Season 2 · Episode 8

Devin Moore - DJ Rev Dev

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0:02Welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
0:08with your host, photographer Jackson.
0:11And to my right, I have a special guest for you today.
0:15It's the DJ Rev, Dev.
0:18Man, how you doing today?
0:19Man, I'm doing fantastic, man.
0:20How about yourself?
0:21I am well, blessed, and refreshed.
0:23I'm recharged.
0:25I'm pumped.
0:26I appreciate you asking.
0:27Oh man, I appreciate you heavily.
0:29Glad to be here.
0:30Yeah, yeah.
0:31Man, I wanna just jump right into it.
0:32I know we kinda pressed the time.
0:35So how did you get the name Rev, Dev?
0:38Was you a reverend?
0:39Like, how did that come about?
0:41Oh man, that's crazy.
0:42I actually get that question a lot.
0:44It actually came from high school.
0:45So I went to prep school in Florida.
0:48I grew up in Miami, Florida.
0:51And before each game,
0:52we would pray or do what we call chapel.
0:55And a lot of times I'd be asked to lead chaplain
0:58because of my strong position in my faith
1:01and my beliefs.
1:04I kinda got the nickname Reverend.
1:06And then someone just kinda cracked the joke.
1:08Like, man, we gonna call him Rev, Dev.
1:11So Rev, Dev was just kinda like my nickname or moniker.
1:14Excuse me.
1:15When I played football in high school.
1:17So when I got into DJing,
1:18for me when I was trying to think of different names,
1:20it was just kinda a natural flow to use it.
1:24So yeah.
1:24Wow, and then we first met at a wedding
1:27and just seeing you get the wedding party together,
1:30hyping up the bride and groom.
1:33Almost like a football huddle, what I call it.
1:35Being a leader of a football huddle.
1:37So I could see that correlation.
1:39It's a testament to your journey.
1:42Not a traditional Reverend,
1:45but a Reverend in a different way.
1:46And I like that.
1:47Appreciate it, appreciate it.
1:48Yeah, I mean, I am a minister.
1:49I mean, faith is still a strong part of my life.
1:52I'm not a super Jesus Christ all-star
1:54where I'm gonna be, you know, be your hand.
1:57But I try to make sure I live my life right.
1:59Right.
2:00And shout out to DJ Ivan at Synapse Entertainment.
2:05He kind of monocled the Rev Dev,
2:06it's like you rev people up, I like your energy.
2:09So that was kind of another dope, you know,
2:11spin on the rev part I had never really thought about
2:14was just the energy that I bring to the table.
2:17And you think about, you know, the laws of physics,
2:19the second law is energy can't be created, destroyed,
2:22it can only be transferred.
2:24And that's so true.
2:25Not just in life, but at weddings and events
2:27is that, you know, the energy that we see
2:30and that we experience is energy that's being transferred
2:32throughout people's positivity and disposition
2:36or celebrating that day.
2:38Yeah, I know you kind of touched on like high school.
2:42What was the college life like for you?
2:44Oh man, you know, college life
2:45is actually kind of where I found DJing as a space.
2:49For me, I came to the Midwest for school.
2:54So I went to the University of Dayton,
2:55shout out to the Flyers,
2:57where I had a full academic scholarship.
2:59And I'm actually an engineer by trade.
3:01So I studied industrial engineering.
3:04And while in school, I was trying to figure out a way
3:06just to make some extra money.
3:07So I went out to call home and ask my family for bread
3:10and shout out to my boy, Kevin Richardson
3:12out of Atlanta, Georgia.
3:14I saw that there was a space, a gap on campus
3:16every time we had parties or events.
3:18They would bring in DJs off campus.
3:19I'm like, man, why can't we do that?
3:21And before I knew it, you know, I was kind of a,
3:25I mean, I be illegally downloading music,
3:27just kind of be a closet DJ.
3:28And before I knew it, I got my first shot
3:31at doing a campus event.
3:32And before I knew that I was a campus DJ
3:34at a local club DJing, it was kind of cool for me.
3:37Yeah, that is like, you know,
3:39why bring somebody from the outside
3:41when someone that's here doing it?
3:44Certainly.
3:45Or at least want to do it.
3:46So I mean, I'm glad you found that opportunity
3:49for yourself.
3:50And you know, it sounds like a true hustler for real.
3:54100%, man, 100%.
3:56I share with my clients when I'm doing my intake
3:58cause that essentially DJing for me came out of survival
4:01as a way for me to make some extra money.
4:04And then before I knew it, you know,
4:06my mind and my exposure, you know,
4:09brought into that the opportunity to be able to
4:11find a way to provide for myself.
4:13So, you know, in 2009, my roommate came in
4:15and he was like, hey D, I'm getting ready to,
4:16you know, propose.
4:17I'm like, what they got to do with me?
4:19He was like, nah, I want you to be my wedding DJ.
4:21I was like, oh, that's dope.
4:22So for me, it was like entering into corporate America,
4:24having a full-time job during the week,
4:26being a wedding DJ to me was like the perfect marriage
4:29and me still being able to pursue my passion
4:30of music and entertainment.
4:33But I didn't want to be in like clubs and bars,
4:35you know, late at night.
4:37So it was a perfect fit.
4:39Yeah.
4:40So how important is it like finding your own lane
4:43as a new entrepreneur or creative?
4:46For me, it's still kind of like,
4:48it kind of goes back to infancy.
4:50Just like how I found the opportunity
4:52of opening a gap on campus.
4:54So same thing, you know, that I've done
4:56with approaching and scaling and growing,
4:59you know, my entertainment company or me as a wedding DJ
5:02is to really find that gap.
5:04And for me, it was, I saw a gap
5:06or there was a lack of professionalism.
5:09A lot of people, you know, and it's just society.
5:11Things are starting to get a lot more casual,
5:13so to speak, you know.
5:14And do wedding or just DJing?
5:16In general.
5:17In general?
5:17But specifically as far as weddings,
5:19I wanted a niche down.
5:20A lot of people say, oh, you need to diversify.
5:22But for me, it was like, I love weddings.
5:24I'm passionate for weddings.
5:26And then for me, I use weddings to grow
5:28into, you know, doing corporate events
5:29and nonprofits and things like that and quinceañeras.
5:32But for me, like my passion and my focus,
5:34my niche is really weddings.
5:36And everything just kind of branches off of that.
5:38But for me, it was just really
5:40bringing a high level of professionalism.
5:42Nobody was really rocking suits and dressing up
5:44and paying attention to details.
5:45It's like anybody can go out and buy equipment
5:47and get registered with the state
5:50and get insurance and buy fancy equipment.
5:53But clients look at those small details.
5:55How intentional are you about how you present yourself?
5:59How you communicate?
6:00What is your ease of doing business with?
6:02And for me, I kind of focus on all those things
6:04to really kind of separate myself.
6:07Yeah, nice.
6:08How long you been DJing?
6:09About 20 something years?
6:11Yeah, it's crazy things.
6:12So I started DJing in 2003.
6:15And then I did my first wedding in 2009.
6:19So it's crazy thing for 22 years.
6:21I've been behind the decks.
6:23Malcolm Grass said, that's definitely an honor.
6:25I remember when I first touched turntables,
6:28I was mainly a performing artist, recording artist.
6:32But I always used to touch the turntable
6:34and I even got the, what's that?
6:37The mini, the Pioneer mini.
6:39Okay, yeah, gotcha.
6:41So, yeah, you know, I kind of have my little spark
6:48at DJing and then keep up with it.
6:50But every now and then I definitely, you know,
6:52practice scratch, scratch.
