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

Hi Doc , thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My broadcasting hero is Ellis Haizlip creator and producer of the 1968 television program Soul! He blended all of the features of Black culture, music, poetry, politics, activism into one program. When I started doing radio in 2016 I was determined to more than play music. I wanted to integrate stories of the musicians and stories of the listeners from various walks of life into my programs. The goal is always to enlighten and inspire.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My father was a club and radio DJ in the 1970s, one of pioneers for Black DJs in Connecticut in the 1970s. After doing my time carrying the crates, equipment, setting and breaking down, he finally taught me how to DJ and I eventually took over for him, provide DJ services in Connecticut and NYC in the 1980s.

When the opportunity to have a radio show arose in 2016 I was determined to focus on the lives of the artists, not just chase charts and play what everyone else was playing. This has led to long lasting relationships with Billboard Artists and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. I grew up loving The Isley Brothers, so it has been an honor to interview Hall of Famer, Chris Jasper (formerly of the Isley Brothers) three times.

My exposure in radio has also led to me building a business where Host/MC musical events and corporate events all over the United States.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

When I first started in radio, I had to pay for my air time. I did this out of my own pocket until I convinced some local businesses of the advantages of radio advertising. Getting sponsors in hard work and I knew that I need to find another way to fund the business and make is self-sustaining. Since I was a DJ, an audio engineer. and I have experience and have extensive experience public speaking, I formed production company and started to market this skillset on social media. This led to my first audio book production contract where I made $10,000 providing production and distribution services to an author who had been a guest on my show. Guest I have interviewed have become clients and word of mouth gives new and repeat business.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I am very weak in photography and video production. I knew that with the growth Instagram, Facebook Reels and Tik Tok, I either needed to learn the skills needed to do this work or expand my team and get others to help. I have been blessed a series of excellent digital artists who have helped at various stages of this process. Not only have I learned more about video production, I learned to trust others and lean them, which in the big picture was the more important lesson.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wpkn.org/doc-hardy/
• Instagram: DocHardySoulJazz
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The Doc Hardy Show/
• Linkedin: https://www.linked.comin/autom84u
• Youtube: The Doc Hardy Show

Image Credits
Letif Belcher – Belcher Digital