Your DJ Career Blueprint - Ep #38

What if your DJ career could skyrocket from your bedroom to the main stage? Join me, Ilia, as we uncover the secrets to transforming your passion for DJing into a thriving career. This episode is packed with actionable insights on how to position yourself as a unique brand, continuously refine your skills, and tackle the ever-present imposter syndrome. With personal anecdotes and wisdom from successful DJs, you'll learn how to build confidence and consistency in your craft.

Navigating the challenges of today's economy, especially for young professionals facing high living costs, can be daunting. Yet, we'll explore the wealth of opportunities the digital world has to offer. From leveraging online resources to building your portfolio, this episode is a blueprint for making your DJ dreams a reality, regardless of your starting point. We'll cover critical aspects such as marketing, networking, and the importance of not waiting for perfect conditions to begin your journey.

Visual branding and self-promotion are essential for DJ success, and I’ll share practical tips on creating engaging digital content and establishing a solid online presence. Learn how to manage client expectations, coordinate events, and wear multiple hats to stand out in a competitive industry. We also delve into the significance of building genuine relationships within the music industry, sharing stories of mentorship and overcoming initial fears. Equip yourself with the knowledge and tools you need to start strong and keep progressing in your DJ career.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:14):
welcome back to another episode of a clever dj.
My name is ilia and I've been adj for just about two and a
half years now.
Uh, this podcast is for peoplewho are just getting into this
industry and maybe evenup-and-coming DJs who are
looking to learn new skills andjust improve their business, or

(00:36):
just learn a few fun things thatwill give them an edge,
something new that they're goingto add to their show, to their
set, something new that they'regoing to add to their show, to
their set.
Now, the information learned onthis podcast, everything
broadcasted here, is actually myown experience, along with

(00:58):
something, some things that Ilearned from way more
experienced DJs and people inthe music industry.
So I learned, I researched andthen I know for a fact that
certain things work.
So I bring it here on thepodcast and I just broadcast it
to you guys.
So everything here is proven towork.
It's stuff that I saw, thathelped me and my colleagues and

(01:22):
some people that I just metrecently and learned their story
, and this is what today isgoing to be about.
Today is a step-by-step guide tobuilding your DJ career.
I know we spoke about similarstuff before, maybe even had a
podcast with a very an episodewith a very similar title, but

(01:46):
the way I structured thisepisode today is to make sure
that I don't skip anything.
That's absolutely importantbecause we focus on certain
aspects in certain episodes andI feel like this one is going to
be kind of the complete package, while I'm sure I'm going to be
able to add on to it in thefuture and improve, and this is

(02:09):
what it's all about.
Right, this is going to be agood guide.
I know this is a good guide.
I wrote it down based onprevious experiences, my
experiences, my friends'experiences, colleagues.
I work with up and coming DJs,different interviews from online
of successful DJs.

(02:29):
This stuff works.
This is how you turn this froma hobby into a full-time career.
And hey, let's stop here for asecond.
Maybe you don't want this to bea full-time career.
Maybe you're saying, but that'snot what I want.
I just, you know, I just wantto get a little better, and
that's fine.
I just said that you could dothat.
You could just use thisinformation to give yourself

(02:52):
like an edge or something that'sgoing to make things easier for
you.
So, whatever your goal is, usethis information as necessary,
and I know a lot of people whoare watching this podcast or
listening, depending where youare, whether you're on YouTube
or Spotify or any of the otherplatforms.
You're here because you want tolearn how to make money

(03:17):
consistently, how to not loseclients, how to not sell
yourself kind of too cheap andhow to really enjoy the process
and be more efficient witheverything, and that's what this
podcast is all about.
This is really my journey froman absolute beginner to where I

(03:39):
am now.
I wouldn't say I'm aprofessional DJ yet.
I've only been doing this for acouple of years, but when I do
something, I go into it, I goall in.
So if I want to learn something, I make sure that I put in
hundreds of hours into it tomake sure that I can actually
call myself whatever it is thatI want to call myself.
So if it's a music producer ora DJ because nobody likes the

(04:04):
imposter syndrome and that wasreally hard for me to deal with
when I just started Um, I'm atfirst gigs when, when I put the
headphones on and you know, whenI was dancing and raising my
arm and taking the mic andyelling, let's go into the mic
and I'm like what am I doing?

(04:25):
I'm not really a DJ yet Like,why am I acting like one?
And it was almost like asecondhand embarrassment because
I felt like I'm kind of actinglike someone who's like you're
not a DJ.
What are you doing?
Like, stop acting like one andit's normal.
It's normal because we all haveour anxieties and we all have
our.
You know things we have to getover and normally, when you feel

(04:48):
that way, it's a good thingbecause it shows that you really
want to earn, um, that title.
You really want to earn that,um, you know that that name.
Dj, whatever you are, whoeveryou are, right, um?
I spoke to some reallysuccessful DJs who I started
with.
I'm not saying they'reextremely professional, you know

(05:12):
it's not like they've beendoing it for 20, 30 years.
They've only been doing it forup to three to five years, but
they still say they feel theimposter syndrome big time
they're in big clubs syndrome.

(05:32):
Big time they're in big clubs.
Some of them have amazingbusinesses with consistent
clients or calling them forweddings, birthdays, whatever it
is, and it just takes time tomake this feel natural.
So join me on this journey fromabsolute beginner to pro.
And yeah, let's start today'sepisode.

(05:54):
So, in order to be able to getto anything I'm going to say
today, we have to start with themost important point.
If you don't have this, youdon't have anything.
Nothing else matters, and thatis the product.
And in this case, you are theproduct.
As the DJ, you are the product.
If you don't know who you areand what you're doing, then and,

(06:22):
by the way, if you see melooking over there, that's where
my notes are, but yeah, you arethe product.
If you see me looking overthere, that's where my notes are
, but, yeah, you are the product.
If you don't know what you are,what you're doing, you know
nothing.
Past this point matters what?
What it means is that you arenot a decent DJ with a certain
brand.
If you're not a decent DJ witha certain brand, then none of
the points I'm going to mentiongoing forward after this one are

(06:45):
going to even matter.
So, in order to start off right, we're going to start focusing
on you as a DJ, who you are.
So what do you love?
There are so many differentgenres and ways, methods,
manners that you can go about asa DJ.
You can find DJs who only playone genre, djs who just play

(07:08):
house or specifically tech house, or focus on something else
which isn't very specific, whichis very specific, and some do
it all, for example, and some doit all, for example, djs who

(07:38):
are open format DJs, especiallythe ones who do it all, do all
the genres, but also playinstruments and sing, dance,
right, some people add more actsor bring in acts to their show,
to their set.
Neither of that means better.
Any of this could work.
Better is when you know how todo what you do and if you can
cater to the audience you picked, that's good.
So, whatever it is you're doing,oh, he or she are just doing
tech house.

