Can you upsell yourself out of the DJ biz?

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J

JoeChartreuse

New DJ
Dec 12, 2006
3,934
1
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Bergen County, NJ
Let's say you start out in this business because enjoy being a DJ. You work some bar venues. You decide you'd like to make some event money. A birthday party here, a VFW function there. You start getting interested in larger functions. You do some corporate functions, maybe book a small wedding. You start learning what goes into larger functions and begin thinking about getting your fingers in other pieces of the pie;


You add referrals to your services. You add Photography/Videography. You add Event Planning. For all I know you add a a personal Pattissier to the food service already at the venue. You still do music, lighting, etc..

My question is, are you still in the business that you wanted to be in the first place?


My purpose for this thread has nothing to do with anyone else. I went through a personal re-evaluation recently. My answer to myself was NO.

Although I never got quite so involved as the list above implies, I still got too involved with peripheral services FOR ME. I have shifted my focus almost entirely away from weddings ( with the exception of weddings where I am requested by my bar venue karaoke singers) to corporate events and private parties. Corporates pay extremely well, and by reducing non-essential upsells I actually make about as much net profit as the weddings, AND I CAN ACTUALLY ENJOY THEM! Imagine- Making money AND enjoying yourself. I feel like I'm home again.....

OK, I feel better. Please remember that this post is really all about me. If you enjoy the other stuff, then it's most certainly right for you.

aaaaahhhhhhh, MUCH better
 
Joe,

My wife does photography work but we don't sell them together in any manner.

I was seriously considering adding a limo service to my DJ company but after checking into it I backed out because of the amount of extra time that would take to run.

I started out as a band member then went to supply sound for bands, then DJ, then to Karaoke. I now do rentals for DJs, karaoke people and bands and find very little extra time for myself.

As for the question for me the answer is YES you can upsell yourself out of the business you wanted.

BTW I love Bar gigs.
 
Joe : Congratulations on your reinvention. The sigh of relief and release is clearly audible all the way up here in Saratoga. [ Where's the applause smilie?? ]
 
applause.gif
 
Yep.....its so much easier to just "show up & spin" at those club gigs.

But yes the answer is you can lose the booking by including ceremony in your quote.

Sometimes its better to just bid the reception at a lower rate, then do an upgrade after you've already got the deposit in the bank.

Even though I believe honesty is the best policy, its cost me a LOT of jobs because I'm upfront about the ceremony costs when I make a quote.
 
I've always thought of myself as a DJ first,,, Karaoke, Game Show, Game Packages, Lighting , Live Sound, that was all just filler stuff to do...

I have a DJ bud who never says no,,, you need porta potties? He's your man.... For me there are reasons I don't.....
1- (and the biggest reason) is that I am lazy
2- it takes away from my DJ world and that is the most important thing to me in biz
3- Too many headaches for not enough return
4- you have to rely on other people....that sounds bad doesn't it?

Oh well...
 
scottsusor said:
You thought my little funny would start a fight? Well ... OK then ...

Scott
Click to expand...


Scott, I don't know what your post was, but I have a skin like a rhino, and enjoy any debate. I never take things personally, and always try to keep it lite. If you would like to PM or E-mail me, please feel free....
 
Joe,

It wasn't directed at you, Scott made a little joke but it was in the wrong thread!
 
Greets, Joe and thanks. :)

We've been in the biz since '93 and we're still "just a DJ service". It's so much easier that way. While we've essentially retired from the biz, we'll accept a booking that will be fun and provide a decent paycheck.

I have observed some companies that offer multiple wedding services. That's too much work for this old dog to oversee. Just show me where you want us to set up and we're good.

We never went for lighting rigs, video, karaoke and additional services like photography and wedding invitations because these things, while all good, would have required a great deal of work. We prefer to offer one service, give it our full attention and do it well.

The idea is for it to be fun. If it becomes work it's not fun anymore.
 
Wuz doin' lights ... Gone! Not enough folks interested. If anybody wants lights, I know enough people that do lights that I can sub that part out.

My primary focus is weddings. I also do parties (corporate and otherwise).

As part of weddings I have add-ons for music videos, video ambiance, and photo montages. I don't get a boatload of people interested in thes gut will do them if they purchase the service. These add-ons have not changed the focus of my service but they have enhanced it.
 
GoodKnight......I had a long period (between mid-90's thru 2004) where I'd hardly ever use lights.

The last couple of years, it became common for your corporates to request lighting, so I've had a very portable, easy to install system using two simple tripods, sound activated DMX fixtures in master/slave mode. Then just added the 2 Chauvet Mini-Legends, also very eazy to set up & they are also rigged with a mini-controller, master/slave mode. Entire rig cost just over $1k, but these are all $950 6-hour corpies, that call back year after year.

Now flash back to Dec. 30 (day B4 NYE, evening wedding). That wedding reception would have tanked had it not been for the dance lighting!

In some cases, lighting is NOT an upsell, it becomes a NECESSITY.

Intels have become so cheap now.....in some markets, those DJs without Intelligent Lighting will become dinosaurs.
 
Matt:

It is an East Coast vs. West Coast thing, I think. I just seems that most B&Gs that I service don't want the lights.
 
I have lights,

Intels, S&Ps, Pars and mirror balls, I get request for lights about 1 or twice a year. The rest are specific "NO LIGHTS".
 
Wow!!!

I've never heard of such a thing... it must be a "regional" thing.
 
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