Mastering Money Conversations and Creative Worth | DJ Mode

Jan 14

This week, we had an incredible session with the one and only DJ Mode aka Efrain Merced. DJ Mode shares his inspiring journey from the Bronx projects to DJing for Britney Spears, and becoming the first Latino DJ to headline the US Open. We also covered the importance of negotiation strategies, building strong client relationships, and scaling your business. Don’t miss this episode—it’s packed with actionable advice to elevate your entrepreneurial game!

In this episode:

00:07:29 - Working With A-List Celebrities

00:12:34 - Strategies For Working With No Budget Or Doing Free Work

00:26:53 - Tips For Creatives To Get Paid What You Deserve

00:31:51 - How To Work With Brands

00:40:48 - Building And Cultivating Relationships With Brands

00:42:53 - Overcoming The Stigma Of Discussing Money And Creators Undervaluing Themselves

Full Transcript:

What's up everybody welcome back to Banking on Cultura I am your host Victoria Jenn Rodriguez and here we talk about the vibrancy the complexity of Latino culture entrepreneurship and of course all the Bonin in between and you know we we host our podcast here in New York city that is where our main podcast studio is in the heart of New York City in Midtown so many of our guests are born and bred from New York City I myself being a native of New York City so it's always a pleasure to have a guest on the show that is born here thriving here killing it here and is also responsible for much of the energy and the waves uh that take place here in the city so without further Ado I'm really excited to welcome none other than ifra marev also known as DJ mode to benan Cura yes thank you so much for having me I'm really to have you here yeah yeah so am I when we were preparing for this conversation I was like wow this guy has really done some pretty amazing things appreciate that thank you so we'd like to start this show with some vonin and then we're going to get into the nitty-gritty of your story so tell us something that people can't Google about you uh yeah let me see I'm a father so I have a father people can Google that about you stop it yeah can they I mean don't you have your I see your son on social media yeah yeah oh yeah sometimes I I do this they Google about me H that's a good one I uh I think that uh for me what you Google about me is the type of family man I am the type of uh friend that I am you know I think those things are um you know things that I generally keep private you know and myself so you know I'm I'm definitely one of the loyal people who shows up for my family and friends I'm the one that everyone calls on when uh when they need some help and stuff like that so I guess that's something that you couldn't google about me and I could attest to that because you actually came through for us so DJ mold was our amazing in-house DJ for the 7eventh annual secure the big bag and wellness Summit and at that moment I really got to see your character so what you're saying is true because you were someone that I was like hey I need some help can you help a girl out and and you came through and saved us in more ways than I I was happy to and it was a it was a phenomenal event and um I was happy to be a part of it like opportunities like that where I there just you're delivering so much value to this big group of people I was just happy to be a a part of it and so in any way that I could help I can help and you know again when I see those areas in which you know I can fill like I'm I'm always happy to jump in and and lend the hand because I understand how you know challenging it is as an entrepreneur to get things you know started and you know to have a team and you know you could plan everything out to the tea and still there will still be things that kind of don't go your way or you know don't go according to plan so you always got to be you know rolling with those punches and and when I see the the the need I do my best to jump in and help yes you came through and save the day DJ mode also known as Superman that's thought we going to do that so you were born and raised in the Bronx yes in the projects yes and you have managed to create this beautiful lucrative career with one of your loves right music yep so I want to talk about the how right here I'm baking on Cura we like to give kind of like The Insider scoop the stuff that you can't Google about someone's journey and learnings and really strategy so I really want to drop some some bombs on y'all today so make sure you get your notepad and your pen because we going to get into the nitty-gritty of how you've been able to literally start from nothing and create this beautiful brand um and also do what you love and also secure these corporate contracts doing what you love so you actually never had an official job before right no I mean not if you if you don't count the YMCA as as a teenager or Blockbuster right after that but you know I had 17 years old I became the I was interning at the Scratch DJ Academy which is here in the city a school started by J Master J of Run DMC and um I was an intern for that and I ended up uh as from an intern there was a an instructor who called out sick wasn't able to make it I was able to fill that slot they were like oh this this person he knows the you know the Cur he's able to jump in he can speak well he can put a sentence together you're going to have to jump in and I was just right place right time for myself to take advantage of that opportunity and so from that from there on in I was that's all I've ever done is be DJ you know it again it evolved into being a music director you know an entrepreneur an investor things like that but at the core of it was like you said my love for music my passion for and my desire to be a part of this industry um I never looked back after that so where does this for music come from um I mean I had two uncles who were DJs as well who shared a lot of music with with us you know I think both my parents you know the typical you know Latino story where you're hearing the blaring San Saturday morning you know it's time to clean up and uh and you'rea right I am I'm full Puerto Rican yep mhm and um I think my father also had a really eclectic taste you know he was very into rock and 80s kind of like synth New Wave type of Vibes and so from that it kind of informed like really my style of music at that time or you know my fandom and then of course being born and braised in the Bronx birth place of hip-hop you know you're exposed to the music is everywhere right and the sounds are everywhere so um I think that's where the beginning of it you know that kind of ignited the love for the music and DJ mode where does that come from so yeah a lot of people ask me that question it's a funny one um you know I had went through cycled through zillions of names you know when I was coming up with uh with with what I would be called and what my moniker would be what were some of your they're terrible I I don't want those things to go out to public but one of them was DJ chase at one point that's one that could worked it would have been all right but um you know on the radios on the