(07:58):
Oh, they're not real DJs.
Well, guess what?
Some DJs just do one thing,just one genre, but they kill it
.
They're so good at it and youknow what, they mastered it and
that's what they like.
There's no better.
And a lot of beginners will say, oh, I want to be an open
format DJ because then I'll knoweverything.
And while it's kind of truewhere open format DJs have a lot

(08:23):
of skill and they can reallyadapt to pretty much any
situation, it's it comes withwith, with what it is.
I mean you're playing everygenre and meaning you have a lot
more experience with differentstructures of songs, right?
So, um, it's not going to beone of one, two or three methods

(08:43):
to transition something.
There's so much more.
But you know what, if you watchany guide online for EDM DJs,
they also can learn a plethoraof transitions and more
complicated ways to do things.
So, again, there's no better.
Whatever you can do well andenjoy enjoy that is what you

(09:07):
should be doing.
So that is the product.
Um, so what you should do isfind out what you enjoy.
So some djs choose into, chooseto mix in no pun intended, other
talents.
For example, I like to sing andI play guitar, piano and I also

(09:31):
have good rhythm.
So I want to get one of thoselike drum pad machines where you
can use a drumstick and you canadd certain elements to your
set.
And adding all those talents,or even someone else you know
who might be tagging along toyour show, helps you stand out,

(09:57):
and being special is reallyimportant in this industry, but
it's not a deal breaker.
It definitely will help you.
It's a huge bonus, but it's notabsolutely necessary Now.
Now, if you want to do thingsquicker, you want to be
successful overnight, quote,unquote.
Uh, then, yes, it's importantto do, but you know, if you give
yourself a year or two yearsand you're thinking, you know

(10:17):
I'm going to grow, I'm going toget to this level consistently,
then again it's not a dealbreaker.
Yeah, so it's just an aid.
Anything that you add to it isjust an aid, but it's not a must
.
The must is to know what yourgenre is, for you to know the
music, for you to know the crowdwho listens to that music and

(10:39):
knowing how to cater to them.
So, now that we got this out ofthe way, that is the absolute
basic.
And, by the way, one more thing, one more like honorable
mention If you're doing thisjust for the money, I'm not
saying it's not going to workout.
Some people just do it for themoney.
I know a few people who did itjust for the money.
Yes, they got fired from a fewvenues because they just stopped

(11:01):
caring and you know they don'thave the passion, which means
that certain things get get pastthem and and the venue owners
or the clients, or both, did notlike certain things.
But let's just say a lot ofthis won't apply to you, because
you probably won't do it,because you're just in it for a
quick 200, 300 bucks a gig andmaybe you'll maybe you'll end up

(11:24):
doing this more professionally,but that goes, that is true for
anything.
If you're just doing this forthe money, likely it's, um, not
gonna work out the same for you.
So this is more for the peoplewho really want to build a
successful business or improvetheir hobby, which they really

(11:46):
enjoy.
So that brings us to anextremely important point
Practice, practice, practice,practice.
Now that you know who you are,you need to actually become good
at it.
Sure you?
You feel, uh, it is your natureto listen to that music, um, or

(12:08):
dabble with whatever instrumentthat is, uh, you know, but does
it sound like that to others?
I mean, is it going to besmooth?
Uh, do you know everything youneed to know in order to
actually carry out the gig fromstart to finish?
And again, don't kind of quoteme on this in a way that, oh

(12:28):
well, that's not true.
You should go out there and youknow experience, because that's
the best way to learn.
I'm not saying you shouldn't,but you do need some sort of a
few hours of practice, you know,under your belt before you go
out and, you know, potentiallydestroy someone's event.
So I really care about people'sevents as one of those djs who

(12:52):
caters to their clients the wayI would cater to my family.
Because you know what, if Ihired someone for my wedding or
birthday or doesn't matter whatmine family members and somebody
just bombed it, because,whatever, they don't care, I'll
be livid.
I don't care about the money,like the 400, 500, 1,000, 3,000
bucks that I pay them.
It's not about that.

(13:13):
It's about the fact that thatevent, we worked for it, we
cared about it, there was asentimental value attached to it
and then that DJ just bombed itas one of the most important
people of the night, right, uh,acts of the night.
So that's why I'm saying, sure,at some point you will have to
go out there and, uh and try totry your best to run through a

(13:37):
gig and you may crash and burn.
It may, it may happen, but tominimize collateral damage,
practice.
So you need to make sure thatyou can sell your skill.
You need to make sure that, orskill set.

(13:57):
Maybe you have more than onething you can do which is better
.
Now you need to practice andthere are so many resources
online, which brings us toanother point, right, it brings
me to another point.
In just a, in just a moment, uh.
And once you're at the rightlevel, uh, it's time to promote
and get gigs and network.
But we'll get to that, uh.

(14:19):
The other point I startedbringing up is resources.
Uh, you must be resourceful.
I started bringing up isresources.
You must be resourceful.
Sure, you can get by if you'reI'll use this term a boomer, and
sometimes I feel like that.
I'm 35 years old at this pointand I'm not saying I'm super old
, but you know lots of DJs outthere are in their early 20s,

(14:44):
right, but I also know a lot ofDJs who are in their 30s and,
within a couple of years, builta very, very successful business
.
But if you're going to be aboomer let's use that word and
not really aware of the internet, or a loner who doesn't speak
to anyone, it's like shootingyourself in the foot with a
12-gauge shotgun.
It's going to slow you downsignificantly.

(15:08):
In this industry, like manyothers, you have to be able to
network and research and findmeans to achieve certain goals.
I mean, it's true to a lot ofdifferent industries, but in
something like if you're asocial media creator, like a
content creator, especially that, of course or a DJ, you know, a

(15:31):
coordinator of some sort.
You work with people.
You have to know how to build acertain skill set and find
certain tools online, forexample, a lot of people go on
Reddit and they're and they'reasking this question oh, I want
to start DJing, what should I do?
And, and every time I see thator anything like that and don't

(15:55):
get me wrong, I help, I go onthere and I give them a
beautiful answer.
Sometimes I even have templatesthat I just copy and paste and
then I add it, you know, add toit, depending on the situation.
But, uh, I think to myself, arethey that dense that they
didn't check anything?
I mean Reddit itself, like oneach subreddit, there's so much

(16:16):
information.
But also, if you go on Googleor YouTube, especially, and you
write down what how to startdjing I mean, everything is
there.
Sure, maybe they're looking fora more like personal approach
and they want to start aconversation.
Well, okay, then maybe say thatright, and then people,
especially on reddit, willappreciate you more for being
more direct and explain what youwant.

