We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amani Roberts. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amani below.
Amani, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?
I started working in Sales for Marriott in 1998 for an extended stay hotel brand (TownePlace Suites), and these sales skills continue to help me today. We are always selling, and as a business owner, we are always looking for various business development opportunities. Once I got promoted to Miami and worked for one of the best bosses I had, Joe Brown, he taught us all how to be creative when selling and making our relationships with our clients personal. This extension of sales skills continues to be effective for me over twenty years later.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hi! My name is Amani Roberts (aka DJ AmRo, aka Amaniexperience), and it is nice to meet you. I would love to tell you a little bit more about myself.
📍I grew up in the Washington, DC area (Silver Spring, MD) and then moved to DC, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, and Los Angeles. So far, Chicago is my favorite (it’s too cold for me now as the warm LA weather has spoiled me), and then LA & Miami are a close second.
🤩 I worked for Marriott Hotels for over twenty years, and at the same time, I learned how to DJ, attended the world-renowned Scratch DJ academy (two times), and worked for over 16 years as a professional DJ.
🥞 I love to eat pancakes, but because I am trying to remain healthy, I can only indulge once a month.
💡 One of my new favorite quotes is a Shakespeare one – “a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” I love this because I am a DJ / Professor / Author / Professional Speaker and do well at everything (humble brag!).
📚 I love reading fiction and non-fiction books and I am writing my second book, which focuses on the disappearance of Black R&B Groups. Daily, I work through my imposter syndrome as this is a huge topic that I am passionate about, and I will tell the story from my perspective.
🎧 Some of my favorite artists include Mariah Carey, Mary J Blige, Babyface, Kehlani, and Eric B & Rakim. I have an interview with Babyface on my bucket list, so if you have some connections, please share!
🎙I have been podcasting and live streaming since 2008, and I am a big fan of the power of this medium. The pandemic allowed me to learn live streaming, and I continue to stream two to three days a week on various platforms. Don’t be afraid … jump in and hit “Go live!”.
🎤 I speak on a variety of topics, including “Unlocking Your Creativity When Stuck,” “How to Network In Our Current Digital Era,” and “How to Grow Your Business & Career.” I thrive on the main stage or in an intimate breakout room. Our session will be memorable. I’m looking for any C-Suite executive who is looking to inspire their teams and open up the lids on their creativity. They are the ideal client for me.
⚽️ I still play soccer one day a week and am passionate about my sports teams – Washington Commanders 🏈, Washington Wizards 🏀, Maryland Terps, Liverpool ⚽️, Baltimore Orioles ⚾️, and the Washington Capitals.
❤️ I am proud of finishing grad school at Berklee College of Music during the pandemic and becoming an award-winning professor at California State University, Fullerton.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
While building my DJ business, I had a small amount of revenue streams that brought income to my bottom line. Through my volunteer work with Meeting Professionals International, Southern California Chapter, I was given the opportunity to be an adjunct professor at CSUF. I said “yes” and committed to figuring out how to add it to my schedule moving forward. This one decision has changed my business and my life while opening up additional opportunities for me that were unthinkable before. This is one of many turning points in my life that I always attribute to where I am today.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
While attending DJ school, I missed passing the final part of school (Mixing 505) by only two points. It was probably the most humbling moment of my life, and I had to decide whether or not to retake the final class or turn it in and return to repeat the class. Everyone in the school knew who passed the class or not, so it was public knowledge. Add in the fact that I was one of the older students, and it hit hard. My ego was talking! LOL. I decided to come back for the final class, put the work in, and do my best to earn a score higher than 320/400 (the required score). Keep in mind that this class was performance-based, so it is not a given that I would pass each section. Ultimately, I earned one of the highest scores ever in the class and was deemed the “valedictorian” of my class.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://amaniexperience.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/amaniexperience
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amaniexperience
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amaniroberts/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/amaniexperience
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/amaniexperience