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 sh...
Aug 10, 2023•22 min•Season 5Ep. 35
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. Thir...
Aug 04, 2023•16 min•Season 5Ep. 34
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. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share. Thanks in advance. Check out my podcast website and my premium podcast content ...
Jul 13, 2023•24 min•Season 5Ep. 33
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. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share. Thanks in advance. Check out my podcast website and my premium podcast content community page . DJs: Are you not using VIBO, the music request and planning app? Let's fix this for you! Go to https://vibodj.com . For ...
Jul 03, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 32
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. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share. Thanks in advance. Check out my podcast website and my premium podcast content community page . DJs: Are you not usi...
Jun 22, 2023•29 min•Season 5Ep. 31
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 ...
Jun 14, 2023•20 min•Season 5Ep. 30
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...
Jun 08, 2023•26 min•Season 5Ep. 29
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 vertica...
May 30, 2023•14 min•Season 5Ep. 28
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 insp...
May 23, 2023•21 min•Season 5Ep. 27
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 e...
May 16, 2023•15 min•Season 5Ep. 26
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 t...
May 11, 2023•22 min•Season 5Ep. 25
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 it does it look like to le...
May 09, 2023•12 min•Season 5Ep. 24
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 reloca...
May 05, 2023•33 min•Season 5Ep. 23
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 a similar predicament. I believe the old adage goes something like, "The wheels of justice turn slowly." I can vouch for the accuracy of that statement. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share. Thanks in advance. Check out my podcast website and my premium podcast content communi...
May 03, 2023•16 min•Season 5Ep. 22
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! I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe...
Apr 28, 2023•20 min•Season 5Ep. 21
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...
Apr 20, 2023•16 min•Season 5Ep. 20
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...
Apr 18, 2023•21 min•Season 5Ep. 19
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. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share. Th...
Apr 12, 2023•25 min•Season 5Ep. 18
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 thi...
Apr 10, 2023•16 min•Season 5Ep. 17
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. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share. Thanks in advance. Check out my podcast website and my premium podcast content com...
Mar 31, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 16
In the DJ vertical (and the creative space at large), "package" selling is the most predominant type. But do we 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. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share...
Mar 28, 2023•26 min•Season 5Ep. 15
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"? I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share....
Mar 21, 2023•16 min•Season 5Ep. 14
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...
Mar 17, 2023•22 min•Season 5Ep. 13
On this season of the podcast, from time to time, I will be sharing with you some of the personal tools that I use which I think can help you as a DJ. In this episode, I sit down with my vocal coach, Gerald Isaac. A vocal coach for a DJ? Yeah, I didn't think I would need one either. Now, almost 2 years in of weekly remote (zoom) 1 hour vocal lessons, I've made a 180 - both in terms of my performance being taken to a higher level and with my thoughts that this can be of help (even to a seasoned v...
Mar 15, 2023•30 min•Season 5Ep. 12
Are you in place where you want to punch up to the next level of clientele but are struggling to get there or maybe just looking for some consistency with landing the next level of clientele? Then this is for you. In this episode, I share with you three ways to prepare yourself for that next level and how you can bypass a lot of the trial and error that I went through in punching through. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share. Thanks in advance. Check out my podcast website and my premium ...
Mar 10, 2023•16 min•Season 5Ep. 11
If ever I had a strength in DJ'ing, it's this...knowing what music to play during the "in between" moments. In my past life, I had to curate songs that went with specific story or subject lines so I became really good at not only knowing WHERE to insert music but WHAT to insert. Whenever people shadow me at events, this is something that gets mentioned often. In this episode (a listener requested topic), I share moments to look for in corporate and wedding events, play you a few sample tracks an...
Mar 06, 2023•20 min•Season 5Ep. 10
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 February 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 ...
Feb 28, 2023•23 min•Season 5Ep. 9
In the last couple years, I've been blessed to punch up in working with high net worth clientele. At the ultra luxury level, there's quite a difference in what those types of clients value and the behavior that needs to go along with it. While I have been able to naturally adjust, I wish I had some of the nuggets I share in this episode without having to have adapted on the fly. Check out my podcast website and my premium podcast content community page . DJs: Are you not using VIBO, the music re...
Feb 27, 2023•16 min•Season 5Ep. 8
In a day and age where it's easy to just copy and paste (hello ChatGPT) website verbiage, social media captions or even marketing strategies, how do you stand out? Newsflash: It's not to yell louder or spend more on advertising. It's about going deeper. One of the ways to do this is through story-telling. This isn't new..."story" is a marketing buzz word. But even with it out there, not may people are doing it....or at least not doing it well. In this episode, I talk through not only why it's im...
Feb 23, 2023•12 min•Season 5Ep. 7
On this season of the podcast, from time to time, I will be sharing with you some of the tools that I use which I think can help you as a DJ. In this episode, I sit down with VIBO's founder, Michael Mahler. Vibo is an event planning and music request app that I've been using ever since it launched in the US back in 2017. For those not familiar with the app, Michael talks through some of the highlights of the product. We discuss some of the things on the horizon for the app's future and then he a...
Feb 22, 2023•24 min•Season 5Ep. 6
