DJ TMajor shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning DJ TMajor, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is a normal day like for you right now?
It’s the busiest time of the year as far as wedding season goes. I also work a full-time job on top of running my DJ business. I recently enjoyed my first weekend off since Labor Day, which should give you an idea of what my schedule is looking like these days! A normal day for me right now starts around 7AM. I start my day job at 9:30 from home, so I try to maximize those first two and a half hours the best I can depending on the demands of that week. I’ll typically split my time between administrative tasks for the business (emails, contracts, etc.) and taking care of any house chores/errands. I also try to get a 30 minute workout in which I’m happy to say I’ve gotten better at. I’ll then usually work from 9:30 to 5:30PM-ish. Once I sign off, I don’t always have down time as I usually take care of all my client meetings in the evenings. So weekday evenings are usually a combination of Zoom calls and working on wedding prep, managing social media accounts, and all of that fun stuff. Depending on how packed the evening is, I’ll usually cook dinner, maybe take care of a few personal things, and then kick back before bed time.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Tamer Abulebda, AKA DJ TMajor, I’m the sole operator and main DJ/MC for my company TMajor Entertainment which is a full service DJ & lighting company providing mobile entertainment for a wide variety of events, with a focus on weddings. I often refer to myself as a “Multicultural Vibe Curator” as my speciality is mixed culture weddings and celebrations. On the dance floor, clients are most often attracted to my super high energy club style DJ’ing which fuses elegant professionalism with raw electric party vibes. I’ve had the pleasure of DJ’ing a massive amount of multicultural weddings including Latino Weddings, Middle Eastern Weddings, Persian Weddings, Indian Weddings, Asian/American Weddings, West & East African Weddings, and many more! I started my business in 2018 and since then, I’ve DJ’d hundreds of weddings mainly in the San Diego area with more recent expansion throughout Southern California including Orange County, Riverside County, and Los Angeles.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
I would have to say my father without a doubt. My dad was a Palestinian refugee from Gaza who escaped the occupation in the war of 1969 with my grandma and his 3 younger brothers. They were displaced from their home and migrated on foot, mostly living in tents during those early years of displacement before settling in a refugee camp in Jordan. They had absolutely nothing, and would boil onions and water as a meal most days. He worked to support my 3 uncles and grandma at the time as his father, my grandfather, had already passed way. He then afforded himself the opportunity to leave and get his degree after which he immigrated to New York City in the mid-late 70s where he got his master’s degree. He worked a variety of odd-jobs until the mid 80s where he started his own travel agency in New Jersey specializing in Middle East travel. He was self-made from day one and extremely disciplined. The success of his business afforded him the opportunity to create a life he could have only dreamed of. He bought a home and put 5 kids through college without skipping a beat, and he so rarely complained as anything he had achieved was exponentially better than the situation he could have found himself in. He is one of the hardest working people I know, and I truly believe that I get my work ethic and relentless grit from him.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I would say 2024 was probably the hardest year for me and the time I came closest to questioning if I would continue in the way that I was. It was the busiest year my business had ever had with 63 weddings on the calendar. While this sounds amazing in theory, the reality is that with a full time day job, a home to maintain, a life outside of work, and many other responsibilities, I had just stretched myself far too thin. You often hear about business owners having this moment of reckoning. You start to see true success in the business you built, and your pride often inhibits your ability to see the bigger picture. You start saying yes to everything because in your eyes, you see every opportunity as another step towards becoming the most successful business you could become. You become blinded by this exciting feeling and you conflate infinite growth with success. It was a grueling year for me mentally and physically, and it left me really drained and unhappy at times. I came to some important realizations because of it. I’m thankful that it allowed me to see clearer, and motivated me to re-assess my approach. At the end of the year, I came up with a set of ground rules and boundaries that I wanted to hold myself accountable for, and I implemented those for the 2025 year. It has really made a huge difference for me in terms of overall work-life balance, and the ability to really immerse myself in the success of my business in a healthy way while still making time for the things and people that matter. I encourage all business owners to do some form of this assessment yearly and continue to refine the way they run their operation. Infinite growth is not always the answer.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
I can say with full confidence that the public version of me is absolutely and undeniably 100% me. When I started this business I told myself one thing – and that was that I would never stray away from being my genuine and authentic self. I remember “preaching” this to my few followers on Instagram and I stuck to it throughout the years even when I thought it could cause friction or when I could feel that I wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. The truth is that stopped bothering me after awhile, and the reason is because I saw the clients and community I was attracting in real time. The authenticity of those I was given the privilege of working with and the connections I was building were not only tangibly deep, but also long-lasting and blossomed into longstanding relationships that lead to more opportunities, not to mention friendships that I could lean on. Throughout my time in this industry, I’ve stayed true to myself politically & culturally. I’ve never shied away from speaking in defense of what is right and what is wrong, and I’ve openly expressed sympathy and empathy towards others. My character has always defined me, and countless clients past and present have taken the time to remind me of how much they appreciate my realness and how grateful they were to have chosen me as their DJ.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
I would say my customers would miss my energy and my personality the most. In a highly competitive wedding industry like the one in SoCal, you have a plethora of wedding vendors at your disposal. All of them come with a variety of experience levels, offerings, and price points. But the one thing you can’t guarantee is energy. Not all vendors are created equal, and I think that one of the things that helps myself and other successful wedding vendors stand out is our character and our energy. Personality is such a vital component of the client-vendor relationship and plays a far bigger role in the success or outcome of that client’s event than many like to admit. So yeah, I think my clients would likely miss that the most, and would most definitely feel the void if I retired (although retirement sounds nice!).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/djtmajor
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/djt_major
