Why Being the "Imperfect" Creative Might Be Your Biggest Business Advantage

Here's what I've learned about branding, creativity, and building a business when you lead with authenticity instead of aesthetics.

The Winding Road Nobody Plans

I started as a teacher. Then I played trumpet and saxophone with the Baker Boys Band, eventually managing over 30 creatives in Canberra and more than 100 in Queensland. Life was good. I was flying around the country performing at events, working closely with an international marketing team, doing what I loved.

Then COVID hit. Everything stopped. All my gigs got cancelled. Being a trumpet player, I was the first to get cut when event restrictions kicked in. Commission-based income meant I was left with nothing.

I had a choice. Wait for things to go back to normal, or adapt.

I became a DJ. Not because it was glamorous, but because I needed to make myself essential. If I could run the whole show myself, venues would need me more than a trumpet player they could cut.

The SEO Experiment That Changed Everything

Here's where it gets interesting. I'd worked closely with the Baker Boys Band marketing team and seen how powerful digital marketing could be. So when I launched my DJ business, I didn't focus on looking the part. I focused on being found.

I dove deep into SEO. Obsessively deep. I learned that most couples start searching for wedding vendors online, and that getting on the first page of Google was worth more than any fancy photo shoot.

Within 12 months, I'd built the DJ business into a six-figure side hustle. Not by having the flashiest brand, but by showing up when people were searching and being genuinely helpful.

Then I thought: if I can do this for myself, I can do it for others.

Building Otto Media (and Why It's Named After My Son)

I took a job at a digital marketing agency to learn the ropes properly. Joined the Nathan Gotch SEO Academy. Soaked up everything I could about what makes businesses visible online.

Fourteen months ago, I went all in on my own agency. Named it Otto Media after my son. My daughter Gia got her own company too. GiaAI focuses on helping service businesses use artificial intelligence to generate leads.

In those 14 months, Otto Media has grown to 42 clients. No fancy office. Just a remote team spread across Australia, India, Pakistan, Brazil, and Japan. We communicate, we collaborate, and we get results.

‍The Authenticity Advantage

Here's the thing nobody tells you about branding: trying to look perfect is exhausting and often backfires.

Research shows that 86% of consumers say authenticity is key when deciding what brands to support. And 91% are willing to reward authentic brands with their purchases [Gitnux].

When I stopped trying to compete on image and started competing on being real, everything changed. My website shows exactly who I am. What you see is what you get. Couples book me because they trust me, not because I've got the slickest marketing.

The same principle applies to every creative business. Designers, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs. The pressure to present a polished, perfect image is intense. But people connect with humans, not holograms.

What Musicians Taught Me About Business

Playing in bands taught me to read a room. When you're performing, you know within seconds whether a song is working. You adjust on the fly. You stay connected to your audience.

Peter Schroeder, a DJ who founded the tech company Telzio, put it perfectly. He said DJing taught him to read consumers the same way he reads a crowd. He built his company over 10 years without paying a dollar for advertising, growing entirely through SEO [Mercury News].

That resonates with me. The skills transfer. Connecting with people, adapting in real time, solving problems under pressure. These aren't just performance skills. They're business skills.

My Mantra: I'm In This to Serve

Every decision I make comes back to one question: does this help people?

I share my clients' wins publicly. I don't hide my processes. If someone asks how I do something, I tell them. Some people think that's bad business. I think it builds trust.

At Otto Media, we treat clients as partners. Long-term relationships, not transactions. We're honest about what SEO can and can't do. We tell people when something isn't right for them. That honesty keeps people coming back.

For Creatives Thinking About the Leap

If you're a musician, artist, or designer wondering whether you can build a business, here's my advice.

Stop waiting to be perfect. Start with what you have. Use the skills you've developed. Reading people, adapting quickly, creating under pressure. These translate directly to entrepreneurship.

Focus on being found and being real. The polish can come later. Or maybe it doesn't need to come at all.

You don't need to fit the mould. Sometimes the mould is the problem.