Meet Manny Garavito: Comedy Coach and Edutainer

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

Hi Manny, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Thanks for the opportunity of being interviewed for your website! Humans strive for freedom. We all have a different definition of freedom. But one way or another we want it in our lives. Coming from a corporate background in banking, I realized after a decade that I was turning in my freedom for a fat check. When I did my first open mic in 2009 and spoke my truth, that’s when I got a taste for my new definition of freedom. It was no longer getting comfort with my career, but pushing the boundaries of my identity in society. So I quit my job and pursued a career in comedy in 2013. Then another deterrent to my freedom was in place. Not only did I quickly become a starving artist. I should’ve thought this through a bit more. On top of that, there was no real way to get good in the local Miami Comedy scene. Most comedians got good here in Miami and left to more established comedy scenes in other cities. Although I believed Miami deserved a good comedy scene where aspiring comedians can develop. So I started MiamiComedy.com to help make it happen. At the time I had a degree in Marketing, but didn’t know how to sell my comedy shows. And after a brief setback where I lost a production deal, I made a conscious decision to become the best comedian I can become. And that’s when I self educated myself into an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is someone who sees opportunity not only for themselves, but for those that can be impacted by your undertaking. When I began focusing more on making audiences happy, providing venues with business on an off-night and developing other comedians, that’s when real success began. Over the years, I believe my decision to pursue this goal has led many others to see a better horizon for what Miami can become when it comes to stand up comedy, and the coming virtual future for what we do.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
One of the most powerful combinations that many artists don’t explore is entrepreneurship. I don’t know if its a personality thing, or the struggling artist mentality is something to romanticize about; but if an artist were to begin identifying themselves as an entrepreneur first they can multiply the success of their artistic careers on their own, I’ve noticed most artists wait for handouts or feel entitled because they may feel they are undiscovered geniuses, or even worse they sell themselves short of their full potential to satiate the vision of another person providing them self-serving opportunities. First and foremost, I would like to highlight that entrepreneurship is an art on its own. I would recommend artists to get in touch with what impact your art makes and mapping that into your business practice. If you can dial down to what you are communicating with your artistic endeavors and synthesizing it to a business, middlemen will become a thing of the past because you have full control on where you want to go without waiting for a “big break”.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Apart from all the venues I’m partnered with…you can’t go wrong with museums. Museums distill the culture of a city into one building. I don’t think you can ever fully understand a place you visit without seeing where that city got its values from. Places I would recommend is Frost Art and PAMM museums, as well as taking a stroll down Calle Ocho and seeing the art and listening to the music there. And ofcourse, get plenty of options to dine and booze on some of the best Miami has to offer all in one street! The Brickell area is quickly becoming a futuristic area. I feel Brickell is the capital of Miami, because you see a broad range of emerging businesses, innovation, and collaboration there. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people that have made a big difference in my life. From authors, coaches, mentors, and digital marketing gurus. As well as my loving family. But the biggest shoutout I’d like to give out is for those that wanted to see me fail. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have become the person I am today! If life were easy I wouldn’t have tried harder. For example, If I was getting booked often I probably would be getting paid in chicken wings and beer as a comedian to this day. Instead, all the rejection has sculpted me into pursuing greater things and becoming the best version I can be and assisting others to do the same.

Website: mannygaravito.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/mannygaravito

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mannygaravito

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mannygaravitopage

Other: miamicomedy.com

Image Credits
Theyre all mine. No problem.