(16:36):
Um, but you just you need to beresourceful.
People will respect you moreand you'll get to your goal
quicker.
I remember speaking with aclient from my day job who told
me how tough it is to be youknow, how tough it is for, how

(16:56):
much tougher it is for theyounger generation to buy a
house nowadays and just overall,how everything is expensive,
etc.
Everything is expensive, uh, etcetera, and uh, but, but you
know what I told her?
I told her uh, you know whatyou're right, and uh, I
sometimes, sometimes preach thesame thing.
It's, it's so much harder,right, like we pay for we pay

(17:18):
two $3,000 for one bedroomapartment here in Toronto, uh,
canada, um, and that was, Iwouldn't say, half of that, but
it was much cheaper than that afew years ago.
And inflation is real andshrink inflation is real and
everything is difficult, sure,but there's one huge difference
between our generation and ourparents or grandparents, right,

(17:42):
and it is the fact that you canpractically become anything you
want.
Hey, anything you want.
If you know how to study online, how to use your resources, you
can do anything you want, oralmost anything you want.
For certain things, you stillhave to go about it the old
fashioned way, but still there,you still have the online aids

(18:07):
and certain resources that thatpeople in that generation of
that generation did not have,and I'm getting to my point.
So I met a few people over theyears that would never make it
30 or 40 years ago.
They're just not cut out to doregular work and go about life
the regular old fashioned wayand like our parents or
grandparents lives.
You, you know how they, howthey lived back then and how

(18:29):
they got by, etc.
And you know they actuallymanaged to find their niche
online.
Not that it's only online work,but they went online, they
start researching and, um, andthey found what they love, or
they knew what they love andthey found out how to do it
better without.
Some of them couldn't affordschool or have, like severe ADHD

(18:54):
and cannot sit in a classroom.
And I know so many differentpeople who fall in this category
who managed to find somethingonline because of their
resources or because of the waythey can research, yeah, and

(19:14):
they found their like lovelylittle corner and they did some
work, they learned some skillsand all the skills transferred
into the physical world.
You know they went and went.
They went into an interview,explained why they can do what
they do.
They showed a portfolio,something that really you
couldn't do back then you had toreally go through the process.

(19:40):
You would go through, you know,regular school and getting a
job.
You can do so many thingsnowadays.
You can become anything youwant.
Five-year-olds have businesses,so technically things are more
expensive and the competition isreal.
But you also have a lot moreopportunity nowadays.

(20:01):
And I'm not just being arelentless optimist.
Right, that is true, this isvery true.
Once you recognize all theopportunities you have nowadays,
you will understand that itkind of balances itself out.
But again, if you don't takethose opportunities, yes, it's
much tougher to live today.
So, yeah, so once you feel youcan call yourself a DJ, even if

(20:24):
you're still feeling theimposter syndrome which we
discussed earlier, it is normaland it's time to move on to the
next stage.
So that brings us to you knowyou've done everything you
needed to do.
You know your niche, you knowyour music, you have some
resources under your belt andsome hours of practicing.

(20:46):
You know you have someconnections and now you want to
make it real.
You know you want to make itinto, turn it into a career of
some sort.
Maybe it's just something youdo for fun, like I said, could
be it, most people that I seewatching our podcast, because we
have statistics and everythingthat I see watching our podcast
because we have statistics andeverything I know want to

(21:10):
actually turn this into a career, at least part-time.
Right, what I'm doing is I'mturning into a full-time career
and I'm still able to work myday job, but at some point I
won't be able to right, and evenwith hiring people, and just at
some point I won't be able toright, uh, and even with hiring
people, and just at some pointyou can't, uh, kind of take care
of the business and yourregular job and respect both of

(21:32):
them at the same time to thelevel they deserve.
Um, but, yeah, uh, while I willstress out that you shouldn't
necessarily wait to have andthat's really important you
shouldn't have wait to have allto have all of the stuff that we
spoke about in order to begin,or all the stuff we're going to

(21:52):
cover or about to cover in orderto begin DJing and getting
careers.
It is the best time to do sobecause now you can stand behind
what you're saying, you knowyou have a product, you did it
right and you can execute all ofthose steps immediately if you
get presented with anopportunity.

(22:12):
Also, many people will getstuck doing this, what I'm about
to say, instead of practicingand that's the next point and
instead of building a business.
But it's not going to be enoughwithout having what we covered
first.
So, without nitpicking too much, this is step two.

(22:36):
So this is what I was buildingtowards Marketing, networking,
promoting, and if you say, oh,you say advertising, advertising
is a form of marketing and wewill have an episode that's
going to be more in depth whenit comes to that, I'll make sure
to do that.
But before I get to this point,I want to say that I'm going to

(22:57):
skip a lot of important detailswhen it comes to marketing and
promoting, because this episodeis not about how to do that, but
what to do.
So I will say you need to focuson marketing and then you'll
have to research right, and it'snot hard.
It takes two seconds to findthe correct information online.
But again, I will give somepointers.

(23:20):
It's not like I'm going to skipeverything.
So you're in good hands.
Today I promise that I willrelease a couple episodes which
will actually cover each topicin depth with respect to DJing.
So not just marketing, butmarketing for DJs or marketing
for DJs, who are bedroom DJs andthey want to maybe succeed on

(23:42):
Twitch, or they want to go fromthe bedroom to the venue, and we
spoke about some stuff likethat as well.
But I'm going to go more indepth and more categorize things
in a way that will be easier tolearn.
For now, I'm going to just tellyou once again become

(24:04):
resourceful and go online andstart typing away and learn.
If there's something you do notknow, like I said, you can go
on Reddit, udemy, youtube,instagram and really there are
so many places to learn moreabout these topics.
But the point is, you need toknow this.

(24:24):
It's important.
Also, if you listen to Off theRecord podcast, one of the
recent episodes, there was aguest on there and she said
sometimes she goes on people'sInstagram and there's nothing
there.
Like, how would I know what youdo, right, as a DJ who would

(24:45):
want to hire you or maybeconnect with you, or you would
have wanted to connect with me,and now you're trying to kind of
tell me what you do?
I mean, how, how would I beable to see that?
Believe you?
Or really, how will you be ableto showcase anything if you
don't have anything.
What about clients?
How many times clients told me,especially in the very
beginning um, oh, can you showme something?

(25:07):
I mean, I want to see how you.
I want to see how you, how you,what you look like when you DJ,
what it sounds like, and I'llI'll speak about what I did
towards the end, but and and youyou might even guess that, but
there are ways you can showcaseyourself, even if you didn't
have gigs yet or you know what.
I'll jump ahead just for asecond to give you something.

(25:28):
You can create gigs, free gigs.
You can your friend has abirthday, go with your DJ set.
I mean, they'll appreciate it.
I mean, especially if youpractice and you have a working
knowledge of how to DJ, it'sbetter than just you know
clicking on their iPod orwhatever, or Spotify.
You know Spotify DJing.

(25:48):
A lot of people will appreciatethat.
So you can create gigs, you cancreate experience, you can
create videos.
It's it's all very doable, butwe'll get to that.
Um, so let me just catch uphere.
Let me just catch up here,Anyway.
So what I was trying to say ifyou don't know, you need to know

(26:10):
marketing, you need to know howto promote yourself.
Otherwise, what reallyseparates you from your
competition?
You're just another DJ whohopes to get someone to notice
them.
Sure, you may be.

(26:32):
Maybe you posted an ad onKijiji which is to our US or
Australian or European audience.
It's pretty much like theCanadian Craigslist, just
without all the inappropriatecontent.
It's just an ad.
You post ads there and you cansell things.
Maybe you're your, your child'sscooter, or maybe you have a
service, maybe you're a plumber.

