Meet Vanessa Torres

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Vanessa Torres. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Vanessa below.

Vanessa , we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?

This might surprise you, but I am a massive techie. I’ve always loved mobile gaming as a way to decompress, and I found an app called Finch that bridges the gap between gaming and productivity.

The concept is that you have this cute digital pet, and to go on adventures or gain points, you have to complete real-life self-care and work tasks. It’s been a game-changer for my effectiveness. Instead of dreading a to-do list, I’m ‘playing the game’ to support my mental health, my skincare routine, and my company deadlines. It sounds simple, but having that little dopamine hit has helped me stay on top of day-to-day operations and lead my team with a clearer head. It’s the perfect hybrid of shutting my brain off and turning my productivity on.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

It is so great to be back with you! Since we last spoke, we’ve really been expanding the media side of our business, specifically with RYM Magazine. What I love most about the magazine is our unique position as storytellers in the music and streaming space. We don’t just stay on the surface; we dive deep into the analytical, business, and legal sides of the industry, but we do it in a way that tells the stories fans actually want to hear.

The most exciting news is that we are gearing up for our First Anniversary Issue this January 2026. It’s a huge milestone. Before this, we had a different image and focus, but over the last year, we’ve completely evolved the brand. We’ve integrated new team members and new ways of learning that have allowed us to expand in ways I didn’t think possible. Honestly, the best part for me is the people—I get to teach them, learn from them, and do what I love every single day. I’m just really proud of where we are heading.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back, the three most impactful areas for me were knowing the worth of my brand, ruthlessly protecting my time, and shifting my strategic focus.

First, I had to learn Knowing My Worth versus Being ‘Nice.’ Early on, I was so happy to help people that I was giving out discounts and over-extending myself because I felt like I was the company. I took it personally. My business partners were actually the ones who sat me down and taught me that for RYM to grow, I had to separate my personal desire to be a friend from the company’s need to be a business. I realized: I can be kind, but the services have a price tag.

Second was Respecting My Time. I used to take every single call out of a fear of missing out, thinking, ‘If I don’t take this, I’m not representing the brand well.’ But so many of those were dead ends that wasted time and money. I had to get comfortable saying ‘no’ to things that didn’t have a clear agenda.

And third was How I Utilize Social Media. Honestly, a lot of my previous struggle came from the environment I was in. I was surrounding myself with people who preached that if you weren’t building yourself up as an ‘influencer,’ your business wouldn’t grow. I had to step away from that echo chamber to realize that wasn’t true. Once I tuned that out, I stopped trying to build ‘me’ and started acting like a CEO building a legacy. I shifted the spotlight from my personal page to the company’s growth.

If I could give advice to anyone early in their journey—especially freelancers—it is this: Don’t operate from a place of scarcity. It is terrifying to stop offering discounts or to turn down calls because you feel like you’ll lose opportunities. But the funny thing is, since I set those boundaries, I’ve done more in this last year than in the previous five combined. We’ve secured our biggest investors, our highest fiscal numbers, and our strongest ROI, simply because I started respecting the business enough to charge what it’s worth.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

Without a doubt, it has been my business partners and the management team at HGD Media Group.

This year, our company was integrated into the larger HGD Media Group, and I won’t lie—it was daunting at first. I was terrified of losing that feeling of being the ‘number one’ person or losing control of the vision. But it turned out to be the best risk-to-reward decision I’ve ever made. I gained a support system that shifted the focus from ‘Me’ to ‘We.’ They challenged me to look at RYM strictly as a business, rather than just a passion project. I needed that different mentality to truly scale, and they provided it.

Interestingly, our clients have been huge teachers in this, too. We leveled up from working with people who wanted everything for nothing, to clients who truly value our worth. Working with partners who say, ‘We trust you, handle it,’ taught me so much about delegation. It actually made me a better boss because I took that lesson back to my own team and our internship program. I realized, ‘I brought you in because I trust your work ethic, so I need to step back and let you shine.’

So, it’s really been a combination of my leadership team at HGD and our clients teaching me the power of trust and business discipline.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rymmagazine.com | www.hgdmediagroup.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessatorres_rym

Image Credits

Photography – HGD Media Group