6:54Yeah, I mean, 20 years plus, that's definitely an honor
6:57and I commend you for that.
6:59I appreciate that.
7:00It's been a blessing to have this longevity
7:02and more and more I see it's bigger than just DJing.
7:05You got to stay in shape.
7:06You got to stay up on new,
7:08I mean, music moves so much faster now
7:10with social media and TikTok and things like that.
7:13You still have to find a way to evolve
7:15and to change and to grow.
7:17Yeah, I would say, how do you search for new music
7:20or come across new music
7:22when there's music almost released every day?
7:25I mean, that's the beautiful part about staying active.
7:29I mean, it's either kind of a use or lose it.
7:32When you're out of the game
7:33and you're not staying close to the people,
7:35it's so easy to not being able to understand
7:38what music is.
7:39But for me it's like,
7:40I would say my cheat code is I love to travel.
7:43So for me, I'm always inspired
7:45by the different sights and sounds
7:46and vibes that people do.
7:48So like if I'm in Montreal or Quebec up in Canada
7:51or if I'm down in Miami or if I'm in Mexico,
7:54like I'm always trying to listen to see,
7:56okay, what is the vibe?
7:58The other part is just making sure
8:00that you connect with different generations.
8:02So of course, I have a touch point
8:04of being raised by baby boomers and my grandparents
8:06and then my mom kind of being Generation X
8:10and then me kind of being this millennial.
8:13But then I also have kids.
8:14So I kind of like try to make sure I pay attention
8:16to what they're consuming and how they consume music.
8:19So for me, that's kind of how I like to stay
8:22in touch with what's really new.
8:24But the crazy thing about it is,
8:27it seems that as of right now,
8:29music is really stuck in the 2010s,
8:33is that the new music that people are making now
8:35is not really music that people can assume
8:37in a party context.
8:39So for instance, a lot of these TikTok trends,
8:41the songs aren't long enough for a DJ to be able to play
8:43and be able to transition to something else.
8:45So that's why, even if you go to clubs
8:48and you go to bars and you go to parties,
8:50a lot of music, like man,
8:50this old music is music from 12 years ago
8:52because that music was really, you know what I'm saying,
8:55created and curated to be able to get crowds moving.
8:59There's new music and now it's just kind of like,
9:00what can I do in order to get my streams
9:02and get on to the next track?
9:03Yeah, so wow.
9:05You know, it's actually a key point you touched on.
9:09Do you find a song or a group of songs
9:12that's kind of universal, you know, beyond generations?
9:16Yeah, so I mean, for me, like growing up in Miami,
9:19I kind of have, I like to say I have a global year.
9:21So my best friend out there, two doors down from me,
9:23he was Cuban, his grandparents came over as refugees
9:27in the 1960s on a raft to Miami.
9:30So for me, it's like growing up,
9:31they would bury a pig in the backyard
9:33and they'd be playing different types of Spanish music,
9:35whether salsa, merengue, bachata.
9:38Next door to me, the family's Puerto Rican.
9:40Four doors down from them, my best friend was Jamaican,
9:43so I would get curry chicken and here a lot of reggae
9:46and like deep reggae.
9:47And then three doors down from him,
9:49my best friends were Bahamian.
9:51And then the car street from them
9:52and the family was Haitian.
9:53So I kind of grew up with so many different sounds,
9:56whether it was house, hip hop, rap, R&B, gospel,
9:59that I tend to lean on music
10:03that kind of resonates with anybody.
10:05So whether you speak English or not,
10:07to me, music is a universal love language.
10:10So if you're in Germany or, you know what I'm saying,
10:13or even if you're in Flint, Michigan,
10:15if someone drop a banger,
10:16it's gonna resonate with you.
10:17The beat catch you, or the vibe catch you.
10:20So for me, I'm always listening to,
10:23what's a track that I can play
10:24that people didn't know that they wanted to hear?
10:25Wow, I like that tagline.
10:28And also what you just said,
10:30music is a universal language,
10:32or at least it should be.
10:33Yeah, definitely.
10:34That's how I used to create music
10:35and record music and write music.
10:37Mainly from me and my experiences,
10:40or what I saw,
10:42and then make it like Michael Jackson.
10:44I think anybody can listen to Michael Jackson,
10:46no matter what age you are,
10:48and just love it.
10:49Yeah, definitely.
10:50Yeah, definitely.
10:52So let's shift a little towards business.
10:55Like when you get in that mode,
10:58even before you're speaking with a client,
11:00what are your go-to songs made the day before,
11:03or right before that meeting?
11:05So for me, it's like,
11:08I really try to focus on making sure
11:10that the experience is true for the client.
11:13And I try to make sure
11:15I always communicate that to my clients.
11:18A lot of times they might say,
11:19hey, can you send me a mix?
11:20You know, I wanna hear this or hear that.
11:23The crazy thing about being an event,
11:26not necessarily like a club DJ,
11:27but being like a wedding DJ
11:28or focusing on private events.
11:31A lot of times the music that you play
11:32aren't necessary songs that you will play
11:35based off your own general taste or conception.
11:38You're basically playing
11:39what that specific client may want.
11:41So they might want house,
11:42or they might want top 40 or hip hop or R&B.
11:46So it might come across like,
11:47dang, this dude was playing trap music all night.
11:49That might be what the client wanted.
11:51So for me, what I try to tell clients,
11:52if I send you a mix,
11:54don't necessarily listen to the songs that I'm playing,
11:57but listen to the technique,
12:00how I might interact with the crowd
12:02or how I transition.
12:03You wanna look at more so the skill
12:05and the technique and the energy and the flow
12:06versus the track.
12:09The tracks for me, each event,
12:11how I look at it is like
12:12the Super Bowl kinda going back to football.
12:14It's like each game
12:17is gonna have a different game plan.
12:19And the game plan might change
12:21based off of who your opponent is.
12:23So even though you might have played that team
12:24early in the season,
12:25if the quarterback hurt
12:26or saying they made a trade
12:27and they got a big box receiver or tight end,
12:30your game plan gonna change.
12:32So for me, it's like each event
12:34or consultation when I sit down with the client,
12:36I'm really more so trying to make sure
12:38I understand the client.
12:39And a lot of times,
12:40I mean, there's been times where I turn down the vent.
12:42I get asked a lot, man,
12:44like, how do you have so many five-star reviews?
12:46And the cheat code is
12:47I work with people that wanna work with me.
12:49A lot of times when I've had issues in my career
12:51where I've gotten bad reviews,
12:53I had issues because I work with a client
12:54or I work with someone
12:55that necessarily wasn't a good fit with,
12:57you know what I'm saying, my skill set.
12:58I might be,
12:59they might want somebody that's a little more reserved
13:00and not tend to be a little bit more high energy.
13:02Or they might want somebody that
13:04is a little bit more passive
13:07with music and mixing.
13:09And for me, I like to keep the energy up.
13:10I'm going boom, boom, boom,
13:11hitting the songs back to back to back.
13:13So from that perspective is,
13:15for me,
13:15I always want to make sure
13:17that I lead with listening
13:19and really make sure I understand
13:20what the client's vision is.
13:22And then from there,
13:22I'm able to kind of curate
13:24where I want to go musically for that evening.
13:27Yeah, you ever like freestyle something?
13:29I don't like live at the wedding.
13:31It was like just play something that'll just shock us.
13:34That's not even on the playlist
13:35or what we talked about.
13:36Yeah, that's actually like the best part of like
13:40the clients that I tend to attract
13:42is there's a level of trust.