(26:53):
So a lot of DJs promote onthere and normally on there you
get people who are trying tosave money.
But if you present yourselfcorrectly, you'll get the right
clientele, which I do.
That's one of the places where I, where you can find me, um,
some people also have, you know.
They go as far as creating aFacebook business page, uh,

(27:16):
maybe.
Uh, an Instagram, um.
Or go as far as creating andthat's that's big already uh,
creating a wedding wire accountwhich is not free and paying
real money to get noticed andfind clients.
But if you don't do all of thiscorrectly, then it's just kind

(27:37):
of like a weird mash or like aweird salad of information or
skill and there's just no end,no start and end and you're just
spending money without actuallygetting real value or the full
value to what you have.
You have to learn everything.

(27:57):
I remember about four years agoand I'll try to find it,
because I don't remember whatcompany it was but I found
through something else, someother course I was doing.
I found a course aboutInstagram and maybe today it's
not 100% up to date, but theywere speaking about Reels.

(28:21):
It was fairly new back then, orjust it was on the rise, and it
was four or five years ago andthey were speaking about how to
use Reels to your advantage andthere were certain extremely
amazing secrets of the trade.

(28:42):
And that's what I mean.
You could have an Instagram,but you're not doing anything to
really learn how to use thatplatform.
You could have a Facebookbusiness page, but guess what?
Facebook just came out with somany tools, sure, to make them
money, but also to make youmoney to help you stand out, to
help you find clients.
Are you using them or do youjust?

(29:02):
You know, check mark.
I have a Facebook page, checkmark.
I have an Instagram.
I mean it's good, it's alreadygood that you have that, but
don't stop thinking, okay, I'mdone.
There is so much work as a DJ.
You're not just a DJ, you're aphotographer, a videographer, a
marketer, an advertiser, acoordinator.

(29:22):
You do everything.
You're a one-stop shop becauseyou have to make that business
work and you have to make surethat you take the right content,
create the right content topromote yourself.
And also, if you're in weddingsor other big events where
there's no coordinator,sometimes you'll be surprised.

(29:42):
There's no coordinator inwedding.
Some weddings have three, fourcoordinators working together,
uh, but some have none.
And the bride and groom willcome to you, or especially the
bride will come to you.
We don't know what's our firstdance, and that's like a day
before the wedding, um, or sowhat do we do now?
They don't know how a weddingis supposed to be structured.

(30:03):
Guess what?
They'll come to you thinkingthat you are the person in
charge, because, guess what?
You are kind of in charge,especially if you're the emcee.
So you will have to have thoseset of skills.
You'll have to have more thanjust one thing to create a brand
.

(30:23):
So when you promote yourself oneither one of those platforms
and whatever gig you're going to, it is clear what you do and
why someone should select you asthe talent for their event, um,
and why should they trust you,right?
I mean, hey, I I've done ahundred weddings and, uh, I have

(30:43):
so much experience as, uh,someone who actually coordinates
the wedding as well, alongsidemy DJing.
Oh, you don't believe me?
Okay, well, here are 50 reviewson Google or whatever platform,
or WeddingWire, for example,where everyone thanks me five
stars, five stars, five stars.
And again, if you don't havethose platforms set up, there's

(31:06):
nowhere to give you reviews,there's nowhere to really prove
it, and everything works onproof nowadays.
I'm very good at selling myself, but often I will have to prove
myself and it is what it is.
And if I don't have something,then somebody who does, they'll
go for that person.
Anyway, I did jump ahead andmentioned social media and other

(31:28):
tools to promote yourself.
And if you're not doing thatalready, get online.
I almost spilled my drink,which, by the way, give me a
second here.
Throat's getting dry, all right, so get online.
How will anyone find you?
And if you're watching this andthinking, can this guy get

(31:51):
ahead, obviously you will besurprised how many DJs don't
have an instagram account.
Um, and they want to make it.
Oh well, I don't like toshowcase stuff.
I'm very shy in front of thecamera.
Well, you're in the wrongindustry, buddy, um, and again
you can make it without that,but it's again you're shooting
yourself in the foot, um, andyou know what.

(32:12):
It's great if you have somebusiness cards and maybe some
word of mouth business, but thisis an online world and a
digital world and you need toget at least a small piece of
online real estate in order toget noticed and leave a proper
footprint in this industry, thisindustry.

(32:40):
Now let's get back toestablishing a brand.
So you have your social mediaand your other platforms set up
in order to find clients and getgigs, but you need to present
yourself in such a manner thatwhich will help you showcase
your abilities and why you arethe best for their needs, the
client.
Let's say, you have anincredibly charismatic

(33:02):
personality and you are anamazing MC, master of ceremonies
.
You want to showcase that youwill automatically find more
gigs which require that skill,because people who are looking
for it will naturally find you,especially with the algorithms
online, and will want youspecifically you because and you

(33:24):
and only you because you areperfect for their needs.
You know, I don't have my phoneright now it's over the
recording, but I would have reada message to you.
One of my clients just messagedme a few months ago for a baby
shower and he said and Iremember, uh, I just got him as
one of my, my first clients whenI first started doing this and

(33:44):
he told me, um, uh, we, you knowwhen, when, when she gives
birth, she, uh, you know, rightbefore that, you, you are going
to, you're going to be our DJfor the baby shower, so I'll
tell you the date when we'reexpecting and I'll, and I'll
update you, but you are our DJ,so do not take anyone else's gig
.
And I told them I'll do my best.

(34:05):
I can't promise that,especially if you don't tell me
well ahead of time, but Idefinitely want to do that.
I definitely want to, you know,be there for you as you were
for me.
He trusted me with one of myfirst gigs, right Without much
to show him, cause I also madecertain mistakes in the in the
beginning, where I did not havecertain content that I should
have had, and you got topractice what you preach.

(34:25):
And this podcast actually reallyhelps me as a beginner because
some things that I already knewfor a while and I did not need
anyone to tell me how to do them.
You know, I'm preaching themnow and I'm like Ilya, you're
saying that to all the peoplepeople listening to you and
watching you but you're notdoing it yourself, right?

(34:47):
So in the beginning, when wewere in episode what is this
episode 38?
So in the very beginning, I didnot do everything.
I was speaking about Um, butthat was a long time ago, right
and um.
Now I practice what I preach,um.
So it's not enough to just know, you have to do it.

(35:09):
You don't get paid for yourknowledge in this industry.
When it comes to actually beingthe DJ, if you're a consultant,
sure, um, but um, yeah, what,what you look?
What if you're a virtuoso, likea musician who plays several
instruments?
Um, sure, you can have a coupleof videos on your social media

(35:33):
if you're playing some edmtracks on your guitar or
keyboard, and even if you'redoing it with a drum machine.
But did you think to showcasethat talent in a proper video,
like a DJ set where you seteverything up and show how you

(35:53):
can incorporate that into a show?
Did you actually think about it?
Because my instagram channelused to have certain videos of
me singing or certain videos ofme playing guitar or piano and
it was just kind of okay.
Well, so he plays guitar andpiano, so he sings.

