We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Drake Dawson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Drake , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)? Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style.

This is not about a specific internship or apprenticeship but I do feel like every single job and attempted business before this current business (of the last 11 years) has prepared me for where I am today. I can wholeheartedly say that I have never felt comfortable working in a corporate environment or working for someone else-even though I tried over and over again. I entered college with grand plans to become advertising executive and one day work on huge campaigns for Nike. I was a track athlete who wanted to elevate my sport and make it as cool as the NBA or even golf (thanks to Tiger Woods’ impact.) I studied hard and trained harder with a glimmer of hope that I could race at a semi-pro level, qualify for the Olympic trials and somehow integrate this into career in sports marketing (even though I didn’t know what the term marketing was back then.) I graduated with a degree in communications and public relations so that I could be the most effective writer/copy writer for an Ad agency or creative department of a fun company. But to support my running aspirations I took a soul-crushing job as a customer service rep at AT&T Wireless where I was chained to a cubicle in a huge room of cubicles while millions of frustrated callers funneled into our office hourly. BUT! I learned great customer service skills, how to de-escalate toxic situations, learn policies & procedures and millions of acronyms. And most of all, how much I missed my freedom. I would do anything to have flexibility of my day, options to go outside, meet different people and control my destiny.

There were many, many more jobs after that hard introduction to corporate america, and they didn’t seem to get much better. In fact, the economy continued to expand and contract with me holding on for dear life, trying to climb a corporate ladder that was n’t fastened to a solid business! But I learned a little more from each place: how to make tech work for me, sales skills, efficiency and setting proper expectations. I’m here today because I made nearly every mistake a business owner can make and luckily the lessons learned have placed me in an enviable position at this moment. Things change all the time, but I’m prepared and have set the proper expectations, of course.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

At the end of the day, my goal is to liberate people to dance and express themselves. There are so many barriers to fun these days which is why I spend my life working on techniques to overcome these obstacles. What obstacles you may ask? The biggest is our own mind, being self-conscious..about who’s looking at us having fun, is this a safe space, “can I relax and take in the moment instead of checking my phone?” These are real issues I think about and tackle through music procurement, selection & mix-ability. DJs think about what songs will mix well with other songs to either make a smooth transition, surprise the audience or just complement the playlist. I become a designer with my lighting options, speaker placement and even furniture placement to ensure the crowd subconsciously gravitates towards the dance floor. As a dj, we have the power to impact emotions and emotional health is at the core of human existence.

My day normally revolves around some music discovery-that’s the fun part. But usually the day has me in business mode-learning more about my accounting software, updating and sending quotes and contracts to clients and constantly promoting upcoming events through social media. I’ve got to come up with fresh contact nearly daily. I’m working with a photographer now to get more shots of myself because I’m the brand. I fall back on lots of memes for fun, which I like, but when I post a pic of myself and my inspiration, that’s what gets the most “likes” on IG.

The most consistent part of my day is the mornings where I workout. DJing can be very physical. Most people only see the finished product of the dj standing or dancing around behind the decks, but we’ve hauled in a half ton of equipment, 2 hours before an event, set it up and then tore it down at 1AM, only to do it all over again the next day. Energy levels need to be there for the fun part and to keep the creativity during the dj set. Yes I could hire someone to help move gear, but no one handles or sets up my gear like I do. It’s a different story if the venue handles all of that but I’m not that big of a brand yet to have those amenities on a regular basis. The hustle continues and I love it even after 11 + years because it still beats sitting in a cubicle all day.
I’m most proud of that fact that I can say this is actually my career that started from nearly nothing to something that has paid the bills, bought a spanking, brand new car & pays for a humble home. I’m proud of the style of mixing I’ve become known for, which is mainly a fun mix of music that can be cheesy at times but undeniably fun. I don’t bring my ego into, but I also feel like I’m connecting generations that missed the music I grew up with. I love all things 80s, which is the dawn of the digital age and the dawn of pop culture. Gen Z & Millennials want to know and feel more of the roots of this era because it was fun, tactile and connected to people as compared to living and working virtually today. I can help bridge that gap through the immersive experiences I create with music, lighting and vibes.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I was broke as a joke, on unemployment for probably 3rd time in 4 years and had been playing music a small college bar for about a year on their old computer and spotty internet, way before spotify but no pun intended. I used a mix of a streaming service called Rhapsody, itunes & sharkgroove. Sometimes you never knew what would play, lol. Unemployment was running out & workforce demanded I come to a meeting. I was scared because I thought they were going to check my records to make sure I was applying for 2-3 jobs per week. I wasn’t keeping track & I was discourage after so many let downs, not to mention, my last corporate job had left me with some Stress-related health problems in my neck. Luckily the workforce meeting at the unemployment office was my guardian angel! They had a program to help retrain people in careers that were prosperous for a post-2008-meltdown economy. I was guided into personal training school which seemed like a good career path for me. My tuition was paid for, my job search requirements were waived and my stipend was increased while in the 7 month program! It was like a true federal stimulus package to help me start my dj business, even if I didn’t know it at the time. I was all in to become a trainer. I graduated from the program, signed on a great gym in March but quickly realized everything slowed down a lot when Summer hit. Everyone at this newer gym went on vacation, mountain biking, hiking, swimming; you name it, they were doing it but they weren’t doing at the gym! I had low clientele but I also begin contacting race promoters asking them if they needed a dj to hype up their races and warm up their racers since I was a former track athlete & certified personal trainer. It worked and next thing I knew, I was flown to Chicago to dj one of the largest road race series in the US. I left my position at the gym after I was asked to dj the race series in 5-7 more cities. I was on track to be a traveling dj! But after Chicago they decided to go a different direction and without a contract in place, I was unemployed again, my back against the wall but now I had equipment. 2 speakers, a controller, and a laptop purchased by a friend. I hit the phones and called as many venues as I could think of. I passed out business cards and let everyone know that they now knew a dj. Business picked up; I’d book an event, buy another piece of equipment and continued this until I owned everything I needed. Then I paid my friend back for the laptop, with interest!

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

See above. I think it covers some of this question. but to add to this: I never had to fake it until I made it which I thought I would. I just put it all out there, made sure my rates reflected my level of competency and grew my business over time. To this day, I believe in offering value to my customers and make sure they understand what the market bares. I love comparing products, services and features to educate the client so that even if they don’t use me or don’t like my current rates, they know what they are getting with a more cheaper business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.djrake.org
• Instagram: dj_drake1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djdrake1/
• Other: https://soundcloud.com/drake-dawson

Image Credits
Nathan Venzara Kevin Becker