Old Mutual On The Money
Old Mutual On The Money
Money Managing Tips from South Africa's own DJ Fresh
Arguably South Africa’s best-known DJ and media personality, DJ Fresh has been entertaining the country for decades. Yet when building an empire like his, you need more than raw talent. Fresh sat with our Head of Financial Education, John Manyike, to discuss the value of discipline, work ethic, and money management in his personal and professional life.
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Old Mutual 00:00
Welcome to the On The Money Podcast with John Manyike.
John Manyike 00:04
DJ Fresh.
DJ Fresh 00:05
Brother.
John Manyike 00:06
How are you, brother?
DJ Fresh 00:08
I’m good, how you doing?
John Manyike 00:09
No, I'm good. I'm good. I must be honest. I mean, you've interviewed me a couple of times.
DJ Fresh 00:13
I was gonna say it's wild that five, six years ago, I was interviewing you.
John Manyike 00:17
Yes. In fact, for how long, for about six months or so?
DJ Fresh 00:20
Almost a year.
John Manyike 00:21
But I guess maybe I'm trying to walk in your office, no matter if I can't spin them.
DJ Fresh 00:24
And I can't manage money like you, so [laugh].
John Manyike 00:27
That is if it's there. [Laughs]. So, you know, one thing that's unique about South Africans in particular, nobody is interested in entertaining this idea or not, but DJ Fresh is originally from Botswana, you are our person.
DJ Fresh 00:44
Sure.
John Manyike 00:44
You know, so how do you feel about this love?
DJ Fresh 00:46
You know, to tell you the honest truth, wherever it is that you are impactful, you always love.
John Manyike 00:51
Yes.
DJ Fresh 00:53
And that's what everything is about. If you're not impacting people's lives, if you're not affecting change, if you're not a positive force in people's lives, then you have no use to those people.
John Manyike 01:04
That's true.
DJ Fresh 01:05
So, it doesn't matter where I am, whether I'm in China, South Africa, or the US, my point is, leave a mark, be memorable.
John Manyike 01:12
Wherever you are.
DJ Fresh 01:13
Yes, sir.
John Manyike 01:14
But somebody must have instilled these principles in you now or how did that come about?
DJ Fresh 01:19
I think, you know, as you grow, in fact, I'm here with my folks, because folks, my folks are visiting. And so I mean, just watching how hard they worked to make sure we got the good things. It’s not gonna tell you a story about her life was tough. You know, folks were like, very hard to make sure that we went to the best schools that we lived in a good area that we had good food to eat, and that were raised right.
John Manyike 01:41
Yeah.
DJ Fresh 01:41
Yeah. And I think it all adds up. Like, a lot of the inspiration, I can link directly to my folks, their work ethic.
John Manyike 01:49
So, what were the toughest moments there? Because I mean, people look at you now and say, Wow, look at DJ Fresh. I mean, you're just cruising. It's not like you were born with a silver spoon. I mean, let's talk about those humble beginnings, and yeah, what was it like?
DJ Fresh 02:01
One of my biggest complaints about childhood, and that is why as much as I possibly can. I'm trying to fix that with my kids. Unfortunately, the downside of parents working very hard, is you don't get to spend enough time with them.
John Manyike 02:19
That's true.
DJ Fresh 02:20
And unfortunately, no amount of getting your kids everything they want can replace time spent. So, I often look back and wish we’d spend more time. That's what a lot of us parents make the mistake of doing within as long as I buy them the PlayStation or buy them this or buy them that they want Nikes or buy them that sneakers, the kids just want time.
John Manyike 02:43
I'm wondering how many parents have relegated responsibility to Google that children are being fathered and mothered by Google?
DJ Fresh 02:52
Exactly.
John Manyike 02:53
But when the child is trying to spend time is asking a question…
DJ Fresh 02:56
Or watch the TV.
John Manyike 02:58
Yeah.