stereos they have a function and then it said mode you know where you're just switching from tape deck to radio to whatever so I looked that up and it said um the definition is the way that it's done and I was like how how much cooler can you get than that the way that it's done it stands for fashion you know more that you know so all those different ways and mod sapari so if you get you know deeper in the weeds with it but um mod kind of fit my personality and kind of was like an all-encompassing name that I thought would work long term where I wouldn't be like embarrassed to call myself DJ mode you know much years later you know that was the idea so cool so you've had the pleasure of working alongside like some of our favorite celebs and very well-known um Legends tell us the story about how you got connected to Britney Spears sure so I uh started uh while I was at the scratch Academy they sent me over to her Camp she had a camp in Cape Cod where they would teach on the privileged children you know arts and dance and things like that so I came about and uh I was sent there for a week to go teach them how to DJ at the end of it I was supposed to DJ a party for them like a you know after end of Camp party so to speak how old were you at that time I was 19 years old okay so 19 years old you're at Britney Spears Camp yeah she's she's a biggest artist world at that time before when she had hair right right this is pre that all that stuff so um yeah it was I was very fortunate to get that opportunity and um while she was there she was in the crowd and I started uh I kind of saw an opportunity to do a blend I took a fabulous record with one of her songs put that together it immediately stopped her in her tracks she sent over her manager I was able to chat with him and form a relationship with them and then I started DJing her you know whether it was birthday parties or album release parties and things like that so got connected with that team and they started booking me for tours and you know I after that it was like I was gone for about the next four years that's when I decided to drop out of school and pursue this full-time so you dropped out of college I did yes okay got it interesting okay I didn't know that part yeah there's a lot yeah there's so much to the story it's like I like I see how much time you got cuz there was a lot of details within this whole thing but yeah what's your crazy celebrity story oh man let me see I mean again I think during that era of time I was just a 19-year-old kid in the room with anyone and everyone that you could think of that was hot at the time right so I'm DJing and and and kind of like holding court and setting the tone for then the vibe for that particular group of people that's people that I've only watched on television so I think that shock of it for me was like huge like you got Madonna in the room you got Alex Rodriguez in the room you got any athletes or any um musicians at the time that were like as big as it could get you know what I mean and so um you know Justin Timberlake Timberland you know Leonard DEC I mean you name it in that scene in New York they would all come out for these bigger events so anything that I did involving them and then after that I started doing more nightclubs and then that was very similar Vibes right like I was doing Bungalow 8 you know I had a residency there which was you know didn't get popping until 1:00 at night you know at 1:00 in the morning rather and you name it everyone in fashion and in and in any social lights anybody that would have came through I was kind of privileged enough to be around them and work with them wow all of this like 18 19 years old yeah it's pretty crazy yeah I wasn't even old enough to get in the clubs actually technically DJ in the clubs yes yes yes yeah and I mean I I attribute that to um you know a guy by the name of Todd malice who was you you know he doesn't DJ anymore but he was a really big DJ back in the day in uh New York City and he was you know saw something in me and he was like hey why don't you come in and get here at this time and I kind of like started really understanding how things went from that Vantage Point as a young kid so once it was my turn to actually be in the club spinning and holding Court myself I was able to like kind of take it it was an easy transition for me and did they try to get you to work for free uh no well I think the Britney thing was the Britney thing like the original the teaching the kids at the camp and you know they kind of like they sell you on the idea of a further a future opportunity right and for me I think I as soon as I made the connection with the manager with Britney's manager I was able to turn that into an opportunity for myself right and so from that I think it rubbed them the wrong way the people who originally booked me for the opportunity because they kind of didn't expect that they didn't expect that I'd have that hustle and that drive to make something out of nothing something that was just supposed to be a story that told y you should just be excited to be around Britney that's pretty cool you're going to get to tell your friends that's exciting right I'm a younger person they didn't realize that I had the desire and the and the you know kind of my goals were greater and loftier and so I took that upon myself to say okay you know what I'm going to make these connections I'm going to stay in touch with these people and out of that I was able to again get these further opportunities so did you think about mixing the Fab and Britney song there on the spot or did you think about that before I I've been doing that mix I just was like I'm going to get to do it for her her in person you know what I mean yeah interesting no but this is a great takeaway because many entrepreneurs feel like they can't do anything for free and they're very like gun ho about it and it's interesting because you know here on Biga we talk about securing the big back like we want to get you paid but there are those significant opportunities where sometimes you are doing it for free and it's a matter of what you do right what you do when you're in the room that can determine whether or not you're able to monetize going forward so what would be your thoughts for somebody who is thinking about you know they want to do something but let's say there's not a budget for them what would be your advice sure I mean it all depends what kind of space you're in right because I think uh we it's it's not like it all depends on the situation I think it's it's circumstantial right and most times people will try to get something for nothing and they'll try to use you you know and use what you have which you have to realize if that's if they're coming to you for that you have some value right and so let it be a value exchange let there be a complete understanding I think often times you know especially creatives and people who are just trying to make their passion into a career they don't really understand how they should be communicating this is my value here's what I'm bringing to you here's what I'd like in exchange um if for some reason there is no budget for that right