We were lucky to catch up with Luis Martinez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Luis, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I Love Avenue started as a social movement in 2009 with one goal in mind: to make a positive impact in the lives of those in need.
Luis Martinez lost his father, brother and mother in quick succession, leaving him to fend for himself as a young teenager. It was during this time that strangers helped house him, feed him, clothe him, and employ him.
Out of gratitude, he wanted to give back, and so, I Love Avenue was born. Fresh out of high school, Luis enlisted a group of his friends to pay it forward by doing “random acts of love”. He and his friends would prepare food, and drive around the streets of Downtown Miami giving meals to the homeless, something close to Luis’ heart. They would also collect toys and throw holiday events for families, and Luis would use his DJ talent to bring joy through music to families who could not typically afford a DJ.
As the movement picked up momentum, and in an effort to gather support for his dream, Luis applied to have his social movement become an official 501(c)3 non-profit. After years of hard work and dedication, the organization was granted non-profit status in 2020.
Since the beginning, I Love Avenue has completed hundreds of acts of love. Just as an avenue has several houses, I Love Avenue strives to support the community (and the volunteers!) in several ways – whether it is mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually, or physically.
Countless Love Block parties, homeless outreaches, beach clean ups, toy drives, supply drives, and partnerships later…our dream is to keep growing and impacting our communities!
Luis, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
It’s been a amazing journey. Music has always been a part of me since I was young. I believe music has helped me a lot through my toughest and with my mental health. So this is the reason why I use music to giveback to the community. To bring love, joy hope and encouragement to those who need it. I use my DJ influence to connect the community to resources they might need.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Word of mouth. Yes marketing is important, yes social media helps a lot but to me the most fruitful way of me getting clients for my DJ services is the old Word of mouth.
Someone knows someone that knows someone. Since my DJ service gives me a lot of exposure clients potential clients come to me asking for my business cards or asking the client that hired me at that event for my information.
When most of my potential clients call me they always start with ” Hey DJ Lu I met you on so and so event and you did amazing can we please hire you ? And boom there goes another event booked for me.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Learning from other experience DJs. Accepting correction as much as affirmation. And never stop learning. I refuse to get comfortable. I still have a DJ mentor and other more successful DJs around me who teach me and help me evolve.
Listen to your clients and always remain professional. Yes I do this for the money but i also do it because I love it. Never lose passion. Clients can see when you love your craft and will pay big money to have your services.
CUSTOMER SERVICE IS KEY. Don’t take nothing personal and don’t be afraid to charge the right amount that keeps you at peace and happy for your services.
Through my charities I DJ for free for underprivilege kids, youth or charitable giveback events. However I have a limit on how much free events I can do because my and my families well being comes first and I do have bills to pay.
I also learned that many can take advantage of your goodwill which can sometimes make you burden yourself and hate your craft. Please have a balance. I also learned that you can giveback to the world and also get paid for it. I have many high paying clients that tell me my DJ services makes their family happy, they tell me I was worth every penny and that I’ve marked them forever. These a clients that are paying money that say this so don’t feel bad to charge what you really deserve and always ask yourself what can I do better to make more money.
Contact Info:
- Website: ILoveAvenue.org
- Instagram: ILoveAvenue, DJsWithACause & DJLuOfficial