Episodes

Is networking your kryptonite? Or maybe you find it challenging to do it efficiently (and effectively)? As someone who books business around the country (and a few internationally), it's important that I have a system that not only works but is manageable with all the other things I have going on (family life, other business ventures, etc.). In this episode, I share 5 networking strategies that are working for me in 2024.

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.

Recently got off a mileage run and documented that journey. I was flooded with questions about what that meant and why airline loyalty programs matter. With that in mind, I decided to record an episode on it.

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 December 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.

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."

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 October 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.

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 November 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 been noticing the denigration of customer service...not just on the national level but on the local level and even within the event industry. Therein lies the opportunity. In this episode, I talk through some of things I've noticed with the decline of service and I give a few tips on how you can stand out.

In this episode, I share 3 travel hacks - Courtyard Marriott hospitality/amenities, mileage matching with airlines, and keeping your paper airport parking ticket. I had to deal with all 3 this past month. Traveling as much as I do, my hope is that these hacks can save you headaches and improve your travel experiences.

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 August 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.

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 July 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.

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.