like i' I'd ask the questions of like where this room isn't free you know the food isn't free where and which and why why in this segment do you not value this enough to pay for it right and how important is it that this job gets done well so that would be my first approach I mean obviously now knowing so much more but back then the value was okay you're going to have access to a person that you've never had access to at this stage in the game that early 19 years old yeah perhaps you might want to take you you have you you have the ability to take a few more risk right in that department and say oh I'll see how this pans out right and God willing that client or that person that puts you in that position isn't just fully taken advantage I think you're going to be able to identify that very very quickly yeah yeah for sure I think there's something to the value exchange and being clear about what do you want out of the engagement right if if if there's not a budget or if money is not on the table how else can you creatively create opportunity for yourself uh if you are choosing to do something for free I always advise my clients and the students inside the de sleep Academy like hey we interrupt our program to bring you this important message ooh this is really good you should know about this so I don't know about you but I've been known to procrastinate especially when things scare the hell out of me the fear alone would have me stuck overwhelmed confused and all types of self-doubt and don't even get me started on the impostor syndrome okay okay after getting laid off not once but three times honey I realized that the security blanket that I made up in my head was just an excuse because I didn't really want to bet on myself the corporate benefits that had me in that headlock girl they went out the window once my job decided that they no longer needed me it turns out that I'll save a whole nickel if I cut your salary completely the truth is the only security blanket guarantee is the one that you create for yourself in other words until you start a business you will always be at the mercy of a company's headcount and you will never have complete control over your time which means you'll be renting out your thought leadership and helping build someone else's dream instead of your own if you've been waiting for a sign this is it don't you think it's time you stop playing small and tap all the way into your PO s click on the link above or below this video to learn my three-step process the exact three steps that I took to make the transition from corporate to entrepreneurship and this is helpful even if you don't know what type of business to start and have only one source of income and this is absolutely free it is my gift to you I want you to win it's winning season in fact what it smells like winning season okay so tap in and I'll see you inside the training let's go if you're doing anything for free there needs to be a strategy attached to it there needs to be a strategy attached to it are you getting an email list are you getting introductions are you getting invited to another event like what what is the strategy with you choosing to do something for free exactly exactly because if there's a strategy attached to it then there's value absolutely then it makes sense right in that instance you're like okay there's a value exchange here here here's where this person could help me again maybe listen they themselves are doing you could do something personal for somebody and now they're in your sales funnel right so this is a good thing this this is not you don't shy away from those opportunities but you have to manage them very well and you pick and choose what those are right like I know people that'll get started and let's say they're photographer they're makeup artist they're whatever and they'll like a whole year they're doing free clients just to like get their reps in type so to speak practice at your house like don't don't practice theob like go knock that out like you're close friends and family that's fine but once you get out there you know you you this is you have to kind of like set yourself up like a business you have to treat this just like you would any other business just because it's uh a skill set or an art form doesn't really change that at all you're still a vendor you're still someone who's providing a service and you deserve to get paid for that this is actually really good because new entrepreneurs tend to think that they need to put in their reps or need to build their portfolio and so they do things for free again it has to make sense like it could make sense maybe you do need to have those in-person shots where you're able to create a portfolio that you present to a client that is going to pay you right then there's strategy there okay I need this content I need this access I need I need this picture with XYZ person right then it makes sense but if you're just doing it for practice think about again what else can you get out of that exchange if you are doing it for free because I think also something strategic to doing things for free is relationship building like it is a way to kind of show what you can do like I know with some of my corporate clients I don't really do I rarely do anything for free but sometimes I do come in at a lower point because I know like okay if I do this for you here then you have to do this for me in the future but even with that there's no guarantee like there's no guarantee they're going to follow through on their promise there's no guarantee that you know there is going to be a budget for you next year so everything is a risk so you do have to do the risk assessment and see what makes sense but yeah I me it's it's really just like you would do any other business uh you know thing which is you know the cost benefit analysis and you look at that and you say hey you know what how does this benefit me even if it doesn't on the financial front and again your goal should be to make money and earn money in this in this as if you're just trying to replace an income if this is a side hustle that you hope to turn into a career somehow if whatever those things are making it's very very vital for you to take your time with those things because also what you don't want to do is sell yourself short if you've gotten the practice if you know better now um you got your skill setup does it benefit you to then share with them that hey I don't value this at anything like this thing that I'm going to bring to the table I'm going to go and let's say DJ your party for 4 hours whatever it might be that you know what guess what I could be persuaded and kind of lose your your bargaining there you kind of lose that that that power there it's because you should at least charge something like something if even if you're just getting started I would recommend doing that yeah even if it's covering your travel something right like if it could at least be that then it might be worth the opportunity cost to say hey you know what I'm going to get some stuff under my portfolio I'm going to DJ live for people whatever that might be early on in your career I'm totally comfortable with