Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Kurowski.
Matthew, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Stumptown DJs was born out of necessity and a dream. Back in 2007, while living in Hermosa Beach, CA, I had a dream that I was living in Portland DJing in a giant warehouse. That dream caused me to decide that I had enough of California and that my new home should be Portland. But it wasn’t till 2008 that I decided to act on the DJ side of my dream. That was the year of the great US housing crisis and I had a job in sales at the time. Due to the big economic downturn, all my customers had a freeze on their marketing and advertising budgets and hence, I was left with no income to rely on. I decided I had to look for other ways to make money. Due to the business climate, finding a new 9 to 5 job was next to impossible so I decided to scour Craigslist in the gigs section to look for short time work.
As I was looking through the various ads, the word DJ came up several times. After thinking about it for a little bit, I decided this was something I could do to make ends meet. It was a good paying job for the short period of time invested and it sounded fun. For I already had been in charge of the music at many parties in my years past, plus I had over 1000 CDs and was versed in a lot of music. One of my big passions in life has always been music.
So I went on ebay and bought myself a simple DJ controller ( a midi controller of the time.), went to a few pawn shops and found a sound system that would work for my needs and bought myself a microphone. Next I went onto Youtube and started watching videos on how to DJ and use various DJ software. Finally I made a website and named the business after my favorite coffee and nick name for the new city I love. Born was the name “Stumptown DJs”
From then on, I started applying for DJ gigs through Craigslist and got hired for several birthday parties and graduation parties. I had noticed that there were many ads for Wedding DJs but I was too nervous to try those since I had never really DJ’d a wedding before, nor had I attended one in quite some time. Around July of 2008 I saw an ad for a Wedding DJ needed at a wedding ballroom in NE Portland. It said no real wedding experience was needed. The two main requirements for them: to be a DJ that was comfortable on the microphone and to own a large amount of music on a hard drive or CD’s. I had both, so I applied and got hired after one interview.
The DJs there taught me what to do in most situations, all the formal wedding protocols and music format for each part of a wedding. After DJing a few weddings, I was hooked. I absolutely loved this job! The joy it would bring people by the music I was choosing and the fun I had providing it all was something I had never really experienced before. From that point on, I started applying to other wedding gigs online on my own. Eventually, me and the ballroom parted ways and I was off doing this, one of the best side jobs I have ever had. When the economy recovered, I decided to get another job in sales for some more consistent income and keep DJing as a part time passion.
By 2010, I had grown tired of sales and wanted to go more into something more like Sport Marketing. The main thing I was lacking to achieve was a degree in business. I had got my undergrad degree in Engineering years ago, but that never was something I truly enjoyed. I was always more entrepreneurial and loved all the elements of running a business. But I never really had gotten a formal education on how to do that, it was all just trial and error. That’s when I decided to go back for my MBA at the University of Oregon’s executive MBA program.
It was during this time, of getting my Business education, that I realized Stumptown DJs could be more than just a side business. It could actually become a real business by hiring and training other DJs to work for me. Little did I know that it would become one of the most widely recognized DJ companies in Portland.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No it has not. There have been lots of ebbs and flows. From the first bad review, to the first time one of my DJs messed up at a wedding, to learning how to manage cash flow. There have been a ton of struggles along the way. But I found if I learned from our mistakes, figured out how to reduce those risks in the future as well as consistently learn about my craft and industry, I could be successful by just keeping my head to the ground and pushing on.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve tried to create a culture that all my staff feel respected, heard and part of a small DJ community. So not only do they enjoy what they do, they also make good money, and feel connected with everyone on our team.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
It takes a team to run a successful organization. It’s not a one person job.
Pricing:
- Weddings start at: $1,500 for 4 hours
- Corp Events start at: $1,200 for 4 hours
- Private Parties start at: $1,100 for 4 hours
- School Dances start at: $1,200 for 3 hours
- We also offer Karaoke, a photo booth and upgraded dance lighting
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stumptowndjs.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stumptowndjs
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stumptowndjs
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/stumptowndjs
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/stumptowndjs
