How did you come up with your prices for events?

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MIXMASTERMACHOM

DJ Extraordinaire
ODJT Supporter
Oct 16, 2011
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I know I'm going to take a beating on here for asking this question but I asked. I'm not asking you what your prices are, just how did you get there and are they working for you?

My reason for asking this is because I got in a big argument last night with my partner.

A lady came up to me to ask how much do you charge. What she wanted to know is how much would I charge her for us to stay for 2 more hours. She then went on to ask what do we charge to do events. I told her it depends on the type of event and was going to say more but my partner jumped in without knowing any details and said $400. My issue and I was told I was right is that he just gave a price without getting any details. He said he knew the people there. Ok that's fine. What happened to getting details first before giving a price quote?

So now he's leaving it up to me to come up with starting prices and let hi. See what I came up with to see if he agrees. So I'm not sure where to start. I know my aim is to have starting prices and go up from there. Also looking to start building a new website on Friday from Site 123 which looks super easy.

I don't have a problem with us doing the event we did last night for $400 since it's been around 5 months since we did a gig. I just want to make improvements in the future and not keep making the same mistake which is chasing after low paying gigs when we're low on money or broke.

I do understand it's time to go beyond the circle we've been in and venture out further to clients who will pay a good price for us to do an event. Also I got ideas on getting more things for the business over time. At the prices we do events for we can't afford to spend money from the business to get those things. I'm not in super mad rush to get things. First things first. Do better with our prices that we charge to do events because the quality is there and that's not my ego talking. Others have told me we should be charging more.

Last night my friend told me what was wrong with my partner. His ego was way up there and that's why he didn't want to hear anything I had to say. He did a great job and I had a bunch of people getting business cards from me. So have at it. I need to listen now and before I hear I need to dump the partner he did an event that if I was the DJ would have been lost. He knew exactly what to play for that couple and their guests.
 
How did you come up with your prices for events?
First, I joined a dj forum.

Second I asked this very question in different ways about a trillion times.

One trillion & one, I ignored all the adivce and suggestions and continued working for the lowest possible rate..better than nothing right?
 
First you need to know what you can do and how much you are worth.

Then you to know what is current going rate is for what you have to offer or want to offer, exactly who is willing to pay what and can you actually reach that market/client.

Then is what you have to offer the better, the same or worst than the current offering in that category.

Then I breakdown how man hrs are required, much is required to reach the client, much equipment, travel & overhead is required.

Everyone has different way of coming up with pricing. Early on when I first started my Video Dance Parties the first 6 years I was very with successful in my market get more my than the other DJs. But actually I was getting paid 1/3 of what Video Dance companies outside my area were charging. At the rate I was originally charging although I was making good money I can’t afford to purchase the equipment to expand. I had failed to correctly do my market research because I was just concentrating on what was just right in front of me. After correctly doing my research and investing in a total redo/remake of marketing and equipment to bring it on par with the other outside my area companies. I tripled my pricing. 1993 I was at LDI purchasing the latest intell llighting, 1996 we starting totally different strategy marketing to colleges, 1997 we started regionally touring, 2000 we scored our the first of 4 major showcases beating out much larger companies.

For me good or bad it is all about making money and being able reward those who work with me. The other thing is expanding requires serious money and/or contacts with money, equipment & connections. But first you got to have a plan & get the pricing right.
 
I set goals...

At first it was less about price and more so just getting gigs... say 15 gigs in a year... and do what I had to do to earn that.

once I started getting a steady set of gigs, I set financial goals. My first real financial goal was saying I wanted tohit 50k in sales. Since I did about 50 gigs a year by then, that meant I needed to avg $1000 per gig. So I started at $950 to keep it under $1000 and figured I’d get add one to help me get my avg higher. From there I realized $50k in revenue was only $25k in profit, so I worked to get my revenue to $100k then $150k then higher and higher using the same formula. I then aimed to increase profits by controlling spending.

Ultimately though, the price was truly set by my clients and if they believed what I was asking for was worth it. If you charge $400 then you better bring $400 worth of value so future clients will think you’re worth that much. I aim to avg at just over $3000 an event... so I better bring something that shows that value otherwise my averages will go lower and my booking rate won’t be as high.
 
I know I'm going to take a beating on here for asking this question but I asked. I'm not asking you what your prices are, just how did you get there and are they working for you?

