhammad

Yeah, I guess I said it all huh?

So what really, What was that one straw that really inspired you to start Raw Artists?

Heidi Luerra

Yeah, so I, as you said, I started my own clothing line at a very young age and I was trying to market myself in any way that I could. And the only way that I knew how to do it then and this is we're talking 2004 so there wasn't a lot of these are collectives that had kind of organically come together popped up everywhere. The only place that I knew to showcase was that a swap meet. So I found a local swapping and started popping up my booth there and realizing it's not really my demographic. You know, most people are going to bargain hunt and find cheap furniture or antiques or you know, even fruits and vegetables and having kind of a new concept clothing line, there wasn't really the thing. So I decided I had friends that were artists I had friends that were musicians and we all kind of echoed each other's you know frustrations with it wasn't a platform or anywhere to go showcase where you could go direct to young, interested artistic consumers. And so I decided to it really started there. It started with my clothing line and my own need, as well as my friends needs to showcase their work. So that's kind of that was the impetus for it and then it organically snowballed from there because I had zero clue I thought it was just going to be a one time show. So I decided to put on a show in 2005. It was a different name that wasn't necessarily a raw showcase. But it was a an art showcase that I ran for three years. And it was fashion music and art and with the first show came a wave of people that just wanted to participate. This non existent next show. And I had no clue that there was such a, such a hunger beyond just me and kind of my circle of friends. So that's really how it kind of started. It was an accident. I love

Zaakirah Muhammad

it though. But I love how it kind of manifested into something that's not so popular that actually a lot of people want it. A lot of people need it. Actually, woman.

Heidi Luerra

Yeah, I had no idea. I have no idea.

Zaakirah Muhammad

So speaking of evolving, because you had to really evolve it something so small. That was simply an idea. How did you evolve over the past 10 years? What was the key thing that you say help you to let it evolve?

Heidi Luerra

Oh, wow. So many things. So I ran that show for three years and then after that, I had a pretty gnarly split with a partner. And so we went our separate directions and I kind of went into the corporate war world and did a lot of things and was a freelance event producer which I didn't even know, I guess I had a knack for that. And a lot of people came to me after seeing the art showcases that I was putting on and I put on film premieres. And I put on concerts and album launches. And so I was still like in creative events. But it wasn't my ultimate passion. My ultimate passion was to create this platform. So it had a whole lot of missteps throughout that, that portion of my life where I tried different things and try my own production company and every step whether it was good or bad, definitely had an evolutionary heir to it. But I would say there's no one defining moment, but several small moments that kind of led me to say, Okay, it's time for me to wrap all this experience into raw and kind of start all over again, from what I did initially started here. And go for it. So over the last 10 years, oh my goodness, we have restructured our company a ton of different times just to get it right. Because, like I said, there's really no one who does what we do on the level that we do it. So there isn't a comparable company where we can be like, oh, we're going to do it like these guys did it. Or we're going to do it like that company did it because there's really nothing to follow. There's no roadmap, there's nothing. So we're inventing it as we go and learning, you know, through trial and error, what works, what doesn't work, what's great, what isn't so great. And kind of, you know, molding it as we go through the process. So it is definitely been an evolution.

Zaakirah Muhammad

Absolutely. Yeah. I love that journey. Definitely one of the time because the first time I found out about it was from a friend who was super excited about having her work in a showcase and she got to Getting featured in the Miami showcase she was like please come please come it's so exciting. I'm so excited.

Heidi Luerra

That's Great to Hear. Yeah.

Zaakirah Muhammad

So let's see, aside from head on experience is a lot of hands on experience that a lot of experiences that you literally had to grow through, I like to say you have to grow through what you go through. So yeah, what really inspired you to release the book?

