We were lucky to catch up with Robert Corrall recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Robert, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk I took in my career was stepping out on my own and starting my own company. At my previous company, I helped grow the business and become a minority owner. However even as a partner, it was still not my company and I couldn’t fully control the direction and my own destiny. I took the plunge to give back my partnership and took a bet on myself. This decision was one that worked out both financially and personally, and while it was a hard decision, and there were times early on when I may have questioned the choice, looking back it was certainly the right move.

Robert, 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?

My company Second Song is a collective of experienced DJs with a focus on Weddings. We provide Wedding DJs for people who don’t want a “wedding DJ”, and have a more alternative and music-focused approach. As well as providing a great service for our clients, the aspect of the company I am most proud of is that we are able to provide a way for fellow creatives to make a great living doing something they love. We have a team of 15 DJs that have been able to make DJing Weddings and events their full-time job, while then also having time outside of that to focus on their other creative pursuits.

Second Song really has become it’s own community of DJs and musicians, and there is constant collaboration and creativity that allows us to provide even more fun and exciting options to our clients.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

A book that was recommended to me when I started my company was Small Giants by Bo Burlingham. This is a must-read for any small business owners, especially those that choose to follow their passion. It focuses on examples of great businesses that have had success by focusing on doing things the right way instead of focusing on the ways that would bring in the most money.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

In my early days as a partner in my first business, I focused on being heads down, working as hard as possible, and trying to be as busy as I could. I focused on sales above everything and felt like success was based on growing sales. On the second go around I took more time to learn, read, and dive into understanding what makes a business great over a long period of time. So diving into reading business books is the one thing I wish I would have done at an earlier age. Now Audible is my best friend, and listening to inspiring stories and learning from experts and peers is part of my daily routine.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.second-song.com
• Instagram: @secondsong_official
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqRkqj5J0neUd80qwj7T-yQ