We recently connected with Shirley Ju and have shared our conversation below.

Shirley, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

i started my own show Shirley’s Temple, w/ a focus on mental health. at the beginning of Covid, my friend offered me a neon sign for $1K, & i knew i had to invest in myself from that point on. Trippie Redd, one of the biiggest artists in the new generation, was my second ever episode. i was lucky enough to find a livestream partner early on to help offset costs, but we parted ways after a few shoots.

been shooting independently ever since, raising a few grand each shoot. what people don’t know is i have to come out of pocket to shoot, produce & edit each episode. i have to pay a team of 5+ people & expenses are very high in order to execute to highest quality visuals & audio. we also had to upgrade to 3 camera angles, which meant renting 2 additional cameras & camera operators.

the podcasting world certainly isn’t easy, but my show is more visual than just audio. that means making sure everything is working in sync.

the challenge here is investing yourself. i am currently putting my own show on Youtube which doesn’t generate revenue. in fact, i pay to run Youtube ads on my Shirley’s Temple episodes. it’s a lot of money out the door!

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 name is Shirley, i’m a Journalist, On-Camera Host, & Publicist based in Los Angeles. i’ve been doing interviews for almost 12 years now, & a veteran at interviewing and storytelling. my first ever on camera w/ Ty Dolla $ign was in 2014. i worked my way up to where i am now, freelancing for a number of publications such as Variety, Complex, Flaunt Magazine, etc.

i can honestly say i’m proud of starting my own show Shirley’s Temple. no one knows the grind behind doing all the work, from booking the guest to researching questions to shooting to editing to post-production. it’s definitely not for the weary! i remember sitting in my chair for 8 years to edit the G-Eazy episode. i was exhausted, but wanted to get it done.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

my first Shirley’s Temple shoot ever was supposed to be with Tadoe, from Chief Keef’s Glo Gang camp. on a Friday at 6pm, he was nowhere to be found. management couldn’t reach him. apparently, he had dropped his album the evening prior & they all went HAM partying & celebrating.

had to improvise & get someone else ASAP. ended up getting DooWop, who is one of Chief Keef’s best friends. i had to literally prep on the spot, and to date it’s one of my most viewed Shirley’s Temple interviews! crazy how life works.

the music industry is extremely hard to navigate, nothing is guaranteed. however, you do your best with the cards you’re dealt.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

definitely! i was working as a server for 13 years before committing full-time to journalism & music. i worked my ass off, wrote articles for free for years. i really got my start at HipHopDX as an intern. from there, i ran their music section, became a freelancer, started my own column called #FOMOBLOG, then was promoted to editor-at-large.

i ended up actually turning my website into fomoblog.com. i was given the column because i was covering every event & show in the city of Los Angeles. they recognized my hustle & in turn, was able to document all of my outings.

when i ran the music section, i opened every email & pitch + posted everyone i thought was dope. this lead me to build rapport with a ton of up&coming artists, oftentimes serving as their first interview ever! to this day, people remember me for that.

i was actually Rod Wave’s first interview, whom i spoke with for AllHipHop when he was in the studio with Kevin Gates.  

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fomoblog.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/shirju
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/fomoblog
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirley-ju-91260b2a
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/shirju
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9UDIh_uRzgyboG41tZKQbQ