Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cameron Reeve. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cameron , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Well when I was in High School I usually found myself selecting the music to play for our friend group’s parties and car rides. During high school my friend’s and I became obsessed with going to the local country nights that happened at the fun park. Because I was consistently going and dancing, I became self aware of which songs were truly danceable and which songs weren’t. Around my senior year in high school, a new dance company came to town and started hosting both latin nights and country nights. At the time, they had a DJ there handling the music. This is where I had the idea first spark in my mind to become a DJ. A few years later the DJ moved and I found myself purchasing my own equipment and “subbing in”. What I didn’t realize was that, about a year later, that company would stop hosting events. After that, I found myself DJing college parties, school dances, and a lot of weddings.

Somewhere in that first year of djing and buying gear I remember hosting my first event. I co-hosted the event with a friend by the name of Andrew. He was a better DJ than me but had no gear of his own – the business relationship that was born was perfect. He ended up DJing most of the event while I provided the gear. This was the moment I fell in love with the audio/visual side of the business.

Through all of this time I was making very little money. I never really thought this could be my main income stream; it was more a hobby. Fast forward to 2014 – I was invited to go to a DJ conference in Las Vegas called ‘Mobile Beat’. This was both a mind changing and a life changing event for me. I met other DJs making over a million dollars through their DJ businesses. My mind exploded!. If I remember correctly, at the time I think I was only making somewhere in the neighborhood of $3000 a year. I was like a sponge at that conference. I took SO many notes. Afterward, I came home and put those notes to action. Over the next few years I learned through trial and error while I attended college.

After 2 years in college I finally found a profitable business model and started making money. This eventually led me to leave the traditional workplace because I was earning more per weekend than I was making from working from 8am – 5pm.

Cameron , 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?

What most people don’t know is my business model has changed multiple times throughout the years to adjust with my interests and the economy. When I first started, DJing itself was the passion. Later, I had a friend introduce me to a production company in the Salt Lake City area. This led me to a greater focus on sound, lighting, labor, and staging. Once again I became a sponge for learning. I often tease my wife Laura that I was getting paid with the best real world experience someone could ask for. There were times while at that company where I was helping lead crews of 200+ workers. I was spending time working with some of the best sound, lighting, and video specialists in the country. Through it all, I was still DJing part time while I was working for these companies. I believe this is the point where my business began to take off. I was learning how to do sound and lighting at large concerts and productions gigs. I took this knowledge and applied it to my DJ setup and my company. I think that at one time I was one of four DJs in the market that was providing a production style DJ Rig. During those years working for production companies I also was shadowing DJs in my market, and my business really exploded after a year of this hustle.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2018 I was more focused on the production side of my business. When the pandemic came and I was out of work in the production sphere I still found myself DJing. I had a lot of time in the studio to work on my DJ skills. I believe that the time spent in the studio honing my craft and the amount of networking I started doing transformed my business. I went from a good business to a healthier business.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Networking, Networking, Networking + Website design. Being around people and listening to their needs is key. Then following that up by having an online presence to validate the conversations. I know so many production and DJ companies that are incredible at what they do but lack an online presence to validate their product for first time hires.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.djcamreeve.com
• Instagram: @djcamreeve @reeverbent

Image Credits
I have purchased rights to all those photos