DJ D-Nice lifted spirits and broke Instagram with 'Club Quarantine'- Business Take-Aways

Yesterday, thanks to an invite from a Facebook friend (shout out to Jasmene Bowdry), I had the opportunity to attend the livest party in history.

I arrived to the party around 7 pm EST and at the time, there were approximately 17k people tuning in. The music was so great, that I shared it with my audience as well.

Hours later, the party was still going, and everyone you can name from Former First Lady Michelle Obama, Lenny Kravitz, Angela Bassett, Omari Hardwick, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Ava DuVernay, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Entertainment Tonight, Netflix, NFL… everybody and they mama came through.

And I watched the numbers climb... 40k, 50k, 70k, 100k, and in less than 24 hours, history was made.

Over 100k attendees were on Dj D-Nice (on Instagram @dnice) livestream and he was featured in major media outlets including CNN, Forbes, The New York Times in less than 24 hours.

And I shut the party down. The- you ain’t gotta go home, but can’t stay here- type of shut down. But the difference was that I was at home, quarantined, and for over eight hours straight, I had just attended the best party ever while in my own kitchen. I cooked, folded clothes, and danced the night away.

It was an amazing experience.

As an entrepreneur, I can’t help but to view this from a business perspective, so I want to share six  business lessons I learned from Dj D-Nice’s Homeschool, The Club Quarantine Edition.

1. Be willing to adapt.

 Obviously, I don’t know Dj D-Nice’s schedule, but from the looks of his Instagram posts last week, his business which was based on providing DJ services, had been impacted like many due to the mandatory quarantining and cancellation of parties, gatherings, performance engagements, and travel that required his presence. Instead of allowing the situation to deter him, he simply moved his skills to live video. He started out five days ago with a couple hundred attendees, and recently, that number exceeded 100k live attendees to his solo party.

2. Be yourself.

 Dressed in a plain, white v-neck t-shirt, he had about 12 hat changes during the 9-hour set. His hat changes became a thing that the attendees began looking and asking for. I can easily see this evolving into his own brand of hats or even a deal with a men's fashion line. Be authentic and allow your personal characteristics to set you apart from the crowd.

3. Have a way for people to easily pay you.

 Entrepreneurs make money in exchange for their products and services, and you should have a way for people to pay you easily. We all witnessed D-Nice serving a great time for hours on end, and attendees (including me), wanted to tip him for a job well done. Well, his team and loyal followers, shared his Cash App handle repeatedly in the comments. 

And guess what? People tipped him and encouraged others to do so as well. It was a simple and easy transaction. Not only did he position himself for high-end business for years to come, he also made money the night of. As an entrepreneur, you should always have a way for people to pay you, and you need to remember to make it as easy as possible.

4. Relationships Matter

At some point in his career, D-Nice made the pivot into Celebrity Dj’ing. Therefore, when his associates began spreading the word about his virtual parties, they were sharing it with their followers and with others who had large following as well.

Here’s the thing- he had been hosting the virtual parties consistently for several days just out of the love of doing it. He was already doing the work, and doing a great job at it.

His network helped spread the word (through sharing and telling others) and the next thing you know, he went viral.

Connect with others with whom you add value, and who can also add value to you.

5. Be exceptionally skilled

On Saturday, D-Nice performed for 9 hours straight, and he didn’t repeat a single song. That’s stamina, determination, and skill. Here’s the thing- his other virtual sets were hours long as well. What skills, qualities or characteristics must you have to be able to perform for 9 hours straight? Without sitting down? I’ll let you think about it and make the list.

6. Doing what others aren’t willing to do will eventually pay off

 He served. Simple as that. Amidst cancelled events, performances, and a time when he could have found every reason to be worried and discouraged, he served. He served us a good time when we all needed it the most. But he had already been doing it for days.

On day 5 of his virtual nine-hour sets, is when he went viral. It was the perfect mix.

A Saturday night. Clubs and entertainment shut down around the country and world. After a difficult week of layoffs, closings, cancellations, illnesses, deaths, and grim news related to the pandemic, his party was a moment of relief in a worldwide devastating situation. 

It was a moment for us all to simply relax and take our minds off things. 

Not to mention, the sound was quality. There wasn’t a lot of echo or background noise. You could place your phone on your speaker and literally jam for hours. 

And when he hit 100k+ attendees, he didn’t quit. When attendees began to log off, he performed for four more hours, and finally logged off around 2am EST.

Imagine that he quit the virtual party after the first few days when there were a couple hundred attendees? Or after two hours or so? Instead, he kept going, went viral, and made history in the process.

He became the person that influencers and brands went to so they could get an in-the-moment shout out from. With 100k live viewers, do you think all of those Politicians came on just because?

BONUS: (I thought about this after the fact). If you’re not using video to market your business, you WILL be left behind. Live-streaming. Recording videos. Short Clips. Become comfortable with it and use it to spread the word about your products and services.

Allow this to encourage you in your business. Work when others aren’t. Be innovative. And always, always go the extra mile. You simply don’t know who is watching, or how your efforts will pay off.

What changes will you make in your business during this quarantine? What adjustments will you make? And how will you use technology to make an impact?

Visit me here and let me know!