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

Hi Armando, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk-taking has been and continues to be one of the most important factors of my professional career as well as my personal life.

From an early age, I witnessed as my parents made the decision to emigrate from my native country in order to provide a better future for my brother and me. Such a decision did not come without enormous risk and uncertainty, but it definitely helped shape my attitude towards risk-taking.

To be clear, risk-taking is more about believing in yourself than about being reckless, in fact, I do not consider myself reckless at all. It means accepting you may fail, but recognizing that you will not succeed unless you try. While I always try to make informed decisions, I always aware that there is no 100% certainty on anything, but that you must be willing to take a chance.

Nowadays I try to instill in my team, and in my children, the firm belief that a combination of hard work with a willingness to constantly step outside your comfort zone is essential to our continued personal and professional growth.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
From an early age, I loved advertising and I knew it was one of my passions. To this day I continue to work in this field, as founder and president of NM+U Marketing Communications. Advertising excites me as much today as it did at the beginning, over 20 years ago.

Starting a marketing and advertising agency is hard work, it requires perseverance, a little bit of luck, clients that push you to do better every day, and a team of hard-working professionals without whom none of it would be possible.

Our firm works primarily with hospitality and franchising brands such as hotel, travel, restaurant, and real estate chains, as well as adjacent businesses. We help some of the world’s most renowned brands in our sector with 3 key services:
– Branding: Helping position and reposition brands that are true to themselves, relevant to their audience and different from their competitors.
– Digital marketing and social media: Working with brands to grow their footprint, drive transaction volume, and generate awareness in the digital space.
– Ongoing marketing support: Strategizing with our client-partners and supporting them with the execution of all marketing initiatives.

Along the way in this 20+ year journey I have learned to value hard work, diversity of thought, humility, and above all things, people. Whether they are the people in my team that inspire me to work harder every day or the people on the client side whose suport and constant pushing help us constantly get better.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
All my favorite parts of Miami and its vicinity are outdoors. Whether is one of the many beautiful reefs just offshore, the many impressive shipwrecks that dot the coast of South Florida, the wilderness that is the Everglades, the pristine and remote Ten Thousand Islands, or the many “secret” spots where I can kayak and be at one with nature.

While I feel Miami’s culinary and entertainment scenes are remarkable and full of incredible options, I tend to leave the dining recommendations to others and focus on giving visiting friends and family a taste of the wilder side of South Florida.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are two sets of individuals that inspired, encouraged, supported, and mentored me over the years:

My parents, Lydia and Armando of course. Despite all adversity, they managed to always be there for me, they gave me a happy childhood, were always accessible and straightforward in their communications with me, and were willing to risk upstaging their entire family for a chance at a better life. They also believed in my own professional potential and took a chance in me when it was most important.

To three early professional connections that went on to become lifelong friends, Daniel, Mike, and Tere. For believing in me when I was a novice, full of energy and willing to work hard. Without their guidance, patience, and occasional ear-pulling I would not be who I am today.

Finally, my four children, they are the reason I get up every day, they are my ultimate inspiration.

Website: http://nmu.agency

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hospitalitymarketer/

Other: http://passionalitygroup.com

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