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 years later, I believe we've come to the end of the road on this situation and I don't think anyone (myself included) could have predicted its conclusion. Episode call back hyperlinks are in the show notes.

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 best to avoid these issues ahead of the event? We discuss those things on this episode.

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 updated version of his book "Rock The Dance Floor!" on May 30th, 2024 (the 1st version was an international best seller). Grab your copy of the book via the link in the show notes.

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 communication/messaging through in order to keep your messaging clear, concise and memorable.

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 of those things because so much of it is out of your control. A few years ago I shifted to selling the things I could control. While that may add a few more layers to my process (that I actually do enjoy), there still is the "day of event" pay-off that you hope for as a creative. What happens when the pay-off doesn't occur? I cover that and more in this episode.

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 always been a realist rather than a glass half full/glass half empty type person. The reality is that we still have 3/4 of the year to go. If things aren't hitting, don't pack it in. In this interview with my good friend and DJ industry educator, Joe Bunn, we talk through what can be done to not only save 2024 but also plant seeds for 2025.

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 can emphatically tell you it's not the "only" way. In this episode, I give DJ business owners a couple things to consider in this area.

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 landmines that you should look to avoid.

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 triggered. I'm frankly at a loss as to why. What an opportunity you have to show yourself as the expert to your client. In this episode, I give you my thoughts on this.

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 beholden to our job. It should be a means to an end. Over the years, there's 6 things I've incorporated into my workflow to help me stay efficient with my time. Time is the one thing we can NEVER get back. Once it's gone, it's gone. In sharing these tips, my hope is that you can find at least one of them useful and that it can give you a sense of feeling like you are in control of your responsiblities instead of time and tasks controlling you.

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? Maybe I was naive for the last 20 years, but after reviewing what it is clients are spending on their events and what percentage of the pie we're receiving, it doesn't seem to me to be an even exchange when you look at the overall impact we have on events. I think it's time we change that. Listen and let me know if you agree.

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 elephant in the room on this episode.

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 to blur the lines between office workers/event performers.

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 approaches. Over the years, it's become apparent to me that there are 3 options to paying your DJs. I go through the pros and cons of each. At the end of the day, you have a 100% booking pie to work with. Once I wrapped my head around that, it was easy to figure out what I could offer my DJs. What are your thoughts? Am I missing a method? Does one I mention resonate for you?

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 goals and put together a structure that not only serves my business well, but also is used for me personally and for my family. I wanted to share it with all of you in hopes of helping you create a goal strategy that sets you up for success in 2024.

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 large part of that success has been his marketing and branding. In that vein, he recently launched a new venture called "The Curated DJ" which is a branding and social media agency aimed at helping the mobile DJ figure out their brand identity and tell that story. We talk all the things in this episode.

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 the old adage that goes, "The wheels of justice grind slowly."

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, indigestion, etc. It finally hit a head and I had to figure this out. Working out was never my thing. I opted for sports. But in 2020-2021, when the world in NYC (where I lived at the time), was essentially shut down, I needed something I could do in my apartment. Enter in Matty Pattison, owner/founder of CoreSmart. This has been a total game changer and I'm excited to share this with you. In this current season of the podcast, I've been sharing certain tools and resources of mine in an effort to help others. There's no paid endorsements here...just giving back to the DJ community at large. Enjoy this episode.

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 it robs you of the ability to truly differentiate yourself from others. In this episode, I give you 5 things to think about with your contract that I hope leads to us all leveling up our industry vertical.

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 unique with the what. I spill the tea on what I've done here but with so many resources now available for sourcing gift ideas, your options are truly limitless. Hopefully, by the end of this episode, I inspire you to get in on the gifting game.

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 will secure a venue and not have any money to compliment the space with like-minded creatives. These types of clients can be referred to as "venue poor". It's such a shame that this happens for a special event that may only occur once in their lifetime. How do you overcome this issue? I give you 3 ways to do so in this episode.

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...because you leave room for the right clients who are attracted and frankly excited about the journey you're going to take them on. Pricing really becomes secondary. So what does it look like to lead? I unpack that on this one.

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 great DJs already? All of these questions and more are part of my interview with Krieger, the DJ. He's never at a loss for words and has quite the opinions (which I love!). If you've thought about relocating to another market, this episode is for you.