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

Hi Ana, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
I truly believe in the conception of achieving goals. I always create a target in my head and go for it. One of my norms is to get socialize around successful people with empowering lives and backgrounds, more likely those who have struggled to achieve their purposes. In addition, I have and continue to learn from people whose stories are not successful in order to differentiate and keep my mind open and learn from. Moreover, while working, I seem to enjoy listening to “ideas worth spreading,” TedTalks. This inspires me while it helps me develop wisdom and skills needed in life and at the workplace.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I graduated from Journalism school and I have a master’s degree in Petroleum Economics and Management. Once graduated, I worked at for a company called Petroleos de Venezuela for over 5 years, this was one of the most important companies in Venezuela based on oil and natural gas. However, because of Venezuelan’s socioeconomic and political crisis, I decided to quit work and my move out of my country. I suffered from political persecution because my values and believes didn’t align with company policies and the chain of command which led me to move on with my life elsewhere.

I ended moving to the United States and was forced to start from zero leaving my long professional experience and education behind. Therefore, I cleaned houses, worked as a babysitter, waited tables, and did other jobs that I am proud to say I did since this helped me become the strong and empowering woman I am today. For a while, I saw myself working at a job related to my education hence I applied for jobs, but I couldn’t find anything. At that point, I worked hard on my skills and English as my second language in order to have enough knowledge to go out and offered my photography and graphic design services to people I knew. From this experience I learned two important lessons. Th first is, when you don’t have a degree in that field, people tend to pay less for your work; the second is, providing excellent work would give you more customers by word of mouth. From all the hard work provided, my customers were really happy and satisfied at that point, which led me to create AVR Media Group LLC.

Overall, I have faced a lot of challenging situations in my personal and professional life, which have helped to developed strength to overcome them. I’m grateful for all the situations I have been through because I have learned from my mistakes and have shaped the person I am today!

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
One of the best characteristics of Miami is its cultural diversity. The Miami Design District is one of my favorite areas since it has some of my favorite bars and restaurants in the city such as Lagniappe, Lemoni Cafe, Zuma Miami, Mandolin Agean Bistro, Ironside Pizza. What I love from these places is how they manage to show the good taste while having an artistic vibe. With my friends, we enjoy some afternoon/night walks around Wynwood going into the galleries, stores, and of course shooting some pictures in the famous Wynwood walls. Also, one of my favorite museums is located in Miami, The Art Perez Museum. This museum not only holds great exhibitions but also the views of the surrounding areas are breathtaking. For the best sunset view, Las Ola Boulevard is to die for. This is my go-to place when I want to enjoy a day at the beach with my friends because we can also enjoy some food and drinks.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate a shout-out to Jose Luis Cortesi.  He was the first person who gave me the opportunity to demonstrate my skills; he supported me throughout this hard process. I arrived to the United States from Venezuela, I knocked on peoples’ doors offering work and Jose Luis was the one who believed in me. Even when I didn’t have any references, and I could not dominate my English well, never shut me down. After six years, I still work with him in different projects.

Also, I want to recognize Marie Forleo, she is an Entrepreneurform NY now a writer, for whom I feel a deep admiration. She has been a role model for me and my inspiration to keep working on myself and get better and better to achieve my goals.

Website: http://avrmediagroup.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avrmediagroup/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-veronica-rosales-05897b4a/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/avrmediagroup
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AVRMediaGroup
Youtube: https://vimeo.com/avrmediagroup

Image Credits
Roca Photo Adriana Fernandez