13:44Of course they're going to give me some direction.
13:45I always say, hey, give me 10 or 15 songs
13:47that you absolutely positively want to hear.
13:50And they're like, I don't know.
13:51So I give them example, like, hey,
13:52what's a song that you listen to on your deck?
13:55Or what's some concerts that you and your fiance
13:58or your partner went to?
14:01Now what are some songs
14:02if you had the aux that you would play?
14:04What types of songs are going to be played
14:06on your limo bus?
14:08Once I'm able to get that line inside
14:09of those different data points,
14:11then for me, that kind of gives me an idea,
14:12okay, they went to high school
14:14in the early 2000s or 2010s or 2020.
14:17Like most people, like their musical taste
14:19comes from like their high school experience.
14:21Whether you went out and you sourced your CDs
14:23or your records or your tapes,
14:25or, you know what I'm saying,
14:26whether you start downloading music
14:28onto your iPod or what have you.
14:30Most people lens is like, you know,
14:31between that, I would say 18 to 24,
14:34between, you know, when I'm able to drive
14:36in high school to when I'm able to graduate,
14:38you know, from college or, you know, post high school.
14:41So that lens will kind of give me an idea
14:43of kind of what they taste is like,
14:44oh, if I knew that you went to whatever,
14:46let's say an Imagine Dragons concert
14:48in San Francisco, okay, I'm going to drop that.
14:50If I know that, okay, you just started JT in DC,
14:53I'm okay, I'm going to see that.
14:54Okay, cool, you going to see GZ
14:57for his, you know, symphony performance?
14:58Okay, that's going to give me a lens.
14:59So all those different types of data points
15:01and being able to make sure I understand
15:03what the client lens is,
15:04but also kind of what their music consumption is,
15:06it'll give me a perspective.
15:08And sometimes people, what people can assume
15:10is not vibe worthy, but there is a fit.
15:14Maybe I can play it during dinner.
15:15Maybe I can play it during cocktail hour
15:17or maybe I can remix it.
15:19Okay, maybe I can put a different beat over the track
15:21or maybe, you know what I'm saying,
15:22I can speed it up or slow it down.
15:23So from that perspective, I still want to make sure
15:25that at the end of the day, I'm client facing.
15:29Because the thing about it is when you had a wedding,
15:32you know, let's say, you know,
15:33average size of wedding is 100, 120 people,
15:35you got roughly another 50, 60 potential clients,
15:38whether it's their friends that's engaged
15:40or it might be a parent there who child is,
15:43you know what I'm saying, engaged
15:43or about to get engaged.
15:45So, you know, maybe it might be six months
15:47or a year or two years later,
15:48they might be like, hey, I was at a wedding there,
15:49you know, wherever, at a bar room at Park Lane
15:51and you was really dope
15:52and I wanted to see if you were available for this date.
15:56So you always want to make sure that, you know,
15:58not just your specific client experience,
16:00but that, you know, your optics is on point,
16:02you know, for anybody that may be in the room.
16:04Yeah.
16:05So it sounds like a lot of prep work beforehand.
16:09Like for me, you know, doing the wedding
16:11is more post-production, you know, after the wedding.
16:14So what are some of those pre,
16:17almost like homework that you got to do?
16:20Man, you asked me for the secret sauce,
16:23but you know, my son worked closely with me.
16:25That's my right hand, man.
16:27Shout out to AJ on the ones.
16:29But I always say prior preparation
16:30prevents poor performance.
16:32Is that in order to execute a five,
16:36what I would deem to be a five star event for me,
16:38because I can't speak for other DJs, other processes.
16:41But for me, you get your tip
16:44and you get your Raven review
16:46before you even show up to the event.
16:48So to me it's like,
16:49how quickly do you respond to emails?
16:52You know, do you have a presentation
16:53when you meet with clients?
16:56Do you have a timeline?
16:57Are you making sure that you effectively communicate
17:00with other vendors,
17:00whether it be a photographer,
17:03officiant, the venue, what have you, the planners,
17:06all those things allow the customer
17:08to feel more and more comfortable.
17:10So for me it's like,
17:11even if you gave me all the information,
17:12I'm still meeting with you the week after,
17:15say, hey, is all this still good?
17:16You might say, hey, you know what?
17:18One of the bridesmaids, the baby came early,
17:19so she's not gonna be here.
17:20Or you might say, hey, you know what?
17:22My dad really ain't feeling doing
17:23the father daughter dance, so he want to cut it short.
17:26By being able to have those clear line of communication
17:29and give your clients those assurances,
17:31it just puts you in a lot better position
17:33and it allows the data to go a lot smoother.
17:36A lot, you know, what I tell people,
17:37I still get nervous at events,
17:39but the better prepared you are,
17:43it gives you more of a ease
17:45and more of a level of sense of calmness
17:47because you're prepared.
17:49So for me, I rely heavily on my preparation
17:52just to make me a lot more calmer
17:54because I ain't got to worry about it.
17:56Hey, that's right.
17:57One of my things I say, reps replaced doubt.
18:00Even if I did millions of videos,
18:05songs, photos, and it's like the more I do it,
18:09the more confident you are, the more prepared you are,
18:11the more internal checklist that you have.
18:15You don't need a physical checklist
18:16if you've already done it a million times
18:18and kind of memorized it.
18:20Now it's just like hitting those bullet points,
18:23like, I know this song is gonna, you know,
18:28rile them up because it's a little dry right now.
18:31So I'm gonna play it.
18:32It's dinner, all right, it's a little chaos.
18:34All right, it's time for me to be vocal.
18:36So it's like having those reps,
18:39it really replaced the doubt.
18:41Definitely, definitely.
18:42Yeah, and to me, like, that's really what the art is.
18:44I mean, it's easy just to say,
18:46let me get out here and play a Spotify list.
18:49But sometimes, to me, like, that level of curation
18:52to really read the crowd and say,
18:53hey, you know what, it's mostly 50 and 60 year olds
18:56on this dance floor.
18:57Let me drop Love Shack, or let me, you know what I'm saying,
18:58let me drop Frankie Beverly and Mays.
19:00Or you can say, hey, you know what,
19:02damn, the whole bridal party is out here by 20 on.
19:04Yeah.
19:04You know, I'm going straight to the Young Dolph.
19:06I'm gonna hit them with Preach.
19:07It's just like, it's so easy to open up
19:09the dance floor with the same stuff everywhere.
19:11Oh, let me play, you know,
19:13Whitney Houston on the dance floor somewhere there.
19:15You know, let me play Apache or Uptown Funk.
19:18But to be able to look at the crowd and say,
19:19hey, you know what,
19:20they got a couple of South Asian people in there.
19:22Let me play a little bit of balling, is it?
19:24Or, you know, I heard a little accent over there.
19:26I think I might've heard somebody from Jamaica
19:28or from Trinidad and Tobago.
19:30You know what I'm saying?
19:30We played a little bit of reggae.
19:32So for me, it's like,
19:33that's where the true art is and curation
19:35and where you separate yourself from is
19:37by being able to have a breadth of music knowledge,
19:40by being able to read the crowd and say,
19:41hey, you know what,
19:43they didn't say this person was gonna be here.
19:44I got so far.
19:45Yeah, reading the room.
19:48Yeah, that's important.
19:49Yeah.
19:49See, I know you talked about,
19:51you know, your level of preparation
19:53and where your money is really made,
19:55kind of like post-production.
19:57But I kind of want to touch on contingencies.
19:59Like, you know,
19:59what are some of the contingencies you put in place
20:02as like a videographer or photographer,
20:04whether it's extra cards or extra cameras,
20:06what have you?