Heidi Luerra

That's a great question. So I have worked with creatives, like you said for almost 20 years, and I am one myself and I have been through all these trials and tribulations, some of them my own making some of them just from being naive, and others. Just kind of I think it's par for the course when you're an entrepreneur. And so I really decided that it was kind of time to start writing some of these lessons. And some of the things I've been through and kind of my story And being able to use that to be of beneficial service for other creative entrepreneurs because working with them, I see some of them making the same mistakes that I did or being really close to doing that. And I just want to kind of shake them and be like, don't do it. So I felt it was kind of my duty because it doesn't do me any good to just keep that information to myself to share this, you know, with our community and whomever is interested in reading it, so that was kind of the idea behind it. I started it about two years ago, I just started writing and putting putting some ideas on paper and kind of my own personal philosophies. And then from there, I hired just an editor here locally, she just for you know, to look at it and see if I even had anything and she was like, you know I think you have more than you think. And she kind of egged me on and I because I was planning for this to be like a free little ebook or something nothing crazy. But again that snow balled and I I'm an overachiever. So then of course I wanted to I was like, Okay, I guess I'm writing a book that I'm writing a book and spent the next year and a half, like really honing it and trying to be as thoughtful as possible and making sure that I was providing, you know, advice and rehashing all my situations, and it was a really cathartic experience as well. So came to me

Zaakirah Muhammad

Yeah, Do you think manifestation has anything to do with all your successes actually kind of snowballing?

Heidi Luerra

Yes, I think that success goes where you put point your energy and for me personally I think it's a combination. Like I work really, really hard. It's not just, I'm not just wishing for it to happen. But I also have a spiritual element to myself where I affirm to myself that I want this to happen, and therefore it will, but also knowing that I need to kind of put in that work that goes along with it. And there's there are some miraculous things that happen when you are just working really hard and your focus and your honed on the right type of thing. And that thing you know, is your true nature, passion. You're working hard, you're consistent, you're persistent through all the different obstacles, but then you have another layer of kind of unwavering faith on top of that. I think you can move mountains that way. Mm hmm.

Zaakirah Muhammad

Was there anything that would initially stop you from launching? Are there any moments where you feel I don't know about this, maybe I should take a step back?

Heidi Luerra

Oh, yeah, Tons.

I wouldn't say when we were launching, but throughout the process, you know, like I said, we learned a lot of things about and have adjusted our model and the way that we do things several times based on feedback, cetera. In our early years, I think we're really misunderstood because our showcases are crowd funded. So it's not really like other showcases where you pay a fee and then you pop up a booth. It's every artist they're buying is they sell tickets to be a part of the show. And we did that purposefully because a lot of artists don't have a ton of disposable income to pay for a space source slot on a stage or something like that. Instead, we make it an educational experience where the artists can learn to self promote, because that's one of the biggest things you need to know. smartest is how to put yourself out there and promote yourself. And so I think early on in our career, crowdfunding wasn't even a word. No one even knew what that was. It wasn't being talked about. And we didn't even call it that, because it didn't exist, you know, but that was essentially what we've been doing since we started. And I think that was misunderstood. You know, a lot of people were like, oh, you're just paid for play. And it's like, no, it's this is a bigger community. And it's made up a whole lot of different people. The ticket sales are just the method to help you get your foot in the door and help you learn how to self promote. But, you know, some people didn't get that early on and caused some, some ruckus here and there, and it forced me to kind of look at it and be like, is this a problem? You know, because I didn't really get it. I didn't understand. I was like, This is exactly what me and my friends did. In my first show when I was a fashion designer in 2005. We all pitched in money, and we were able to make a bigger and better production. Rather than if I tried to do that on my own, it cost me thousands of dollars. Who knows if anyone would even show up to see it. If I wouldn't even break even. And so this is really like Roz about the power of collaboration. And so yeah, not everyone gets that off the bat, or used to get it. I feel like more people totally understand it. They appreciate it. Now, they're like, great. I don't have to come out of pocket sleep. But yeah, that was I would say early on, that was something that I had to kind of like, step back and evaluate, make sure like you're doing the right thing. And to me, it seems, you know, I get why people had a negative reaction. Again, I think we're a little ahead of our time, in a weird way. But I don't, but that's not the majority. That's a small minority of people that feel that way. We have over 200,000 artists in our network and we've been running for 10 years. So certainly people find value in it.