(36:15):
But then you take all thoseskills and you start a video,
you create a video where you'reDJing and then you can maybe
incorporate that into your set.
So I have one video where I havemy guitar on a stand and I'm
playing the intro to a song andit's mic'd and everything.
And then I continue on thepiano and it's playing the intro

(36:35):
to a song and it's mic'd andeverything.
And then I continue on thepiano and it's, I mean, on the
keyboard, and it all goes verywell with a master track and
it's just, it's really cool.
Now would anyone put thistogether for you?
No, you have to show it.
You have to show it, not justsay that you can do it, you have
to show it.
So you know, and then you'll belike, oh, but I didn't have a

(36:58):
gig like that yet.
Well, in that case and we'regetting to what I was saying in
the beginning that I will talkabout different ways to still
show how to do certain things,even if you didn't have the
opportunity to show it in a gig,you will have obviously have to
need to set up a camera in yourapartment house wherever you
are or, better yet, some coolremote spot, like you see in

(37:21):
some YouTube videos.
For example, andrew Riel, agreat producer, slash DJ, has
has a video on on some rooftopreally cool video.
And he's not the only one whodid that.
And it's really cool that youknow you have a way to capture
someone with visuals.

(37:42):
And because I mean you're justplaying music, I mean they'll
likely just want to listen to it, but now they have something to
watch, so it's interesting,right.
Or you know, suat walks around.
I'm going to do that.
I'm going to do that.
I'm going to do that at somepoint.
I loved it.
I had that idea before I evenlearned about him that he does
that and sure enough, I meanit's not that original.

(38:05):
I'm sure I knew somebody elsethought about it, but he walks
around with his DJ set, dj gearand just MCs and DJs and runs
around and he's incrediblycharismatic.
But that's what I mean.
You need to create somethingvisually that will showcase your
skills.
So let me see where I was.

(38:28):
Yeah, so if you can do that,even at home, set up a camera,
set up a backdrop, something tomake it look a little nicer.
Get a couple plants in Ikea,you know, like, set up a set,
set up a set, get a couplelights, maybe nothing too cheesy
, but make it interestingvisually.

(38:50):
If it's going to be a video, ofcourse, right.
And get on SoundCloud.
Make sure to not cut out acertain audience just because
you know.
Well, I don't want to upload iteverywhere now.
Well, you should, because youdon't know where people are
going to listen.
This podcast gets uploaded inlike almost two dozen separate
places, right, but we getlisteners from all kinds of uh

(39:16):
platforms.
So it's not just spotify oryoutube, believe it or not, or
apple music, it's everywhere.
Um, and whoever was listeningon google uh, which now got
discontinued, they're going.
They're going somewhere elsenow.
So now they have somewhere togo because I have that.
I made, made it available foryou guys, right.
So let's move along.

(39:40):
Create a show, create somethingfor potential clients to see.
So if you didn't have anopportunity to do that live yet,
for an actual gig, they'll see.
You know what he knows, whathe's doing and a lot of people.
They'll be extremely reasonablewith you, especially if they
want a good price.
I'll give you an example.

(40:01):
Okay, I'll give you an example.
That guy that I told you aboutthat then told me that he wants
me to come to the baby showerand do the baby shower gig.
He asked do you have anythingto show me?
And I had a couple of videos.
I had something.
I'm not saying I didn't haveanything, but it wasn't the best
and you know, I had some lights.

(40:22):
I did put some work into it,but not everything that I'm
preaching right now.
And then he said and then hesaid, email it to me.
And I thought to myself youknow what, once he has that file
, he has that file.
I wish I did a better job.
So I did email it to him.

(40:43):
I did send him that, but then Itook the time to create
overnight, to create another set.
I got some nights from friends.
I created a nice set for myselfand created another video and
created a better kind of videoto sell myself, to sell my

(41:03):
skills, and he could see thatI'm really trying.
He could see that I don'treally have any gigs to show him
yet because I'm very new tothis.
My friend used to call me DJnew to this and you know what
he's like.
So what's the best price youcan give me?
And I gave him a price that wasabout 20% less than the

(41:25):
standard, like the marketstandard, cause I knew that you
know what he's giving me anopportunity.
But I don't also want to sellmyself too short to I mean to to
cheap.
I didn't want to sell out, butI knew that at the same time,
the the way I was reading him isthat he will either tip me and
or, uh, I'll get more gigs fromhim and I'll be able to increase

(41:49):
my price as I go.
And guess what that?
That is exactly what happened.
I got tipped, which brought meup to only 10% less than the
average rate for that gig, andthen I got two more gigs from
him, so one that I already didand one that's coming up in
almost a month, and each gig Ido something special for him.

(42:11):
But it is getting higher inprice, but not as much as it
would have been for a brand newclient, cause I'm trying to kind
of show him that I appreciatehim.
He's kind of in like my topfive clients, cause I started
with him.
So there's a specialrelationship there and you can
go about it however you like youknow, that's how see where we

(42:34):
are.
I've been talking for almost 43minutes now.
Uh, these, these last twoepisodes are longer.
Uh, as, as you know, I am uh onmy own now.
Uh, this became a solo podcast.
It used to be, uh, my, my buddy, nino, and myself, and now it's

(42:56):
just me, um and Nino, just forpersonal reasons, had to step
away from the podcast.
For now.
It's temporarily, and he may becoming back.
We'll see Um but um, for now,this is going to be a solo
podcast.
It may continue like that, uh,but, yeah, let's keep going.
Um, so you, you, you send yourclient that proof, uh, something

(43:18):
that will, you know, cover your, your skills, and um, and
something that will, that will,that will ensure.
That brings us to the nextpoint building relationships,

(43:42):
but also, extremely importantly,establish boundaries, something
I did not do in the verybeginning, because not because I
didn't know about it, justbecause I thought, hey, you know
what, they'll never do this tome, right?
They'll never screw me over,guess what it happens, or
they'll never get toocomfortable, right?

(44:02):
People get comfortable.
People, you know, are mostlyselfish when it comes to their
business, their lives, you knowtheir.
They will likely do somethingfor themselves to save
themselves instead of saving you.
And that's just.
You know.
I'm not trying to be apessimist here, it just that's
what happens, right?

(44:23):
Especially if they're just, youknow, a contact, a colleague, I
mean, sometimes they don'treally owe you anything, right?
It's every you know, every manfor himself sometimes.
So don't just, you know, justbe naive and think, okay, I
built a relationship, this isgoing to be forever, I'm going
to trust this person witheverything.
So it is very important tobuild relationships in the music

(44:44):
industry.
As a DJ, you will do much betterif you attend different gigs
where your fellow beginner DJsrequire some support, or even
the more up-and-coming DJsrequire some support, or even
the more the more up and comingDJs, artists who you know don't

(45:05):
really need your support ahundred percent.
But that's where you can maybeget more value out of it.
So they're not that big nowthat they're not even going to
look at you.
But and, by the way, somebigger artists, some bigger DJs
still, you know, you can stillcontact and they will still give
you the time of day, and I'llget to that.
But start with supportingpeople you started with and

(45:33):
you'll go to their gigs.
They'll come to your gigs andyou know the up and coming
artists, without being too nosyor trying too hard.
You know, try to get close tothem and I'm not going to tell
you exactly how to do that.
There's no way to tell youexactly how to do that.
Every situation is different.
But you're going to have toshow your value.