DJ Fresh 02:59
And unfortunately, you know, the internet is a gift, that's also a curse.
John Manyike 03:04
That's true.
DJ Fresh 03:05
And if we don't help them manage that time on it that is also problematic. And even ourselves the fact that we are not willing to Google with them problem and at the very least if your child is asking Google with them. So, if you also, you don't know, let’s both learn.
John Manyike 03:25
That's true.
DJ Fresh 03:26
You know what I mean? So, that for me that's, that's the, that's the biggest challenge and parental guilt. I mean, I've been dealing with parental guilt for the last 25 years. Where it just, it, there's not a moment I don't feel guilty about the time I can spend with the kids. It's a horrible feeling.
John Manyike 03:39
Wow. So, how did the money thing work with you and growing up? I mean, it's not an easy subject amongst black people.
DJ Fresh 03:45
Especially when your parents are sitting here.
John Manyike 03:51
Was it ever even a topic because in some families it’s a topic?
DJ Fresh 03:54
It wasn't necessarily a topic we discussed. But watching a money habits often forms yours. Or watching bad money habits often informs what you change to break that chain.
John Manyike 04:11
Yeah.
DJ Fresh 04:11
It's not like we were spoilt. It was, you know, you'll get the basics. You know, you'll get a roof over your head. You'll get basic clothes, like sneakers. I mean, I got North Stars. It was a case of if you want something luxurious. You must work for it and get it. In hindsight, I fully appreciate it. Because then you have, you develop a sense of you need to work for these things.
John Manyike 04:36
Yeah.
DJ Fresh 04:36
They can't just be thrown in your lap. But obviously, you don't understand at the time that maybe you are being taught to appreciate that will get you the basics. But if you want more than the basics, then you work hard yourself, you get it yourself.
John Manyike 04:50
So, what were the financial habits that you would have observed or the way they were handling this whole thing of money or to get you to respect money?
DJ Fresh 04:59
The one lesson I learnt, because the folks were their business people also, it was to differentiate between this is the business. And you must grow, draw a salary from the business. And make do with that, and allow the business to grow. Unfortunately, a lot of our parents often didn't differentiate between this is the business and you're not the business. Therefore, you can just take money from the till and go buy groceries. And so that's one thing I learned as I started in the industry that set up a business, or a company, through which all my income runs. So, that's the voiceovers, the gigs, any money that came into the company, I draw a salary. I leave everything in the company, whether the salary is enough or not, you better make do with it. And I think the discipline of understanding that, serves you better as you are building or trying to build money habits. And unfortunately, ill-discipline is the biggest downfall of the human race.
John Manyike 06:02
Yeah.
DJ Fresh 0602
We're just not disciplined as animals. So, learning that for me was difficult. I often speak to younger DJs and people in our industry, that even if all you earn is 100 Rand, get into the habit of putting some of it away. Because if you can manage frugally, 100 bucks, a million bucks will be nothing. But if you are reckless, with 100 bucks, you'll be reckless with a million bucks.
John Manyike 06:29
That's true.
DJ Fresh 06:30
For me, these are habits you have to learn. They're not easy. It's not easy. Especially you see money, you see a nice car, you want to get the car. You know, or you see credit, you think I know, you know, and you forget that no, this is credit. This is not your money. These are some of the disciplines I've had to learn. And often you default because you're human. And the pair of shoes was calling your name, or the cow was calling your name. But you know, if you can stay within that discipline, you'll thank yourself later.
John Manyike 07:01
You know, I've had a chat with a couple of young DJs, who are just starting off and they're seeing their career take off. They have this thing out of that I'm making money, it will always come. What would you say to a young DJ like that, starting to get these bookings, they think it will stay this way.
DJ Fresh 07:18
The thing is I see it all the time. You know, sometimes you want to pick up a phone and call a guy. But also you ask yourself, do I want to open up a door of disrespect because you know, you don't know how they're gonna respond?
