Who I Am

Hi, I’m Fernando Labastida.

I was once accused of being a Renaissance Man. Some people believe the term ‘Renaissance Man’ is a bad thing. It carries negative connotations of being a ‘jack of all trades, master of none,’ or ‘confused.’

But I think the term works for today’s world.

We live in a world where there is no sure thing: change is the only sure thing. And I’ve done many things, learned many things, and reinvented myself several times.

My latest reinvention was from a traditional outbound marketing mindset, having come from 15 years in the enterprise software and technology world, to becoming an avid student of content marketing, inbound marketing, cross-cultural marketing, and bi-lingual international marketing.

Conventional wisdom says you need 10,000 hours to become an expert in something. But things change so fast there is always something new to learn.

Just as I was mastering blogging, and marketing with a blog, combined with Twitter and LInkedIn, along comes mobile marketing and Google +. More stuff to learn.

Content has been a central part of my business life

What I have remained committed to over the last twenty years is the need for educational content to help prospects who are “strangers” get to know, like and trust you.

Back in 1998 a friend of mine and I started our own email newsletter. The term ‘content marketing’ didn’t exist, but we just thought it was logical to provide tips, tricks and valuable articles and interviews so our prospects could trust us enough to become customers.

I started blogging in 2006, and have been blogging ever since, in both Spanish and English.

Entrepreneurial mindset

I’ve also remained committed to an entrepreneurial mindset, whether in my own business or in the workplace. I believe the modern corporation should empower entrepreneurial thinking amongst it’s employees, as this is the source of innovation and growth in todays’ business climate.

What am I passionate about?

  • Content marketing
  • Cross-cultural and cross-border marketing
  • Strategy before tactics in marketing
  • Passion, Personality and Purpose as differentiators
  • My kids, my wife and exposing them to the great things the world has to offer
  • A quality and balanced style of life

My marketing philosophy

I believe in a day when insincere, aggressive marketing is a thing of the past. I believe that companies should focus on providing value first, and develop a strategic plan for the long term by creating a community of buyers who know, like and trust them, instead of practicing “emergency” marketing to strangers (which rarely works).

My vision for the future

I’d like to see a day when companies, from micro-enterprises to large corporations, can offer content in several languages, and can exist as local yet virtual entities despite their geographical locations.