(45:53):
You're going to have to justlike for a client, right?
You're going to have to justlike for a client, right?
You're going to have to showyour value.
You're going to have to.
Maybe you're fun to hang outwith or maybe you have a skill
which you can, which can helpthem right.
The way, nino decided to take mealong and, you know, mentor me
for like a year and a half was,or maybe even two years was.

(46:14):
I approached him as a bartenderand I said hey, I also am a
music producer, it's a hobby ofmine, but I know what I'm doing.
I want to learn how to DJ.
Maybe I can do something foryou if you can teach me, if you
let me shadow you.
He did not need me whatsoevertechnically, but he said you
know what?
He told me like I didn't knowthat, but after the fact he told
me, like I didn't know that,but after the fact he told me, I

(46:37):
was actually, for the last fewmonths, was thinking back then
about getting into musicproduction and also elevating my
my djing business with withmusic production skills.
So you said the right thing tome.
So huge business makes hundredsof thousands of dollars some
months.
But I said the right thing, Icame in the right time, I sold

(47:05):
myself and it made sense.
And now Nino went his own path.
He has a bunch of otherbusinesses, other things he's
doing, and I'm going my way.
So you're not going to be.
You're not going to be always.
People are not going to alwayshold your hand or continue
inviting you to the gigs or justbe there for you all the time

(47:29):
or, you know, put the neck onthe line for you at every single
opportunity.
It's in order to get create arelationship like that.
It takes a lot of work and itboth people have to really
benefit from it.
Not everyone is that nice, butyeah.
So maybe you have a skill thatcan help them, or maybe they're
just nice, which you know, andthey don't mind helping you at

(47:51):
all, which I'm going to get tothe point, which I'm going to
get to the point.
A little story that I told youin the past.
But yeah, you just need to makefriends as an adult, as adults,
you need to make friends inthis industry that you like.
If you're extremely introverted, then guess what.
You will have to change that orfind a way to make it work for

(48:15):
you.
Some people really don't havewhat it takes.
They don't know how to makefriends or contacts and guess
what?
I know someone like that.
He was extremely awkward.
You know, he read a lot ofbooks and that's not what made
him awkward.
He was awkward.
He just did not have a socialsense and he read a lot of books

(48:41):
.
He had a coach that he paid forand like a life coach, and
watched a lot of videos and hesaw some therapists and you know
what.
He found a way to fit in and hedidn't do it for someone else,
right?
He didn't suffer because hefelt like everyone is expecting
him to do that.
He did that because he believedit will make him happier and

(49:04):
sure enough he did.
He is now a fairly successful dj.
He's just starting out.
He's been doing this for acouple years as well, and he is
also in music production, whichis something he is more
comfortable with because hedoesn't have to show himself as
often.
But he decided he wanted to bea DJ as well and he has a

(49:28):
business with a bunch ofcontacts.
He has, I think, 10 people, 10or more than 10 people, working
for him, working with him, andyou need to see where you fit in
this category.
To make it happen, however itmakes sense for you, you have to
make it happen.
That's how this guy made ithappen and it's great and I'm
proud of him.
So keep in mind people,especially in this industry,

(49:50):
people can be kind of, you know,act like snakes and show their
true colors.
To act like snakes and showtheir true colors, and sometimes
they themselves are not awareof that.
When money is on the table,success is involved people
normally behave differently, andI didn't forget I'm going to
tell you the story I told youabout.
It just all ties into that.

(50:11):
Competition in the musicindustry can be nasty and people
you consider to be your friendsor contacts will talk about you
behind your back, you know, notin a very nice way, or try to
get ahead while keeping you inthe dark, and you know thinking,
okay, well, if I do this andnot tell them about that, then I

(50:31):
will be so much better.
And you know now he's not mycompetition, especially if you
intimidated them, especially ifyou did that, then again, some
people in this industry areabsolutely fantastic.
They know the struggle andwhile they might be at your

(50:52):
level, they will not shy awayfrom sharing contacts with you
or you know, and potentiallyrisking some opportunities,
because maybe you're the snakeand again I'm just I'm just
kidding, but I'm trying to makea point here.
They might do that becausethat's just their personality or
maybe they're taking a risk inorder to really make, make real

(51:13):
friends in this industry realfriends, real contacts in this
industry and give something toget something right.
And that's what I did.
You get burned sometimes, butreally more often than not, you
make really good friendships,really good contacts in this
industry, if you can exercisesome caution and you're not too

(51:38):
naive, and some people might bealready very successful, but
they didn't forget where theycame from.
They didn't forget, you know,their humble beginnings and how
hard it was when they startedand they advocate for beginners
and and help when they can.
So I know a few people likethat and I'm always dwarfed by
those people, by their successand by just like.

(51:59):
I feel very humble to know toget an hour with them online,
like on Zoom or Google Meet orwhatever, and chat with them, or
maybe in person if they'relocal, right.
There's a few people that Iknow like that and it's funny.
I met them in different waysevery person but I know that

(52:19):
their time is extremely valuableand they're spending an hour
with me, and when you become anentrepreneur, you understand how
much an hour is and how much itcan affect you to give someone
certain information as well, notjust the time, and they do this
because they love to help andthey are genuinely good people.
Now, usually these sort ofpeople got screwed in the past
themselves and have lots ofexperience knowing who to help

(52:40):
and who to stay away from.
So don't take their their youknow their kind heart as
weakness, that they know who'sin front of them.
Be real with them.
You know if you're not a threatto them, they'll know and they
will help you.
You have no idea what kind ofpeople, the kind of people who
will agree to become yourcontacts, your friends, if you

(53:04):
just try to talk to them.
You got to dare in thisindustry, which leads us to that
story that I was talking about.
I told you about this one DJfrom Philadelphia.
I'm not going to say too muchabout him, it's you know.
I want to keep his life privateand who he is private.
He's not an official guest onthis podcast, so until he is,

(53:27):
I'm just going to give you theabsolute basics to explain the
story I was talking aboutearlier.
He's extremely successful.
He doesn't need my help in anyway.
Like he just.
We met online I still don'tremember how, but I just I have
him on my Instagram and checksup on me from time to time had a

(53:51):
conversation with me, helpingme set up a really large event
and told me about, told me thatI cannot imagine the things he's
been through.
He's seen it all Right and hetold me like hey, this industry
is, this is just like that, andthat's why a lot of people don't
survive it, because it's just,it's too much.
It's too much to handle forsome people.