20:09Like I kind of mentioned, checklists.
20:11Like you said, that open communication.
20:15That's the biggest thing, you know,
20:16before, during, and after.
20:21So communication, checklists, backups of everything.
20:27The backups, I remember I had one battery and one camera.
20:34It wasn't a wedding, it was just a regular event.
20:36But that led me to, okay,
20:38I know the value of this event or this wedding.
20:42So I don't even care if I use the second camera
20:44or the second battery, second flash, whatever.
20:47I'm going to have backups or whatever.
20:50So you always have multiple, no matter what,
20:53or if a SD card fails, have someone.
20:56That's why I love having assistants or second shooters.
20:58Even if they don't, you know,
21:00do as much work as I do,
21:03if I need them to run to the store, they could.
21:05Yeah, you know.
21:06So having good relationships, good team members,
21:10being a team player.
21:12So those things kind of, kind of helped me.
21:15It's happened, so.
21:17I would say, what's your favorite piece of equipment?
21:20Ooh, favorite?
21:21Part of the 20 years.
21:2320, 22?
21:2422.
21:24Yeah, 22 years.
21:2723 is 25.
21:28Yeah, 22, yeah.
21:2922.
21:30Favorite piece of equipment, mm.
21:35I would definitely say piece of equipment,
21:37like if it's like a tangible item.
21:40Probably have to be the laptop, man.
21:41Laptops really change the game.
21:43You know, to go from, you know, records to CDJs.
21:46I mean, laptops just allow you to have access
21:51to so much music and so many tools
21:53and you can get so creative with it.
21:55Yeah.
21:56But the downside is, is that it gives people
21:58like a false sense of reality.
21:59They feel like because you have access to the internet
22:02and you have access to, you know, whatever,
22:05five terabyte hard drive.
22:07Is that just supposed to have any song
22:09that people request at will?
22:10And that's not always necessarily the case.
22:13All right, that is true, and I witnessed that.
22:16But how important is like equipment like that?
22:19Like good quality DJing equipment,
22:22a good laptop with, you know, RAM,
22:24and then also a hard drive.
22:25How important are those things?
22:27To me, it's kind of like the heart
22:30or the epicenter of your business,
22:32because if you don't have music,
22:34you don't have nothing.
22:36So, I mean, for me, it's like,
22:38it's probably like outside of like the vehicle
22:40to transport all the gear that I have.
22:43The computers, I have one, two, three,
22:45I have five computers.
22:46And those are like the biggest investments that I make.
22:48So I have computers to be able to run my photo booths.
22:51I have, of course, you know, a backup laptop,
22:54my main laptop, and then a lot of times
22:56I have a laptop just for ceremony.
22:59So, you know, I've had instances where like,
23:03let's say I'm doing like a rooftop wedding
23:05and I'm in a direct sun,
23:06and both my laptops are overheated.
23:08You know, I've been blessed to where
23:10I can Bluetooth off my phone
23:12and be able to play some songs.
23:14And seamlessly, I don't want to ever know
23:16until, you know, the sun moved
23:18or I'm able to get the laptops to cool down.
23:20So to me, contingencies are the most critical things,
23:26especially as far as weddings,
23:27because everything is like very, very time-sensitive.
23:29It ain't gonna be no extra 10, 15 minutes.
23:31It's time to go.
23:33So you always have to have that contingency plan.
23:37I was gonna ask about that too.
23:40Was there a moment or a wedding that,
23:43you know, you had to pivot?
23:44Like, oh man, this has really happened?
23:46Then you really had to pivot right on the spot, live?
23:50Man, it just recently happened, man,
23:52as recently as Memorial Day weekend.
23:54So I was blessed.
23:56We were in three cities in three days.
23:59So Friday, we had a prom in Cleveland.
24:01Saturday had a wedding in Cincinnati.
24:04And Sunday had a wedding in Pittsburgh.
24:06So for me, like I normally always have an assistant,
24:09which is my son, like you're saying,
24:10like in case I need to get some food or, you know,
24:12you forget a cord or something,
24:13you can send somebody out to get it, my bad.
24:15And then saying that, my contingency was,
24:18I'm like, all right,
24:19I'm gonna go to Cincinnati and do that myself.
24:21On Sunday, I want you to go to Pittsburgh
24:23and set up for me.
24:24God forbid if I get in an accident or I hit traffic,
24:27I at least know that the wedding that I'm headed to
24:29is already set up and have somebody on site.
24:32So like, that was like my first contingency.
24:34So I drive down to Cincinnati
24:39and they have me on the rooftop.
24:42Beautiful, little hotel, beautiful hotel,
24:45overlooking the whole city, city backdrop behind me.
24:49And everything is cool.
24:50You know, cocktail hour up there, music was cool.
24:53As soon as we was getting like 10 minutes
24:55before we was getting ready to do introductions,
24:58my laptop started overheating.
25:00I sat around, the button go from like,
25:02the bar go from green to red.
25:03I'm like, awesome, it's overheating.
25:07So I take that down, pull out my backup laptop.
25:09Five minutes later, that overheat, I'm like, yo.
25:12So I take those laptops and I put them in the kitchen
25:14because the kitchen had AC.
25:16So I told the planner, I was like, look,
25:18I know we're getting ready to go live.
25:20I'm like, I'm gonna have to play
25:22all the introduction songs off my cell phone.
25:24And the way my speakers are set up,
25:26I got Bluetooth for them.
25:27So I was like, hey, until the sun go down,
25:29this is what we're gonna do.
25:30She's like, hey, do what you gotta do.
25:31So I literally had to make a decision,
25:33which I normally under these circumstances
25:36would never encourage anybody to do Bluetooth,
25:38but I had to do what I had to do.
25:39I didn't have time to move.
25:40I didn't have an umbrella or anything like that
25:43to cover for me because it's just based off
25:45the aesthetics that they wanted for that space.
25:47Yeah.
25:48But I was able to pull off, you know.
25:50Mic was good, played the music off my phone.
25:53So one thing I always do is make sure like,
25:55all my formality is bare minimum.
25:57I have on my cell phone like an Apple Playness.
26:00So, you know, first day as father, daughter, mother,
26:01God forbid if anything didn't happen,
26:03boom, I could just hop right on my phone
26:04and end up playing the song.
26:06So, you know, that's kind of like my contingency
26:08or a time where I had to pivot like literally
26:10within minutes as the client never knew.
26:15That's true.
26:15I mean, that's just tales of a true professional
26:18for real.
26:19Appreciate it.
26:20So I know you kind of had a good love
26:22for music throughout your whole life.
26:26So a little after college,
26:28where did you kind of pick up
26:29on like the entrepreneurship and business?
26:33So for me, like my family always tell you like,
26:36I've always been a hustler like since I was young.
26:39Like I remember like,
26:42I had to do middle school.
26:44You know, we was always,
26:45I always liked to say we was in between blessings.
26:48I had what I needed, but you know,
26:50it was barely that.
26:52So I remember I used to go to 99 cent store
26:54and buy like the little Kit Kats and Reese's Pieces.
26:57And I'd go to school and flip those
26:58and I was selling for 25 cent a piece and make money.
27:01And then I would do the same thing in high school
27:02until I got caught and got in trouble for it.
27:05And then I started washing cars
27:06because I went to school with a whole bunch of rich kids.
27:08So I started washing their cars.
27:09I started, you know, car washing business in high school.
27:12And I did that all the way through college.
27:14I was detailing cars.
27:15But then saying that for me,
27:18I come from a family, you know,
27:20half of it is kind of preachers
27:22and the other half is kingpins.
