Eric Fuller is the Senior Vice President of Lifestyle Miami which produces the largest international paint and music festival known as Life In Color (LIC), he’s also an owner of Baby Jane, Club Space and Floyd Miami.

 

How  did you get started?

When I was in college I was majoring in finance but also DJ’d and threw parties.
After I graduated I started getting job offers in finance, but my gut wasn’t feeling it. So I moved to spain for a year and realized that I really wanted to stay in the entertainment industry. When I got back to Miami in 2011 I joined up with Dayglow as an investor and working partner and have been with the company ever since. We later changed the name due to a conflict with an existing trademark.

What has been the most challenging moment in your career?

The last 8 months have been the most challenging. We got caught by surprise when the parent company that bought us filed for bankruptcy and froze our bank accounts I was put in a situation where I had to tell a lot of people “I am very sorry but I can’t pay you”, that was very tough on me.

We had to restructure the company and let go of a lot of good employees.

What are some lessons you learned from that experience?

It definitely taught me a lot, I learned to better deal with stress and avoid burnout and now dedicate more time to myself, for example I now take personal time on fridays to work out, do yoga, go to the beach and just relax.

On the upside it has also pushed my limits in business and realized that we can handle a lot more than we think we can.

We now have a new CEO and CFO at the corporate level with 15 years of experience, they started AEG live (Coachella) so the future looks really good under our new leadership.

What do you love most about what you do?

I really love bringing people together, it’s probably my favorite thing , I wonder how many people connected at my parties in college or how many relationships were formed. This is why I’m so drawn to entertainment and hospitality.

 

With Miami’s competitive entertainment industry how do you stay relevant and keep your business thriving?

For one don’t always look at your competitors, I have this belief called ‘poke the box’ this concept was created by Seth Godin, basically you can’t be afraid to try things. You won’t get a response if you don’t try new things and put them out to the world to get the feedback. Part of that is accepting criticism, failure etc. and you have to be willing to accept that and that is how you stay relevant, by not being afraid of failure and always trying new things.

What was the most braggable moment?

Honestly making my grandfather proud, he’s my best friend.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Follow your passion, my grandfather told me that I wasn’t meant to work a 9-5, “don’t do it your going to be miserable”, when he said that to me it was the last confirmation I needed. For the rest of my life I will follow my passion.

Your biggest weakness and your biggest strength?

I think my biggest strength is that I reflect on myself often, I believe that helps you find your weakness. For me I think my biggest weakness is impatience, it’s gotten a lot better, in this I’ve learned to slow down in certain situations.

How do you define happiness?

It’s a balance, happiness is finding balance in your life, work, love, spirituality, finance etc. Giving back to the earth is something I want to add into my balance, I have a deep respect for nature and i’m very concerned about the earth and what’s happening in our environment.

What should we expect to see you doing to help the environment?

I’m working on a project to help with that, and I’ve done a lot with LIC, we had a comprehensive recycling program, and I connected with  Rareform  where we used all our vinyl posters that would have just been tossed out and converted them into backpack wallets, we actually sold out. We’re also looking into renewable paint bottles. I’m really trying to fuse that in,  I genuinely believe the future of business will be completely sustainable.

What book are you currently reading?

What to do when it’s your turn and it’s always your turn by Seth Godin, if you want to succeed or just simply go beyond what you’re currently doing, you have to read this book.

Have you collaborated with another business/artist in the past?

Every business I’ve ever been involved with I have always collaborated. One of the greatest assets you can have is the perspective of another person, so having 3 or 4 minds at a table can be a beautiful thing if your ego doesn’t get in the way.

I love collaboration you get a lot of energy and perspective and it brings a lot to the table, I really love the partnership I have at SPACE, the guys that are involved I have a lot of respect and admiration for, our energy is special we are going to do some really cool stuff here.

Do you work on your business or in your business?

That’s an important thing for entrepreneurs to know because there’s a fine line. At this point for LIC I am working in the business but I am hoping to change that in a few months, because someone always has to be looking forward.

For Baby Jane and Space I am working on the business, sometimes you can get so focused on the inside of the business that you forget about what’s the next thing, it’s something that people need to recognize especially if you are in a leadership position.

 

connect with Eric Fuller

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