From the beautiful Dominican Republic, Ariel Rodriguez works as a creative art director in Manhattan, New York. In 2015, Ariel embarked on a new journey as a freelancer after working as a visual merchandiser for global retail brands. Since then, Rodriguez has worked with several clients and much of his work involves photography, visual merchandising, fashion, and film.
New York’s creative industry was hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic – there were no gigs nor on-location shoots available. Many of the jobs he did prior to the pandemic could not be done remotely, so Ariel decided to invest in his business by taking classes in film editing and film production equipment. Revenue was heavily impacted during this time and Rodriguez did not know what to do – he was out of options.
After speaking to a friend familiar with PPP, Rodriguez connected with CRF. Applying through CRF was easy enough for a first-time user and Ariel was able to receive the funds he needed. Rodriguez used his funds towards equipment and reinvestment, which allowed him to move forward with his business.
Now Rodriguez has a mix of work doing photo shoots a couple of days a week and editing. A word of advice from Ariel Rodriguez, “The opportunities are out there. The challenge is knowing where to find them. Don’t sit and wait for opportunities to come to you – seek them out for yourself and get moving.” Rodriguez is optimistic about the future of his business and hopes to open his own creative agency someday.
