Dario Herrera has helped drive messaging and social media strategy and execution for “A List” celebrity artists ranging from Daughtry to Pitbull (Voli Vodka) to Lil Wayne (Trukfit) to Rob Zombie (The Lords of Salem and 31), as well as worked with non-profits and small to medium sized businesses to develop their brand, story, and overall social media marketing strategy and execution.
Today, Herrera is the Executive Director of Mickie’s Miracles and Dinosaurs & Roses. In these capacities, he leverages his previous elected experience, public administration acumen, and ability to create productive partnerships. He’s responsible for all legislative and advocacy efforts, as well as program development, advanced planning, external relationships and fundraising.
Herrera has three wonderful children and is engaged to the love of his life. We had a chance to catch up with Herrera, this is what he shared up with us.
As one of the leading experts in branding, what would you say are the top three things that any business or individual should do in order to grow their brand and online presence?
The first and most important is be authentic. Consumers are savvy and can always tell when they’re being sold a bill of goods. Next, provide value to your audience. Educate them, enrich their lives, and engage them on a one on one level. Finally, really understand and communicate your why, your come from. There are plenty of folks who do what you do, but your why and how are unique to you. Own it — and then communicate it.
As a business expert and leading entrepreneur what are some things that individuals can do right now to be successful in corporate world or as aspiring entrepreneurs?
What does successful mean? Does that mean financial success? Does it mean you’re doing something you love? Does that mean you have security or predictability? That’s where I would start. Define what success means to you and then create a plan from there — and that plan ought to have a clear and objective end goal for sure, but it must include the steps to achieve along the way with a specific timeline to be meaningful and lasting.
Talk to us about your new podcast ‘Purpose on Purpose with Kristie & Dario’, what is the backstory behind how it came into existence and what are some of the key takeaways that you would like your listeners to enjoy most about the show?
,’ve experienced a lot of hardship in my life — some of it thrust upon me like my stepdad kicking me out of the house when I 15 at gun point, and some of it caused by me like when I accepted bribes when I was arguably the most powerful local elected official in Clark County. Through it all, I’ve managed to overcome it to achieve some meaningful things — politically, professionally and personally. My co-host, Kristie Griess, has a different story of resilience and its very powerful. Today, she’s the visionary founder of a global non-profit, a happy wife and mother, and committed to sharing her faith to inspire others — but that wasn’t always the case. She was badly bullied as a young girl and then as a mom she had to deal with almost losing her daughter to infantile spasms and pediatric epilepsy. We came together because we found our alternate paths to resilience intriguing and wondered what the common threads were.
Keeping on the same theme, what are some of the key topics that you discuss on ‘Purpose on Purpose with Kristie & Dario’?
The main topic is working towards the formula for overcoming adversity and creating resiliency. However, how we get there is quite interesting. We have had conversations with a human trafficking survivor on overcoming shame, how serving others helped another guest overcome sexual abuse, how connecting to a higher purpose helped a dad deal with the grief of losing his son to drug use, and even had a conversation with the first ever U.S. Gold Medalist in BMX about the process behind greatness.
Bonus Question:
When you are not working with global businesses or interviewing executives on your podcast, what does Dario Herrera do for fun when he has some downtime?
Life work balance is critically important to me. I’ve traded smoking cigars for swimming and I regularly swim a mile 2-3 times a week. I work out regularly too and play competitive flag football at a high level. But the most fun I have is with my family. Whether we’re at the beach or watching a kids movie at home or playing a new game, I’m most fulfilled when I hear their laughter and feel their happiness. Of course, my fiancé, Grace, and I enjoy a nice dinner out and we love exploring new places, but there’s no place like home.
Listen to the podcast here – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/purpose-on-purpose/id1561453074