Meet Damian Diaz | Music Director, Bassist & Founder of BASSically Global

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

Hi Damian, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Going out on my own was definitely not always part of my plan. I have always had a deep love for music. My passion for music led me to pursue a degree in Music Performance. After finishing school, I went straight into ministry work at my local church while still touring on the side. I learned a great deal and quickly worked my way into leadership roles in production and music directing. When COVID hit, it hit us hard. I quickly found myself without a job and even though it seemed like a scary time, for me it was my chance to re-evaluate what I was most passionate about and really think about my goals. This allowed me the opportunity to explore creating my own brand and all the pieces started to fall into place after that.

I quickly learned that starting a business is not an easy task, but I have been fortunate to learn so much along the way. My passion is to play music and spread the love of music to others in its many forms by cultivating the next generation. By combining my main love of performing as a multi-instrumentalist and my extensive knowledge of production and technology, BASSically Global was born.

At BASSically Global we offer a comprehensive approach to all things music. We offer a vast variety of services, such as live and studio musicians, private lessons, e-courses (coming soon) as well as production and engineering services. We are also proud to be partnering on an upcoming podcast featuring musicians and music industry professionals.

The amazing thing about being in a creative industry is that the sky is truly the limit. I feel like we are just getting started and we are so excited for what’s to come!

What’s one thing about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
I think that one major thing that people outside of my industry may not be aware of is how many hats you must wear, especially in the beginning of building your brand. So much goes into building a brand, no matter the industry that you are in. I think it can be easy to look in from the outside and not see the fuller picture of everything it took to make a brand what it is. Most times, your initial ideas aren’t even the ones that stick. There’s a whole lot of trial and error that happens along your business roadmap. At the end of the day, whether it’s the performance you’re putting on or the product or service that you’re providing, so much has gone into the brand in order to make that bottom line a success. A lot of preparation, training and discipline goes into it on the front end. In my line of work, the actual performance is the last 5-10% of all the effort. It’s the icing on the cake so to speak. Success is often achieved with good old fashioned hard work and dedication to your craft. Every project that you take on has its own unique intricacies and you get to decide as a creator what you want to take on and how you would like to tackle it.

Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?
There is tremendous risk in the entertainment and creative industry. There’s even greater risk when you are a business owner. Often times, things happen that are out of your control, and you have to quickly pivot on to the next opportunity. As a business owner, you have people that are counting on you, and I don’t take that responsibility lightly. Thomas Jefferson famously said, “With great risk comes great reward.” In my experience, calculated risk often leads to the best rewards. One thing that I always try to remember is that even failures can lead to opportunities. It’s in our failures that we expose our flaws and vulnerabilities and therefore have an opportunity to work on them. You just have to be willing to honestly evaluate your situation as a whole and look for those opportunities to be better. My whole career has been a series of taking one risk after another. Risk is what has helped me to grow and evolve. Nothing is guaranteed, but with persistence and determination, every risk leads to greater opportunity.

Other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
For me, the single most important decision that contributed to my success was putting myself out there. I am not typically the first person to volunteer for things or be the first person to raise my hand. I have learned over time that it’s crucial to put yourself out there. When your goal is to build a company, you are asking people to essentially invest in YOU. YOU are the brand! That is an intimidating thing to think about. I have found that my passion for what I am doing far outweighs the intimidating things that use to scare me about putting myself out there. It’s only when you put yourself out there that people are able to discover you and learn about all you have to offer them. Go take a risk! Go sign up for that thing that you’ve always wanted to do! You won’t know if you don’t try. You will be so proud that you did.

What is the most important factor behind your success/the success of your brand?

I would say that the most important factor that has contributed to my success is choosing who you have on your team. It is important to surround yourself with the right individuals. Your core team are the essential pillars of your brand and without this crucial element, I would not be where I am today. You want people around you who are going to help you elevate your brand to the next level. You want people who believe in your vision and are passionate about helping you succeed. The other important factor that I always strive to achieve is maintaining the reputation of someone who is dependable, reliable and always there for people. My reputation is very important to the success of my business and I work very hard to earn it. I have been very fortunate to be able to build and cultivate tremendous relationships in the music, production and technology world and I feel that this has added to my success tenfold.

What’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?
The most difficult decision I have had to make by far is taking the faith step to leave my corporate job and go out on my own. It’s hard to walk away from a perfectly stable environment and leave it for an uncertain future. At the time, I didn’t know if I was going to succeed but I certainly believed that I would, and this motivated me to work even harder to make my dream a reality. Deciding to pursue a career in the music industry, an industry that is unpredictable and unstable as it is, ended up being the best thing that I could have ever done.

Work life balance: how has your balance changed over time? How do you think about the balance?
Work life balance can be challenging when you are so passionate about what you do. As a relatively new business, I have found that in the beginning the business side does tend to take more time than working a traditional corporate job would. It’s your baby, so you want to pour as much time and energy into it as you can. One thing that has been helpful for me is being intentional with my time and creating professional boundaries. You really have to guard your time and make sure that boundaries are established early on in your business relationships. I do my best to set tangible goals and create steps to take in order to achieve those goals. If you have a clear-cut plan of what you want to achieve it’s easier to adhere to the work life boundaries you have in place. Balance is also crucial to maintaining a happy and healthy work life balance.

Do you have a favorite quote or affirmation? What does it mean to you/what do you like about it?
There’s a long-winded quote by John Adams that has always stuck with me to this day. “I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.”

I think it’s important to honor my elders who have come before me and have afforded me the opportunity to even pursue music. I am able to follow my passion because those that came before me didn’t necessarily get the chance to. This quote reminds me that the freedom I have to be able to do what I want in my career didn’t come easy and it is only possible because of others. I hope to pass that on to future generations to come.

Why did you pursue an artistic or creative career?
I have been a musician for as long as I can remember. I trained in music professionally at a young age and it was just something that I knew I wanted to pursue for the rest of my life. The possibilities are endless with music. You can perform, you can teach, you can write. There are no limits! Music gives me the opportunity to be creative and influence the next generation. I decided early on that I was not cut out for the traditional corporate job setting. I always felt as a younger individual that when I woke up at the age of 50, I still wanted to be creating music in some way.

What do you want your legacy to be? What do you want people to remember about you?
I want my legacy to be that of someone who pursued my passion immensely. I want people to know that it is possible to live your dream while still having a family. Both can co-exist, and it doesn’t have to be one or the other. My goal is to spread music awareness in all its forms and leave a lasting impact on the next generation. One thing that I want people to remember about me is that I am a faith filled man with a servant’s heart. I always want to be a blessing to others and in turn they will be a blessing to someone else. I hope to always be striving to bring people’s visions to life through music.

Website: damiandiaz.com

Instagram: instagram.com/damiandiazmusic

Facebook: Facebook.com/damiandiazmusic

Youtube: YouTube.com/@damiandiazmusic

Image Credits
Audi A Studio, LLC