that but you have to like you said set a strategy it has to be an end time for this this has to be a otherwise you're going to end up giving this away for free and you're going to get better and better at it and why would I pay for something that I could get for free right like the client is going to look at this and just say hey this in this segment of things that I have to budget out for that I don't have budget out for because I got somebody great who's going to do it for free yeah you know and so like you lose your incomplete value in that space so it's better it's honestly what you say no to hold off a year and I've had clients come back to me who've been like oh we don't have a bud all of a sudden they go they they get the cheaper guy you know and then they come back a year later or they come back and it's I'm fortunate enough to have to be able to weed those people out and to wait on those clients to come back and it's always you know it's always very professional and you know you kind of send them off with that but the people will understand that this is a business and you're running a business as well and you know and you get what you paid for right and you teach people to treat you how you want to be treated that's ex you're a premium asset you you have to show up in that way completely completely yeah and again and often times again I I don't know if it's just our culture or if it's just the creatives they're so uncomfortable with speaking about money they're so uncomfortable with the economic part of it they're like I love the art form of it but the business side of it is very challenging for me and for those people I would just tell them like to get the help where you are not good at right like just just seek those areas in which these are not your strong points find some help partner up with someone get a manager get someone else to speak for you if this is something that you you know but the same way that you practice your sets same way you practice makeup your photography whatever it might be make sure that you're practicing how to speak to clients how to follow up with them how your communication looks via email everything all that stuff is going to make a huge difference to whether or not you are going to get to continuously be booked and have this be a career otherwise it's going to be a flash in the pan you're not going to be able to weather the tough times and then you'll ultimately eventually quit totally and I think maybe another way to reposition it for creatives is like talking about money and negotiating is an art form like I agree it really is an art form like it needs practice it needs nourishment it needs TLC it needs consistency like it really is an art to be able to negotiate on your behalf to sell yourself to talk about things that make you uncomfortable but not letting them see you sweat like it truly is an art form absolutely maybe if we position it that way creatives would feel L because it is Art it is when you see someone in action like I've gone to events and I've seen people on stage like just so seamlessly and so fluid like literally just drawing a whole crowd and just freaking kill it and I'm just like wow this is like art it really is incredible but I mean think about anything else you've seen you've gone to concerts before you've gone to shows it's all in the preparation right these people prep prepared they practice this that they're like rehearsing this to no end they know it like the back of their hand and the same way that you would know your sets as a DJ let's say for instance like the music that part comes easy this is the part you're going to have to work on this is the muscle that you have to strengthen for you to for you this to really be a viable business otherwise it is a hobby otherwise it doesn't bring you again the brand Partnerships the kind of desire for the big back like that's not going to happen because you haven't figured out this part like this is this is it this is I think a lot of creators get taken advantage of because it's so well known in the industry across so many industries that creatives are not comfortable and so their manager will take a bigger fee or there'll be money left on the table because they know like you don't really care about the money like you care about the art and like they'll take advantage of that like sharks will take advantage of that and you can't get mad at it like you can't so it's almost like in your best interest as a creative to take ownership of your career in that way and manage your money I think I had heard like DJ khed said like he doesn't even have like a money manager like he watches every single wire that comes in and everything that goes out like he does it himself because a he don't trust nobody but B is cuz he wants to have complete ownership over his [ __ ] absolutely and I think creatives need to like really tap into that Source because you are doing yourself a disadvantage if you're allowing your insecurity um for for you to like delegate this out like you have to be on top of your [ __ ] and the money side and the business side is just as important as the art and the creative side yeah and I mean to your point like I see it all the time it's it's unfortunate how little they value that music segment that art segment that the Artistry of it all the photographer the all these things that make really what we do move like it's literally like you're you know the person who is is is the MC for the evening any of these like outside vendors that let's say brands are hiring for their activations from that perspective they're completely aware that they value the experience that as a musician you get you get filled by this experience by the the the the interaction with your crowd you know all of that you live for that performance like that part of it is is what you dreamt about as a child the business side they know that you don't take it as seriously they know that like that's like your left brain and that ain't really the strongest part so you know what let's let's save where we can right and so you have to bring yourself like you said a premium act a premium brand you're someone that doesn't show up and this service cost it's valuable this is very important this evening how and that's the question you got to ask your clients like you got to say how important is this if this goes wrong if this job is not done well how do you feel about that is that very important to no it's really important to us if there's no music all of a sudden his laptop cuts out all of a sudden his equipment is crappy like all these things happen now what how valuable is it to you to have okay well then here's the you're you're managing their risk so much greater like this is this is something that you hand this to DJ mode it's hands off like you don't got to worry about this this part is good yeah totally that's also I think a great strategy also when you're negotiating is literally asking the potential client like hey is this a priority for you right if so rate it one to five how much of this is a priority and ask those questions before money even comes up because you're setting them up like you're literally setting