John Manyike 07:29
Yeah.
DJ Fresh 07:30
Or from which place are they gonna receive it? Because you mean well. Like, you've bought five cars in 10 months? Why? You know what? I mean, why don't you pay off your home rather than have five cars for five months? So, you know, some have advised and they've listened others. It's a case of all we can do is watch.
John Manyike 07:49
Yeah.
DJ Fresh 07:49
But one thing Covid taught me was that the proverbial always have three months of income in reserve. It's not enough.
John Manyike 07:59
No, that’s not. It's not. It's not.
DJ Fresh 07:59
[Laughs] And I mean, it's been preached to us for years. That always make sure you have a funding and they can last you three months. And eventually, you don't have employment. It's bad enough, the average employee is one paycheck, from the bankrupt, that we're literally living hand to mouth, we're living hand to mouth. So, Covid found me already but just for three months.
John Manyike 08:23
Yeah. And three months is not good enough. Because you don't know how long this thing is.
DJ Fresh 08:27
Exactly. Because, you know, we're not to say for three months, it's that whatever happens, hopefully, you get another job or whatever it is. But we never took, actual scientists never took a pandemic into-
John Manyike 08:37
Not at all.
DJ Fresh 08:37
So, Covid taught me that much. But luckily, because I'm also very enterprising, we're able to stay afloat, because now we didn't have gigs. But I still have stuff to pay. I still have school fees to pay, still have bonds to pay, you still have car to pay. And the fact that I managed to go through Covid without having to say to the bank, I need a payment holiday. You know, either for the bond or for the car, you know, I got out of Covid feeling like, “Oh wow, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.”
John Manyike 09:08
Yeah.
DJ Fresh 09:08
Yes, we're still recovering. But it could have been worse.
John Manyike 09:11
You know, I've heard I won't mention names, I mean, lots of celebrities who are very difficult to access in general. But got Covid and sent a WhatsApp saying “Hi”.
DJ Fresh 09:22
Covid was actually brutal. It was brutal to a lot of people. And because me generally, I'm a giving person. I mean, I was supporting about eight families of people in our industry that had zero income. You know, you're a band member and now there's no gigs. And because you're a band member to someone who sings, they can't exactly pay you. Because they're not making money either. So, I was literally getting groceries for up to eight families every month to Covid. Because that's how bad it was. And unfortunately, it's a bad habit I have, that it doesn't matter how little I have, I will still help someone.
John Manyike 09:57
What has been the toughest money lesson you've ever learned?
DJ Fresh 10:01
It's never enough. I now understand why extremely rich people are still greedy.
John Manyike 10:09
Yeah.
DJ Fresh 10:10
It's never enough.
John Manyike 10:11
It's not enough.
DJ Fresh 10:11
Yeah, I want to help people all the time. I'm that guy. That if I have one Rand, I'll give you 10 cents if I can buy you something. So, my toughest money lesson is learning that I need to look after my money before I can let other people have access to it. It's a tough lesson to learn because my calling is to make a difference in people's lives. You know, people call me a broadcaster. I'm not a broadcaster. Radio is a platform through which I can make people's lives better. That's why I view everything that I do through the lens of, but will it make someone's life better? So, because that's my calling, it becomes difficult for me not to help people, even when I can't afford to help those people.
John Manyike 10:56
How do you handle disappointment?
DJ Fresh 10:58
I handle disappointment by keeping it moving.
John Manyike 11:03
Okay.
DJ Fresh 11:04
You know, many have called me a heartless or unfeeling. Because of my ability to keep it moving. Winston Churchill said, “If you're going through hell, keep going”. I'm that guy. If the stuff has hit the fan, everything is on fire. I'm not like running around looking for a fire hose. Where do we get out of this fire?
John Manyike 11:24
Yeah.
