We were lucky to catch up with Neema Naz recently! Here’s our convo below:
Neema , we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?
My mom and dad. They always raised us to be kind and giving to people no matter what. Their hospitality with not only their friends, but strangers made me learn to do the same as much as possible.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a comedian/actor/content creator. I’ve been doing standup comedy, making videos, and acting since 2014 when I dropped out university to pursue my dreams in the entertainment world. I’ve always wanted to prove to myself and the people around me that actually following your dreams is a very real thing and that it’s okay to take that risk. It requires a lot of consistent hard work and dedication and for years there will be tough times but the rewards outweigh all of that.
By building my own following of comedy fans on socials, I’ve been able to self fund my own nation wide tour with the help of my team by getting my own audience to buy tickets and enjoy the shows.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The 3 qualities that were most impactful were Passion, Belief, and Drive. If I never believed in myself enough to take that jump and drop out to pursue my passions, I wouldn’t be where I am today. The way my parents worked everyday for years also taught me to never give up on myself and keep working hard, and that’s where I get my drive from.
The best advice I can give is just to get on stage as much as possible and don’t judge yourself in the process. It takes a lot of time and patience to get better and better before you start making real moves in the industry.
The most important thing to remember is if you are easy to work with, that will get your farther in your career than any skill you have.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
My older brother aka my manager!
My brother Omid, came on board as my manager after 5 years of me doing comedy when he saw a blind spot in my career that I couldn’t take care of on my own.
He taught me so much about the business side of things that I otherwise had no idea about and really elevated how we started to run our business. From over a decade experience in the music industry himself, he was able to teach me many invaluable things that were related to the entertainment industry. I was lucky enough to have someone like him in my corner as someone I can fully trust to help me make the best decisions about my career without going through the mistakes that he once made in his career before. Having him allowed me to pretty much fast track my career by a few years by avoiding the bad mistakes ahead of time so I can get results faster.
Contact Info:
- Website: neemanaz.com
- Instagram: neemanaz
- Facebook: neemanaz
- Twitter: neemanaztv
- Youtube: neemanaz
- Other: TikTok: neemanaz