27:24So I never wanted to go down the road
27:26of being incarcerated or trying to sell drugs
27:29and being like that.
27:29So I was trying to find a way to make money,
27:32you know what I'm saying?
27:32A positive way to where I didn't have to look
27:34over my shoulder.
27:35So for me, that's what always kind of drove me
27:36was that I knew I wanted more out of life.
27:39And I knew that, you know,
27:42the most admirable way to do it
27:43was to get out here and get after it.
27:45So.
27:46Yeah.
27:48So I remember he said,
27:52you know, you're working with your son
27:53and he started, you know, as a teenager, you know.
27:59So how important is growth for the youth
28:03with DJing, like, you know,
28:06DJing from 20 years ago versus, you know,
28:1010 years later,
28:12how important is that like instilling it to the youth?
28:15I mean, there's a,
28:16I think there's an African proverb that says
28:17you can give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day.
28:20Or you can teach him how to fish
28:21and he'll eat for a lifetime.
28:22Right.
28:23So for me, it's like,
28:24the unfortunate part of DJing
28:27is that it keeps you out of the house.
28:29Yeah. You know, you're on site.
28:30You know, events are easily 10, 12 hour days.
28:34Easy.
28:35You know, from the time, you know,
28:36you load up your van to the time
28:38you get back home and you unload it.
28:41So for me, it was kind of selfishly a way
28:43for me to still be able to spend time with my kids.
28:46But, you know, the most important thing was really-
28:48That's genius.
28:50That's genius.
28:51I do it with my daughter, you know.
28:53Seven years old, pull out a little camera.
28:56Like it's, it's genius.
28:58Yeah. I mean, they don't see it like that.
28:59They just see they get to hang out with dad
29:01and eat good and go to fancy events.
29:03I mean, the other half is to really be able to show
29:06him kind of like the ins and outs of like,
29:10entrepreneurship.
29:11So, you know, the thing that really changed
29:14my perspective on being able to scale my business
29:16is really understanding a lot of people might,
29:19you know, clutch their pros out.
29:21You really don't have to be that dope of a DJ
29:22or dope of a photographer or florist
29:25to really be at the top.
29:27At some point in time, you have to say,
29:29you know what, my craft is good enough.
29:31I got to do all these other small things
29:33that's gonna allow people to see it.
29:35So, you know, in 2020, that's what really opened
29:37my eyes was when New Royal shut down.
29:40I was like, I'm dope, but nobody know it.
29:44And it's like, kind of getting back to what you said
29:46about these kids, the biggest advantage that they have
29:49over generations previously is, you know, social media
29:53and the internet is really a lot of kids
29:55or people in general, anybody in general,
29:57to have a level of exposure
29:59without any type of gatekeepers.
30:01It's really, you know, disrupted the market
30:03to say, hey, you know, instead of me having to go
30:05through a third-party company or the Yellow Pages
30:07or something like that to advertise,
30:10I can literally like start my own community.
30:12You can look at, you know, some of these,
30:14a lot of these streamers like Kai
30:15and different things like that
30:17where if you're able to create, build your own community
30:20and your followers that be able to show value
30:23to people that, you know, something
30:25that they're willing to consume
30:27is that you're really able to have the keys to the castle
30:29is that you no longer have to go through a CBS
30:32or, you know, a Fox or what have you.
30:35You can literally create your own destiny
30:38within that, so.
30:41That's true.
30:42Just thinking about the times,
30:45like when I started music, it was a little before
30:49high school, late middle school,
30:52not really treating it as a business as I did
30:55in my late teens and, you know, early adulthood.
30:58But if I had the tools then, like,
31:01oh, I got to get signed.
31:02Oh, I got to do this record to get signed.
31:04Like, I think the mindset then was just getting signed
31:07until I'm like, oh, you know, I could use this group,
31:10this your kid, our tune core to publish my music
31:13and get it out to the world, to the masses
31:16and, you know, monetize it through stream.
31:18So, you know, I think that's essential
31:21and technology is always involved in
31:23and how do you stay updated on trends
31:26as far as technology in the DJ industry?
31:29So for me, I tend, I actually tend to lag.
31:32So I kind of look at it like a vehicle,
31:36a piece of technology.
31:38Like you never want to get the first iPhone.
31:39You want to wait until it's iPhone a little bit
31:41and then work out the kinks if it's a recall.
31:43So for me, I tend to observe.
31:45So even like, for instance, like AI, chat, GBT
31:49or even social media to this extent.
31:51I always want to make sure I understand it,
31:53understand how it impacts people more specifically.
31:56How will it impact my life?
31:57Like, will it make my life easier?
31:59Will it, or will it consume more time?
32:01You know, could it become addictive?
32:03From that perspective, I kind of observe
32:05and then I look like, okay,
32:06how can I implement this in my day to day?
32:09How can I make my life easier
32:11or more streamlined before I truly embrace it?
32:15So for me, instead of like just hopping on the wave
32:17and like, hey, let me get on TikTok
32:18and start doing dances.
32:19I'm like, well, how can I utilize this tool
32:22to really distinguish myself
32:23but also to learn and to grow?
32:24So for me, I really always try to find ways to grow.
32:28So everything that I consume
32:30or the majority of stuff that I expose myself to,
32:32I'm always trying to look at an aspect
32:34on how I can grow because, you know, the algorithm
32:38or there's so many things out here
32:39that can really kind of deter you
32:40to take you off track or be, you know,
32:42for lack of better words, distractions.
32:44So, I mean, like, you know,
32:45you can be easily scrolling on Instagram.
32:47It's gonna start to show you all the stuff
32:48you're stopping to look at.
32:49You're like, man, oh, you like this or you like that.
32:52Let me show her more of that.
32:54And before you know it, you off target.
32:56You done lost your focus.
32:58So for me, not interested, not interested, delete.
33:01You know, I really try to make sure that, you know,
33:03I create an environment, not just based off the algorithm
33:06but the people I surround myself with,
33:08with things that are gonna hold me accountable
33:09and help me to, you know, to get better as an individual.
33:13Yeah.
33:14Was there a moment in life you learned that from?
33:16Like, I gotta really black out distractions
33:18and really lock in and focus.
33:20Man, for me, it's like,
33:21I chose a really, really good partner, man.
33:23Like, my wife, if she don't do nothing else, man,
33:25she gonna tell me by myself.
33:26Yeah.
33:27And I'm really grateful for that.
33:28I mean, as a man, like, with your ego,
33:30it's kind of hard to accept that, you know,
33:33out of all these things and people that's telling you
33:34that you're the best and that you this,
33:36that when you come home to your safe space,
33:38a person is just like, hey, well, you're slipping right here.
33:41You need to watch that.
33:42Have you thought about this?
33:44It's always great to have somebody
33:45that's not just gonna stroke your ego,
33:47but that's gonna like keep pushing you to be better.
33:49And it's really those small things
33:50that really help you to separate.
33:52It's not always specifically the big things.
33:55It's really focusing, and like I tell my son,
33:57you gotta, you know, consistently do the small things
33:59well and the big things gonna go.
34:02Wow.
34:02Man.
34:03Was there any business challenge
34:06that kind of propelled you to where you are now?
34:09Yeah, I mean, for me, it probably was fear.
34:13For a long time, I was in the Cleveland office.
34:16I moved to Cleveland roughly about 10 years ago.
34:20I tried to hide when I was like, you know what?
34:24We located here to take a job,
34:26you know, as far as like being an engineer.
34:28And I didn't want to start over again.
