Jada Cohen

I would attribute my success to starting before I felt ready and just doing it. I started my DJ business with no connections, no roadmap, and the learning happened just by doing it myself, reaching out to others, getting mentors, and watching YouTube tutorials. What really pushed me forward was how quickly I realized it was becoming a real business involving pricing, contracts, client communication, and logistics, and I had to learn all of that on the fly. Over time, I found that the work I do speaks for itself. I've built my reputation on results, not really on selling myself to anyone up front. I also think it's been crucial for me to not put myself in a box or silo myself. I've built skills in different areas and learned how to translate them to different parts of my life, my classes, and my career. The most valuable part has been talking to people, speaking to professionals in roles I'm interested in, connecting with them on LinkedIn, and just being able to have conversations and gain their advice. People are genuinely interested in helping you, and people love talking about themselves.

My biggest thing would be to start before you feel ready, because you're never gonna fully feel ready. I started my business with no connections, just kind of winging it, and that's okay. Also, don't put yourself in a box or silo yourself. It's not really common to combine finance and management with music industry, at least at Northeastern, but it's really important to build skills in different areas and learn how to translate them to different parts of your life, your classes, or your career. Young women who stand out are the ones who refuse to be put in a box. Definitely just talk to people, speak to professionals, to people that are in roles you're interested in, and just connect with them on LinkedIn or talk to other people at school who might have a mutual connection. Just being able to have a conversation with someone and tell them the position you're in, the stage you're at, and gain their advice has been the most valuable part for me. People are genuinely interested in helping you, and people love talking about themselves. And specifically for the music industry, it's relationship-driven, mainly relationship-driven, more than almost any other field. Just be personal and specific, because people are gonna remember you. Create a community for other people, because a lot of people probably share the same or similar interests as you.

One of the biggest challenges I face is being taken seriously, because I'm a young woman in a space that's historically male-dominated. There are only a few well-established female DJs in Boston, so I've been working pretty hard to establish credibility, harder than other people, I would say. I've shown up to events where people have assumed I'm a guest, not the DJ. I've had to show proof that I'm actually running the event and providing the entertainment. But over time, I've found that the work I do speaks for itself. With my social media profile built out with professional media and having played over 60 events at this point, my reputation is built on results, and not really on selling myself to anyone up front. This experience actually shapes how I approach finance and entrepreneurship, because I lead with competence, and that kind of leads the way for me.