Zaakirah Muhammad

Yep. And it's working.

Heidi Luerra

Right.

Zaakirah Muhammad

Now, what? About 10 Things that you would say helped you on your journey? Like right before you started? And I guess maybe up to now 10 thing by 10 years, right? So 10 thing that,

Heidi Luerra

okay, let me see if I can count them all.

So, I tell everyone this but number one is I think you need to be clear about what you want before you go and get it. So I wasn't very clear on what I wanted. Having raw grow to multiple cities was really important to me because I wanted not just to be local and LA, I wanted to form a national network. So it was very intentional. So I had a plan and I was very cognizant about what I wanted to do to Number two, I think is putting a plan in motion like taking that first step because a lot of people will. Some people get stuck in analysis paralysis, and they just sit there planning forever, but they don't do anything about it. I think you got to do things and even sometimes when you're not ready, you have to just go for it. So that's number two is take action. Number three, I would say is reflect on that. So at least once a year, what I do besides just on a company level, also on a personal level, I take time right now actually, I'm going to be doing this this weekend. every October, I sit down and I write a list of everything that I want to accomplish in the following year. And then whether it's personal goals or artistic goals or company goals, I kind of laid everything out and then I kind of have a general idea of where I should be focusing my energy. For his self education, I read a ton of books. I still try to read I read less than I used to, but I still I read tons of business books, tons of management books, blogs, anything that I didn't know or felt that I needed to sharpen my skills on. I would read about it because I think that's a big thing that a lot of creatives don't take into account too much. Like we have so many resources at our fingertips living in this generation. Anything that you want to know is out there, but you have to educate yourself on it. Um, let's see, by five. Um, let's see. Five I would say is get ready to sacrifice like everything. If this is really what you want, I mean, unfortunately, you know through my tenure in This company, it's I've sacrificed relationships, I've sacrificed my health at times, I've had to come back and correct that. But I have sacrificed so much just to kind of push this forward and keep it running. And I think you need to mentally prepare yourself for that. Um another thing that I did was I spent a period of time where I was just sacrificing, but I was also like, I call it hibernation station. I just kind of shut everything out. Not that this is 100% for everyone, but I like moved far away and I moved into

a garage like, for the second time, I've lived in the garage twice.

kept my expenses real low, and works day and night for a period of time and I think that's another thing. It's like that lock down. Create time when you're growing something, or you want to grow something, it's kind of it's imperative because not in a competitive way. But if you worked on your creative project or endeavor business, just nine to five, Monday through Friday, compared to somebody who's working on it, eight to 10pm, you're going to be in a much different spot that you will be in a different spot than the person that's working more and longer after a six months set, for instance. So I would say that's number six. Number seven, is learning how to hire properly. Um, that we

Zaakirah Muhammad

never do.

Heidi Luerra

That should Yeah, yeah, I really should. I had no idea what I was doing. I thought I did but I Who you let into your team and into your company is really can impact or hinder you in a good or bad way respectively, like very much. You have to be really careful and use so much discretion. And that's something I wish I did differently at the beginning. I just didn't know no one really told me that how important it wasn't until I started reading business books. I was like, Oh my goodness, or, you know, having really tough relationships with some of the people that I let into the company that I realized, Oh, this is not a good relationship fit. Yeah, so that gets out of hand real quick, so that I'm seven and then eight. I would say especially as you are getting into your business and if you want to hire employees or contractors or something of that nature, document your processes This is something I wish I did way before because all of this was in my brain. And I did have like a company handbook and things like that with kind of the operational stuff. But I shouldn't have made it really like much easier like step one, step two. And I think that is really the key year, you're not going to grow. You're only going to grow as large as you and as large as what you can handle. So you're going to have to rely on other people at certain points. And so the more that you document those processes, you can make sure that your mission and your what you're trying to do is being fulfilled, and you put some checks and balances in place to make sure that those things are happening.

