We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michael Lentz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michael below.

Michael , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Starting your own business is a huge risk on its own and in my case the old saying ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ turned out to be true. I started my DJ business soon after my daughter was born. Someone needed to stay home to take care of the new baby and becoming an Event DJ allowed me to stay home with my daughter on the weekdays. I gave up my full time teaching job and gradually built up my business into a worthwhile venture. However, there were some growing pains. There’s lots of new skills one has to learn as you start a business, new mindsets to grow into, and faith in yourself as you jump into an unknown and unstable career that you have to build yourself. It took a few months, but soon my DJ business became a financially stable career.

Michael , 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?

I grew up as a musician. I never knew much about DJing and looked down on DJs for a long time. I thought since DJs don’t use traditional instruments it can’t possibly take as much talent to be a DJ that it takes to be a traditional musician. It wasn’t until a friend of mine taught me a little bit about DJing that I realized that being a DJ takes a lot practice and talent. A friend of mine asked me to help him DJ a house party he got invited to DJ because he wanted to be able to hang out in the party as well. He taught me the basics of DJing and shared a good portion of his music library with me as well. After DJing this party I was hooked on the craft. DJing scratches a different itch than playing traditional instruments. As I learned more about DJing I was lucky enough to have another friend believe in me and allow me to DJ for his company. He even allowed me to use reviews I gathered from these clients and advertise them under my company name. Every step of the way establishing my business I have been lucky to get help from friends.

After being a wedding and event DJ for years I now have a good understanding of how an event flows and sometimes I use this knowledge to help clients plan their weddings and events. Oftentimes clients look to me for advice on how to plan their event. I’m able to use my experience to help clients think of logistical needs and concerns that they don’t think of simply because they haven’t had experience planning events on a large scale.

Seeing a married couple beaming at the end of their wedding really brings me joy. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to help people have the amazing wedding they deserve.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

As a wedding DJ I help people have a memorable night on one of the biggest nights of their lives. At a wedding of course being with your closest family and friends is important, but what really makes or breaks a wedding is the music. Being the one to be providing a soundtrack to people’s fondest memories is really special to me.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

The network of event professionals here in Austin is really great. I went for a year or two as a DJ before knew about the event professional network here in Austin. Getting involved in those groups really brought my career to the next level and introduced me to great people that I’m very happy to know.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.djthemood.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djthemood/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djthemood
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/djthemood
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dj-the-mood-austin
• Other: https://www.weddingwire.com/reviews/dj-the-mood-austin/cafd82faea127a73.html

Image Credits
Moodography Gillian Menzie Photography ML Photo and Film Liesl Claire Photography