Tell us a little about yourself and your experience.

I grew up and still live in South Florida. From the time I was seven years old music was my true passion. I played drums for many years and toyed with the idea of playing music professionally. At some point I decided I’d much rather be on the other side of the stage, so to say. I graduated high school and remember being really frustrated with not having any kind of real creative outlet.  

What drove you to choose your career path?

I wanted to write for Rolling Stone when I was growing up. I knew the only thing I cared about passionately was music. I kept that mindset as I grew older and realized I wanted to start my own outlet for the things I really enjoyed and wanted to shed light on. More immediately, what drove me to finally just start doing it was my business partner (Gabriel Leonard) believing in me and helping to create the platform to be able to do this as a career. 

How did you go about getting your job? What kind of education and experience did you need?

Gabe approached me and asked if I wanted to write for a blog. I was at work at the time and I remember going outside to talk to him. In the 30 minutes it took me to call him back after our initial conversation, he had already bought the domain name and began designing. I was so excited to finally have a way to pursue what I knew I always wanted to do. This career didn’t require any formal education but I definitely think the fact that I studied journalism and business helps me to successfully run Teal Cheese on a daily basis.

What do you actually spend the majority of your time doing?

A lot of what I do is scheduling, delegating responsibility, reaching out to artists and business owners who I want to feature. I spend a lot of time editing content as well. Proof reading is super important! I took on the role of “Director” about six months ago so it has become more of a career than a hobby.

What misconceptions do people often have about your job?

That all I do is go to concerts and hang out with musicians. That is always fun to do but it is certainly not indicative of what I actually do to run a business. I think people would be surprised how truly time consuming it is. 

What are your average work hours?

I work a day job from 7 AM to 4 PM and generally begin working on Teal Cheese at 5 PM and work through until about midnight.

What personal tips and shortcuts have made your job easier?

Whenever I talk with Gabe (Co-Founder) he always manages to find analogies for the things we're trying to work through. It's always helpful to have someone who can give unbiased advice. Shortcuts? Unfortunately I haven't found too many! Putting the amount of time in that I do makes the end result that much more gratifying, though. 

What do you do differently from your coworkers or peers in the same profession?

I couldn’t comment on that because I don’t know how my peers conduct themselves. I stay very organized and conduct myself professionally in every facet of my life. I can only hope that everyone involved in the same profession does the same.

Do you have any advice for people who need to enlist your services?

If you and I set up an interview, feature, or date to post a story, please stick to the schedule. I understand things come up and life happens. Just let me know if that’s the case. 
It’s only happened twice but I have had people agree to work with me and keep in touch for a few weeks. Then as soon as they see an e mail in their inbox they disappeared.

What's the worst part of the job and how do you deal with it?

Giving up any kind of personal life. Working a day job and running Teal Cheese in my off time leaves very little time in the day to do anything else but focus on work. 
I try to go to concerts that are non work related at least once every few months. I also spend as much time as possible with my girlfriend because she helps keep me sane. 

What's the most enjoyable part of the job?

I love basically everything about it. I love being able to speak to people about what they do and gain insight on the things they create.  It’s so gratifying to work so hard on a piece for a month and then see it all finished and posted to the site. I can’t really put that feeling into words. I've also found it really satisfying to meet people from all over the world and get to know them. Especially the five writers I have now, a few of them are very new and I love how they can have a totally different take on a subject I might be stuck on. 

What kind of money can one expect to make at your job?

That’s really up to how hard you want to work and how you want to approach your position. 
I spent the first year running Teal Cheese doing everything completely for free. 
Lucky for us this is the kind of business where you can set your own prices for your services.

How do you move up in your field?

Networking is key. The more people you interact with, the more your name and business will spread. I truly think the only way to move up in the field is to progressively take it more seriously and get more organized. The more product you have to put on your resume the better the chance you have to get another related job.

What advice would you give to those aspiring to join your profession? 

As I’ve already stressed, STAY ORGANIZED. Keep lots of lists and spreadsheets. The more you treat this like a career path rather than something to do for fun, the product will speak for itself. I would also stress the idea of not doubting yourself. It's important to remain humble, but there has to be an adequate balance of confidence in yourself.