Nine.

Let's see. I would say what's another thing that I've learned Oh, no one is going to do the work for you. I used to think that people were someone out there would come and save me or something where they were going to come into the organization and just do it better and be better and just like be, I don't know, the person I wasn't or could handle all the things that I couldn't and not true. No one's going to care as much about your business as you do. And so I think the sooner that you come to terms with the fact that you are it, no one's coming to save you if you want this, do the work on your craft to what you want.

Zaakirah Muhammad

Like number 10, doing the work and owning your craft.

Heidi Luerra

Yes, well, I'd say number 10 is being grateful. Okay, the biggest one for me because I think owning a business is hard. Life is hard. Being a human being is hard.

Zaakirah Muhammad

Being a Woman is hard.

Heidi Luerra

yeah, being grateful and looking around at the privilege that you have or owning a business for doing what you love for potentially paying your bills or just bringing you joy, I think that's really important is to not get lost in the minutia. That is work, you know, because it is, at any point there's going to be all these different levels that you grow and go through. So taking a moment to stop and being grateful and saying, Look, what I'm able to do with my time and my life.

Zaakirah Muhammad

Where have you traveled to? Now for me, when I want to hibernate, I go to an island or country where I can do that. So where have you traveled to?

Heidi Luerra

I traveled A lot. I don't travel as much anymore. When Rob was first starting, we did a nationwide road trip for three weeks where we went and visited 17 cities. So I've gotten to see the majority of the US and I've been lucky to do that. I've been to Canada, Australia several times. Personal travels, I was I went to Tokyo twice when I was younger, actually lived in Australia for a year when I was in school and so great. So I have family and friends there. And RAW's also located in Australia, Canada, and then Mexico as of last year, so I've been I've been to all of those places. Um, I still there's a ton of traveling I still want to do I want to do South Africa as my next one. And then I want to do South America. Those are the two main contries so the rest I'm kind of traveled around here there. So,

Zaakirah Muhammad

so do you. It a part of the goal of fashion if you go to visit any of the countries with showcases currently or planning to be?

Heidi Luerra

Yeah, yeah, definitely when we when we started, like I said, we went to all of those cities for a couple of years into the organization before we launched, I would fly out there I'd meet the staff. As we've gotten larger, that's been less practical. I'm kind of strapped to my desk. But we have employees here that travel out to the showcases. We have a team of 65 here in our la office and they travel to different rush showcases all over the country. And then we have an office in Sydney and in Toronto, and they have our master license source licensees, their have their own teams, and they create traveled through the countries for their events.

Zaakirah Muhammad

Very nice. Very nice. Well, I'll definitely say that I'm grateful to have you on the podcast.

Heidi Luerra

Thank you for having me. You're so sweet.

Zaakirah Muhammad

So before we go, please tell us where we can find you. Your book, everything about you.

Heidi Luerra

You can find my book on Amazon. That's the quickest shipping it's also on Barnes and noble.com, target calm and a couple other. Basically anywhere online that books are sold. It's available in paperback, ebook and audible. So there's an audiobook version. If you're not much of a reader. You can sign up for my personal mailing list on my website, which is Heidi Lu era calm. And then if you're interested in being a part of Ra, you can go to raw artists.com that's plural and submit your work and we'll take a look at it and be in touch if it's a good fit and go from there.

Zaakirah Muhammad

Well, and I'm definitely excited to talk about the Nashville even provide, you know, tickets option for anyone who wants to go to the showcases.

Heidi Luerra

Yes, absolutely. We're going to give away some tickets. So I'll send you the link and you let me know.

Zaakirah Muhammad

Okay, thank you so much.

Heidi Luerra

Thank you