(54:11):
It's just.
I'm not trying to be negativehere.
I'm not trying to be apessimist.
It's an amazing industry.
I love this industry.
He loves this industry, butyou're going to come across
certain people who are justgoing to rob you of the wrong
way.
And it's just, you know,there's a reason why you go and
get paid 400, 500, a thousandbucks, just like that, right,

(54:34):
like, just like that.
Because it's you know, it'sit's an awesome industry and and
and it's it comes with certainstruggles.
So nothing that good, it's easyusually.
So brings us to the next point.
You will likely not be ready,and that's what I was talking

(54:56):
about earlier.
I understand the whole ready,uh, that word is is very, you
know, very heavy.
You will likely not be readyfor anything I mentioned here.
Uh, you will likely find anexcuse why you cannot or should
not do something.
Uh, this is an industry whereyou have to dare and where

(55:16):
sometimes you just have to.
You have that one chance.
You have that one chance andone chance alone to do something
.
Sure, you can get more chanceslater.
Another way if you're, again,very resourceful and if you're
just lucked out.
But you got to be in the nowand think about hey, I got this,

(55:37):
now I gotta, I gotta do what Ican with this opportunity right
now.
And again, that's why it's goodto have contacts, because they
can help you.
If you're not ready forsomething, they can coach you.
Um, again, there's people onReddit.
Uh, I just got a couple ofmessages.
I messaged about something, umand um, you know, you know I

(55:59):
started this, a certain topic,and they really helped out.
Some of them even reached outthrough direct messages and DM'd
me and said hey, if you haveany more questions, message me,
I can help you with that.
And they didn't ask foranything in return.
We're all just buildingconnections right.
Building just creatingrelationships.
It's good for everyone.

(56:19):
An example let me give you a fewexamples in case you'll say
well, he probably doesn't get mysituation.
So an example for practicing,if you're not ready to practice,
would be oh, you don't have theright gear or tools, you don't
even know what you're doing.
Guess what?
Again, it's all online andlikely, if you're doing this,

(56:42):
you're at least 18 to 20, 22years old.
You can make money a certainway.
You can get a part-time job.
You can do something.
I'm not being insensitivetowards some people's financial
situation.
I know that sometimes it'sreally hard, but if you want
something, you can make ithappen.
You can rent something.
I know that.

(57:02):
You can get virtual DJ and it'sactually better for people who
don't have the actual physicalgear.
I almost never used it, butthat's what I heard.
I use Serato and sometimesRekordbox when I teach.
So when I teach people who wantto learn on Rekordbox, I use
Serato and sometimes record box,uh, when I teach, uh.
So when I teach people who whouh, want to learn on record box,
I use record box and I just hadto learn it, the, the, the
interface, enough myself so Ican actually teach it, uh, teach

(57:24):
DJing through through thatinterface.
And um, yeah, um, don't, don'tmake excuses, you can practice.
If you really want to buyeverything brand new headphones
for like $25 to $50, and that'sall Canadian prices on Amazon

(57:45):
and local stores you can getsome cheap computer speakers,
again $50 to $100, and they'reactually going to be pretty good
.
You can even get cheaper onesand get like a small Bluetooth
speaker as well.
You can do that with like anaux through the aux port and

(58:06):
through the settings you canmake it so it plays through that
.
The actual controller there'ssome controllers for a hundred
bucks, 200 bucks, 300 bucks, 400bucks, most of them will will
be just just enough, right, andif you want to start from a like
, from a proper one like the FLXfour is a really good one to
start with.
There's also I forget what it'scalled I got one that was uh uh

(58:30):
.
What was it by?
Who was it by, I forget, but itwas.
I went on vacation for a month.
I needed to practice because Ihad a lot of gigs coming up in
the beginning of the summer.
I got this like tiny one.
It wasn't a really, reallysmall one, but it was like it's
like the size of this Rodecaster, maybe a little smaller, a
little narrower.
I forget the name of it, but itwas like 150 bucks and it had

(58:55):
lots of the features.
It get the name of it, but itwas like 150 bucks and it it had
lots of the features.
It works, worked with my serato.
It works, works with everything.
Um, and then you know, you canget serato light.
You can pay for it if you want.
It's not that expensive.
Point is I've been talkingabout this point too much you
can do it.
It's not an excuse like can,you can find time to practice,

(59:16):
you can find gear to practiceand, by the way, there's also
spots you can go to, which theywhere they have gear, and you
can pay by the hour and practicethere.
You can also do that.
If you really have to dosomething like that.
Now, an example for marketingand promoting would be oh, I
don't have the capital for tomarket, oh, I don't know how to
market, or I don't have the timefor it.

(59:41):
Well, again, this is a businessyou're building, so you'll
definitely have to create thetime, because at some point, I
just can't help you.
Uh, you know, if you don't havethe time for it, well, okay,
then you don't have the time forit and it's going to take you
much longer.
Um, but um, it doesn't costmuch.
You know what?
I got a Google Workspace accountfor this podcast because I had
to collaborate with severalpeople and it was also a very

(01:00:05):
good decision to get that and Igot a bunch of like 600 bucks to
start me off with my marketing.
I'm not saying that's enough,I'm not saying that's all, but
you know what?
There are so many ways you cando that, and the Google
Workspace is not that expensiveat all.
It's like 10 bucks a month orsomething.
15 bucks a month.
Again, you don't have to do itthat way.
There's also free.

(01:00:26):
What is it called Likesponsorship, endorsement, people
who will actually and it'sonline for beginner podcasts and
they will provide you theincome that you need or the
tools that you need in order tocreate something you need to
create.
So, whether you're a podcasterwho's using the podcast in order

(01:00:50):
to leverage their otherbusiness, or whether you're just
a DJ or you or you want to be aDJ and you want to find a tool
online, there's something foreveryone.
And again, I said, I'm notgoing to go in detail because
then we're going to get to likea two hour podcast again.
So we're just over an hour now,so I'll try to keep it a little

(01:01:13):
shorter today.
An example for networking wouldbe that, let's say, you don't
really know anyone or how toapproach them.
You're just very kind of shy,introverted.
I already spoke about it before.
You're going to have to findout, you're going to have to
learn, you're going to have toget out of your kind of comfort
zone and try to be comfortablein certain situations where in

(01:01:34):
the past you weren't.
You're going to have to changea little bit and nobody forces
you to do it.
You know, at a pace that you'renot you're not comfortable with
and, again, the best thing youcan do is to gather the courage
to speak to someone and see ifthey'll coach you.
That's the best thing you cando.
They will.
They will hold your hand andtake you step by step.

(01:01:59):
I was terrified to do my firstgig, but I did it.
I did it.
I was, you know, I was pushedtowards it by a mentor and and I
for the first gig he came withme.
For the second gig he.
So for the first gig he camewith me and did half the work.
For the second gig he came withme and didn't do anything but
you know, maybe help me set up acouple things so it's quicker.

(01:02:20):
But he was just there forsupport and just hang out and
take some photos and videos forme and then the rest of the gigs
I went by myself.
So you know, I was terrified atfirst, but I you know what it's
, I did it and it was easierwith a mentor, it was easier
with coach, but that's alsobecause I provided great value
for him, right?
So think about it.
Can you provide great value?
Maybe you're a graphic designer, maybe you're, you know, maybe

(01:02:43):
you can create something forthem, for for their business.
You'll find a way to connectwith someone if you really want
to.
An example for your first gigwill be you know, oh, I'm not
ready for that gig.
I need more time to prepare,and that's what I just said.
If you practiced a standardamount where you know how to do

(01:03:05):
things when you're at home, ifyou really care about the event,
you'll feel it.
You'll know that, okay, you'renervous, you don't really know
what you're doing because you'venever done it, but you do
because you've done it at home.
So go two hours early, set up,do a sound check if you have the
opportunity to go early.