them up for the sale cuz you're they're literally saying how much they value it and how much it's a priority and it's so significant and it's so important right and then you're like oh great so it's $10,000 exactly right there you go that's it that's exactly it I mean for me it more comes into play with uh my music experience which is my company that I started CU as a DJ you get asked questions about you know private events and sweet 16s and weddings and things like that which I don't generally do but I I handle a lot of the calls I have myself and my team but I take a lot of those kind of intake calls initially cuz I need to gauge whether or not this is a good client for us whether or not this is the right client for us because again often times in a wedding there's I mean the the cost is astronomical right for for a couple to get married the wedding the flowers the dress the shoes the the the whatever you name it right so then they want to skimp on the DJ they want to go like as low as possible I'm like let's be real no one is going to remember what your dress look like no one's going to remember what your shoes look like they're going to only remember that they had an amazing time and the right DJ is going to make sure that that happens and this is how it would sell that particular client on that because it's like yeah you got to understand how what's more valuable to you like in theory yeah the flowers are going to look beautiful and cool they're going to die and that's it the memory of this is going to last your your guest for a long time so you know you have to be able to weed out the clients that go you know it ain't that important to me it's like no then you know I'm not going to be the right guy for you you know I mean it's just not going to work yeah totally and you've actually built a business model where you have DJs that work on your team so now it's not just you like it's not just you going to every gig you have a team of DJs that you actually send out which is a real great takeaway for folks around like scalability like I know solo solopreneurs are kind of glorified I consider myself a solopreneur even though I have a very small team but if you think about like scaling and actually making some more money you have to figure out like how to duplicate yourself so at what point in your career did you be like okay it's time for me to like get some other DJs and grow this a little differently yeah for me I mean I had always kind of kept a small roster of guys around me that I trusted that in the event that I double booked you know that went to them right but as I began to get these bigger uh kind of like bigger uh contracts with let's say for instance the US Open where now I had to fill sorry mic Dro I'm sorry I'm sorry that is huge okay we need to make sure take a moment has there ever been a Latino like in-house DJ doing the US Open no there hasn't been W no no no I'm definitely the first for sure whether or not that gets it's known or again that might be something you can't Google because I don't think I don't think anyone's ever asked I think we need a press release for that one just saying you should approach the US Open and being like hey you want to celebrate yeah listen hisan month I need the look put the pr out there N I would love that but for me it was like when I was given these opportunities of working in these big venues all I could think about was I wish I had someone like me to kind of reach a hand back and say hey you know what I'm going to provide your first opportunity in this space whether it's Sports entertainment uh whatever it might be literally like let me try and cut down your time you know by the knowledge that I have right and the relationships that I've built up and the and the equity and that and then again also for scalability yes it does make sense to you build a business where we could be in several places at once and you know collecting obviously income from that you know that's that's valuable for sure yeah but I think what I based it all on was that idea of saying hey you know what these are some incredible venues let me not keep them to myself right these are incredible opportunities let me see how I can instead of like killing myself doing all of them let me not be greedy let me see if I could I got some guys who are very super talented that they may not have the ability to neg you know to uh to kind of like um not necessarily negotiate what I mean is like they don't have those connections they don't have those relationships it would take them a long time to develop those relationships let me let me let me cut that down in half and introduce you to these guys and into this you know new Arena yeah and not only that you're providing opportunity and kind of leaning back but you're also eating off of not having to be in the room that's everything right there right listen let's not forget about it let's not go over that LLY that is a blessing you a't even in room blessing I got I check my phone I'm like they're like oh it's over okay cool and I can go back to sleep exact I got to Che that in the account yeah I love that okay so hold on so let's Circle back so US Open you've also done like NBA Allstar Weekend yep you've also been like Madison Square Garden MH kind of Vibes and what are some other corporate things you have going on so as of recently I got back to working with Cadillac right and I saw your Instagrams I saw you pulling up in the caddy that's how does that work yeah so brand is like hey we want to work with you here's a car sort of it's kind of like that yeah in a way right so with Cadillac I have formed a relationship back in 2019 where they hired me to produce the music for a commercial so I basically project managed the whole audio side of the whole thing I made the music I produced the song and it was supposed to be for a small um Film Festival they were producing it it came out so great that it ended up becoming a national spot which is pretty incredible and exciting so do you collect royalties on that on that one I sold out right so yeah I did I did sell it out right there was a reason for that I don't know I think I think it was the right thing to do I think it was like it was the right move for me I don't think moving forward I wouldn't do it again but this one was it it worked out as like a P payout rather than the length of time it was going to run for we facted in a bunch of things okay okay consulted with again the the strong parts right I have a lawyer I have an entertainment lawyer who I go to with these opportunities and they're kind of advising me and so we went with that love that okay um so you did the National Commercial and then they're like hey we have this other campaign coming out yeah so then they started building back up so when they saw my involvement with the US Open they were like Hey we're doing some really cool things with influencers and things like that and if you check my social media I don't have huge num however the relationships and the people that I do know in that segment of people they are pretty uh they are influential you know they are more you know they have the numbers to back up all the things right