34:30So I was like, I'm just gonna be,
34:31I'm not gonna DJ no more.
34:32I'm just gonna focus on my corporate career.
34:35And then I had one of my buddies, Jim Lee.
34:38He asked me to sell all my equipment.
34:39He's like, nah, bro, he can't do that.
34:41He's like, man, you got a gift, man.
34:42He's like, nah, invest in this thing.
34:45So then my wife actually went out and she started,
34:48you know, at the time, Craigslist was the thing.
34:50She went on Craigslist and tried to find
34:52opportunities for me to DJ.
34:54So, you know, I did a step with Rock the House
34:55and I did a step with Abrize DJ.
34:58And then recently I did a step
34:59with Selective Sound Entertainment.
35:03And 2020 came and I was doing good.
35:07You know, they kept my calendar full and, you know,
35:10I was happy.
35:11Then 2020 came and all those contracts
35:15and all those dates was canceled
35:17because clients pulled out.
35:20And for me, the eye-opening part was
35:22the ownership piece was that if I held those contracts,
35:26if I was the business owner,
35:27I would at least be able to hold on
35:28to those retainers and deposits
35:30or be able to reschedule.
35:33So for me, it was like, man, I didn't like that feeling
35:35to go from like, okay, your calendar's good,
35:38you got a budget, you got some income
35:39that you are looking to capture to nothing.
35:44I was blessed that I was able to kind of go
35:46underground and do weddings and events
35:48at people's houses or private venues
35:50and things like that, which, I mean, that's cool,
35:51but it really opened my eyes
35:53because ownership is really critical.
35:56So for me, like, that's where I really started
35:58to push social media and networking
36:01and really being on the forefront
36:02and establish relationships in the industry
36:04to say, hey, you know what,
36:05we're a standalone company
36:07and we're really here to bring something different
36:10as far as high value service to clients.
36:14So to me, COVID was really what was mine.
36:16Like a better word, it's catalyst, no pun intended
36:19to really change and focus on the marketing piece.
36:23Mm, and you speak about taking control
36:27and then the business where, music business
36:30where ownership is not educated as much.
36:34It's getting better, but how important is ownership
36:38in general in business and entrepreneurship?
36:42I mean, it's critical.
36:43I mean, shout out to DJ Lowkey,
36:45but I remember him pulling me to the side
36:46at one of today's bridal shows.
36:49I was working for another company,
36:50he looked at me like, bro, why you not?
36:52I'm doing your own thing.
36:54I was like, this, this, that.
36:55He was like, you got everything you need.
36:57It's like, you just gotta get after it.
36:58And it was like, that was one of the
37:01pivotal conversations on the side
37:02that kind of stood out to me.
37:04And then I remember, you know,
37:06when I drew out like the business plan
37:09and told my wife that I wanted to do it,
37:11you know, it was a huge investment
37:13as far as equipment and assets,
37:15websites and things like that.
37:17And she backed me 100%.
37:18She was like, let's do what we gotta do
37:20and we put our own money behind it.
37:25It's a ton of money.
37:27But, you know, when I look back at it now,
37:31it's all worth it.
37:33I mean, people just see the results,
37:35but they don't always see the process.
37:36It takes in order to build.
37:38Like, you know, they look at the optics
37:40of being considered a top DJ in the area
37:44and we traveling and all those different types of things.
37:46But there was a lot of sacrifice
37:47and a lot of investment to even get to this point.
37:50And now, you know, at this juncture, it's bigger than me.
37:54You know, I have children that need to go to school
37:57and things aren't getting any less expensive.
38:00Right.
38:00So for me, it's all about making sure
38:02kind of like, almost like a surgery on the truth
38:05type of thing is that I help other DJs,
38:08other event pros to be able to scale
38:10and be able to get to a place
38:12where they feel comfortable where they want to be.
38:14So that's just kind of where I'm at.
38:15It's just like, I'm good, I'm comfortable,
38:17but how can I bring other people with me?
38:19How can I help others?
38:21Yeah, that's true.
38:22And then even tying in the youth, you know,
38:24we're here at one of my media partner's location,
38:27Launch Arts, and you know,
38:29I think it was exactly almost last year
38:31or a couple of days, almost going on.
38:34I was probably over a year ago.
38:37You know, you did a spin prep.
38:38Yes, sir.
38:39I mean, a DJ institution like that is big.
38:43Is there any other education that kind of propels you
38:47or that you're taking?
38:49That I can find.
38:50Minds, courses.
38:51Yeah, so I tell clients that when I get asked a question,
38:56like, how do you improve or how do you stay on top
39:00of things as far as the DJ?
39:02I would say it's three parts.
39:03So the first part is going to conferences.
39:06To me, conferences are the biggest investment.
39:08So I do weather MBA, like every other year.
39:12There's another good show in Milwaukee
39:14called Midwest DJ Live.
39:17And recently in January this year,
39:18I went to the DJ Summit in Pittsburgh.
39:21Shout out to them.
39:24They do a really, really good job
39:26with being able to rejoin and be able to
39:31educate DJs in general.
39:33But it was DJs from all over
39:34that had came to the DJ Summit.
39:36And I put in an atmosphere, hopefully,
39:39I'm able to speak at that show next year.
39:41I'm putting in an atmosphere right now.
39:43So that's kind of next thing.
39:44But yeah, that's how.
39:45So conferences are one thing.
39:46I try to go to one or two conferences a year.
39:49The second part is kind of an online platform.
39:52So I'm a part of the DJs Vault,
39:55which is headed up by Joe Bunn
39:57out of Raleigh, North Carolina.
39:59So it's kind of like an online YouTube type
40:01based learning where you go
40:02and they have different videos updated there.
40:05And last part, How I Grow,
40:07it's called that Give Back piece.
40:08And you kind of talked about the spin prep piece.
40:11But I'm also the Director of Community Engagement
40:13for WIPA, which is the
40:14Wending Industry Professional Association.
40:17And my title is just a fancy, fancy, fancy name
40:21for I Find Ways for Event Professionals
40:23to give back to the local community,
40:25whether it's through service,
40:26whether it's through donations, what have you.
40:28So we've aligned ourselves
40:29with various community partners,
40:32such as the Phil House,
40:33which is like a nonprofit for foster kids
40:37when they're emancipated.
40:38You know, as soon as you turn 18,
40:40you know, you have to go into the world.
40:42So you got to get your first apartment.
40:44They need different things like bedding
40:46and plates and sheets and things like that.
40:48Wow.
40:48So they collect all those types of gifts
40:50for kids that are being emancipated.
40:52And then the other partner,
40:54which is really been near and dear to my heart,
40:57which is the, it just left me.
41:02But it's gracious.
41:05It'll come back to me.
41:07But it's saying that I lost it, but yeah.
41:13So yeah, I know you're headed that out.
41:15No, it's all good.
41:17Well, let's kind of touch on WIPA,
41:20the WETA International Professional Association.
41:23How important is a professional in the industry
41:26to get a part of an association as such?
41:29Yeah, I mean, so just kind of
41:30rewind it back two paragraphs.
41:31I mean, the most critical thing
41:34that you just kind of touched on
41:35was the educational piece.
41:36To me, the most important thing
41:38or the value that WIPA brings is the educational piece,
41:41is that once you join WIPA,
41:43you're not able just to indulge
41:47or participate in events
41:48in your specific city or region,
41:50which in our cases, we have a Cleveland chapter.
41:53But I've been able to go to other chapter events.
41:56So let's say I want to grow my DJ business
41:59and I want to do events in other places.
42:01So I've gone to South Florida,
42:03events to Galen's.
