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TJS said:
Thanks Rick! I can see how just keeping things small (as in price etc) can help book more at first just to get experience. I had one wealthy neighbor of a friend get on the topic of DJing with me. He had talked to one guy for his daughter's upcoming wedding and the dj was charging $2000. He asked me what I cost and I said $400. He about filled his boxers at that point. He was instantly thinking he was getting ripped off with the $2000 bid. He asked what makes the difference? I told him I was just starting out. Experience...Equipment...Ability to do certain add-ons makes the difference. (I had said $400 because I just got done doing a car show for that). He seemed to understand but I went away feelin' like a $400 chump knowing he was completely willing to spend $2000+. But...Like Taso said. I know I wouldn't have been able to provided a $2000 experience and would have damaged my reputation in the long run.
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There are guys that have been DJs for YEARS who will go out and do $400 weddings. They are harder to find now because many of them have retired, but there are some guys who have been around 15+ years and will book $400 to $500 Weddings.

There is an older DJ who lives maybe 10 miles from me who charges $595/4 hour weddings. He has had the same price for like 6 years now. He use t be $495/4 hours. The guy is over 60, and been a DJ for 30 years.

...So, EXPERIENCE doesn't have everything to do with DJ prices.
 
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DJ Ricky B said:
There are guys that have been DJs for YEARS who will go out and do $400 weddings. They are harder to find now because many of them have retired, but there are some guys who have been around 15+ years and will book $400 to $500 Weddings.

There is an older DJ who lives maybe 10 miles from me who charges $595/4 hour weddings. He has had the same price for like 6 years now. He use t be $495/4 hours. The guy is over 60, and been a DJ for 30 years.

...So, EXPERIENCE doesn't have everything to do with DJ prices.
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No it also has to do with skill, demand, knowing your worth, and also the overall ability to provide what the higher paying couples are seeking.
 
TJS said:
Thanks Rick! I can see how just keeping things small (as in price etc) can help book more at first just to get experience. I had one wealthy neighbor of a friend get on the topic of DJing with me. He had talked to one guy for his daughter's upcoming wedding and the dj was charging $2000. He asked me what I cost and I said $400. He about filled his boxers at that point. He was instantly thinking he was getting ripped off with the $2000 bid. He asked what makes the difference? I told him I was just starting out. Experience...Equipment...Ability to do certain add-ons makes the difference. (I had said $400 because I just got done doing a car show for that). He seemed to understand but I went away feelin' like a $400 chump knowing he was completely willing to spend $2000+. But...Like Taso said. I know I wouldn't have been able to provided a $2000 experience and would have damaged my reputation in the long run.
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Yes, there are times where your lack of price will work against you. It's not typical to see that very often, at least right out of the gate. Sounds like you gave him an honest answer. No, the $2k wasn't ripping him off, he just has more experience than you do and (quite likely) a more polished presentation. Once you realize you're losing dates on a regular basis (not just a one-off), then it's time to hike the rates up.

The other thing you need to know is that the cheap clients will, by far, be the biggest PITA folks you'll deal with. When I was working for $400-$500, I constantly was running into petty, gripe about everything under the sun and demand the stars kind of people. They made my life misery for a few years. As I started raising rates past $500 I started getting clients that valued what I did and treated my like gold. Unfortunately, I really don't know any way to go from zero to Taso level without paying the dues.
 
djtaso said:
No it also has to do with skill, demand, knowing your worth, and also the overall ability to provide what the higher paying couples are seeking.
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Yup. Also, A lot of DJs get USE TO, or "comfortable" with a specific clientelle. ...Then there are some that advertising "Reasonable Pricing" and believe any DJ charging over $1,000 is ripping their clients off. ...Seen those ads online as well over the years.

There are a lot of variables that go into it.
 
Great input! I know I have the ability to fine tune skill and certainly the vision for presentation. It sort of boils down to getting out of the gate and being able to get some gigs to put money back into the biz. Tough when your vision far exceeds your financial ability at the moment to make that vision a reality. Thanks for the insight, guys!
-Tom
 
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