Today we’d like to introduce you to James Hayes.
James, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My story starts out with a 14 years old freshman taking a multimedia class, learning the Adobe Suite and quickly realizing that you could center a whole career around these applications. At the time, I was heavily invested into professional paintball, investing thousands of dollars into gear, tournaments all around the country, and lots and lots of paint. By the time I turned 16, I decided to leave paintball behind and pursue music. I wanted to buy this $2k DJ controller so I started selling what items I could from paintball, bought a laptop that could handle to programs I needed, then started hustling for this controller. I monetized my expertise from paintball and started buying high ticket items from people who were desperate to sell, then taking the time to sell them at used market price. I eventually got my controller and spent six months throwing parties in my parent’s backyard. I literally ran that backyard like a club. We would have a party Friday, Saturday, and if it was a long weekend then Sunday too. Good times, and it gave me a crowd to start learning how to DJ in front of people.
I decided I wanted to throw a professional show. I created my first company, named The Vibe Project and started creating marketing material for my first event named Just Good Music. I was a 17 years old, renting out Numbers Nightclub in Montrose for a bunch of underage high schoolers to come see me and a bunch of other DJs play for like 5-10 bucks. I think I invested about $1500 into that show with rentals on the venue, production, and flyers. We stuck to our tried and true system of throwing the even on a Sunday of a long weekend since that would keep the rental cost low and there wasn’t an excuse for people not to go since they didn’t have to go to school the next day. I did lose some money on that show, but the people came, they had fun, and we did it right. I still chuckle at the fact that I was renting out a club I wasn’t even old enough to get into, good times.
I threw myself at every opportunity I could, always with the expectation that I need to be compensated (which is very important for anyone going into the music industry, you’ll get taken advantage of if you don’t). I got in with the right people. I was going out at 1am on school nights to go flyer clubs I couldn’t get into to earn tickets to events I wasn’t old enough to go to. Well worth it, the people that I was working with saw the hustle and respected it by offering more opportunity. Quick shout out to my day one mentor, Anthony Tedder, I owe a lot to this man as a friend, colleague, and his wisdom of becoming a man.
For a period of time, the gigs kept coming, and the money started rolling in as I developed a well-equipped street team to widen my reach online and on the street. We eventually became the #1 Street Team in Houston (arguably) with compliments from high ranking festival employees on our professionalism and organization. Shortly after turning 19, I had a very honest conversation with myself. My energy was split from promoting, performing, and paying the bills. Tedder gave me some advice that I need to focus on ONE thing and then build the rest of my passions from that success. I didn’t take this advice till much later, but I ended up quitting DJing and focusing on promoting and managing this street team. This was the correct move for me, logically there is no money in just being a DJ… and my sights were set on festivals.
After that brutal hurricane Anthony Tedder tagged me on a post from the director of Day For Night, and former owner of Free Press Summer Fest, that was looking for an intern with a truck, good back, and good at street team duties… I had a good back, I was good at street team, and WOW I got really lucky with the truck thing and I later apologized to my parents for complaining about the size of my Dodge Ram… I just became a part time employee at an internationally renown futuristic art and music festival… I had been a patron at Day For Night in 2015, a subcontracted street team in 2016 (which also helped in this hiring process), and an employee in 2017… What a ride.
My first day at Day For Night, I walked into the Free Press Houston offices in Montrose and sat down for my first meeting. The line up was launched in 5 days and I just watched and listened in this meeting and quickly realizing… I don’t know shit about anything. It was like getting slapped in the face by reality that those little local and regional talent shows I was producing wouldn’t be of any use or value to the absolute monster that is a multi-stage music and arts festival… I mean the amount of moving parts is enough to make anyone’s head spin… I was having the time of my life. I was learning so much even though my main duties was getting everyone’s coffee and putting posters up. Eventually, the boss man gave me something I was actually good at, produce the Free Press Houston Montrose Bar Crawl party. The Montrose Bar Crawl is a Halloween bar crawl that stretches up and down Westhiemer and his goal was to be a marketing hub for Day For Night and an awesome party for those walking along the street. I killed it, everything went smooth as butter. After Day For Night was over, boss man made me a full-time employee and I then decided to dissolve The Vibe Project. At the time, I had a weekly Friday Night event at Capitol Bar in Midtown and was making some decent money… But I decided learning as much as I possibly could in this organization was far more important.
Things weren’t going so great at the Free Press Houston offices, and my hours started getting cut. I got a part-time job at a media company called Cursive Media with a man we called Holliday. I considered myself decent at the Adobe Suit with my practice making flyers and marketing material for my shows and such, but what this man taught me made me realize I was very novice. He taught me design, honed my skills in photoshop, taught me what it takes to run a business, and forced me to level up as a man. I started out being able to produce about 20 pieces of original good looking content in a 7 hour work period, by the time I was deemed acceptable, I was producing 60 in the same amount of time. I learned how to market brands, how to use social media management tools, customer service, and a lot more. Holliday certainly wasn’t easy to work for, but I am forever grateful for what he taught me.
Day For Night ended, and I was now only employed at Cursive Media. My employment at Cursive Media ended, and I decided to start my own festival basing the entire marketing plan around social media and what I had learned at Cursive. From there, GLITCHFEST was born. I had some money leftover from The Vibe Project, and a bunch of new marketing abilities I needed to practice. The idea behind GLITCHFEST was to take the intriguing aspects of Day For Night and make it a lot more digestible with heavy bass and rap music. My only issue with the whole thing is that the marketing needed to be video-based.