42:06Cincinnati has something coming up in August.
42:09I think it was August 12th.
42:11I plan on going to that,
42:12because a lot of times I get called to other markets.
42:16Philadelphia or Raleigh.
42:19In Sanlin, let's say I get a call
42:21and the bride wants me to DJ a wedding in Philadelphia.
42:24I can make a phone call to another DJ and say,
42:26hey, look, can you give me a price
42:29for the production piece?
42:31To where when I drive out there,
42:32all I got to do is bring my laptop,
42:34rock the event, they tear it down.
42:37So it's good to always have those networks.
42:38I mean, I'm booking a destination wedding
42:44in Cancun, Mexico next to you.
42:46So for me it's like, I have another DJ
42:48that I'm in contact with at Atlanta.
42:51He does a lot of destination weddings.
42:53I was like, hey bro, I've done destination wedding,
42:55but what's some of the verbiage in your contract?
42:59What are some of the contingencies
43:00that you put into place?
43:02And before I knew it, eight of the things,
43:05I know I'm doing really well, but I missed two things.
43:07He was like, hey, make sure they pay for your flight
43:11versus you pay for your flight.
43:12That way they have access to that.
43:15Make sure, different small things like,
43:18okay, they get you a room for a couple of days after.
43:20That way, if anything happens,
43:22like let's say a hurricane comes and something crazy,
43:24if they need to push it back, you're already on site.
43:27So it was different things like that
43:28that I didn't take into consideration.
43:30I'm just trying to go there and do what I got to do
43:32and then come back.
43:34But there's other contingencies
43:35that I know I need to put in place,
43:36like travel with assistant.
43:38God forbid you get food poisoning
43:39or something like that crazy.
43:41You got someone that could step in
43:42and still make sure they write their events.
43:44So all those different types of things
43:45by being able to have a network of other DJs,
43:49it's very critical, very important.
43:52Yeah, we speak a lot about relationship and connections
43:56and even putting me in touch with DJ Lowkey
43:59over the shades, bridal, and I was very adamant
44:03and growing in my wedding photography business.
44:07Kind of cut down a little bit to focus more on live events,
44:11but it's still one of my top services,
44:14maybe number two behind just live events.
44:17So I definitely appreciate you for that connection.
44:22Man, so as a new entrepreneur, not even day one,
44:29speaking to them, how important is contracts
44:32when you're telling them that?
44:36Man, I think it's like three to five things
44:38that I always tell any new entrepreneur
44:40that you need to have.
44:41You definitely have to make sure
44:42that you're registered with the state.
44:44You have an EIN number.
44:45I mean, that's business one-on-one.
44:48You wanna make sure that you have a legitimate business.
44:50You wanna be out here operating with a name
44:52that belongs to somebody else and they come after you
44:54or you operate with a dope name
44:57and you starting to get some traction
44:58and someone take your name.
45:00So that's the first thing.
45:01Before you launch anything, you wanna make sure
45:03it's only a couple hundred bucks
45:05just registered with the state.
45:07The second thing, once you get your EIN,
45:09you wanna make sure you get your business account.
45:11So whatever your bank institution,
45:13the credit union or what have you,
45:15you wanna make sure you have a business account
45:16because from that perspective as a new entrepreneur,
45:19you probably gonna operate, you know what I'm saying,
45:22as a business that's not making any money
45:23for the first few years.
45:25So from an accountant standpoint, not an accountant,
45:27you wanna make sure you're able to get
45:28all those write-offs as far as like you said,
45:31whatever equipment, websites, transportation,
45:34whatever supporting aspects you need
45:35to support your business and its growth.
45:38So I mean, that's number two.
45:40And then three, if you're specifically
45:41in the events industry like us,
45:44you wanna make sure you have liability insurance.
45:46That's important.
45:47I mean, a lot of venues and places
45:48won't even allow you in if you don't have a COI.
45:51So I mean, that's very, very critical.
45:54The fourth thing is definitely have a website.
45:56I mean, it's just important that,
45:58it's probably not as important as it was
45:59at one point in time, but for me,
46:01it shows a level of legitimacy if you have a website,
46:05especially if it's a nice website, it's easy to use.
46:09And then of course, the fifth part,
46:10you gotta have social media.
46:12I know a lot of people like to be kind of private
46:15or what have you, I'm the same way too,
46:17but it's important to have
46:19some type of social media presence.
46:21The more engaged, of course,
46:24the more connected you are with other people.
46:26Clients tend to look at that.
46:27Oh, I see that you, like, you know, DJ Loki
46:30or you know, whoever that person is.
46:34It gives you a level of legitimacy
46:36if you're in the network of working professionals.
46:40So to me, those are the top five things
46:42as a newbie or a kind of a novice entrepreneur
46:46that you wanna have as far as investment.
46:50You know, before you try to, you know,
46:52get a chainmail with your logo and end up being crazy.
46:55Oh, man.
46:56You know, make sure you have those things in place
46:58before you try to have the objects that you're borrowing
47:00that you're renting out here, so.
47:02Wow, man, that's big, that's major.
47:06And even further, about the digital marketing website
47:10and social media, which is critical.
47:14I once heard this,
47:17a sign with no business is a sign of no business.
47:21So it is, I'm even beat myself up sometimes.
47:24I'm not the best at posting on social media.
47:27I'm good at creating content, getting all and everything,
47:30but as far as posting and coming up
47:32with a consistent schedule, you know,
47:35I struggle a little bit because I do a lot
47:37and I continue to get better each day, each week,
47:41and I challenge myself, okay,
47:43I'm gonna post at least once a day.
47:46You know, I do it for about, you know,
47:47a couple of days or a couple of weeks
47:49and I kind of back down and don't post for a week.
47:54Currently doing that.
47:56But it's very critical to have that reminder.
48:01Like people forget that I do photography
48:03because I do so many other things,
48:05but it's like, dang, really?
48:06This is my main business
48:07and they forgot I do photography?
48:09Okay, let me start putting messaging around,
48:12you know, photography and, you know,
48:15okay, reminders that I do events,
48:17reminders that I do weddings, headshots.
48:20And those are my core and that's what I market.
48:22Anything goes, it's a conversation
48:24because I may, you know,
48:26give off to someone else as a referral,
48:28but it is critical to put yourself out there
48:32even when you do not want to,
48:33even at networking events.
48:35And I want to speak to, you know,
48:37the constant growth of any business,
48:40how critical is networking?
48:44It's very simple and I had to say it to myself as well.
48:48Your net worth is your net worth.
48:51Your net worth is your net worth.
48:53So if you look at the people that are either, you know,
48:56in your phone that you speak to on a consistent basis,
48:59that you email or what have you,
49:01you look at, you know, how much money they make
49:02or the types of things they're doing,
49:04types of conversation they have,
49:05that's what really gonna determine.
49:06You know, are you really hanging around the people
49:08that are either going,
49:10are at where you want to be at
49:11or they're having a conversation
49:12or having a mentality where you're gonna be at?
49:14Because the reality is, is that it has to be a mindset.
49:18You have to have a growth mindset.
49:19And if you're around people that's complaining about
49:21things that are really minuscule
49:23and that's really going, for me,
49:25you know, leave a mark on legacy.
49:28For me, it's like, I will,
49:29once you be around me, I don't have time for you.
49:32And for me, like, as you're, you know,
49:34as you grow, as you scale,
49:35like that mental health piece
49:37becomes more and more critical.
49:38So having people that's really positive
49:40and that's really locked in or, you know,
49:42or family and creating experiences and bringing value
49:48and staying in shape and staying grounded
49:51and creating relationships with,
49:53deeper relationships with family and friends.