(01:03:25):
If you don't, then do it athome.
Do like a test at home of likesetting everything up.
Always set up all your gear athome, especially if you're a
beginner.
Make sure you have everythingyou need you didn't forget a
cable or something and createthat situation where you're
comfortable.
You're like okay, I did it, Iknow what I'm doing, I just need

(01:03:46):
to take, take what I did hereand do it again in front of
those people and and you'll befine.
So it's always going to feellike you're not ready, but you
are ready Now.
If you didn't practice at allfor like half a year.
You've been just talking aboutit.
From time to time you dabble init.
Okay, Maybe it's not the righttime to take a gig, right, think
about that person that you'retaking their gig and the

(01:04:06):
responsibility that comes alongwith that.
But again, in a normalsituation, you are ready.
Don't worry, you'll be fine.
You can always find excuses.
You need to find solutions.
Now, all this goes to show thatit's not one thing or a few
things.
It is a beautiful recipe whichneeds to be respected.

(01:04:29):
It is a process and if youenjoy it, it will all happen
naturally for you.
I remember in the very beginning, I would not practice much.
Like I said, I would notpractice properly, and I had my
reasons.
I had legitimate reasons.
We all do.
But if you want to getsomewhere, you got to do what it

(01:04:54):
takes.
Most of you are not kids, mostof you are older and I don't
need to explain what it takes.
Okay, most of you are not kids,most of you are older, and you
know I don't need to explainthis to you.
You should know that A greatkind of analogy that I came with
, a great like story that I cameup with and I can't remember
names right now or anything likethat.
But you've seen these storiesonline of these kinds of
situations.
Imagine two people.

(01:05:14):
Both of them want toparticipate in the Olympics.
One is naturally physical,naturally physically, like a
physical marvel and maybe evenhas some connections in this
industry and an athlete.
And the other one is just anaverage person with a passion
for sports, you know.
But hey, he's also missing aleg or a limb, some limb.
Different people will get dealtdifferent cards.

(01:05:38):
Life is not always fair and youmight have to work more than
your neighbor to get to the samegoal.
Now, the goal doesn't reallycare if it were a person.
It doesn't really care if it'sfair or not.
That is what it takes.

(01:05:59):
That's what's required to getinto the Olympics.
Right, can you do it?
That is it.
That's for you to decide,that's for you to prove.
So the person who's missing alimb found a way to get a
prosthetic and and a limb uh,found a way to get a prosthetic

(01:06:21):
and um and um.
Sorry, I was just looking atthe time.
I thought I thought I thoughtit cut out.
So the person who was missing alimb um, found a way to get a
prosthetic and trained uh, andnow uh, through training and
know various other things theydid and they're in the
paralympics.
So now that is what I'm talkingabout.

(01:06:41):
They made it happen.
Some people that have thoseprosthetic legs run faster than
me.
They're doing things that I'mincapable incapable of doing,
and I have two perfectly workinglegs.
It's not about that.
It's about what you want andthat passion, that drive to get
yourself there.
I know I'm talking aboutOlympics and sports, but it's a

(01:07:02):
really good way to explain that.
I needed to give you somethingextreme, like an extreme example
.
Don't think that you're sounlucky that there's no way that
it's going to happen for you.
I'm not going to lie.
It might be tougher for you thanothers.
It might be, but, uh, life hasa funny way of balancing things

(01:07:24):
out.
Um, now, where were we?
So, logically, you're going todo, you're going to assume that
this situation doesn't happenoften.

(01:07:46):
It's such an extreme example,but a lot of people are in kind
of like we're dealt a tough hand, right, and that's where I'm
being very empathetic.
I'm trying to understand someof the people who are like you
know what that was too much.
I mean, like you know, I'mtrying to do everything I can,

(01:08:08):
but I don't have that extra $100to buy the gear, I get it.
A lot of people are indifferent situations that are
difficult.
I'm very spiritual, but I'malso realistic, and I know that
certain things in life are toughto achieve, but I believe that
with the right attitude andresources, everything is
possible.
If I haven't stressed thisenough at this point be unique.

(01:08:33):
Find something that you can dodifferently than others and that
adds value to your show.
Find a way to stand out fromthe thousands of DJs in your
city.
And also keep in mind many DJsyou encounter online are just
that online DJs.
They do it as a hobby and,while the market is very

(01:08:56):
saturated, not every dj is yourcompetition, even if they're not
just online djs.
Everyone has their own nicheand everyone has their own you
know something they're good at.
If you're, the point is, ifyou're a decent dj, and
especially if you, if you canshow how, how you're a little
different in a good way, youwill find plenty of work.

(01:09:18):
There are many more points,many more points, lots more
information.
I could have crammed into thisepisode, but I believe that we
created I created a pretty goodstart to finish kind of
blueprint here, and while thereare many more versions of kind
of that kind of blueprint.
This is a good one and I knowfrom experience that it works.

(01:09:40):
Uh, my experience, uh,colleagues, uh, these episodes
don't just happen on the fly.
I I speak to people, I makesure the information is correct,
I make sure the information isuh understandable that you know
that I can back up what I'msaying, and um, understandable
that you know that I can back upwhat I'm saying.
And, um, if you have adifferent way of doing this, if

(01:10:01):
there's something that I didn'tsay and you think it was
important, definitely mentionedin the comments, definitely send
us an email.
Um, you know, there's going tobe similar episodes to this one
in the future where, again, I'malso learning.
Right, I'm I'm a beginner DJ,technically, a beginner,
intermediate DJ.
Right now, there are thingsthat I'm learning too, and I

(01:10:23):
haven't been podcasting foryears.
This is, you know, I startedthis podcast, started in January
of 2024.
We are now in September.
So what?
The second week of September,yeah, so it's all about caring,
loving something, practicing, uh, validating, making sure the

(01:10:47):
information is correct.
Uh, you know, because you careabout it, you, you do not want
to um, kind of misinform someoneor or go somewhere not ready,
whether it's a podcast or a gig.
And yeah, it's very important tolove what you do.
If you love what you do, Ibelieve the universe, life will

(01:11:11):
bring you more opportunities,and especially if you're
actually putting in the work andyou're promoting yourself.
It's not that expensive topromote yourself, especially if
you have a full-time job andyou're able to do that.
But maybe you don't wanna spendthe money, but you should Give
it a shot.

(01:11:31):
It's a business.
It's a risk.
You might lose it.
It might work.
Some months I was spending 50to a hundred bucks every month
and I got no gigs.
But then, guess what?
Two or three months later, Igot all those gigs that I should
have gotten before.
Everything will balance out.
Everything will stabilize.
So, um, yeah, thank you verymuch for joining another episode

(01:11:54):
of the Clever DJ.
My name is Ilya and I thank youfor joining me and see you next
week.
Take care.