DJ Fresh 11:24
How do you get out of this situation? How do you keep it moving? How do you rebuild at the end of the fire? But what are you sticking around? Everything is pending. What are you? What are you thinking about? Because of that I've got an ability to literally if you tell me my job is finished right now, I'm not a sitting Cry. There was much of finished. For me, it's okay. The job is finished. I must go find another job. And literally a week later, you are literally in my past. Like, literally, that's how quick, I can move on.
John Manyike 11:52
Yeah. And I think for me, that's a rare skill for many people. But I guess maybe, maybe one of the biggest challenges relying on a single income.
DJ Fresh 11:59
Yeah. Single income is problematic, especially in our industry, where a lot of us are dependent on a God given talent. But included in your talents was not an ability to diversify, or to find other ways of leveraging the talent. And again, that's what I preach to a lot of kids getting into the industry that your income in entertainment should be 25% potentially, of how much you can make a month. Because already you've got the spotlight on you. Why not leverage in that spotlight? You're meeting people who are influential every day. While you're not networking to find out? How can I use my relationship with you to get to another door that I might need to have opened? And until we learn how to network within our industry, until our education department sees why, for instance, project management must be a compulsory course at school. Can you imagine if every child was taught project management at primary school? Because your homework is a project.
John Manyike 13:06
Yes, it is.
DJ Fresh 13:07
Your school project is a project, managing your friendships is a project. In fact, your entire life is a project. Why are we not teaching kids project management from an early age? We would have less failures across the board if we taught kids basics like that. Money wisdom, I will not teach him that at school. A tax, why not teaching that at school? And critical thinking why we're not teaching that at school. If we had all of these things compulsory along our schooling career, we'd have totally different human beings to the 8 billion wherever on the planet right now.
John Manyike 13:40
I think part of maybe the reason a lot of people struggle with starting a new business when they thinking I don't because I've got this great idea when I start it t will succeed. But it doesn't always take off. Have you tried some businesses that didn't take off that failed dismally?
DJ Fresh 13:56
I think the first problem is entrepreneurship has been glamorized, it's been glamorized to a level. That doesn't make sense. There is nothing pretty about entrepreneurship. It's sleepless nights. It's stress. It's anxiety. It's not seeing your family. It's if you do it right. It's been broke for a very long time before your business takes off. I mean, when we started, “Oh Ship” - is a cruise I do with Euphonik. The first three years of Oh Ship, we either lost money, or we broke even like the first three years. It's only year four, that we just more than broke even. And then it just started building and building and building. And until you've built a business from scratch, to maybe it's not worth it to okay, there's light at the end of the tunnel, to the light at the end of the tunnel is not a train, or there's hope. Okay, we made 10 bucks today. Until you build a business from that to there, you’re not entrepreneurs. You’re not entrepreneurs. You're not. And unfortunately, the guys who have a lot of money often make it seem like it's easy to make the money. Or that it's, you know, all I do the whole day is drive a Porsche, you know, a sail on yachts, and go to Cannes for the, for the for the Cannes Film Festival. The real entrepreneurs go through hell every day. You know, we need to tell people the truth. That it's, you're gonna struggle, you're gonna have cashflow problems, you're gonna have days where you want to go to the till, because there's no bread at home. But if you go to the till, because there's no bread at home, because maybe your little salary you didn't manage well for the month, then you're affecting the cash flow of the business. So, now you're choosing between do I get bread? Or do I let the business run independently of me? Because I am not the business. And I think that's the biggest challenge with us in the arts. As much as you are the business because your talent is the generator of the income, you need to separate the talent from your personal life. Hence, I say set up a company, draw a little salary, and let the business grow.
John Manyike 15:50
If you were to look at yourself, let's say 15 years ago in terms of how you might handle finances there. Are there specific things that you think I could have done this differently? If you know what, you know now?
DJ Fresh 16:03
I wasted a lot of money on cars, because we release releasing an album or two every year since 1998, ‘99. Every time we dropped a new album, I'd go change my car. Sure, because we know what dropping Fresh House flavor. We go to EMI and we get it in advance.
