Meet Danilo Vargas | Small Business Trainer, Coach, Consultant & Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Danilo Vargas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danilo, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
It’s no secret that the world and our country are changing in unprecedented and fundamental ways. As a result, minority solopreneurs or microbusiness owners like myself are now facing many dangers, many unexpected, but also a new set of possibilities and opportunities. It will take vision, courage, intelligence, and community to see and pursue those new opportunities and that’s what I’m trying to facilitate through my online platform, STRIVER Confidential (https://striver-confidential.ghost.io).

Through the power of the pen, I am trying to spotlight the truth amidst all the misinformation, misdirection and noise that small business owners are exposed to on a daily basis. I’m also sharing what I’ve learned through 20 years of entrepreneurial practice. My mission is to save small business owners thousands of dollars and years of unnecessary hard work by helping them see where some of the pitfalls are so they can avoid costly errors. The entrepreneurship path will always be a rocky and hilly climb, but I’m sure we can make it easier for them.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
All my life, I have wanted to be artist. I wanted to write, to draw, to paint but I was terrified. Society had convinced me that being an artist ranked very high on the list of really bad ideas; and that one could even starve pursuing such whimsical reveries. So I didn’t listen to my soul’s calling. I ignored it. Supressed it. Rationalized it. I would sometimes flirt with it by, for example, going into marketing and entrepreneurship, which are a highly creative fields. Still, a marketer is not a painter. A copywriter is not an author. Close but no cigar.

Then one day you get to a ripe age where you know more about who you are and what you should be doing. And you have more wisdom, discernment and the power to live your life more on your terms. That’s what I’m doing now. I am focusing almost completely on writing over on my blog platform STRIVER Confidential and marrying my desire to write to my entrepeneurial expertise. As time goes by, I will focus more and more on fiction and my art.

This transition has not been easy and thankfully I have had the werewithal to fund it with the financial assets I had accumulated over my career. But even if I did not have those assets, I encourage artists to find gainful employment and commit to their art during evenings and weekends until the art can sustain them financially. This requires an entrepreneurial mindset but the tools are there. Use them!

What I want people to know is that the myth of wealth accumulation is misguided. Our beautiful planet can’t take the abuse our lifestyles are inflicting upon it. It’s completely unsustainable. And unnecessary. Material possessions don’t actually make us happy. Being creators, making things, slowing down to enjoy life, does. Most artists understand that, I think. Give me a blank canvas and plenty of art supplies and I am in heaven! Keep the McMansions, the yachts and the Mercedes-Benz.

I often ask myself: On your death bed, what will you regret not having pursued?

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Before there were any people living in Miami, the area had always been an ecological marvel. As such, I would first take them to see the Everglades which is an ecosystem unique in all the world. I would take them to Shark Valley and the Miccosukee reservation. South Florida, btw, is the location of the only ecosystem in the whole world where you can see alligators AND crocodiles.

Then, I would take them to the mouth of the Miami River where the river meets the estuary of Biscayne Bay (the Brickell area), where for many centuries, if not thousands of years, native Americans traded with each other and foreigners.

Since we’re in the downtown Brickell area, I would take them to any of a dozen cool watering holes or eateries, to Bayfront Park, Bayside, etc. Maybe we’d then take the ferry to South Beach and stroll over to Lincoln Road and grab a bite there.

And lastly I would take the rest of the days to explore The Keys, from under the sea to terra firma, island by island enjoying the sights, sounds and culinary delights unique to each.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
So many people contribute to our success but at the top of my list is the person who makes everything I do possible— my wife, Jessica. Without her unconditional love and support, I simply would not be able to pursue entrepreneurship. I am willing to bet that if social scientists studied this, they would find a very strong correlation between having such an amazing partner and being successful as an entrepeneur. In every which way, a loving and supporrtive partner provides the balance, connection, love, encouragement, and material support that helps us to keep striving, even when the going gets tough. Finding Jessica was the best thing that ever happened to me. Period.

Tied for the most important person who also deserves a shoutout is my Mother, Sylvia who passed away on Thanksgiving Day 2024. She was a great warrior who fought for her kids and protected us during some really awful times (like living in exile, the death of my Dad and more). She was the Lion and the Lionness all in one and I would not be writing this were it not for her unwavering, ceaseless support.

And the other person that springs to mind is my tenth grade English and journalism teacher at Miami Senior High, Mr. Hernandez. I had lost my way when I came into his journalism class and he somehow saw the innate talent and went above and beyond to help me develop and apply my gifts. He introduced me to journalism, to desktop publishing and I accomplished so much under his tutelage. He was a marvel, a truly splendid, superstar educator who brought out the best in his students. They don’t get the credit and appreciation they deserve.

I could go on and on, probably to fill an encyclopedia. Suffice it to say that “we are each other’s harvest.” No one does it alone.

Website: https://striver-confidential.ghost.io

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@morninghuddlelive