and the metrics rather um but they saw the value in having someone like me who's in the rooms that I'm in having the conversations that I'm having and that's what was incredible about that brand is that they're able to see past what everyone else is doing which is kind of lazy marketing which is like let's just get the person that got 10,000 is going to communicate that same message versus hey there's a story here and we want to get back to working with Mod who worked with us in the very beginning I mean with this particular agency who put us with Cadillac and all that stuff so I think for that um is why that opportunity you know became you know it came to be rather so do you get to keep the car or I have it for a little while yeah I get to I get to they give me it's it's it's a loner it has to go back at some point but I'm enjoying it for for the meantime yeah dope is it like the newest version yeah and they gave me a choice of the cars that I could choose and everything like that they delivered it to the house in a truck Co cool experience so what's the responsibility like do they have a cap on how many miles you can have on the car or anything like that it's it's my car to do with I mean obviously I have to shoot some content around it right so those were the deliverables which was like we had a uh I want to say it was about four deliverables that I have to give to them over time right so I had one where I was DJing to DJ the I was on my way to DJ the NBA holiday party and then also I did a launch for them so they have like a uh theistic which is their new vehicle it's an electric um like luxury high-end vehicle so I djed the the kickoff for that dop and so you know things like that and then it all it was like synergistic and the timing of it and everything like that so God willing will build up for next year's US Open and keep your eyes tuned You Know Field I'm psyched about next year I'm psyed about next year okay so can we have a range of like what something like that goes for like if someone's negotiating with a brand right now sure like what does that look like well again you're going to have to be able to prove your value with that so everything that comes along with that so unless you're if we're talking about just providing a service that service is based on you know your your time you know what I mean and the cost of goods right so for an artist there there is no you know you're it's your it's your intellectual property it's your ideas it's that creative time so literally I build out a line item line by line let's say for instance for a commercial right if that's a commercial and how I would budget that out is each individual line item so I'm going to need an engineer I'm going to need musicians I'm going to need a vocal artist I'm going to need this and this that and then I kind of present that to them and they we go back and forth and we negotiate based on that right for the brand deals that becomes the events that I'm doing for them and in cond in conjunction with the what I need to provide for them like the deliverables and sort of like the content you know for them um in addition to the length of time that I have the car right so all that became more okay let's say there's not as much Budget on the front end of it but I can keep the car longer there's some value in that right for me to be able to have that vehicle with me um and then per events they paid my rate so that was that made me happy and I was good with that so we and then again the plans like you said the strategy that we have for next year and everything surrounding US Open the ideas that we're going to have doing what budget that will carry that's already written that's actually written down so those are the things of why okay maybe I'll take a little less on this because that I know because you guys value that more that's going to carry a big higher thing it's going to be a lot more work as well and that's the thing I think we need to instead of thinking about how much we can charge it's like how much value can I provide for you like you hire me to do one thing but I can do these several other things that are going to benefit you as well you're not just paying for this you know what I mean so if I if I kind of like um inflate my price to match the value versus the time CU it's for a 2hour event you can't I can't charge time right I could it would never make sense right and so I think when we look at those things say hey what's the value ad here that I'm bringing to the table for this short period of time or you know the duration of whatever your contract might be I think this is a good takeaway for folks because we need to think of ourselves as um I'm just going to make up this term like multiplier assets and what that means is um or maybe asset multiplier we have to play around with what it is but what that means is if a brand or a corporate is coming to you asking for one thing you are more than just that one thing so thinking about okay well what else can I bring to this table so that they can see kind of all of the value that I bring to the table things that they haven't even thought about right but I'm going to plant the seed and get even a bigger budget absolutely because we're introducing something didn't even think of that's exactly how I approach things that's you put you put it into better words than I could but it's it's exactly that right it's it's the preparation prior to these conversations that you're going to have that you're going to write down really what you bring to the table right what is my resume they're not they they're going to see a one sheeter they may know what they see on social media they might be that right you have to kind of remind them hey here's where the value is you're not only just hiring the guy that does the music at Madison Square Garden I've also done Carnegie Hall I've also done plays I've also done this I produce I make music I'm I have these relationships that I've had for 10 to 15 you know years that I've cultivated this Rolodex and these group of people that you know you have access to because of my relationships with them and so there there in lies and again saying that without you know any arrogance or anything like that but just saying it in terms of hey here's here here's what I bring to the table this is why this makes sense this is why the number is the number because you cannot compare a kid who just started right versus what you know the length the the you know amount of experience that I have right and so that's how I approach those those conversations and I think for you know young people just starting out or just anyone wherever you are in the stage of your life it's building up that kind of reputation yep that you can say hey this is what I've done the proof is there I don't need to do it for free yep because they those people paid me for it right if you're not the one that's going to pay me for it that's totally fine you can never negotiate up from zero I feel like that's going to be a really tough one for you to do you know what I mean how do you get yourself from zero to even $1,000 do you know what I mean for a person to go ahead and try to charge that