John Manyike 16:20
Yes.
DJ Fresh 16:21
Go buy a new car, those are waste. Like those no need for that. And it took my mentor Oskido saying to me, what are you doing? Like, buy property. Like why? What is this? But also, you know, Oskido went through a stage where he was driving an ML, a Mercedes ML. And I was inspired. I went and bought a ML myself. So, next time I see Oskido is in a Corolla. He's like, “Man, stop wasting money on cars”. Go buy property. And for me, that was the turning point in terms of my relationship with cars versus my relationship with the property. That unless you have made at bucket load of money, don't waste money on cars. And unfortunately, we've turned cars into such a status symbol. That if you are in our industry, and you're not driving, people look down on you, or people feel like, but you're on TV.
John Manyike 17:14
Yeah, you're supposed to keep the standard.
DJ Fresh 17:16
I mean, because of Uber. I say, if you don't need a car, don't get a car. If it's between, I'm gonna pay 5 to 10 grand a month on a car, or spend three grand on Ubers every month, while you blow your money on a car, when you could save seven grand, because now you have means of transport. In other economies, you take the train, you take the bus, because they've got a transport system that works.
John Manyike 17:43
And you don't actually need a car.
DJ Fresh 17:45
And now that we have an option of an Uber or a Taxify, if you don't need a car, don’t get one. But now there's the pressure of the industry. Sure, but you're on TV and you know, you’re not driving a four-pipe, four-pipe for what? Because you're not there when I can't sleep because those pipes are demanding fuel. So, I think we need a shift in mindset. And unfortunately, I often argue that for significant change to happen, something needs to break. And until something breaks in how we perceive money, we perceive success until something breaks even in us, nothing's gonna change. We're gonna care, it's literally a vicious cycle.
John Manyike 18:26
And isn't this though propelled by, you know, artists who know very well that if they have huge followers and then they are flexing, you see them taking pictures with this very…. I'm not saying a person shouldn't everybody is entitled to do what they want to do with their lives and, and show us all the, you know, most expensive stuff that they have. But this, this value, what does it mean?
DJ Fresh 18:54
You know what? I think conspicuous consumption is a global problem. At some stage someone wants to show something off. Including our politicians. Even our politicians do it. You know, politicians half the time are wearing shoes that cost more than a, you know, a small car, or watches that, you know, maybe it's knock offs. But it doesn't matter whether you're wearing a knockoff or not. We don't know it's a knockoff. Yeah. So the fact that even our leaders are consuming conspicuously, it's a problem. But whose responsibility is it to remind your kids or my kids that often it's smoke and mirrors? Versus for all, you know, the, someone else who's funding that lifestyle live within your means, for instance, whose responsibility is this? Because at some stage, we have to take responsibility for ourselves, and for our immediate family, and for immediate friends. We can't blame the music, that someone took a gun and went and shot people. If you've laid the foundation for a decent human being to grow, no amount of music or social media will deter them from where they're going.
John Manyike 20:01
Yeah. How are you going about preparing your money now to take care of you when you can't take care of yourself?
DJ Fresh 20:08
You know what when I started working at YFM in 1997, by January 1998, a friend of mine, Thabo Mokwele from Kaya FM, introduced me to another Mokwele, And through him, I started a couple of small investments, life policies. So, even at the height of Covid, and weigh incomes with everyone who's struggling. I've made sure that those contributions don't stop. Because for me, medical aid is very important. So, those contributions can't stop. Insurance is important, those can't stop. You know, whatever, little of investments or offshores that I have, can't stop those. I'd rather we eat less expensive than have to stop those. Because it's like insurance. You hate insurance but until you're in between insurances. And then a tree falls on your car. Then what? So now, for me, those are non-negotiables. Those are non-negotiables. You know, tomorrow, you, you, you die, you're kids are left destitute because you haven't thought of all of those. So for me, those are non-negotiables.
