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

Edward, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I was very much working on a hobby that turned into a career. Prior to DJing, it was always exciting for me to hang out in the DJ booth at events, learn how to mix watching videos of inspirational DJ’ that I followed, and controlling the music at house parties. This was something that I did for fun and after diving in, I was able to be compensated. Outside of being paid for DJ services at clubs + bars, I worked to get into other spaces that would help me earn a living while mixing music. Continuing to learn and refine my skills, I got into the brand + sports world. This is where I found an even stronger passion and wanted to grow my career. This led me to new opportunities and clients, in turn stabilizing my career from a monetary standpoint. I wouldn’t have changed the process given each phase led me to new opportunities that helped grow my business in the right direction. Now I am excited to help brands with awareness and content creation that has added a new avenue to business.

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.

I got into the entertainment / creative space first throwing events and concerts. I was always interested in the music end of it and made a switch, learning how to DJ. I would shadow friends who dj’d, watch endless youtube videos, and practice in the basement as much as I could. Constant practice as well as being “thrown to the wolves”… led me to learn quickly and on the go. I definitely faced adversity as I was performing while learning how to perform, and that had it’s hurdles. Thankfully I had great mentors and people in positions that gave me opportunities early on in my career.

I pride myself on being a professional, making it easy on the client and making sure to help them put together a great event that is memorable for their patrons. I would like to think that being professional and really working hard to resonate with the crowd I am in front of is what separates me from others. I also believe that the number one skill of DJing and on camera work is being able to “read the crowd”.

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

Being real and responsive. Talking and interacting with those people who support you. That was always big for me. If I were doing an event and met someone new, I would take the time to have an actual conversation and hear about what they do and what their interests were. The same goes for social media, when someone interacts with you, make sure to do the same. We “follow” people on social media who share similar interests, or who we may feel connected to, so actually having a conversation with people makes it feel more personable than just writing at a social media handle.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Continuing to work in a space that I am passionate about as well as connecting with new people. I really enjoy the relationships I have made along the way and those connections continue to drive me in my industry. I get excited thinking about the future and the different people I may meet and get a chance to create with. The relationships are everything to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: etrayn.com
• Instagram: djetrayn
• Facebook: DJ ETrayn
• Linkedin: Eddie Traynor
• Twitter: djetrayn