When you find your passion, you must pursue it, right? What if you have more than one passion? If you take a look at the life of Danielle Gruberger, you will find your answer. Gruberger, the lone female employee at management powerhouse, Th3rd Brain (recording artists include: Krewella, Pegboard Nerds, DotEXE, Stephen Swartz, and Zhu) and founder of creative talent agency, DGReps has found success by simply combining her passions.
She has displayed a love for music since she was little, and has always dreamt of working in the music industry. Her dream came alive a little over one year ago, when she was introduced to Jake Udell. But that’s not all. Along with being an avid music lover, Gruberger possesses a knack for photography and helping people. Even though she loves photography, she believes being a photographer is not her career path and instead decided to start her own agency where she manages artists including photographers, directors, wardrobe stylists, makeup artists, and hair stylists and serves as their agent as well. 
You might ask yourself, how does someone have the time to balance all three positions? Well, it takes a lot of discipline to be able to dedicate equal time to each. Due to the success of DGReps, Danielle has recently announced that she will be leaving the Th3rd Brain team to focus her full attention on her talent agency. However, she will still be combining her passions by producing photo and video shoots for recording artists (including Th3rd Brain clients).
We see Danielle as an exceptional figure in both respective industries and value her ability to inspire others through hard work, maintain a positive attitude, and help others achieve their dreams. Therefore, we have asked her to share her advice with fellow industry employees.
1) Give 100%, 100% of the time – People notice if you are always on top of your game. Remember that the industry is small and if you consistently deliver great results, word will get around.
Kiera: You never want to be caught giving anything less than your best. So what’s the best way to prevent that from happening? Simple. As Danielle advises, give 100% at all times. We understand that there will be down times or you might get sick, but you have to learn to pull through. When word gets around that you’ve made it through some difficult times, people are going to notice and gain a lot of respect for you.
If you do something you are passionate about, then this should also help. Imagine having a job that you disliked, but you still tried to give your best effort everyday. You would probably get burnt out. Now, imagine giving your all at something that you love. Even when times get tough, the passion gets you through. How rewarding is that?
2) Never give up!! – Almost every career in the music industry requires an around the clock schedule. This can be exhausting, especially if it is taking time to see results. Krewella, for example, worked for years building up their first EP and developing a good release strategy but when the time was right, their careers took off. You never know what could have happened if you give up, so don’t!
Kiera: This point goes hand in hand with the first. Life is a roller coaster. One day you could be living on cloud nine and the next you could be without a job. You just never know what tomorrow has in store for you. If you maintain a positive attitude and cope with one situation at a time, you will overcome each obstacle that comes into your life.
If you give your full effort 100% of the time, it’s bound to pay off in some form eventually. Patience is key. Be a go-getter, but also understand that you only have so much control over your life and don’t get down because something doesn’t go the way you had expected. It’ll be okay. Have hope for tomorrow because as the saying goes “once you hit rock bottom, you can only go up from there.”
3) Educate yourself – Read blogs, books and any other materials that you can find on success in the field you are most passionate about. Gaining insight on what has lead to success in the past can help to inspire ideas of ways to reach your goals now.
Kiera: I personally have never been one to read many books or take history into account, but I have heard this same advice from two different people in the last week so I can’t help but to listen. It makes sense. Each generation needs to learn from one another. Not only is it great to learn from people who are your age, but it is also essential to gain insight from those who are older and younger. When you hear about success stories, it gives you hope. Especially when that person has a similar story to yours or you can just tell that the person understands your life. The more you read, the more stories you will hear that inspire you.
The blogosphere is a vital part of the music industry. We provide music reviews, news, interviews with inspiring individuals, etc. Utilize this resource to learn more about the field you’re going into or the people you are going to be meeting. Once you’ve done your research on someone, it can impress them because you can strike up a conversation with them very easily. So not only does it help to encourage you to keep pushing and pursue your passion, but reading also helps you make connections and meet incredible people.
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