John Manyike 21:11
You have a lot of intellectual property that you build over decades. How are you ensuring that even when you're not around, that your children can live off the legacy of what left?
DJ Fresh 21:25
If, for instance, you're making music, it's important that the paperwork is in order, especially in this age now of all it takes is one of your songs going viral, you know, for it become a global sensation. And all of a sudden your fortunes change. All it takes is one song for that to happen. So, I think it's always important that the paperwork is in order for anything that you do, or for anything that you IP is attached to, you know, the rest, I guess it's up to the Gods, because there's no guarantee that your intellectual property is going to turn into a multimillion strike product. But in the event that it does, is everything in order. I mean, you saw what happened with Jerusalema. When that song went viral and global. All of a sudden, there is, but it's my song. I produced the song. I wrote the song. If there was comprehensive paperwork. They wouldn't have had to have that.
John Manyike 22:14
Back that argument.
DJ Fresh 22:15
Exactly. So, paperwork is everything.
John Manyike 22:19
Yeah, everything. If DJ Fresh's bank account called you, what would the bank account be saying to you?
DJ Fresh 22:24
Wake up, what are you doing [laughs]?
John Manyike 22:29
Means, there's still some work to be done.
DJ Fresh 22:31
It would shout at me for the frivolous purchases I've made in the past. Because like I said, I mean, when we were younger, I mean, in our mid to late 20s, we were literally just printing money. It was it was actually unnecessary. And a part of it saddens me, but I regret none of it, though. Because in the bigger scheme of things when you die, what you take with you is the memories you've created, not what's in your bank account. So, I preached all the time. If you're gonna blow money, blow it on experiences that you look back on and you say, “Wow, I've lived my life”. Because ultimately, that's all you're leaving with. If like in the movies, if you're about to die, your life flashes in front of you, what's flashing in front of you? You know, have you created enough good memories to say it was a life worth living? So, as much as I might scold myself for some of my, my purchases, I don't regret them because they were experiences.
John Manyike 23:29
I'm sure you get called out and mentioned the name of some of these clubs very upmarket and well known and where you come and DJ, and you see a person blowing 200k that night, and you you're busy playing there, it must be hard for you looking at that knowing what you know about money, and you're seeing people having fun and saying, “Well, that's how I entertain myself”.
DJ Fresh 23:53
Again, you know, it's, it's also the flip side of that coin is, who am I to judge? You know, and often all our hope is, whatever money you're blowing, is your portion of whatever the money is. If I see it every year, yeah, where a guy gets a nice project or a tender. And before the project has even started, they bought a car. Or they bought a property, or they go to the lotto, they get whatever funding they're gonna get, you get 10 million Rand, 6 million goes into the house before you started your project. Like, what are we doing? So, I don't care how you blow your money. Just make sure you're spending your money from whatever money they otherwise there's a problem.
John Manyike 24:37
If you saw a guy like that, or let's say somebody you know, very well, and you can see they're flexing and they're blowing it and all that. And the next thing they fallen in, they come to you say I need help, how do you respond to somebody like that?
DJ Fresh 24:52
Previously, a might see what I can do. But what Covid also taught me was it's okay to say no, or it's okay to say I can't, it's okay to say you called me the wrong time. Yeah. But I will never say to you, but when what do you do? I'm not, I'm not that guy. Who's gonna say but what were you doing? You had money the other day. It’s not, it's not my place. Because already you're suffering enough. Now, someone you're asking for help is gonna gloat in your face about your misfortune? I'm not, I'm not that guy.
