For several months prior to February 2013, I was on a mission: I was going to start an internet radio station.
I had been a radio DJ for my college radio station until my graduation in May 2011. With my career trajectory at the time, I knew there was no way that I would ever be taken seriously or hired as an actual radio DJ. But after experiencing it in college, I knew I had to do it again. This strong aspiration, coupled with an indifference towards my day-job at the time, led to this decision. That was the catalyst. I was going to create an internet radio station and hire myself. Simple. What could go wrong? Little did I know, this would culminate in February 2013. Exactly 10 years ago today.
Me, DJing at my college radio station in Sept 2010 (Credit Wennz Lauren) |
October 2012-December 2012 – There were a few things changing in my work life prior to February 2013. I was working as a long-term intern for my day-job at Siemens. Although my internship was enjoyable and paid well enough, my manager often struggled to justify my relevancy in the company, despite my strong capabilities and highly driven attitude. In October 2012, my manager told me that he could only guarantee my job for the next 12 months. This led me to apply for a part-time job, just in case! I had my job interview at Starbucks on Monday, December 31, 2012 and I was hired shortly after that.
Immediately after my interview at Starbucks, I went to a heavy metal New Year’s Eve party in Philadelphia. During this party, I discussed the details of creating an internet radio station with my close friend and soon-to-be close radio station colleague, Joe. He shared the same passion for the topic and I was very happy to have someone to help me with various tasks. This also gave me the idea: I should have all my friends be DJs! They are all literally walking heavy metal encyclopedias and they love to share their music with others! Additionally, they would be able to broadcast from home. What could possibly go wrong?
Joe and I, NYE 2012 (Credit Andrew Jantas) |
January 2013 – For a couple months prior to January 2013, I was supporting my colleague who was on maternity leave at my day-job. During January 2013, she announced that she would not be returning to her position and leaving the company permanently. Although I was sad to see a colleague leave our team, this was a great opportunity for me as I would be the top candidate for the job! However, to secure this permanent job, I just needed to work as hard as possible at the exact same time that I was creating an internet radio station and also at the exact same time that I started a part-time job at Starbucks. “I can do all of this simultaneously,” my 25-year-old self thought.
- For months, I had been planning to launch the internet radio station in February 2013.
- Because I thought that I was going to lose my permanent job, I started a part-time job at Starbucks in January 2013.
- Right after I started my part-time job, I found out that the colleague that I was backing up would be leaving the company and I will need to work more hours during my day-job.
- I was summoned for a Federal Grand Jury and obligated to go to Philadelphia every Thursday for the next 18 months.
- My finances. I was living alone at the time and paying all the bills on my own. I was able to afford everything, but money was tight. I was also being paid hourly, and the court only paid me $50 per day. In short, I would have received a 20% reduction in my work salary. I provided a copy of all my bills as proof.
- I was working to get a permanent job with my employer. Although my employer was not allowed to discriminate against me due to jury duty, they would likely find another reason to accept another applicant who is available 100% of the time, rather than me, who was only 80% available.
My home "studio", Mar 9, 2013 (Credit Chris McClure) |
- Working with my friends. Up to that point, I had been friends with a lot of the DJs but I was not close with them. Joe. Nikki. Matt. Jamal. There are too many people to mention everyone, but I loved that I had the perfect excuse to talk and hang out with all of them. Up to that point, I would just see them at concerts or at a bar. After we started the radio station, I was talking with each of them almost daily!
- Our live events. We would set up our equipment at a party or a local show and broadcast on location. These live events were some of our most popular broadcasts and they were especially fun for those who could attend in person.
- Curating a vast array of music. Our focus was mainly on heavy metal, and our Metal Monday line-up was particularly well represented! To balance it out, I hosted multiple pop music shows during weekday mornings (via playlist automation), as well as a K-Pop/J-Rock show.
- Strategy. My strategy was to start the radio station without commercials or advertisements. After we established an audience, I could use this to persuade potential advertisers to work with us. This worked in theory, but we never established an audience that was big enough to grab the attention of advertisers. This was due to lack of promotion.
- Marketing and promotion. When I started, marketing and promotion were the topics that I knew the least about. I made the incorrect assumption that people would inherently gravitate towards quality products or services. I believed in the radio station, and I thought others would too. This concept might be true on a small scale, but more promotion was necessary to build a larger audience.
- Identity. I didn’t have a vision of who we were or who we should be advertising to. I thought to myself, “we are broadcasting globally, so we should promote globally.” This was naïve and we should have narrowed our identity and our scope.
- Turning friends into colleagues. The 3 reasons listed above are all connected, but this one is different. I could handle making mistakes that just related to business decisions, but this mistake was much more personal to me. I’ll explain why.