Her Story
About Alena
I've been in DJing for 16 years and have owned Miami DJ Academy for almost 6 years. Before opening my academy, I worked in PR and marketing for almost 8 years, doing public relations for different companies in the healthcare industry and pharmaceutical companies. I'm originally from Moscow, where I did PR for the Ministry of Healthcare of Russian Federation. My marketing background helped me understand how to market my company effectively. After being a DJ for a few years, I decided I could share my knowledge with other like-minded people. I built a special curriculum and teaching method that allows me to teach 99.9% of people how to DJ in just 10 hours, and we even send those people to play in front of the public. We focus exclusively on electronic music - whether it's techno, afro house, house, or EDM - because only electronic music was specifically produced for DJs with special structure and timing. I've expanded beyond traditional DJ lessons to offer DJ masterclasses for corporate companies as an alternative to regular team building activities. This idea came when a DMS agency in Miami reached out asking if I could do a masterclass for their client Experian, one of the biggest financial companies, and I loved it so much I decided to expand those services. Now I have 10 employees at my DJ Academy and I'm hoping to open another location in South Florida. I'm also working with schools like Cushman and Miami Country Day, teaching little kids DJing, because I want to make DJing more accessible and show people that music is not only a night career but could be daytime with a healthy lifestyle.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Alena
01What do you attribute your success to?
I'm very disciplined and very ambitious, so when I have a goal, I'll go to it, no matter what.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would advise them, if they have a dream, they need to proceed it, because in DJing, there is no age. You can start any age. My youngest student is 7, and my oldest was above 70, and he was performing in a club. That's why I can tell there is no age in music, and if it's your dream, you have to follow your dream, because then you will regret that you didn't learn it.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges were to find DJ gigs when I was a DJ, like 10 years ago, because it was a very male-dominated market. To be a female and a DJ, it was very difficult to prove that you really know how to play music and you can actually play a nice DJ set. Now it's a little bit different - more women are becoming DJs, and more women are more welcome in the DJ field. As for opportunities, I can speak about Miami because I live here and I know the city. There are almost every bar in Miami has a DJ. It's very trendy in the city, so it's a great city to learn music, and even to have a DJ career as a side hustle. You can have your 9-to-5 job, and after that, you can easily go to any bar in Miami and perform as a DJ.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think honesty is very important for yourself and for other people. Faith and self-discipline are very important.
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