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From Sinatra to Springsteen, Bill Schramm Spins
Tunes and Success
Bill Schramm
Most weekend nights, Bill Schramm, 21, is hardly ever home. Instead, you'll find him at weddings, proms, homecomings, anniversaries, bachelor parties, where he is known as DJ Tech.
Schramm, who lived in four different foster homes during his three years in care in Traverse City in northern Michigan, has a booming disc jockey business, thanks to the money he saved and got matched through his Opportunity Passport™ Individual Development Account (IDA).
"It's unbelievable - being an 18-year-old, having nothing and being able to save up that type of money and then getting the match and becoming independent and starting your own business," says Schramm, owner of Stylish Sounds and a full-time student, studying business administration at Northwestern Michigan College.
Schramm has been involved in the Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative of Northwest Michigan for about five or six years and enrolled in the financial literacy training almost immediately. "That really helped me with the intricacies of money and all the things you don't learn in foster care because you don't have parents, such as bill paying," said Schramm, who aged out of care at 17.
Actually, Schramm has done four IDA matches, in which he saves $1,000 and then the Initiative matches his $1,000.
His first purchase was a 1985 Toyota Supra. Then, he started saving again and paid off medical bills.
He noticed a help wanted ad in the newspaper for disc jockeys - a longtime interest. He got the job at the princely sum of $25 an hour and later worked for a second DJ company. But eventually, it dawned on Schramm that he could do the job better. "I realized I can go on my own and do this better," he says. He used $1,000 in savings and the $1,000 match from the Initiative and bought a "cheap, pathetic" DJ system that launched his business. As his gigs grew, he bought better equipment. "Now, I have the biggest DJ system in the Northwest region," he chuckles. His web site is www.stylishsounds.com.
But Schramm didn't stop there. He did a fourth match to launch a web site called www.mifyt.com - Michigan Foster Youth in Transition. He was able to get concert-grade microphones and other equipment for radio recordings so he can interview young people about foster care.