so yep yep that's a good homework assignment for everybody so do like an asset checklist like literally write down everything that you have done all your value your wins your accomplishments the relationships that you have and use that to kind of build out your package when you're about to talk to a brand and literally bring like your full self and be like you know you should be thinking about these relationships long term anyway right it shouldn't be like a oneand done because if they got a budget for one thing they got a budget for many things absolutely so you want to be a part of all of it you know I mean and and here's here's what I want to speak to as well is like the two things there's there was the fact that I've had a lot of these clients that I've worked with like for instance US Open is since 2014 New York City FC which is the the Yankee State uh the MLS club that plays at a Yankee Stadium them I've been with since 2015 prior to that the NBA I've been working with them since 2008 these are long-term relationships that I've been able to benefit from other friends you know have been able to benefit from other DJs other you know guys that work for me have been able to benefit from them that's because I played the long game I made authentic relationships and I loved at your conference seeing that you built out that networking time for everybody for your guest to kind of like meet excuse me unfortunately people see that and they look at it as like let this be the transactional how can I hit this person up today and get something from them today like it might not be that it might be you planting a little seed it might be you sending them a note might be sending them a gift basket might be S there's so many things that I've done in the beginning of these relationships to solidify them to make them a bit more authentic to connect with them on a deeper level don't call them when you need something call them just to say hi to ask about their send them a note send them an email Christmas time comes around they're getting flooded by those messages send something that sounds a little bit more different like you know what I mean don't don't just happy holidays these people send earlier I usually send out M I try to do like top of November there you go like right after Halloween from that's your that's your competitive Advantage right like is being the be staying top of mind with them they can go with anybody right those big Brands they have the budget to get anybody that they want right how is it that you're gonna you know carve yourself a little niche to be able to say oh this person's memorable I love working with this person I enjoy the whole process with this person again it's a hands-off situation this gives me less stress I'm on the on the end put yourself in the shoes of the of the purchaser right like put yourself in the shoes of the client always think about that it's like how can you make their lives that much easier through this process that when they're wearing and they're sitting there I'll be at the I'll be at events and they're waiting on people and they're the catering's late and this and don't be that person like you have to be punctual you have to be onp don't give them anything to worry about and God willing you'll develop that reputation where it's like this is this is a no-brainer then I'm going to go with this person for that for that opportunity so let's get into the Talk That Talk segment okay where we address something Taboo in the Cultura so what is something you want to address in the culture okay I I would say again I think that stigma of discussing money right speaking to clients discuss in money undervaluing themselves DJs and musicians undervaluing themselves kind of creating a lot of noise in the space that really talented people that are business-minded are having a tough time to cut through what do you why do you think that is like why do you think Latinos have this difficult time talking about money I think you know what it is I think that we've been conditioned to think that money's the root of all evil right so I think think for for me I could speak to myself parents would always speak like that and it would always be like almost like make yourself small like Don't Rock the Boat don't do anything like you should just be happy to be there like this is cool that you're even just doing this like Adam you're I would hear this all the time where it was like oh my God you're just you're at Mas Square Garden like people they work their whole lives to just get that opportunity but you're going to go and ask for raise you're going to go in there and tell them that you want more money and well that's crazy and it was like this thing of like the people that I saw in those spaces that were doing my job that were maybe one step above me their kids are in private school they have a they have two houses they have a vacation home clearly they didn't fear speaking about money right finances were not an issue for them they were not uncomfortable to ask for a raise and to get what they felt that they deserved right so for me ultimately I think it's like one of those things where we have to kill that stigma of being like we don't deserve that like we just deserve to just be in the room versus being the people that really run the room right and I think we have the abilities in so many ways the skill sets in so many ways to be able to be those Executives in charge be those decision makers in charge be at the top of that kind of segment right and and then get paid appropriately you know like accordingly rather yeah and I think right now and I drop these stats often but yo Latinos have 3.4 trillion buying power like that's freaking huge huge we're the youngest generation in this country and what the youngans they drive culture they drive everything like they're the ones who's making the purchases that's right right right we also Latinos are purchasing the most online we consume the most content like literally we have the power to like make waves out here no question and having that data at your disposal should make you walk into rooms more confidently like you know and have moreyo like yo you are that one like you know what I mean like you have the power like demanding more like you deserve more you've earned it like our ancestors have earned it for us like you know what I mean so how would you how can we do this like how so I'm dropping data but what else like how can we get people comfortable talking about money so I think again opportunities like this for people to listen to these these conversations I think we ourselves amongst our own small circles right like we always think about this huge impact that we can have I'm like I talk to my team about this I talk to every DJ that I work with about this like these are conversations I immediately that's the first thing I I give lessons I do things like that anyone that I work with I'm always preaching to them like what you're exactly saying right and I do my best to hire always black and brown people and give them opportunities that I know that they wouldn't normally get to have you know let's say for instance going to the US Open and