There are a lot of entrepreneurs in today's age, but it is a career that if you make it you are set for life. Business is business and it stands no different when it comes to entrepreneurship. Looking on the business side of things, I took some time to talk to my friend Christian Blasini or acquaintance from high school who is doing very well for himself and who is a bright entrepreneur. I asked him various questions on his ideas, what he has been up, and on entrepreneurship in general.

Christian is currently a rising and hardworking businessman who is 22 years old and has accomplished a lot on his very own. He has a good sense of humor and brings a lot of energy. Christian is bright beyond his age and has a lot of perseverance, which I appreciate, giving me inspiration. Chris lives in NYC and it is where he grew up. Currently not in school, but our interview hits on some interesting points on life in general and on business.

1. I know that you created a website named Racket for young artists. Talk about the process of making it and how it will expand in the coming years

"Racket Music started out as a passion project for me when I was about 18 years old, and my best friend/business partner and I have spent nearly 4 years trying to bring our vision to life. At the time I was striving to make it in the music industry as a hip hop recording artist. Unfortunately, I was brutally underprepared for the nature of the game, what I thought was an industry fueled by hard work and big dreams turned out to be an industry that catered to the highest bidder. Over the years Racket has taken many different shapes, from a Twitter page, to an app, to an IG media channel to an online music hub, we’ve been all over the place, but our mission has remained the same. That mission is to level the playing field when it comes to artist marketing. Currently its such an expensive pursuit and we’d like to do what we can to make it more affordable for everyone. We plan on doing this by taking advantage of current social networks to target, curate, and grow artists fan bases through strong social media efforts. Currently, we’ve decided to take a step back from the music hustle to regroup and reformulate our path going forward. It may be quiet from us on the Racket end, but when we come back, we’re coming out with a bang."

2. Young artists and others can buy beats on the site and get information on new music?

"Being an online hub for music, beats and networking is what we’re all about, while our current model doesn’t support beat/music selling you can count on seeing it down the line. We got you in the next iteration."

3. You are a young entrepreneur, what business do you plan on building down the line?

"Yes! My business partner and I are always scheming and planning something so it’s hard to say what will come next. As of right now, we’re super excited about our new social media company, "Many Moons Social." We’ve been doing some content creation, media management, and growth hacking for start-ups and individual clients for a while now with some success. Now it’s time to take it to the next level and start expanding our horizons client wise. Keep an eye out for our website, it should be up and running by the end of the month! As for future business ventures who knows, we’ve been interested in exploring creating a large scale permaculture/futurist community as well as getting in bed with cryptocurrencies. You can always expect something exciting around the corner hahaha."

4. I know that you are interested in starting up your own podcast. What challenges come with that and what do you hope to bring with it? When will it be released to the public?

"So excited to get the podcast up and running! But like any sort of online business/venture, the challenge that stands is marketing, marketing, and more marketing. I strongly believe that there is an audience for anything, it is just a matter of finding and targeting them. The concept behind the show will be to find and highlight our generation’s (the millennials) intellectuals. I want to find the beautiful minds and give them an awesome platform to show their colors on. I think us as millennials get a bad rep, everyone thinks that we’re unproductive, ungrateful, and lazy.. I’d like to prove that this generation has the most potential to date. So in short, my podcast is all about the beautiful conversations with beautiful, inspiring people, with a passion for changing the world in one way or another. I’m hoping to get my first episode out by the end of July! Let’s see!"

5. You currently live in NYC. Which place? Talk about your growth in NYC and the many opportunities that it brings?

"I just moved to Brooklyn a couple months ago! Little known fact about me is I actually lived in Brooklyn for a good portion of my childhood, so it feels incredible to have been able to return home on my own dollar. New York has been an absolutely pivotal part of who I am as a person, having spent time here as a teenager I can say a lot about my mind state was formed by the speed and drive of the city. A lot of people move to New York and find themselves completely over encumbered by the weight of it all, but to me that is the beauty of it! This city weeds out the talkers from the doers, the strong from the weak. If you’re not game for keeping up with the hustle and bustle, you WILL get left in the dust. This city will either build you up or tear you down, more often than not it will be a healthy dose of both… so you got to be willing to "fall down seven times, get up eight." One of my favorite quotes is “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working”, by Pablo Picasso. This city has so much opportunity for everyone in it but you really got to push for it, you never know what tomorrow brings here in New York!"

6. Other interests or hobbies?

"Hobbies have been hard for me to attach too honestly, I always have difficulty sticking with one. Lately its just been reading and yoga here and there, I try to open a book as often as possible, but I’ve also been trying to pick up an instrument as of late, I’m thinking piano. Going forward I would like to commit as much as possible to podcasting, that would absolutely be my dream hobby/career if I can pull that off at a professional level."

7. I know that you are not attending a University, but you are doing well on your own. Is that with a hard work ethic or pure passion for what you love to do?

