Learn by Following the Trail of the Biggest Successes and Brains with Gilda Garza

Welcome to this episode of the Million Dollar Mastermind. I'm Larry Weidel and let's get started. All right, we are back with Mexican artist and owner of Rain Gallery, Gilda Garza. And she's quite not only an artist, but an influencer. She's an inspiration and she is on her way up, folks in the art world. And Gilda, thanks for coming back. Thanks for.

Thank you.

Larry, what are, how do you look? I was curious at how you look at opportunities because while, you know, you were growing up, you know, you studied, you became an accountant, you worked as an accountant, you're were painting the side, but at the, at the same time you were, I get the idea, Gilda. You were watching the world and you, you knew about the bright and the beautiful and the exciting lifestyles and you knew about Rodeo Drive and things like that, you know, and so talk about, you know, when people, there are millions of people out there that they're working, you know, they're good people, they're doing a good, you know, they've got what most people think is a good life, a good job, a great skill. They're set, they're making money, but they want more and they've got the ability to do more. And maybe it's in a different type of profession, a business of their own. And so they're watching the world like you were watching the world. And what was it like when you were out there and you would look at people, Were you picking up lessons? Were you getting things? You know, because it hadn't happened, so you couldn't say to yourself, I know I can make that happen because of this, but you were lining things. I get the idea you were lining things up in your mind.

Yes.

Which is really how you have to do it. You know, if you're going to build a hundred floor skyscraper, you've got to get that thing generally laid out in your mind. You start sketching, you get more specific and you know, you get all the things and then eventually you go to get it drawn up in the formal blueprints. But it starts with looking around and seeing the other buildings, the other areas, and an idea of, I want to put that hundred story skyscraper here. And you get that. You know, there's a lot of work behind the scenes to get yourself organized around what you want to do. Talk about that experience before you broke out and how you evaluated opportunities then and how you evaluate opportunities now. Because right now, you know, like all of us, you're shut down and you're thinking about what I'm going to do next.

And.

And you can tell people about Venice and that's one thing that you've got on the calendar. But go ahead and talk about how you evaluated opportunities, how you looked at things out there. What excited you?

Before I start my first exhibition, I remember that five months that I was painting. Number one, I started looking all the galleries and I was like, I don't want my art looks like nothing similar. So I was looking in the websites and visiting the galleries because I want to be unique. Number two, I know that how brands works. Like people buy Chanel because it's a brand and you know how much is the Chanel? It's not. That is the better. Maybe Aldo have a better one, but it's Aldo and Chanel is Chanel. And I knew it where I want to put because I'm also businesswoman and I don't want to be starving artist. So I knew it where to put my art. Like people in the big houses in Beverly Hills, they not going to hang a 500 doll piece of art. They need is the same but in a brand, but in the art. And I also could sell my art cheap and sell it in all the Walmarts. But I was not focused on that. I was focusing in the big things. And right now I make it happen.

Yeah. And how did you evaluate? How did that. This is just you looking at those things and thinking about it. You talking to your friends. Did you have other people you were talking with about this stuff?

Yes, I have people around me that they can afford that kind of art and they want that. And also like if you go to an event and they give you everything, the best in the best venue, with the best champagne, with the best everything, they're not going to sell $200 a piece of art. You are paying for the lifestyle. At the end of the day, like art is a lifestyle and there's a couple of like you have a Botero. How much is that Botero? That's expensive, but it's hard to have a Botero.

And how did you, you know and in terms of pricing and starting your brand, how did you look at the pricing and has your pricing gone up? That's usually what happens.

Okay. I have friends that works in the art world and I have a curator from New York and she helped me to set up the prices and I make the sold out and then I've been selling, selling and my prices start at the first they start the cheapest one was I think 7,000, no, 5,000. The cheapest. That was four years ago. Right now the cheapest is 12,000.

Wow. From 4,000 for the cheapest to 12,000 in four years.

In four years.

And how did you get. How did you get in touch with curators in New York and things like that? Because the example here is, folks, is if you don't know things, there are people. Whatever you don't know, there are people out there that do know. And a lot of the work is finding those people. The people who know exactly the kind of information you need to know. And then when you get that information, don't argue with them. Follow it, you know?

Yes, yes. It's because when I travel and then I visit the galleries and then I become friends to the people that works there, and that's it. I was not looking for a curator, but she's just my friend and she's a curator. And she was like. She helped me with that. And right now she's part of my gallery. Renee. She's decorator for my gallery. After four years, now we're partners.

Have I been pronouncing your gallery long? It's Renee.

Yes. It's a queen in France.

Oh, Renee. Okay. Love it. Now, is that. And where is that gallery?

No, it's a virtual gallery. Like right now.

A virtual gallery? Yeah.

Yes. We start in December. Now we have, like maybe 20 artists here, and we are using all the social media, magazines and more that right now nobody's going to. It's hard to get people into the galleries.

