Meet Derek Hughes | Producer/Composer and Entrepreneur

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

Hi Derek, what’s your definition for success?
It’s funny, I was just talking to my wife about this exact question last week. We were telling each other our own definition of success. I had spent time a few years ago defining this for myself and over the years, as my business has grown, I think I have honed in on my answer.

My definition of success isn’t measure in dollars, material items, or a job title. There are no written goals in my journal that speak of “climbing the ladder” or reaching a certain salary mark. Success, to me, is being known as a God-fearing, kind, and helpful friend/husband/father at the end of my life. I believe that when you leave this Earth, you are not remembered for what you accomplished or achieved, but rather the impact you made on a person’s life.

A mentor of mine once told me. “you will never make a neutral impact on someone in your encounter with them. It will always be either positive or negative, and it is up to you how they will walk away feeling.” So the way I would measure whether I am successful or not is by knowing that other people would consider our relationship as a positive one in their lives. Through serving them, making them smile, and helping them succeed in their dreams any way that I can. A friend of mine has a life mantra that I love, “Always want more FOR someone than FROM them”. If you live every day like your purpose is to help others and cheer them on in life, then you are living a positively impactful life in my opinion.

What should our readers know about your business?
I own and operate two businesses, both within the wedding/event entertainment industry. One is Onyx Entertainment, an all-inclusive event services company including DJ, Photography, Videography, Photo Booth, Hair/Makeup, Rentals, etc. The other brand is The Nashville Band, a luxury wedding and corporate live cover band that travels the country playing all different kinds of music. Both of these companies are considered “multi-ops” meaning it is not just one DJ or set band, but rather a roster of contract employees so that we can work at multiple events in one day.

I use the same set of filters when hiring for either one of these companies and mostly the same style of risk-taking. I always look for a disciplined and hardworking character because those things are hard to teach or explain. It is easy to find a great musician or creative here in Nashville to hire, but it is much more difficult to find someone who actually cares about your brand, quality-level, and values. The people I have hired are the key to my success, hand down. I am a big proponent of delegating when it comes to recognizing my own weaknesses and handing over tasks that others are strong in. My buddy Tristan who I mentioned in this interview, also owns a DJ business in Austin, and we were recently talking about not having much success finding people to hire online with the job title “Wedding DJ”. He joked but also was serious when he advised that I should just put “Wedding Butler” as the job title and find people who are incredibly gifted in serving people and having great people skills. He said this because he knows it is much harder to teach these things then developing their DJ/audio skills. The people skills and helpfulness are what my companies are remember for at the end of the day.
I always tell our wedding clients on the phone that eliminating stress on their wedding day is our number one goal. This always gives them a boost of confidence in us because they know we care about them and the success of their event.

I started my entrepreneur path when I accidentally double booked myself for a wedding date as a DJ. At first, I was only working as a solo operation DJ but when this happened I immediately considered training my roommate as a DJ to handle the second wedding that booked. He was already skilled in audio, weddings, and had great people skills. He came back from his wedding in Kentucky with a 5-star review from the client. When this happened, I realized the opportunity I had if I chose to take the risk. I could invest marketing money into a brand and book multiple weddings on the same day and train up a team of DJs, have multiple sets of equipment, and send them out. Since passive income and leadership have always been passions of mine I decided to give it a go and then COVID happened. The first year of business as a DJ was 2020 and we worked 45 weddings. A majority of my DJs were actually full-time musicians that were out of work due to COVID so they were totally bored and looking for something to do. This gave them income during a hard time and also gave the company the strong boost it needed with talented individuals and people I trusted. Since then, we have worked over 500 events and we have had a couple hiccups but I always try to learn from my mistakes and the mistakes of others. I have always reinvested almost all of the income from my companies to continue growth.
I think the thing that sets me apart from other managers/leaders is that I try to always put myself in the shoes of the employees (mostly because I actually have been in there shoes before) and think of ways that will make them feel appreciated, valued, and taken care of. The thing I am most proud of as an employer is being able to give my friends and people who are trying to “make it” in Nashville a fun, positive work environment whether they are playing in our band running our Photo Booth at a wedding.
I always want people to know that I care about them as a client, that they aren’t just a number or dollar amount on a spreadsheet. There are too many companies that care about the bottom line and not about how they get there. I don’t take shortcuts, or at least I take a lot less now thanks to my wife, Taylor. I only take jobs I know we are 100% fit for and in the 500+ events we have worked and received 3 negative reviews I lost sleep for a week for each. I take full responsibility for an employee of mine making a mistake or a piece of equipment failing and I do everything I can to make it right.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If they haven’t seen Broadway or the museums downtown, I will show them around the touristy parts. Definitely have to show them the real Nashville Hot Chicken at either Prince’s or Pepperfire. Slim and Husky’s pizza is also a must.
For my adventurous friends I’ll take them to Harpeth River to float, or hike at Lake Radnor. I always like going to Fifth and Broadway for a less crowded place to grab food from the Assembly Hall and watch live music.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Reflecting on all the bits of advice I have gleaned from mentors, books, education, friends, podcasts, and more is just too long to mention them all. A few that stand out to me are my friend Tristan Tully and Brandon Verderber.
Tristan was my friend in college that was always an entrepreneur-minded person, creative, and fun to be around. In fact, he taught me to be better at all three of those things. He taught me my first DAW (audio recording program), how to be a great wedding DJ, and how to lighten up in college and just have fun. He was always an out-of-the-box thinker, dreamer, and person who loved to bend or break the rules just to figure out why they are there in the first place. He is the reason for why I hire the people I hire, the way I think about getting creative to achieve something nobody else is doing, and not taking myself too seriously all the while.
Brandon was my Youth Worship Pastor at my church when I was in High School. He was the one who trained and developed me in my music journey as a musician and singer. He also taught me a lot about leading people, being an exciting and confident leader, and most importantly taught me what it feels like to have a great mentor. He was probably one of the earliest mentors I had in a field I was passionately interested in learning as much as I possibly could. He saw my hunger and fed it with as many opportunities and experiences as he could. Between Tristan and Brandon, a lot of the way I think and act are based on how they shaped me.

Website: https://thenashvilleband.com

Instagram: @derksta

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dereklhughes/

Youtube: @thenashvilleweddingband