General Business Episodes

In 2022, I posted an episode (Season 4, Episode 50) about a $50K theft I experienced. I had some progress on that front and shared update #2 (Season 5, Episode 22) in May 2023 and then update #3 (Season 5, Episode 43) in December 2023 (more than 20 months after the theft occurred). Now, over 2 year…

This is another useful episode (IMHO) about dealing with DJ frustrations at events. I share two of them that seem to rattle a bunch of DJs (myself included) - placement in the room and sound ordinances. What happens if you find yourself in one of these situations at an event? How do you do your be…

Phil Morse has been educating DJs around the world through his learning platform, Digital DJ Tips, for years. In this episode, we talk about how the art of DJ'ing has evolved to this point, where it's headed and whether or not the future of Dj'ing is in a good place. He also is releasing an update…

Though it's not often considered, clarity in messaging is critical in closing a sale, gaining marketshare, justifying your rate, etc. If you are struggling in any of these areas, it almost always is directly linked to a confusing message. In this episode, I share 5 questions to run every bit of com…

I had a "triple event" weekend which was both a sobering reminder and an encouragement to pursuing artistry. When I was starting out in this industry, my whole sales process and value proposition was wrapped into what I could do "at" their event. The problem with that is you can't guarantee a lot …

In talking with DJs weekly, I get the sense we're headed for a similar 2023 where a decent amount of DJs aren't having the year in 2024 that they had hoped for as it pertains to both bookings and revenue. In the same breath, they are hopeful based on inquiries for the upcoming year (2025). I've alw…

I was targeted with a Facebook or Instagram ad by a business coach in the event industry space who made the claim that scaling your business was the only way to achieve true happiness. Having run various types of DJ businesses - from a large scale multi-op to a boutique agency to a single-op, I ca…

Most people think the only way you can win with a booking is by getting paid. No doubt, that is important. But in this episode, I offer two other "wins" you can gain from a booking that are rarely talked about but will absolutely move the needle forward in your business. I also discuss 2 monetary l…

I had a completely different direction I was going on the podcast this week and then the Knot's Do No Play List article (from January 2024) made the rounds on social media. As usual with these things, it conjured up a lot of emotion within the DJ community and boy did we see a few folks get trigger…

Being a mobile DJ owner is not for the faint of heart. Since running my own business, I've never found a time where I was like, "I'm bored." It doesn't matter if you're a single-op or a multi-op owner; you will always have a never ending list of things to do. That being said, we should never be b…

A homemade Halloween costume, Chevrolet Astro van seats, and blowing $1000. What do these things have to do with being the highest priced DJ on a preferred venue list where you find yourself unable to land events due to the other lower priced DJs on the list? You'll have to listen to find out.

This episode could be a game changing listen for you. At the very least, it should give you all the confidence you would ever need to go out to the world with your pricing, no matter what it is. In the last month and a half, I've been asking clients this question: What Is Your Overall Event Budget?…

I haven't done a rant in a while but this one is warranted. This "dream team"verbiage you're seeing by planners is not helping the industry. In fact, it further divides it. By creating this elitist category of creatives, it also has led to fake inquiries. Nobody deserves that. I address the elepha…

In response to the last episode, some listeners wanted me to cover W2 (Employee) vs 1099 (Subcontractors). I've actually run my company both ways a few different times. In this episode, I share the pros and cons to both and give you an option at the end that may be advantageous for those wanting t…

One of those "learn on the job" things in the mobile DJ world is how to pay your DJs if you become a mutli-op owner. It usually starts with a copy and paste of someone else's way of doing it and then it morphs into whatever it takes to keep your Djs on the staff. Guilty, party of 1 of those approac…

Is goal setting hard for you? It was for me. For years, I felt like I struggled striking the perfect balance between making goals too easy and too hard for myself. There was no rhyme or reason to how I'd figure out what my goals were. A few years back, I started to get real intentional about my g…

I thought this interview was lost. We recorded this 5 months ago but the file was corrupted. Somehow, I worked some voodoo magic and I was able to bring it back to life. Thank God because there's some gold in here. Malike Adigun is crushing it in Florida with his company, Curate Entertainment. A…

Last year I posted an episode (Season 4, Episode 50) about a $50K theft I experienced. I had some progress on that front and shared update #2 (Season 5, Episode 22) in May of this year. Here's update #3 (more than 20 months after the theft occurred). Cliff notes version: I'm stilling clinging to t…

I've always been relatively healthy. That said, I had my fair share of late night eats and energy drinks to get me through gig seasons. But as I got into my mid-late 30s, I definitely was starting to feel the effects of some of these poor choices. I would randomly get injured, back flair ups, indig…

At the end of the day, your client contract tells the ultimate story of your business. With that premise, why is it that our industry often settles for copy and pasting from others or downloading contract templates? Not only does this potentially expose your business to tremendous legal risk but i…

A listener requested topic. Gifting is so broad so I decided in this episode to zero in on "vendor" gifting. There are so many reasons why you should consider doing this. How you implement it can be just as varied. When you do this is critical for maximum impact. But everyone also wants to be uniqu…

We've all heard of people who buy houses that are at the top end or above their budget and then they have no money to purchase the necessities to compliment the purchase. They are often referred to as "house poor". Believe it or not, this happens quite often in the private event world. Clients wil…

In this episode, I talk through this idea of either leading or following prospects when it comes to a sales consult or discovery meeting. For so many, the idea of the DJ company driving those interactions may lead to repelling a potential client. Yes, that's true, but I believe that's a good thing.…

So you're a thriving private event DJ in the #2 market in the US and you decide to start over in a new market. What goes into a decision like this? Do you keep your original market location or dump it and go all in on the new one? What's the way to gain marketshare in a saturated market that has …