John Manyike 25:18
It's true. I mean, one needs to be very careful about giving unsolicited advice. I heard somebody say they saw a homeless person. And they decided to give them 100 Rand. So, immediately, when they gave this person 100 Rand, they said to this homeless person, “Please don't go and buy drugs, or glue” or this guy, this homeless guy just turn and look and say,“Do I tell you what to do with your money?” So, it's very dangerous to give unsolicited advice. But and which is something I'm going to ask you finally. If you were to talk to not just the young and upcoming DJs, I'm talking about even the well-established DJs, or anybody in the creative arts, when it comes to handling money about, you know, the fact that you have it now doesn't mean you will have it tomorrow, what sort of advice would you give to people like that?
DJ Fresh 26:11
I'm in two minds about spend your money, because tomorrow is not promised or guaranteed. But also, it's a long life living and you've got children or family or dependents. You know, hence, I say, as long as for every 100 Rand’s that you're making, you're putting something away for either the rainy day, or for, you know, an unfortunate event that is coming, that you're gonna pass away, that there is something left over. But we also need to remember not to be afraid to celebrate our little milestones.
John Manyike 26:43
That's right.
DJ Fresh 26:44
Because it's the little milestones that encourage us to keep going to build a dream bigger. So, as much as I'm not gonna say, blow your money but don't be afraid. Don't feel guilty about celebrating your little milestone. I don't think we celebrate ourselves enough. I think often we are unkind to ourselves. We beat ourselves too much. And unfortunately, your voice is very powerful and we talked about the power of manifestation. Where, you know, if you dream it and you say it and you want it, it will happen. But you're also the first person to call yourself stupid. You're so dumb. Why did you do this? This the same powerful voice that you're hoping will help you manifest that you're using to pull yourself down. What do you think is going to happen if you're unkind to yourself? If your voice is that powerful, then really you are stupid. I think as much as we always preach, kindness, it starts here first. Be kind to yourself. You'll be amazed at what a happy self because have self can achieve.
John Manyike 27:49
I’m sure you watch the show I blew it. What do you think has gone wrong there?
DJ Fresh 27:52
Again, it's discipline and not having money habits instilled in you from an early age. Back to what I was saying that if you are reckless with 100 bucks, you'll be reckless with a million bucks. But if you know how to spread 100 bucks and get value out of 100 bucks, then having a million bucks will not actually, you will not flinch, versus a million bucks. It's just more money to manage. But because you can manage the small amounts, so that’s a discipline.
John Manyike 28:22
Thank you so much. We really appreciate you.
DJ Fresh 28:23
Are we done?
John Manyike 28:26
Sometimes, like they say brevity is a matter of wisdom. I think the little that you've shared, I'm sure a lot of people will pick up something there. You've said a lot of wise things.
DJ Fresh 28:37
But now also just add, especially to kids wanting to get into the industry. You know, a lot of kids think this industry is glamorous, and it's easy money. It's rough, especially after Covid, 90% of the DJs I know that we're career DJs have gone back to a nine to five. Because things are that rough. So, you need to consider all of that. When you're considering a career in this industry. Yes, it might be your passion. Yes, you might be talented, but until you have made it enough that you can sustain yourself and the people around you have another job. There's a saying any job until the right job just have an income. Don't sit at home and say I'm waiting for a phone call. Because my talent is going to waste. If you can develop a work ethic, doing any job you're not passionate about. That work ethic will work for you when you find something you're passionate about, that someone is willing to pay you for. But instead, we find any job, but we drag our legs. Because like, you know, I'm working at a till at Pick & Pay. Why can't you be disciplined enough to be the best person at any pick and pick at the till? Because that work ethic. You know, kicking butt doing a job you hate will serve you when you find the right job. Like I said, we need to break how we think. So that we can start growing as individuals, as people, as a society. Until then, sadly, mediocrity is celebrated. And we even think our own mediocrity is good enough, and it's not. There's too much mediocrity out there. And we all encourage it, because half of it are doing it ourselves.
John Manyike 30:19
Yeah, I think you should consider this.
DJ Fresh 30:21
Drop the mic [laughs].
Old Mutual 30:25
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