49:55To me, those are the people that you want to be around.
49:57But if you're around people that's just,
49:59you know, pill of the pulse and, you know,
50:00just complaining and looking for, you know,
50:03excuses versus creating solutions,
50:05you know, that's gonna permeate, you know,
50:07your thought process.
50:08It'll become a distraction.
50:11So for me, that perspective, like,
50:12that's why networking is really, really critical
50:14because man, you know, as I'm blessed to, you know,
50:19to kind of grow and elevate
50:20and be exposed to different people,
50:21a lot of decisions, a lot of opportunities
50:23are made before the beta or RFQ really come out.
50:26It's really someone saying, like you said, you know,
50:29you being on the forefront of somebody's mind.
50:30They say, oh, yeah, I know a really dope photographer.
50:33This is, you know, his or her style.
50:35I really know a dope DJ or florist.
50:36You know, whatever your thing is,
50:39is being on the forefront of people's minds.
50:41And if your business and your marketing
50:44is not important to yourself,
50:45how can you expect anybody else to take it seriously?
50:48Man, that's very true.
50:50You have to invest in yourself.
50:52That's very critical,
50:53especially speaking on the growth mindset.
50:56And just to touch a little bit about that,
50:58but as we wrap up, you know, you have a mentee
51:01and you're kind of speaking to them
51:03to, like, elevate themselves.
51:07What are the steps you would take
51:08to help them grow their growth mindset?
51:12I mean, the first thing I would ask anybody to do
51:14is read a book called Purpose Driven Life.
51:18It's really to find something that you really want to do.
51:22If you can find something
51:23that don't nobody have to wake you up to do,
51:25no one has to tell you to do it.
51:27If you get any extra money,
51:28that's what you want to spend your money on.
51:30To me, that's how you know you're doing the right thing.
51:33Generally where people tend to get the revs,
51:35a lot of people are chasing the quote unquote the bag
51:39or the money or the result or the optics
51:41or something that makes them feel that look good
51:43versus really trying to find something
51:45that's really their passion or purpose.
51:47And for me, it's like, you know,
51:48I still do the engineering thing,
51:50but to me, DJing is also like my passion or purpose too.
51:55Like no one has to tell me to make sure
51:58that I do my timeline and I follow up with a client
52:00and did you do this or did you do that?
52:02Like to me, it's like, I'm always,
52:04it kind of consumes me.
52:05I'm always thinking about it.
52:07And I put my own money behind it.
52:09That's how important I take it.
52:10I was like, you know, no one's going to give me a handout.
52:15So from that perspective,
52:18that's what I would tell any entrepreneur,
52:20like find something that you really,
52:21you're passionate about and then find the gap
52:24or find a shortcoming in the market,
52:26you know, to where you can fulfill that.
52:28So even if you're saying, hey, I'm in the healthcare,
52:29yeah, you might not be able to be a doctor
52:32or an LPN or something like that,
52:33but hey, you might be able to create, you know,
52:36a transportation company that, you know,
52:38could kind of fill a gap for dementia patients
52:40or, you know, the aging, you know, demographic
52:44or maybe boomers.
52:46So I mean, it's all kinds of opportunities out here.
52:47You just really got to find something
52:49that you're passionate about.
52:50Like I got a dude that's in a group home.
52:52So I mean, whatever your thing is, you know,
52:54I just encourage you to learn as much about it,
52:57niche down, grow it, scale it,
52:59and then find other things that's adjacent to it
53:02that you're passionate about, so.
53:04Yes, and passion fulfills purpose.
53:07You know, they go hand in hand.
53:08You know, someone that's real passionate about what they do
53:12and they're going to continue to fill out their purpose
53:14and love it and enjoy it and really take it to heart.
53:19So again, as we wrap up,
53:22my audience is geared towards that beginning entrepreneur
53:26or someone that's working a nine to five,
53:29multiple jobs, but they kind of want to change their
53:32life and become an entrepreneur.
53:34What are some encouraging words
53:36for that inspired entrepreneur?
53:40Inspired entrepreneur, first thing, write it down.
53:43Write it down.
53:44You know, whatever you want to do, put it on paper.
53:47To me, it doesn't exist if it's not on paper.
53:50You know, once you write it down,
53:51be discreet on who you share it with.
53:54You know, your calling or your purpose,
53:57you know what I'm saying?
53:58It's just for you.
53:59It wasn't a conference call.
54:01So for me, like why you need to share it with everybody?
54:04But, you know, guide your creator, you know,
54:07whoever you look to as your higher pride,
54:08guide your direction of, you know,
54:11who you need to share it with.
54:12And you need to ask like, okay,
54:14what people do I need to have in my life
54:16in order to grow this into the skeleton?
54:18Just know that you're going to do everything on your own,
54:21but you do need to take it seriously.
54:24And it's not going to happen overnight.
54:26So there's no way I'm going to plant a pear tree
54:28or plant a cherry tree and expect that next year
54:31or the year after that I'm going to have cherries
54:33that I can eat or consume.
54:35And sometimes it might take three, four, five years
54:37for a tree to be able to bear fruit.
54:39But you got to continue to nurture that gift.
54:41You got to continue to nurture that idea.
54:44You know what I'm saying?
54:45That you were given that you know lies within you.
54:48And, you know, it's a funny call
54:49that took 10 years to become overnight success.
54:51So it's just like, a lot of people say,
54:53man, it seemed like you came out of nowhere.
54:54It's just like, no, I was grinding.
54:56You just start paying attention.
54:58So from that perspective, like just,
55:00you got to be willing to trust the process
55:02and to be able to be patient,
55:04give yourself grace.
55:06Oh, trust the process.
55:09Then end it with give yourself grace.
55:12That's very important.
55:13And, you know, having that self-love,
55:15even the self-love within your own craft, your skills,
55:18you have to trust within you
55:20and your abilities to only get better.
55:23But again, being conscious of your time.
55:25I know you got a meeting in about 30 minutes.
55:27And I just want to close out with letting
55:30the audience know where they can find you at,
55:33where can they find your website, social media,
55:35where can they book you.
55:36I appreciate that.
55:37Yeah, website for booking or inquiries is djravdev.com.
55:43So D-J-R-E-V-D-E-V.com.
55:48And then on social media,
55:49you can follow me everything at djravdev.
55:51So that's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok.
55:55D-J-R-E-V-D-E-V.
55:58And if I have any parting words,
56:00is that quality is remembered
56:01long after the price is forgotten.
56:04Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.
56:09Man, always a blessing, my brother.
56:12Appreciate your boss.
56:13For real, for real.
56:14And I remember we,
56:15I think it was an Instagram Live interview.
56:17Yeah.
56:18Again, when I was first getting off
56:20in the wedding industry about like three years ago.
56:24So man, have it full circle now interviewing you.
56:28It's a blessing, man.
56:29It is.
56:30True icon, man.
56:32I don't think we officially did another wedding together,
56:34but that's coming soon.
56:36Yeah, you can put it out.
56:37It's fitting now.
56:38I'll pass it across now.
56:39Oh yeah.
56:39It's gonna happen now.
56:40Again, appreciate you.
56:41I know you got to run.
56:43But until next time, y'all.
56:44Peace, love, and blessings.
56:46And if you want to find me,
56:47you can check me out at alienizephotos.com
56:50or on social media at alienizephotos.
56:55That's alien eyes with a Z,
56:56photos with a S on all media.
56:59Thank you, thank you, thank you.
57:00Peace, love, and blessings.