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 enjo...
May 16, 2024•24 min•Season 6Ep. 13
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 2024. 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 23, 2024•20 min•Season 6Ep. 12
Earlier this year, the Knot published 26 "Do Not Play Songs" from the perspective of a guest attending a wedding. Some (not all) DJs made comments to the effect of, "These are go to songs for me" or "I'd feel handicapped without them." In an effort to help those DJs, Drew Pierce (fellow DJ, editor and programmer extraordinaire) and I give you replacement song ideas for songs #14-26 on the playlist with part of this interview. If nothing else, keep these song ideas on your radar in case they do a...
Apr 19, 2024•22 min•Season 6Ep. 11
Earlier this year, the Knot published 26 "Do Not Play Songs" from the perspective of a guest attending a wedding. Some (not all) DJs made comments to the effect of, "These are go to songs for me" or "I'd feel handicapped without them." In an effort to help those DJs, Drew Pierce (fellow DJ, editor and programmer extraordinaire) and I give you replacement song ideas for songs #1-13 on the playlist. If nothing else, keep these song ideas on your radar in case they do appear on a client's do not pl...
Apr 18, 2024•29 min•Season 6Ep. 10
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 wit...
Apr 15, 2024•22 min•Season 6Ep. 9
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. My Patreon Shop is live! Grab documents and music listings a la cart...
Apr 10, 2024•13 min•Season 6Ep. 8
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. My Patreon Shop is live! Grab documents and music listings a la carte. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share. Thanks in advance. Check out my podcast websi...
Apr 05, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 7
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. My Patreon Shop is live! Grab documents...
Apr 04, 2024•15 min•Season 6Ep. 6
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 2024. 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 28, 2024•22 min•Season 6Ep. 5
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...
Mar 14, 2024•16 min•Season 6Ep. 4
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. My Patreon Shop is live! Grab documents and music listings a la carte. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share. Thanks in advance. Check out my podcast website and my premium podcast content community ...
Mar 07, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 3
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 2024. 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 22, 2024•18 min•Season 6Ep. 2
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 January 2024. 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 u...
Feb 20, 2024•20 min•Season 6Ep. 1
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. My Patreon Shop is live! Grab documents and music listings a la carte. I'm...
Feb 17, 2024•16 min•Season 5Ep. 52
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 exchang...
Feb 17, 2024•16 min•Season 5Ep. 51
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. My Patreon Shop is live! Grab documents and music listings a la carte. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share. Thanks in advance. Check out my podcast website and my...
Feb 06, 2024•15 min•Season 5Ep. 50
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. My Patreon Shop is live! Grab documents and music listings a la carte. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share. Thanks in advance. Check out...
Feb 02, 2024•23 min•Season 5Ep. 49
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. Onc...
Jan 26, 2024•15 min•Season 5Ep. 48
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 s...
Jan 25, 2024•16 min•Season 5Ep. 47
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 company, Curate Entertainment. A large part of that success has been his marketing and branding. In that vain, he recently launched a new venture called "The Curated DJ" which is a branding and social media agency aimed at helping the mobil...
Jan 10, 2024•35 min•Season 5Ep. 46
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. 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 my podcast listeners only, ent...
Jan 08, 2024•13 min•Season 5Ep. 45
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 ...
Jan 01, 2024•21 min•Season 5Ep. 44
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." My Patreon Shop is live! Grab documents and music listings a la carte. I'm on YOUTUBE ! Please subscribe and share. Thanks in advance. Check...
Dec 08, 2023•15 min•Season 5Ep. 43
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 u...
Dec 04, 2023•21 min•Season 5Ep. 42
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 ...
Nov 20, 2023•20 min•Season 5Ep. 41
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. 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...
Oct 04, 2023•14 min•Season 5Ep. 40
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. 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 ...
Sep 18, 2023•13 min•Season 5Ep. 39
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 us...
Aug 28, 2023•21 min•Season 5Ep. 38
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 ...
Aug 21, 2023•24 min•Season 5Ep. 37
Recently, there was a discussion in the private event DJ world about how the McDonald's model should be considered as something 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 epis...
Aug 18, 2023•14 min•Season 5Ep. 36
