Meet Robert Breitenstein | DJ and Business owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Robert Breitenstein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robert, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk is alwasy involved with business and life as a whole. I think that I have lived in a state of uncertainty for so long now, that it doesnt bother me too much. The uncertainty I’m talking about, that most people I’m sure you’ve interviewed, is the feeling of “is this all going to pay off or did I waste my time, money and energy”. Either way, I am here for the beautiful view at the top of the moutain, even if the ride is bumpy. No discredit to anyone else who takes a different path, but there is a certain feeling of acomplishment to be felt when you take a leap of faith into business and the jump of uncertainty. The feeling is unrivaled. Quitting a previous job you may have had with stable income right into uncertainy is the exact kind of feeling I’m talking about. I took this path while I was in college, so it was not quite to that extreme, but my first year after college and focusing on my business was right into 2020 covid. I kept the path, coasted during lockdown, plotted, and capitolized when the time was right. To answer your question shortly, risk is necessary and I try to take on one or two projects that involve so much risk that I am uncomfortable per year.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business is not like most DJ entertainment groups because I did not scale it to mulit-op. Most companies are doing multiple events per night, or “multiple operations”. This brings in the most money per night and per year. There is actually a simple answer to me going this route. The people who were booking RnB were wanting me to DJ and not another DJ. Not in a concieted sense, but it is the reality of it. In 2021, I had a revelation. DJing for other people’s events doesn’t leave much of a legacy. What I want and wanted for RnB is to be in an event hosting space. Being able to host an event, have full creative control, put your name on it, bring your team in, and of course see the whole amount of revenue. It alway seemed crazy that a bar would pay the DJ $150 and the halloween costume winner got $2000 cash.

I’ve started a new event with parts of the same team from TheAssignment called “Melting pot”. Melting pot is an event focused on chefs/food and djs. It is more of a ticketed private dinner with a chef and curated DJ sets as you eat. I live in Houston Texas, the melting pot of Texas in my opinion. The amount of history and diversity in food and music culture is what I love. I bring in a single new chef every event with new djs to curate their own flavor and showcase it. This is different from TheAssignment because we aren’t as reliant on filling up a room for max income. We want a core group of people who attend, almost exclusive, and to have a really good time on a day that people weren’t doing anything. I think that I am most proud of these events that I put on. I have some killer weddings and parties I DJ, but at the end of the day, they’re someone else’s. In my end of the year recaps, my events are always what I love to see.

All of these events, both mine and one’s I’ve DJ’ed seem sureal. I went a whole year where I did over 30 weddings and other people’s events that I didn’t necessarly want to do, but I needed money. It was not easy but that is what I like about it. I love being crafty and either finding my own way or being right on the next person’s heels to get to where I want to be. My advice to overcoming those challenges is to enjoy beinging in the trenches and getting ready for that opportunity to shine. Of course, everyone wants to run before they can walk. I think a lot of DJs want those big bookings or big money quickly. I see them getting the bookings but they’re under prepared. A great example is that some of the best DJs are in their 40s. They’ve been DJing for years and have a huge library and can handle almost any event. Even myself, if I go DJ in Vegas right now, they will crush me. I am not ready for those big rooms with celebrities asking for songs from the 80s and 90s that I may have not heard. It’s because I didn’t live through it. I may know it but at the end of the day, I’ve got learning to do. I’m excelling where I can and to my crowd, but learning and getting ready for the next big opportunity. I see the IG reels and Tiktoks where it is someone in the bed room and then the text says, “9 months later” and they’re playing at a festival. That is not how 90% of people have it and I wish people saw it the way that I described. You don’t peak until later in your career.

Some advice is of course, if you have an interest, pursue it. Don’t live a life with regrets. I would pursure it conditionally. I did it very early in life while in college. I could afford to try it, be broke and decide to not continue even 3 years later. Talk to some people who are doing what you want to do first. Work with or for them and learn. Learn the market value and rates for what you do, how to talk to clients, how to market, where to get your supplies from etc. Ask yourself how sustanable is this if there is another pandemic. Can I make enough money after expenses for this to really work for me? Write up a business plan. Try it, but be smart about it and start slow. If you go dive in head first, you are going to make mistakes. A small mistake your first year is fine. On the contrary, if you get an investor, a building, spend 100k and then don’t have sales because you rushed into it, you’re crazy.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I hope that my friend likes cardio. We are going to play air soft if they don’t mind getting a little physical. There is something thrilling about being shot at without the obvious reprocutions of it being perminant. If that is not their cup of tea, we are going to either a Main Event to go bowling, aracde, and laser tag. Lastly, we are going to go to Chama Gaúcha Brazilian Steakhouse. I love this place and it’s endless cuts of steak, lamb, chicken, and duck. I like to buy for my friends when we go out, especially somewhere nice. I’ve been blessed with a prosperous career and I want to bless my friends. I would want to take them to my event Melting Pot, if it is happening. We should go to an Astros game and pay an egregious amonut of money for food. We should drive fast and crazy on 288 to give them the full experience. There is nothing like Houston driving. Being passed going 85 mph by a busted Honda Accord going 110 at 2am is part of it. We need to try YoYo’s hot dogs late at night. I would suggest that we see what markets we can go to and support small businesses and chefs. The Post in Houston has a ton to offer with food. We should eat at Hongdae 33 Korean BBQ. I would go to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. My wife and I got married there in the paleontology hall. We should see what special exhibits are open. The Zoo is great, but you have to be there at open of risk sharing the experience with school kids. Lastly, we should go to one of my favorite jewlery shops, Zadok. I love to try on a hold a watch that cost about 1/3 of someone’s house. I’m not going to get it, but I love it. One of the best things about Houston is that you can get whatever you want. If you want a Lambo, you can find one. If you want Jamican food, we got it. If you want to find a crazy watch brand that only makes 5000 watches a year, we got it.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are people who invested in me in many ways. My mom and now late dad have been incredibly supportive since the start of my business. They helped make the connections that put me on the right path and very early. I was able to make some investments while very early in college, start my LLC, and get help from a CPA for taxes. This was in 2016-17 before “owning your own business” was cool. I need to mention my wife. She has seen the vision very early, believed it, and has even come on as an employee to my LLC, making RnB Productions the sole income for our household. These people gave me the backing and tools, but my team really drove me to where I am today. My core content team, Kiersten Hart, Curtis Tran and Colbie Balsamo all gave me the footage that I needed to look the part and gain reach. The content that they shot for me, allowed me to show up on the right people’s pages, shake the right hands, and eventually moved RnB’s revenue a few decimal places. I need to talk about Eric Goree. He and I envisioned hosting our own events called TheAssignment. Between our content team, security team and DJs, I would be walking still and not running. The team and TheAssignment was the difference between what a DJ’s income looks like and what a business’s looks like. They brought my monthly impressions from 30k to about 120k. We all live in different towns now but I will forever be grateful for their hard work. They showed up and continue to crush it every time.

Website: https://allthingsrnb.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allthingsrnbdj/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoR1SH7jRT4

Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPd2WWaFo/ https://soundcloud.com/user-770261542

Image Credits
Photos by: Curtis Tran, Curtisy Shots Colbie Balsamo, ColbieClips Kierstan Hart, KHartfilms Karlie Morton, KMPrecision Myself, DJRnB