From Student to Founder: Returning to NJCU with a Productivity Book, a Boutique Production Studio, and a Streaming Vision
Diego Roque (left) with Anna Carhart (middle, Director of Theater Operations) Dominique Smith (right, Director of New Student Programs).
It’s an isolating experiencing writing a book. That’s where this all started.
Writing my first productivity book felt somewhat natural since productivity is something that really runs through my veins, to the detriment of my own health sometimes. I built a pretty successful boutique video production business and now launched this platform, 3R.
That is a man obsessed with producing.
I moved out of Jersey City last year in October 2024 into some tight small spaces in New York just to live there for a bit; an environment I loved but never got really familiar with other than for work. Finding apartments was a journey in itself. After a quick stay in Inwood, I found myself crash landing in Bushwick. In the cold of December and during the holiday break, I had a moment to breathe and get creative. Sitting in my bedroom, I began to explore the idea of creating a product of my own.
“I’ve shot products and campaigns for other businesses + brands But never had my own product to push or promote.”
I turned my passion and hobby into a profession, building a professional boutique production biz:
It’s like working magic with clients; creating things from sit downs and meetings, structuring the concepts and approach, executing with high level production and precision... I built my business over 6 years of hard work. Yet still, I sat unhappy during the 2024 Christmas holiday season with a big realization about my career.
I’ve shot products and campaigns for other businesses and brands yet I’ve never had my own product to push or promote. Music does count as a digital product. I released a few songs, but I wanted something physical.
The holiday season became a moment of reflection on this.
“I have a ton of ideas for other people,” I thought one night walking the cold streets of Bushwick as I lit up a joint. “If I can make something, I would have so much fun with the freedom of marketing and pushing it.”
See, every client has their tastes, wants, goals, and aspirations with the work we create together. My ideas are appreciated but ultimately all the effort and creative gets denied or approved by the client for their product. The ideas always need to work under certain brand restrictions.
For a long time I enjoyed creating within those restrictions, but during the 2024 holiday season something shifted.
I desperately wanted to own something of my own.
At the time, the YouTube’s algorithm decided to show me a lot of solo-entrepreneur ideas and routes one could take to make some money; transforming ideas to digital products that could sell online.
“It can’t be that easy…” I thought to myself as I watched some young YouTuber explain the process of making and selling a PDF online. I found out later how these sort of videos are a scam, that a lot of people will flock to watch such guides but the outcomes they promoted were nearly impossible to achieve as a beginner. Still, those videos got me to go down the rabbit hole of the work it takes to write and publish a book independently.
I dove into the execution right when I learned about how Amazon supports writers by handling the printing and production of books. Although they take a decent part of the coin (printing cost + percentage of sale) I felt it was a great starting point to not think about that aspect of production.
I knew that I had a lot of knowledge to share... I’ve enjoyed conversations with others about systems, workflows, and productivity.
“How do you do so much man?” My friend John once said. I told him I don’t know. I’m mostly scrambled really. Most often then not filling up my plate with more then I could chew, but the systems I have in place to manage my goals and tasks always bring me back on track.
So I wrote a book about this system and workflow; the way I created a video production business + the how and why of my philosophy behind productivity. It was incredibly fun to write.
I had to decide between writing a book on Productivity or film... Studying the market, I noted how productivity is always in demand vs books on film.
I started by breaking down my digital system then surrounded that chapter with the how and why of productivity in my perspective; how systems work and why they’re important to achieving goals. It all flowed effortlessly because for those that know me know I can speak about these topics endlessly. The most important part of the writing was ensuring there was a solid structure to the book. I spent most of the time working on its flow.
The title The Rhythm of Doing came from wanting to have something smart and clever to hook people in. Productivity is all about doing and when you’re really doing it, you really do get into a certain rhythm. A choice of words never paired so well together. The design of the book is based on the ripple effect that occurs when you drop something in water… similarly when you get into a rhythm of doing, your actions reverberate outwards and continue with momentum.
Fiverr was an important tool in all of this. I hired a book designer, book formatter, and proofreader off the platform to really help make this official. The book formatter helps upload it correctly to Amazon. I skipped educating myself and losing time on all that. I just wanted to write!
When the book was done and I got the first print, I felt a certain excitement I had never felt before; an alien feeling but something that was immediately welcomed.
Now… here is my first product… the next step? market myself and the book; doing the sort of work I would do for my clients.
This was much more challenging that I expected to market this thing. I recorded a bunch of content, readings, and tried different things to get the book out there. Amazon orders did pick up and I even delivered some via TikTok Shop, but the balancing act of working with my clients and creating for my book did not pan out well.
“This book to me sounds like it would really serve people just getting into their entrepreneurial journey,” my friend Catana told me. “It would be worth looking into getting it into beginners hands.”
Conversation always leads to the best ideas.
At first I was targeting young business owners or anyone in life looking to add structure to their goals and aspirations. After these sort of conversations with friends and creatives, I realized the book had to get into the hands of the youth, or at least younger students seeking an entrepreneurial life. Any beginner could pick this book up and start building their own path.
I then turned towards libraries and schools.
Getting to know the libraries around me in Bushwick and by my studio in Jersey City. I needed to do a few more steps to actually even be able to get my book into those settings; signing up on another platform to get it on databases…
Well, it finally dawned to me I could reach back out to my alma mater.
It had been some time since I’ve returned to NJCU, focused on freelancing, building my business, and developing my character. An excitement came over me as I began to look into who to reach out to. After collecting a couple of contacts I felt were right to reach out to, I typed up my email and shot it out.
The original email I sent, reaching back out to my alma mater after about seven years away.
Now, months later, I’ve been invited to speak at NJCU’s last Open House, being welcomed back with open arms and incredible support. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. (Shout out to Cinthia Diaz & Nadia Tini of the Alumni Relations team + Dominique Smith for hearing more about my story and wanting to get me more involved!). I hope to form a deeper bond with the university as the news about the merger with Kean hit me like a rock. I returned right in time before this big change could fully take root.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak to new prospective students about my journey and what 3R is this Saturday; the next big platform made by the community, for the commuinty.
As a documentarian, I now have the idea of shooting the campus, capturing it as it is now… documenting the world of NJCU as it stands. Time changes everything… we can’t stop that. What we could do is capture what we can.
Retain the memories.
The spaces.
The textures.
The voices.
Colors.
For once a Gothic Knight, always a Gothic Knight.
2017 NJCU Grad Photo | B.A. in Media Arts