At the time, Facebook was trying to take a shot at YouTube by monetizing videos of content creators, so naturally videos were promoted on the algorithm… and it worked with the visual aspect of the brand. I didn’t know how to do video editing yet, and I didn’t have a computer that could handle the programs I needed. Out of sheer luck, I started hanging out with an old friend who was staying at the University of Houston dorms. I visited him at his dorms and I see this beast of a gaming PC… This guy let me practically live with him for the next three months at UoH while I taught myself video editing and making and scheduling content for GLITCHFEST. To add more to my plate, I had a financial partner in the event decide to leave right when we were getting the ball rolling on this event, so I had to find a way to meet the rest of the budget. I got a job at Fajita Pete’s and my schedule was basically take ANY and all shifts I could, then go to UoH to work. I had no free time, I couldn’t spend any money, and I was living off oatmeal and ramen. About halfway into the marketing period for GLITCHFEST, we had sold enough tickets, and I had worked my ass off enough to look at the bank accounts and realize that the festival was paid off. Another quick shout out, this event would not have been possible without one of my best friends Dash Speer. He runs Limitless Lights & Sound, and his rates are far better than anyone else’s in the region.
The event was a smash hit, it looked phenomenal, all that hard work well paid off. After a period of rest, I started thinking about all the work I put into the event and said “Hey… I could make a full-time job out of that…” I eventually got fired from Fajita Pete’s, and 2 hours after my termination I had my first client for Hayes Media. I was NEVER good at working for other people, besides Day For Night, I could never hold down a job for more than nine months… and the food industry sucks. Hayes Media is now a full-stack digital marketing agency that specializes in viral content marketing. We do everything from social media management, to websites, to paid advertisements, to apps, to you name it. I based my company around the idea that our work is designed to leave an audience with a specific emotional response that leaves a lasting impression. Emotionally Intelligent Marketing – That’s our tag line. We like things fast, efficient, effective, and most importantly, makes money. This company wouldn’t of even existed if it wasn’t for one of my other best friends Spencer Sivon. He gifted me his brand new gaming PC when he decided to join the army saying “I know you’re going to do great things with this, make me proud”. I won’t let him down.
None of this would be possible with the amazing people that support me. Whether you were named or not, just know I am forever grateful and your support is incredibly humbling. Through friends and family, anything is possible.
Has it been a smooth road?
I don’t think this journey would be anywhere near as entertaining has it has been if it was smooth and easy. I couldn’t say what exactly was a struggle here or there, I think it all has to do with what you’re willing to sacrifice. I decided to live off oatmeal and ramen for months to throw a festival. I decided I had to give up some passions to pursue greater ones, and that’s pretty difficult. I think one of the most recent and difficult moments was last year, New Year’s Eve. I couldn’t afford to go out with my friends, and even if I could I wouldn’t of because I had to make content for GLITCHFEST. I spent New Year’s Eve alone in dorm at UoH. That didn’t feel good, but well worth it.
Another thing I recently had to do that’s going to be difficult is the decision to start marketing my agency. I started this around March of 2019 and I wanted to grow at a certain pace as to not collapse. Just recently, after hiring two people that I can’t afford unless I bring in new business, I’ve decided to gamble a significant amount of money to get what I need. If it doesn’t work, I might be out of business, or I might have to sacrifice more to keep it running. Either way, I’m so grateful to even BE in this position. As a 21 years old, I am extremely blessed to have made this life for myself, and even if I fail I’m going to do it with the biggest smile on my face. Basically, these are the type of problems I want to deal with. Being young with no kids and a stable living environment, I get to take these risks that other people that have more responsibility might not be able to… and you bet your ass I’m going to take FULL advantage of it.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Hayes Media, GLITCHFEST – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Hayes Media is a full-stack digital marketing agency that specializes in content marketing and viral media. We are known for making unique pieces of content that go viral simply because it’s entertaining. We make good looking content and promote that content successfully, and we monetize it to the client’s benefit. We are most proud of our transparency, our creativity, our efficiency, our effectiveness, and our customer service. What sets us apart from others is that we don’t charge you an arm and a leg for ANYTHING. We are very budget-friendly and our goal is to make you money. A lot of agencies might charge $15k a month for SEO work that may or may not be effective in a year. Of course, we do SEO as well, but not for that price. We believe that if we’re spending your money on advertising, we need to treat it as if it was coming out of our pockets. That means careful planning, constant tweaking, and getting the most bang for your buck. All of this with solid brand continuity and a personable unique attitude.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I’ve lived here my whole life, born in raised in the branch. I’ve never really thought about my likes and dislikes… I think since I grew up here, most of that is kind of numb to its qualities. I hate the traffic, I like the bars. I hate the pollution, I like the size. I love the food, I hate the price.
Pricing:
- $999 Social Media Marketing Package
- $500 + %15 Google Ad Packages
- Other Services Are Case By Case Basis
Contact Info:
- Website: hayesmediaco.com
- Phone: (833) 396-5266
- Email: info@hayesmediaco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glitchfest_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GLITCHFEST/
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