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Yeah. Even here in Aspen, you hear that? People that are even in town will not come down to the galleries and buy things. They go to the website of the galleries that are in town and they buy it that way. And they. They never leave the. Never leave the big house, you know?

Pretty funny. Yes. And. And my king become famous because House of Bijan. And then I personalize the kings. And when people know the artist, they don't want to see the art, is just send me the king. And this is my initials, and I personalize the kings for them and I send them.

Yeah. Unbelievable. How clear were you about wanting to turn yourself into. Did you want to associate with the most luxury brands out there? You know, the biggest and best that already had that reputation? Or was it your goal to copy them to build your own brand?

No, I was not copying anybody. I want to be unique. And then I start. I have a friend that he runs a big company, and he told me, use your social media and just post the luxury. Luxury. Like that's how your brand is going to be like with Chanel, with. And Chanel send me gifts. They send me a gift for my birthday. Roberto Cavalli sent me another gift. Like I've been, I've been. I think I'm being doing well in the social media.

Yeah, very well. And do you pay how much? Do you do that yourself or do you have people that do that for you? What, the posting on social media?

Oh, no, I do that for me. Yeah, I do my own posts.

How big of a deal is it to get the right photographer and the right people around you when you're at these events?

Okay, the good thing, I have the best friends and they know how to take me photos.

Yeah, yeah, that's good because you have, you have to be able to present. It's one thing to have your thing, but it's another thing to sell it, you know, to sell it to the world where people can see it the way you want to see it or they can see you. You want to control how people perceive Gil de Garza and Gil de Garza's brand. And you have a very particular idea and that is that you want them to see you as a luxury, everything about you to speak to luxury lifestyle. Is that correct?

Yeah. Yes, that's correct. Because that's when like when I make this collaboration with Roberto Cavalli House of Vijan, Cesar palace, everything is like high end and I want to keep it there. Yeah, I'll sell it. My collectors, that's why they buy to me, because they like that and it's is the brand.

Yeah. And when they buy, they're buying that idea and that's what, you know, they can have the confidence bringing that into your home. Now that allows you, since you've got a very clear idea of what you want to present to the world, how does that control, how does that control decisions you make in your life? Where you go, what clothes you wear, who you associate with, how. How does that does that limit you? You know, I can only have friends of this, that the other or I mean, does that control your life or.

I'm basic, I'm with my, like in my tennis shoes. But. But when I'm in an event, I, Chanel or Roberto Cavalli send me the dress and I'm. But I'm normal, 100% normal. I'm with my tennis shoes, going to the gym, fighting for my dreams. But I've been working. My brand is different than me personally.

Now people would wonder once I get to a Gil de Garza level, Do you have to have a lot of employees and a lot of staff?

I do have. I do have employees, but I check everything. I wake up at 6am and I'm sending message to everybody. I need to be there.

Yeah. And the great thing about the world today is that you can get the best people to work for you and they can be in another part of the country or in another country, in other time zones even.

I work with people from New York and Mexico City. Like my partner's from the gallery, and I'm in the west. So 6am I'm late.

And so how do you. What's your next big event? This thing, this event you got coming up in Venice?

Yes, I'm just waiting for the pandemic over to make my next event in Venice with Murano glass is going to be my first glass sculpture. So I'm excited for doing that with them.

So they approached you about doing a glass sculpture?

Yes, yes.

Now how do you know to do a glass sculpture?

I don't know. I'm going to figure out. I don't know. They help me, but I'm so happy. Like, I didn't. I never say no.

Well, it opens up a. It's opened up a new door to keep you from getting stale with just painting. You know, you'll learn things and you'll be able to bring that back into.

Your world in Venice, in like, Europe. Wow, I'm so happy for that.

Well, you know, the interesting thing is that how you have turned this into, you know, the pattern, you establish the pattern of your life of consistency, working hard, staying on track. But then you had the passion and you expanded over into your passion, which was the art. And that allowed you. When that door opened, you didn't have to teach yourself to be disciplined. You didn't have to teach yourself to follow up on the details. You know, accountants are very detail oriented and my operations manager is an accountant. And so you took all of that training, discipline and approach and were able to shift it over into your passion, and you just didn't. A lot of people that want to do art enter the creative world to make that a living, you have to make it a business. And what I want to do is we've got to go now, but if I can get you back on the phone, I want to talk to you about how you look at this thing from accountant standpoint of making it a business and making this long term, that what you starting now can compound and multiply for the next 10, 20, 30 years. Okay, so let's talk about. Let's talk about turning it into a business when we come back. How about that?

I like it.

Okay. Thank you, Gilda. This has been a lot of fun.

Thank you, Larry.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Million Dollar Mastermind with me, Larry Wydell. If I've helped you in any way, leave us a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts. For more information like this, listen to our other Million Dollar Mastermind episodes and check out my Widel Academy YouTube channel and visit us on widel on winning.com I'm the million Dollar Mastermind. And until next time, go, go, go.