"Its honestly both I’d say, Denzel Washington once said “Without commitment you will never start. But more importantly, without consistency you will never finish." So its really all about finding that middle ground between a hard work ethic and having a burning passion, I try not to get lost on either side too much as I believe moderation is key! At the end of the day I’m still trying to figure it out just like everyone else, all I know is I’m passionate about not working another 9-5 job, so that's what keeps me working hard hahahah. I’m just super grateful and blessed to have made it this far at such a young age, but if I buckle down just a little bit more, I know I can do some big things! I’m excited to see where this path takes me!"

8. Is school really necessary in today's age? We went to the same high school, did that spark any skills or develop any?

"I think that's a tough question to answer effectively, so I will put it like this. School is not necessary if you see yourself starting and running your own business and being your own boss. I think those that are entrepreneurially minded will find their way through one way or another. All the skills that I have found to be applicable to what I do I have had to teach myself through either research or experience. The tools for starting your own business are out there for everyone with a real interest in utilizing them. Now on the other end, if you know the industry and role you would like to operate within then going to school is an amazing opportunity to get your hands dirty in that field. It will be very hard to wiggle your way into a steady job in a great company without some sort of degree or experience, and getting experience out here is hard if you don’t have a degree or connections. For me, school wasn’t worth the price. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated and I wasn’t about to rush into crippling student debt because of obvious reasons, so I was lucky enough to be able to take a gap year, and I’m glad I did because a lot came to light as a result."

9. The use of technology is evolving, how has it helped you? Or has it not that much?

"Technology has allowed me to be where I am now, it’s absolutely mind bending the amount of knowledge and information we have available to us at our fingertips. My iPhone has been one of my greatest teachers, it taught me how to write my first business plan, how to do my first big money pitch, etc. A lot of people see Facebook and Instagram as social media and that's it, but I’m not sure people realize how you can utilize these platforms to create your own future. People are building million dollar businesses off of Facebook and Instagram. Instagram in general has provided my partner and I with our fair share of business. I’m super intrigued to see how people are going to use hand held technology going forward, Its going to be interesting to see how the younger generation uses it to its advantage as well, they’re even more plugged in than us… I’m just hoping they don’t all turn into clan clashing fidget spinning zombies."

10. You have a great funny montage of cats on your Instagram account. Is that just a love for animals?

"Yeah man, my girlfriend and I just adopted a cat a week ago so we’ve been pretty pathetically obsessed with showing the whole world, he’s mad cute though so I don’t think anyone's mad about it. Its my first cat kind of, I’m honestly more of a dog guy, but I’m making an exception. I read a book last year that said our world is basically this gigantic living library and that each life form on earth has its own intelligent alien counterpart. Not quite sure I believe that, but you asked me about animals so there you go."

11. What are the hardships of being an entrepreneur? Is a degree really needed?

"Every part of being an entrepreneur is hard if I’m being frank. You take on this massive psychological burden when you decide to start your own business, it becomes part of you, its your baby and its directly tied in with your success here on earth. It’s a lot of pressure knowing the only thing standing between you and massive success is yourself. Most of the time the challenges that you face are going to seem insurmountable but it all comes down to how badly you want this life. If you want it like you say you do, then you will overcome… Maybe not as quickly as the next guy, but the speed isn’t important, its all about moving forward. This game is 99% willpower. As for a degree, I don’t see the sense in it. You can spend 4 years studying how to start and run a business, or you can spend 4 years actually building that business. I have a feeling you’re going to find more success in the latter."

12. Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? 10 years?

"Hmmm, I love the city man, but I’m really a nature guy so 5 years from now I see myself living in a house somewhere in the Rocky mountains with my girlfriend, running my business, podcasting frequently, being featured in Forbes, and enjoying the sh*t out of life. 10 years from now? Podcasting even more frequently and retired, hopefully! Lots of work needs to be done obviously, but 10 years is a long time!"

13. What made you want to be an entrepreneur?

"Well, I’m terrified of working a day job. I tried it for a bit and it’s just not for me, so I’d say that played a huge part in me becoming an entrepreneur. I just want to live the way I want to live. Its exhausting, its severely depressing at points, its a constant up hill battle but I’m ready for war. Racket may not be the one, Many Moons may not be the one, but I’m confident one day I’ll strike gold, its just a matter of time!"

14. Some experiences that shaped you as a person?

"Experiences that shaped me? That’s a tough one, life just comes in its motions, its all played its part. If I had to choose one though I would say my experience with the school system and its expectations. I never did well in school, I was never interested in how it was presented, it seemed much to tedious. As a result of my disengagement I was hit with a lot of negativity growing up, a lot of doubt, and a lot of naysaying. I grew up with people telling me I would be flipping burgers and that I wouldn’t amount to anything if I didn’t do well in school, and maybe I’m just a vindictive bastard but part of me is out to prove them wrong. Kid’s all learn in different ways and to group them up into one cookie cutter model is just plain wrong and archaic. So yeah, cheers to taking the road less traveled!"

"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working." - Pablo Picasso

Check out Christian Blasini's social media accounts:

Christian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spaceboyduke/

Racket Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/racketmusic/

Under Construction: http://www.racketmusic.com/

Under Construction: http://manymoonssocial.com/?nr=0