DJ Shimza on the challenges of sustaining his charity events for a decade

Even though there were several times when DJ Shimza thought his passion to help the community would financially cripple him he soldiered on. Now ten years later, Shimza's One Man Show for charity is thriving and he's glad he took those punches. 

"It feels good to get here because a lot of events start and they kind of just fall off. Sometimes because of the wrong business models or not doing it for the right reasons. So for me to have come as far as I have and not being part of the circle of dying events and having to start another one. To be able to grow an event for ten years, is amazing."

The DJ began the One Man Show with the idea of getting a fire lineup of artists to pull a crowd and donate money to children's school clothes.  However, it's aptly named because for the past nine years Shimza has been the only DJ on the lineup. 

Now on Christmas day this year, he will host the annual concert for the tenth time.

He told TshisaLIVE that it's been a  very eventful decade.

"It's been a blessing. I have learned a lot and I have lost a lot of money along the way but I didn't give up, I kept going.

"I lost money because obviously when you start something you can't just expect sponsors to jump in because they usually need to see what you've done first before they join you. Without the experience and finances, it's a lot harder. Experience teaches you things like knowing about tickets and how they work and knowing that security is one of the biggest priorities you can have when planning an event."

Shimza explained that for him making a difference through the event has been more important than the business side. He said that the One Man Show only started making a profit in its 8th or 9th year but that watching the impact its had has been food for his soul.