playing the US Open you know but everybody I mean every demographic I try to always think about and be mindful of right when I'm hiring and and bringing people on to these opportunities but for me I just always think about it in terms of the the fact that like you said you're trying to speak to this customer segment right and if you're speaking to this customer segment who better that knows their voice than you know a New York New York native who's also boriqua like this is what how I got the nycfc job and once I had that conversation once it was known that they were like this is exactly what we're looking for we're looking for an authentic voice someone who knows this this group of people this demographic and you have the data okay so now you have the data to support it you know how valuable this is to speak to them the right way to make sure that we hit the right points to make sure that they feel seen feel understood feel like they heard their music feel like they're represented in this space so they could continue to come back and and and support right you guys want their support right from from Brand's perspective they want the support in the form of dollars in form of you know kind of like the the that exchange right so um for me I think that starting off with your family and friends is going to be the best way and then grow grow that out you know as your network grows make sure that these conversations are always being had and again you you you being at the Forefront of this like running it up and bringing up the conversation is going to start the dialogue that's going to like light bulbs are going to go off God willing in people's heads they're going to be like no what I'm bringing to the table is way more valuable than I've given it credit to than I've given thought about you're not just you know a musician you're not just a makeup artist you're not just this or that you are someone who deserves to be in these spaces because you put in the work and anyone else with that level of experience had would would get you know triple what you would get off the top without having to negotiate for they would just offer it to you y there's a lot of people in positions of power that just get offer these things off the top they don't have to negotiate anything it's nepotism it's this it's that whatever those things are right like and that's it and I have friends who have qualifications and experience that would you know that laps these people and they're sitting there having three four rounds of conversations with these people to try and get what this person got with no effort right and often times we got to make that extra effort you know yeah and sometimes you may not be able to talk to your family and friends cuz they just don't get it maybe they have you know a scarcity mindset crab in a barrel sometimes it's your environment maybe you're a Visionary and you're thinking bigger and I think at that point you got to get in communities where they are willing to talk to you about money where it's kind of like Supernatural super normal even if you don't speak at the beginning but just witnessing people talking about money so fluidly like I remember when I first learned about like Consulting and going after corporate contract I was at this conference in Napa California and I'm sitting with this Latino consultant and he's telling me how he just locked in a sixf figure contract for like three months of work and speaking so nonchalantly like it was no big deal and I'm thinking in my head like wow like I make six figures of a year this dude is making six figures in three months like this is crazy but because I had the exposure and access now now I know oh that's possible like oh that's no big deal to talk about something like that like there you go it's pro quo right but you never really are able to get comfortable with something like that unless you insert yourself in those type of environments to expose you to those type of conversations no question and as you said as you mentioned like my upbringing did not I didn't have any examples of anyone that would ever be financially Savvy or have this information that I needed and through those relationships that I gained from working at the Scratch DJ Academy that DJ like I mentioned Todd malice I'm hearing him he's answering an email on the phone about Mercedes-Benz fashion week and he's like yeah Mo they're offering me three grand to go DJ for 2 hours which my head exploded I was like what do you mean and he's white T-shirt like you know he's he's so casual about it he's just all of everything about it was very casual and I was like I'll be spinning like trying to have this conversation or like you know what I mean at the time right and so it was great to see those examples of people that again had no type of fear off over over these conversations right and that kind of like again you you couldn't really is very very difficult to see yourself in it right until you actually are going through the process and all that and it's okay to fail it's okay to make those mistakes you want to fail as quickly as possible and as early as possible Right to cut down your time but absolutely learning from those mistakes and where you left money on the table the prior time uh again seeking that community seeking some sort of mentorship where that person you can check in with them and say hey I've got this opportunity can I run it buy you now I have those people that are doing you know numbers like they're they're way more successful than I I am at the moment and those are the people that I take advice from those are the people that like when you see the value in I I'm sorry I see the value in having those group of people around me that I'm not the smartest guy in the room this and this you guys got it like I'm learning so I'm going to shut up and I'm going to let you guys speak okay cool now I'm going to go out and practice it and then when I have you know some more information you know now I can contribute now I can help the next guy you know what I mean and I think that's that's what it all comes down to I love that so DJ mode tell the people where they can find you how they can stay connected to you all the things of course no the best way to get in touch with me is uh yeah probably Instagram is probably the best way follow me at DJ mode NYC and yeah from there you can message me any any questions you might have there's going to be some more rebranding with you know the site and everything like that coming in 2025 so but for now that's probably the easiest and best way to get in touch with me I love it well thank you and shout out to all of you for joining us I hope you got a lot out of this episode don't forget to leave us your reviews make sure to subscribe all the things so that we can make sure we are constantly providing content that you guys care about and that you find Value in and again thank you so much for joining us and I'll see you in the next episode y'all bye hey guys if you enjoyed this video I'm pretty sure you're going to love the next one so make sure to click right here and tap in to the next episode.

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