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

Shammy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

I picked up DJing while going to a private Christian school. Think Footloose. We definitely had a no social dancing rule, and secular music was obviously frowned upon. So I kept my new DJ hobby on the low from the higher-ups – except for one teacher who knew and shall not be named because I found out they used to throw up graffiti on trains.

Obviously, we had high-level state secrets on each other, so we could never divulge our classified information. But at this point, my DJ secret is pretty public. So he has nothing on me now.

My classmates knew I picked up DJing. One of them had a birthday party and asked if I could DJ their birthday, and I said yes, even though I had been DJing for less than a full year.

I brought my whole bedroom setup to their house – two Numark Pro TT-1s with weak tonearms, my Technics SH-DJ1200 mixer, and two no-name speakers attached to my receiver. My gear had to fit on top of the kitchen counter because I didn’t think to bring a table to set up outside. (The things you learn.)

When it came to music, they were all subjected to my wonderfully highly curated taste in underground hip hop whether or not they liked it.

But I digress. This is about my first dollar earned as a DJ.

Everyone was willing to chip in a little money for me. After passing the collection plate around, the amount came close to $50.

Unfortunately, we had a thief in sheep’s clothing. And at the end of the night, my friend who organized the party came to me disappointed with the news that some thrifty fingers had swiped the money intended for me.

That moment foreshadowed how 86% of club promoters would deal with me in the future. A solid life lesson if I ever learned one.

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?

DJs mixing live on the radio fascinated me.

I remember coming home from school listening to the Traffic Jamz on Power 106 and loving how the DJ was going from song to song, blending one record into the next and keeping the vibe going the whole time.

That always caught my attention. I wanted to do what they did.

So I figured it out. After 3 years of saving up my lunch money and doing lots of chores, I bought my first set of turntables, mixer, and 5 records from a defunct store in New York called The Music Factory. It’s highly possible I still have those 5 records.

I taught myself how to DJ and make music. That skill set proved helpful in college as I DJed at many clubs and parties.

It wasn’t until a few years after graduation that I saw I could make a living from this.

People primarily know me as a DJ. At the beginning of my career, one of the things people pointed out about me was how I enjoy the music while I DJ. I dance and have fun while spinning, and I read the crowd to ensure they have a good time.

My approach to any event, whether a wedding or a big company event, is to tailor the music to the crowd so that EVERYONE dances and enjoys themselves.

That is why planners and organizers hire me as their DJ. It’s my goal to make sure everyone walks away feeling good and talking about their event.

I’m proud of all the clients I’ve had the opportunity to work with. I look forward to working with even more people and rocking more parties!

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

We all had to pivot during the pandemic.

Within 3 days in March 2020, I lost 90% of my gigs. I had one phone call after the other telling me gigs were canceled.

Obviously, all my income dried up in those 3 days!

At that time, I had started a coaching business helping DJs make a living from DJing. (The irony of that is not lost on me!)

I did work with a few DJs that year. One of them ended up making over $100,000 during the pandemic. This was at a time when we weren’t booking gigs! The other DJs saw success from livestreaming by turning live streams into paid gigs.

The other pivot was moving to live streams. People shifted their in-person events online and wanted a DJ to keep the energy up. I was getting contacted by clients about DJing their online Zoom events, and I’m still rocking some Zoom events to this day!

What was great about live streaming was the global reach it would have. People were tuning in from all over the world!

These pivots helped me understand that when unforeseen moments shift our lives, we can adapt with creative solutions instead of panicking about what happened.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had learned about coaching and business early in my creative journey.

There are two reasons for that. First, coaching would have challenged my thinking and beliefs at a critical time as I was building my business and had plenty of limiting beliefs around that.

Second, learning about business would have helped me understand how to sell and market. If I had understood that then as I do now, my story would be different.

Because of that coaching pivot, I’ve been able to dive into more coaching and business skills. I’ve seen how it’s changed my approach to business and creativity.

Without that, I wouldn’t have developed a stronger love for business and marketing. These skill sets are essential for every career, and I wish I had developed these skills sooner.

Today, there are so many free resources available to every creative. These resources will help with your business and creativity. I encourage everyone to find free resources to help their career until they can pay for more specialized and focused help.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shammydee.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/shammydee
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/shammydee
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/shammydee
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/shammydee
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/shammydee
• Other: Text me at 310.359.0569!

Image Credits
Chehade Boulos