Episodes

Recently, there was a discussion in the private event DJ world about how the McDonald's model should be considered as something for DJ companies to emulate - selling services for cheap (and potentially even a subpar product) to produce big net revenue numbers. But is that fool's gold? What are the pros and cons of such an approach? The opposite of this is to sell to less clients for more money. But is there another way other than those two options? I believe there is. We discuss all of this and more on this episode.

When the financial belts of our clients tighten or a disaster strikes (hello wildfires, oil spills and COVID), you're able to really test how resilient of a pricing model you have. When it comes down to it and things aren't booking, what do you do? A lot of companies are dropping their prices in order to keep business coming through the door. Sounds like a solid strategy, but is it? Have you ever thought of the consequences of making that type of move? In this episode, I talk through both the short-term and long-term effects of a price reduction strategy as well as how to create a pricing structure that not only allows you to make it to the other side but to do so in an even stronger position than you are today.

It's an interesting time we're in. A lot of DJs (and event professionals at large) are dealing with clients who are asking for discounts, concessions, compromises to process, etc. This inevitably leads to the "woe is me" argument that has led some to suggest that all mobile DJs should be given a living wage as a baseline. Number one, this doesn't fix the problem and typically encourages bad behavior. Second, you place great risk on clients who hire you based on this flawed wages suggestion. Third, it's not sustainable and ultimately places a black eye on the industry. These hot takes and a host of more on this episode.

In today's episode, I finish with Part 3 of 3 in my interview series with Rob Ferre. We cover all things packing - what to pack, how to pack, and the pack itself. This episode is loaded with great travel hacks. Also, if you're a premium podcast subscriber, you'll get a PDF (a digital shopping list if you will ) of all the things we've talked about from the past 3 episodes.

In today's episode, I continue with Part 2 of my Rob Ferre interview. With this section of the interview, we focus in on traveling solo and must-have flying apps. Even if you are just a casual flyer, this episode is chalk-full of nuggets.

In today's episode, I interview Rob Ferre and we discuss airport lounge rankings and staying fit while traveling. Rob has been traveling more than me this year so he has quite the bit of hacks he's come across. I challenged both of us to come up with some advanced level hacks to share. You'll definitely walk away with some nuggets here.

With my music episodes, I try to present to you evergreen tracks that will be with you for a while. I subscribe to a ton of record pools beyond digging through blogs, Patreon, streaming services, Shazam, and the like. I thought I would share my top 10 most interesting musical track finds with you from the month of June 2023. Bonus: I'll give you the source on where to find the tracks I talk about. Not only do I hope to save you time in finding gems but I also give you my take on how/where I use them within my sets.

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.

With my music episodes, I try to present to you evergreen tracks that will be with you for a while. I subscribe to a ton of record pools beyond digging through blogs, Patreon, streaming services, Shazam, and the like. I thought I would share my top 10 most interesting musical track finds with you from the month of May 2023. Bonus: I'll give you the source on where to find the tracks I talk about. Not only do I hope to save you time in finding gems but I also give you my take on how/where I use them within my sets.

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.

Last year I posted an episode (Season 4, Episode 50) about the $50K theft I experienced. I've had some progress on that front and wanted to share an update in hopes of helping other DJs that might find themselves in this predicament. I believe the old adage goes something like, "The wheels of justice turn slowly." I can vouch for the accuracy of that statement.

This is a follow up to my previous episode on the DJC Recharge. In this episode, I explain the differences between our November experience and what is happening in July (our Recharge) as well as how this differentiates between other learning experiences out there in the DJ vertical. I also talk through some of the more foundational things you can expect at a DJC experience as well as some of the changes we're making for 2023's event. Some of it is breaking news!

What is the DJ Collective Recharge? Yes, it's different than our annual November event. I sincerely wish there would have been something like this when I was starting off so that I didn't have to ONLY learn from personally making massive mistakes as a DJ owner early on. As a now more "seasoned" company owner, I have come to understand the value of real-time mentorship and still have it in place today. This is for every level of DJ owner/operator. You don't want to pass this up...trust me on this. In this episode, I share insight into how this event taking place in Raleigh, NC July 24-25 is laid out and why you need be one of the 50 people in the room.

With my music episodes, I try to present to you evergreen tracks that will be with you for a while. I subscribe to a ton of record pools beyond digging through blogs, Patreon, streaming services, Shazam, and the like. I thought I would share my top 10 most interesting musical track finds with you from the month of April 2023. Bonus: I'll give you the source on where to find the tracks I talk about. Not only do I hope to save you time in finding gems but I also give you my take on how/where I use them within my sets.

Those that do the "private event" traveling DJ thing for more than a one-off gig or two are rare. Drew Pierce has been in it for a while but since 2020 has really gone "all in". In this interview, I get a chance to talk with him about a lot of different things surrounding this topic - his new booking policy, gear must haves, music he's learned along the way to play in regional locations, travel hacks, and a few hilarious travel gig stories as well.

Just got off a week where I went on an invite only FAM trip to Vail, CO and have another invite only FAM I'm attending next month in Martha's Vineyard. If that wasn't enough, I'm hosting my own 'minis' in June and July. Never heard of these things? What I've found over the past year or so is a desire for networking to be more intentional and less surface driven. In this episode, I define these networking event types making the argument that these might just be the future and encourage you to think about hosting your own.

Ever been hit up by a travel DJ for gear and don't know what to charge or how to quote? Or maybe you're getting asked to DJ out of market and want to get the inside scoop on how gear providers should be charging and what's typically included. I feel like with the amount of traveling DJ gigs now happening, this open letter (podcast) was needed. Let me know your thoughts.

In the DJ vertical (and the creative space at large), "package" selling is the most predominant type. But do why understand the advantages and disadvantages to this versus "Option" selling and "1 Solution" selling? In this episode, I break down the various types of selling options and give my own endorsement to the one that I feel places the highest expression of creative value. I've never been able to articulate this as clearly as I do in this episode.

Here's a listener requested topic. You're NOT an owner...but a pseudo single-op who gets booked out by booking agents and DMCs. You've done the work to improve who you are and operate differently than when you were first added to the roster. How do you go about having that conversation about the "new you" and your "new rate" with new prospective agents/DMCs as well as the older ones who are booking you now and are used to the "old you" and "old rate"?

With my music episodes, I try to present to you evergreen tracks that will be with you for a while. I subscribe to a ton of record pools beyond digging through blogs, Patreon, streaming services, Shazam, and the like. I thought I would share my top 10 most interesting musical track finds with you from the month of March 2023. Bonus: I'll give you the source on where to find the tracks I talk about. Not only do I hope to save you time in finding gems but I also give you my take on how/where I use them within my sets.