Today we’d like to introduce you to DjLIV.
Hi DjLIV, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My story has been what I like to describe as unique, and I often reflect on my journey and wonder how I got here. I attended college right after graduating high school and honestly had no idea what I wanted to be or who I was. As a freshman, I hit the ground running as an Exploratory major, allowing me to get acclimated to a new uncharted environment. Through this exploration, I was able to connect my love for music with my post-secondary education. I later declared my major as Business with a focus on Business Management. From this point on the vision was clear and I knew exactly the work that lay ahead. Once I successfully obtained my degree, I took one of the biggest risks in my life and moved to Los Angeles, California. Shortly after my move, I founded my company LIV Entertainment.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
As a child, my first rollercoaster experience was a ride called The Big Dipper. This ride was famous for its many hills, dips, and sharp turns. My journey as an entrepreneur which has been far from smooth (LOL) can be compared to this. One of the biggest challenges that I faced starting a new business was not having hands-on experience being a business owner. There’s only so much you can learn in a classroom. I quickly learned that my degree had brought me to the water, but it would be up to me to drink. To overcome this roadblock, I reached out to an organization called SCORE. This organization specializes in providing mentors to individuals venturing out and starting a new business. With the guidance of my mentor, I was able to apply my knowledge of business with the tools and resources needed to manage the day-to-day of my business.
The second biggest challenge I faced would have to be the lack of a team when I first started out. As an entrepreneur, you juggle a lot of roles and wear many hats to get things up and running. This led to feelings of being overwhelmed and sometimes even feeling like I wouldn’t succeed. In these moments I reached out to close friends and family who were able to encourage me to keep going. This support system became my team and helped push my brand to the next level. With a focus on time management and organization, we were able to overcome this hurdle and development of a strong foundation for my business.
As you know, we’re big fans of LIV Entertainment. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The vision for my business was to create a brand that can uplift my creative peers. LIV Entertainment, established in 2015, serves as a platform for the up-and-coming creative mind. As a brand, we focus on everything from music, fashion, art, social events, and travel. Our goal is to give creative millennials the exposure they deserve by pushing a movement that promotes creativity. Finally, our purpose as a company is to cultivate a creative safe haven for like-minded individuals on their journey to navigate the entertainment industry.
Over the years we have hosted many successful social events around the Los Angeles metropolitan area. These events in a way have become “meet-ups” for individuals in the entertainment industry to connect and network. I am a firm believer that your network is your net worth, so it was very important for me to incorporate this when developing my brand.
As a part of our music sector, we provide DJ services for private events. We have managed to build a loyal clientele that has taken our small business from the Hollywood Hills to Palm Springs. This work is very fulfilling because it allows me to connect my passion for music with my business. Ultimately, I believe establishing a business that is multi-faceted has helped us create our own lane and sets us apart from others.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
One of my favorite childhood memories would have to be working my first official job. When I was about 12 years old, I worked as a paperboy delivering newspapers around my neighborhood. Our next-door neighbors at the time had a contract delivering The Plain Dealer which was our city-wide newspaper. They needed help balancing out their workload and I was eager to help out and make some money on my own. Although tedious at times taking on this role allowed me to be my own boss. I would have to wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning on workdays which taught me about discipline and time management. I was able to save money and eventually opened my own bank account with my mother’s help of course. This experience instilled the go-getter and hustle mentality which I believe were the building blocks of me ultimately becoming an entrepreneur and starting my own business.
Pricing:
- DJ Services – $250/HR
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/LIV_ENT_
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIV_ENT_
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/liventertainmentmusic
