13 Questions with Rosario Herrera

Entrepreneur, marketing and business mastermind, fashion mogul, stylist, realist, speaker, motivator … and the list goes on. Anyone who knows Rosario Herrera can attest to a score of 10/10 for each one of the aforementioned attributes. I’ve known R for years and I remember how she told me one of her first jobs was as a sales girl at Footlocker way back in Long Beach, California, where she was born. Fast forward to 2011, and she’s already achieved a lifetime’s worth of success. From making a name for herself in the Philippine fashion industry through years of experience as a stylist to delivery talks to many about Fashion and Business. Driving her very own streetwear store, Greyone Social, and now expanding her very own lifestyle monthly publication, Status magazine. What can this woman NOT do?

The great thing about R is she’s so dynamic. In one meeting with her, you could end up having a 3 hour conversation about life, success and business. At a moment’s notice, you’re popping bottles and shooting the breeze with her at the club. Mind you, this could all occur at the same time and same place. Nonetheless, when the day is done you are left inspired, energised and most of all, knowing you can do so much more with yourself. Having said that, for a deeper look inside the life of Rosario we’ve given her the spotlight for this edition of 13 Questions.

1. All-round entreprenuer/fashion mogul/store owner/magazine editor. Tell us a little about yourself.

I started off in the fashion industry as an intern with InStyle magazine in LA. That really opened my eyes to how the magazine business works. Then I transitioned as a stylist because I wanted to create beautiful images like what I saw in the magazines. I was very focused on my styling career because I just had this unquenchable desire be the best. Haha.

Because I worked with clothes for some many years, I dabbled in designing tshirts for my line Tru Youth. It was really a side project that took off when NeYo and Chris Brown wore it. During that time, I was traveling a lot and was inspired by what the streetwear industry was doing, and decided to open Greyone Social. At this time I still had a full time styling career, a t-shirt line and now a store. However, I still felt like I had something to say about this lifestyle and culture so I started Status Magazine.

2. We hear you grew up in Long Beach and moved to Manila later on. What inspired you when you were growing up? How was the transition?

I loved magazines! That was a huge inspiration for me. I would spend hours flipping through magazines. I also took up Art History when I was in high school so that had a huge effect on me. And of course movies and travelling helped to mould my vision. In the late 90s, I was traveling back and forth from LA and Manila. I had experience working in both cities so the culture shock when I finally moved to Manila wasn’t so bad. Living in LA helped me to become more professional as a creative, and living in Manila allowed me to see the opportunities the market had.

3. You started as a stylist in the fashion industry, later on starting your own t-shirt brand and opening up your own retail store (Greyone Social) and Magazine (Status). Was this all planned from the start?

Definitely not planned out. It was very organic and was more like trying to contribute something new and creative. In the beginning I thought one industry to the next was all about being creative. But business-wise it was very different. So I had a lot of catching up to do. I read as much as I could to stay up with the business side of all these businesses. Reading and getting a lot of advice from others helped me to cope with the multiple businesses.

4. What do you think defines a real leader?

I think a good leader leads by example. I also think that a leader is someone people want to follow. With that said, they have to have very dynamic characteristics and strong values.

5. What fuels your creative inspiration?

I harness my creativity by exposing myself to new and stimulating ideas, visuals, and experiences. I love to travel and meet people that are doing exciting things in their fields.

6. Greyone has become more than just a store in Manila, probably a pioneering icon in Manila’s street culture. Was this your vision for the store?

With my background as a stylist, I really just wanted a well edited menswear store. I wanted them to trust our style selections and taste level so that they could buy a whole outfit from our shop and be confident with their purchases. I also wanted the price points to be reasonable so that they could afford to buy our stuff.

7. For such a strong menswear store in the Philippines, it’s ironic that it’s run by a woman. How do you run such a strong game and keep the respect?

It’s not that ironic actually…women can carry babies for nine months and give birth. That’s strength! And also, when guys shop, who do they ask style advice from? Their girlfriends, sisters, and moms! Haha. Women also care about nurturing the business and their team which makes a strong company. I also do my homework with the business, I do the work and I respect others. I’m not trying to run the Philippines, I just want to make a positive contribution.

8. Status magazine has blown up in the Philippines, reaching world wide stores. What’s the next frontier for the publication?

I would really love to expand it in Asia. I just feel like there is so much happening in Asia right now and it would be great if we could be part of it.

9. Fashioneur is a new blog you set up recently. Now I know you’re not a blogger but what inspired you to set this up?

I don’t consider myself a blogger at all. I started Fashioneur because I would get emails from people who wanted to work in the fashion industry but had no clue what to do. So their emails were hurting them, rather than helping them. I just wanted to help them out and tell them the “unspoken rules” of the industry.

10. Business is something that runs to your core. Who are your favorite moguls?

JayZ, Oprah (duh), Ivanka Trump, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, there are so many…

11. Your ideal office would include …

An espresso machine! And a nice kitchen that had free snacks for my team. They deserve it. A lounge area where the team could chill out and have fun. And also a masseuse.

12. Describe your hustle? Give us a 24 hour run down of the life of Rosario?

In a nutshell: bank, meetings, emails, orders, meetings, pay people, emails, meetings.