Annie P. Dulhanty

I would say my work ethic and my drive. There have been gigs that I normally wouldn't have taken at the beginning of my career, even now, and I just take them anyway. It's not just like I show up and DJ - I have to carry all of my own equipment, which is heavy, I have to set it up, I have to tear it down, sometimes for just $300. But you never know who's going to be in that room. So it's kind of like your drive and your work ethic - while you might not want to be doing this, sometimes you have to take those steps to get to where you want to be. There's a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes as a DJ. I've taken pretty much every opportunity I've been given, because a lot of my bookings are word of mouth or based off of somebody seeing my Instagram or seeing me somewhere. A lot of my bookings have come from visibility in spaces and word of mouth from other people, and that's because I've taken every opportunity. You can't be too picky in the beginning unless you're set up for success in that way.

My number one thing would be to make sure you really understand all equipment across the board - know how to play on anything that's put in front of you. Whether it's turntables, vinyl, USB, laptop, controller, CDJs, whatever it might be. Even if you have to teach yourself via YouTube or sign up for a lesson, do it. I've had to do that a couple of times. Like, I had to DJ at a club and opened for a really big DJ, and he wanted this psycho equipment that I hadn't played on since I first started. While I knew I could have walked in and just done it, I wanted to make sure I was comfortable and give myself a refresh. Make sure you never miss an opportunity because you know how to play on everything. That's another way to prove yourself. Also, master problem-solving in the moment. Sometimes things can be really overwhelming if something goes wrong, because technology is technology. Like, my computer wasn't hooking up to the mixer correctly once, so I had to manually DJ and do it internally for my whole hour, which is super difficult. But I wasn't going to not do it because people were there to see me specifically. So just make sure you can stay calm and figure it out. And don't give up just because you've done something X amount of times and maybe it hasn't worked for you. That's okay - eventually you're going to find where you're supposed to be. Don't let people defer you from using your talent in the ways that you want to.

I would say there are not enough opportunities, and also, when it comes to being in entertainment, especially as a female, you're kind of looked at different than if they were looking at a man. Sometimes you get booked because you're pretty or you look different, and sometimes you don't get those opportunities because you look pretty - like, oh, there's no way she could be good at it because look at her. Sometimes you have to prove yourself over and over and over again. As a female, versus if you were a male, you prove yourself once or twice and he can be trusted. But the most challenging thing would be that it can be exhausting feeling like you have to prove yourself over and over again. And then pay, of course - I had a lot of challenges when I first started with men getting paid more than I was getting paid. We have the same experience, play the same amount of time, but for some reason they were getting paid more than I was. That can be a challenging conversation, always, payment. But I always tell people, your experience and your resume is where you land when you're having those conversations. Make sure you stand firm in that. Sometimes you have to give a little bit if it's something you really, really want, like a huge opportunity, but also remember that you don't take less than what you deserve.

Trust is huge for both. Trusting in the people that are booking you and you're working with, and them trusting you. As a DJ, that's a really big thing in our field to be able to be trusted. A lot of times people will book you and be like, this is what I want you to play, this is what I want you to do, and then they're picking apart everything you're doing. If you don't trust me, then I'm not able to showcase my abilities and my creativity and really create that environment that you're wanting, whether it be for a wedding or whatever it may be. I think it goes hand-in-hand with loyalty as well. That's how you keep residencies as a DJ - they're loyal to you because of the work that you provide, and you're loyal in turn. I'm big with loyalty in my friendships, my relationship, and my family. And then I would say the third would be support between you and the venue, or you and the bride and groom, or whoever you're working with. That support between the two people or parties is huge - sharing my flyer, me sharing their stuff, talking about them in rooms that they're not in, same for me. That support is huge, and again, same in my personal life.