Photo by Flickr user n-d-d
“Do what you love, love what you do,
and deliver more than you promise.”
-Harvey Mackay
Growing up we always hear the phrase “do what you love, love what you do,” but don’t really think of it too much. That is, until we’re older and realize that if we stray away from doing what we love to do or have fun doing…well, life just isn’t all that it’s cracked up or hyped up to be!
A lot of you probably read my post Listen to Your Heart and thought I was going all emo on you guys. Don’t worry I’m not and I’m completely sane! So, since I left The Southern California Group and the sales world I’ve started working for InternetBrands (NasdaqGS: INET) located in El Segundo with the fancy title as a Marketing Support Analyst. However, we won’t be publicly traded come the new year because of the acquisition by Hellman & Friedman. I’m definitely not a fan of the corporate world, but having an interest in social media, online marketing, web development and anything having to do with or relating to the internet; all things considered it’s a pretty cool gig. I get to oogle over analytical data for websites with over millions of unique visitors a month, manage thousands of dollars worth of pay-per-click campaigns, and see exactly how lead gen websites can individually pull in over $1 million in revenue a year. To get to the bottom of it all…I’m learning and that’s what matters most to me.
What I’ve realized after graduating is that you should have fun doing whatever it is you’re doing (or at least be learning and acquiring skill sets you can take with you on future endeavors). Within the last year I’ve had many ups and downs. Probably safe to say more downs than ups. In this economy I’m sure a lot of you feel the same way. With that, music has played a huge role in my life. It gets the blood flowing through my veins and literally pulls me back up when I’m discouraged. I’ve come to love and to appreciate pretty much all genres of music (maybe not all, but I’m working on it). I wrote a post titled Music: The Universal Language if you’re bored and want to read it. I promise it won’t bore you to death.
Because of my new found appreciation and love for music both my brother and I have collaborated. We decided to stop over thinking/analyzing this and that, to just purchase the (premium) domain, and put together the Drop Beats Not Bombs website. It’s a WIP (Work In Progress), but we’re slowly working on it, mainly concentrated on content right now. Being quite the optimistic business minded individuals we have big plans for the future.
My brother (Glenn) and I would like to take advantage of an phrase already popular with the realm and culture of politics and music. Because of our appreciation for music and it being a popular phrase in the music world we thought we could do something with it. Plus, when people are asked to write down 5 things they couldn’t live without music is usually one of those things on the list or something directly having to do with music such as an iPod. Essentially, we will market the phrase to other music enthusiasts, DJs, and the likes, build a brand along with recognition, but also take advantage of the fact that we’re identical twins and use ourselves to market our idea/business as well. We had high hopes of trademarking the phrase, but we all know that’s not likely to happen considering the fact that people have been using the phrase and selling apparel for years. If Facebook can get the trademark on “Face” then I guess all we can do is hope for the future!
So what goes through my mind when I think about Drop Beats Not Bombs? A LOT. I think about first and foremost building a community and expanding it nationwide (then globally), event coverage (starting with LA and the OC), having a mob of photographers, a clothing line, strategic partnerships, a radio station (daily or weekly online podcasts/broadcasts), media coverage (think current.com), monthly magazine, and heck maybe even our own record label! Keeping all of that in mind my brother and I also want to be able to give back to the less fortunate. We have a few ideas for the model and structure of the business, but the one that sticks out most right now is 50%+ of profit generated from apparel sales goes to charity or through non-profit organization that we set up (think TOMS shoes)! We would also like to coordinate an annual Drop Beats Not Bombs event featuring artists and DJs from around the world (think Warped Tour). Throw all of this into a mixing bowl and we’ve got ourselves a pretty sweet business!
This incorporates a lot of what I’ve always wanted…Being able to start and own a business, the internet (online marketing and social media), photography, starting a non-profit organization and being active within the philanthropy world, and starting a clothing line. All of this is fused with music something I’m interested in, can have fun with, and ultimately start something great epic; a legacy.
I know this is a lot to grasp all at once and that’s why we’re staying focused on building a community first and foremost. Then we’ll work on the next thing..and then the next. Money isn’t even on the forefront of our minds (Glenn and I). Eventually, after gradually building upon each individual foundation we’ll have ourselves a pretty awesome business. My goal is to keep my personal core values incorporated within the business model and growth. And yes, we know there are a lot of competitors and websites out there like us, but we’re going to rely on the phrase, ourselves, our passion, and you, our friends, and family to help us grow. Drop Beats Not Bombs isn’t just propaganda, it’s a movement.
With all of that said our train is leaving the station and we’re prepared for the journey. The question is, are you hopping on for the ride or staying behind? Because we’re leaving with or without you!
If you’re reading this we’d also love any support you could give us! You can follow Drop Beats Not Bombs on twitter @DBNBmusic and “Like” our Drop Beats Not Bombs Facebook page