002: DJ’ing, Building Businesses, Social Media & Work Ethic with Holly-J

 

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Holly-J moved to Australia at 18 years of age and fell in love with Melbourne’s special brand of dance music. She made the decision to leave her cushy law firm job and take the leap doing what she loved. This all paid off as Holly has become a household name in the underground scene in both Melbourne and Australia for her unique sound. (Show Notes)

In this episode Holly shares with us:

  • How it all started, the equipment and the signature pink hair
  • Her social media strategy and building a fanbase
  • Some tips for DJs just starting out
  • How to create a Record Label
  • Her alias, new company, documentary, networking marketing and much more

 

Plus her brilliant answers to my final questions including the Big 5 – What 5 experiences and/or resources have given you the most development, best results and greatest success on your journey so far.

Please enjoy this conversation with Holly-J

 

If you haven’t already, click Here to grab yourself a free copy of our eBook ‘The Idea Generator’

 

Show Notes
1:45 Where the love of music began
3:35 From NZ to AUS
5:35 Holly’s level of determination
6:50 Getting the equipment together
8:00 First ever gig (at Revolver)
10:35 The signature pink hair
12:30 New branding
13:20 Holly’s Social Media strategy
15:40 Finding her niche
16:10 Succeeding in the DJ industry
17:35 Holly-J’s alias
18:20 The perfect show
20:45 The rewarding feeling of having the best job in the world
21:50 Collaborating
23:40 Equipment for DJs starting out
25:20 Holly’s new company Crewless
26:15 How Holly scouted her first artist (Chunky Dip) and working in a team
29:30 The importance of branding
31:00 The importance of being able to take a step back/getting second opinions
32:55 Managing everything, hustling and making it work
33:55 Behind every successful man is a successful woman (and vice versa)
35:20 If someone wanted to start a record label, where would they start?
39:40 Technology changing the DJ game
40:00 ‘If I was to use business practices today I would be out of business tomorrow’ How Holly copes with this concept
40:20 Dealing with Social Media distractions
41:20 The GHB documentary
45:20 Will Sparks & Chemical Energy
52:35 The benefits of Network Marketing including working with people and working with a great product
55:35 Tonight’s gigs – Playing under both the original and the alias
56:15 Balancing all the projects plus work-life balance
57:55 Family Tree

1:00:55 The Big 5

  1. Getting out of my comfort zone when I moved to Australia
  2. My ‘F#@k it’ moment – Quitting my job at the law firm. ‘I don’t want to end up in a job in 30 years time that I hate. I love this music stuff right now, I don’t know where it’s going but I want to pursue it. Here’s my notice.’ (101:55)
  3. Outsourcing and accepting that it’s okay to ask for help sometimes (1:03:30)
  4. I believe in me and I want others to believe in me. It’s important to work with like-minded people (1:06:45)
  5. When I stopped watching and comparing myself to female DJs and started comparing myself to the boys (1:07:55)

 

1:09:10 On being female in the nightclub industry

1:11:05 What are the best books & blogposts that you’ve ever read?
How to make it in the music business by Ari Herstand
Trump: The Art of the Deal
The Joe Rogan Experience podcast

 

1:13:40 Best Movies, TV Shows & Documentaries?
Vikings
I use movies to unwind
History documentaries
Anything that has nothing to do with music

 

1:14:35 What are your predictions for your industry in the next 5-10 years?
Streaming increasing and illegal downloading becoming a thing of the past. Wherever it goes it will always be DJs who want to become rockstars and producers who wasn’t to make weird and commercial music. Whatever happens, it’s going to be great.

 

1:15:30 Did you achieve your goals that you set yourself over the last 12 months?
Yes and no. Everything seems to be taking longer. My goals were to set up the agency which is about to launch. My biggest goal was to get the Holly-J brand cranking again and to be playing more shows including more of my music and I’ve been doing that which is such an awesome feeling.

 

1:16:25 What goals have you set yourself over the next 12 months? Are there any that you’re willing share with us that we could help by keeping you accountable?
Much of the same as the last 12 months, but moving forward just amplified.
I want to push this new sound and make it a brand that I’m known for, and perform at a festival with it.

 

Who is Holly-J looking to connect with?
I want to expand into Asia, South America & Europe. Looking for other agencies and ways for cross promotions, tours and partnerships

 

Where can we find Holly-J?
www.holly-j.com.au
Holly-J’s Facebook Page
www.crewless.com.au

 

Who I think should connect with Holly-J
Anyone looking to learn how to DJ, work in the music and nightclub industries, creating music, wanting to build brands, ready to grind.

 

Links Mentioned
3:20 Orkestrated
6:55 Famous Nightclub
7:00 Adam Bartas
7:10 Heath Renata
7:20 Nick James
8:00 Ableton
8:50 Revolver
8:55 Radiator / Irish Mike
10:05 Korova Milkbar
11:10 Mickey Nox
10:30 Lucky Entertainment
10:50 Dean Paps
14:50 Social Media Examiner
15:00 The Side Hustle Show by Nick Loper
17:40 Jinxit
20:00 RL Grime
20:10 Holly’s Psy-Edit of RL Grime
23:40 Holly’s headphones – Beyerdynamic
25:00 Logitech
25:05 Will Sparks
26:00 Crewless (Coming soon!)
26:55 Chunky Dip
36:15 Wah Wah Lounge
36:35 WahZoo Records
36:40 Beatport
36:40 Spotify
36:55 Label Engine
37:05 Distro Kid
37:35 SoundCloud
38:20 Shazam
40:00 Carl Cox
41:40 ToDo Book
43:00 Shopify blog
44:00 The GHB Documentary
46:00 Chemical Energy by Will Sparks
53:35 YorHealth
55:25 Red Bull
56:10 Crown Casino
59:30 William the Conquerer
59:40 Vikings
59:45 Rolo
1:00:10 Ancestry
1:05:55 Fiverr
1:10:25 Sunshine
1:10:35 Katie Drover
1:10:35 Katt Niall
1:11:20 Audible
1:12:15 Luke Assigal
1:12:20 Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
1:12:30 Donald Trump
1:13:21 The Joe Rogan Experience
1:13:35 The Tim Ferriss Show

 

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at Tondo Digital.

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