My reason for asking this is because I got in a big argument last night with my partner.

A lady came up to me to ask how much do you charge. What she wanted to know is how much would I charge her for us to stay for 2 more hours. She then went on to ask what do we charge to do events. I told her it depends on the type of event and was going to say more but my partner jumped in without knowing any details and said $400. My issue and I was told I was right is that he just gave a price without getting any details. He said he knew the people there. Ok that's fine. What happened to getting details first before giving a price quote?

So now he's leaving it up to me to come up with starting prices and let hi. See what I came up with to see if he agrees. So I'm not sure where to start. I know my aim is to have starting prices and go up from there. Also looking to start building a new website on Friday from Site 123 which looks super easy.

I don't have a problem with us doing the event we did last night for $400 since it's been around 5 months since we did a gig. I just want to make improvements in the future and not keep making the same mistake which is chasing after low paying gigs when we're low on money or broke.

I do understand it's time to go beyond the circle we've been in and venture out further to clients who will pay a good price for us to do an event. Also I got ideas on getting more things for the business over time. At the prices we do events for we can't afford to spend money from the business to get those things. I'm not in super mad rush to get things. First things first. Do better with our prices that we charge to do events because the quality is there and that's not my ego talking. Others have told me we should be charging more.

Last night my friend told me what was wrong with my partner. His ego was way up there and that's why he didn't want to hear anything I had to say. He did a great job and I had a bunch of people getting business cards from me. So have at it. I need to listen now and before I hear I need to dump the partner he did an event that if I was the DJ would have been lost. He knew exactly what to play for that couple and their guests.

If you want to charge more than the minimum, you need to project quality in everything you do. Every interaction needs to give the client confidence that you can give them what they want.

Things that will let clients know you aren't a DJ worth paying more for:
1) Not projecting that you have a wide range of music knowledge
2) Poorly worded emails/poor communication skills
3) Not having a modem digital presentation online
4) lacking a professional appearance
5) Not asking the right questions in an initial meeting
6) seeing a DJ at an event and the music stops
7) seeing a DJ getting towed from an event
8) seeing business partners that don't have a cohesive business model... Hearing one thing from one partner and something different from the other

Playing/mixing music at an event is easy. Anyone can learn these things. Getting the client to believe you are worth paying more for is the hard part
 
There are 3 things that have to happen to determine your price:

1) You need to evaluate what your time is worth.

2) You need to evaluate your product against your local market. What are people charging for a service comparable to yours.

3) You need to evaluate your ability to attract gigs at the price point you want.
 
SERIOUSLY:

The process is continuous and the groundwork was arduous, difficult, time consuming, necessary AND required knowledge and experience that would go wasted if shared in this discussion. The professionals already know and have done the hard work, therefore do not need any advice.

The OP and the rest of the leeching hoard would either dismiss it or misuse it. (See post #2 in this thread)


SOMEWHAT SERIOUSLY:
I wish someone would use a "bad word" so the mods could close this thread as we've done this same tiring, futile, vain exercise with this same individual time & again...

Hey Mix, what is it you call some members of your alleged audiences, you know the ones that are "under age people coming in to drink and the DJs playing music with a lot of curses in them"?

PLEASE TYPE IT IN ALL CAPS & BOLD.
 
Since previous advice from the last decade seems to have gone unheeded, I shall propose a new method of pricing never discussed here before. First you need some data including; the current phase of the moon and its phase on the date of the event. You will also need to know the box 1 number of the prospect's W2 and their age when they first lost their virginity. Apply these numbers to your personal neural network and blurt out the fist number that comes to mind.
 
Since previous advice from the last decade seems to have gone unheeded, I shall propose a new method of pricing never discussed here before. First you need some data including; the current phase of the moon and its phase on the date of the event. You will also need to know the box 1 number of the prospect's W2 and their age when they first lost their virginity. Apply these numbers to your personal neural network and blurt out the fist number that comes to mind.
While I am not a wiccan practitioner nor a proponent of pagan practices...
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well we added up our fixed expenses and our variable expenses, considered the time and assets investments and.....oh never mind...
I think you mean, More money coming than going out & is my time worth anything?
 
I was fortunate enough to work for a multi-op when I started.
So, when I ventured out on my own...I used the prices they were charging (for me) as a gauge.
Then...I increased the price as my service improved and I became more in demand.

As far as my overtime rate...
I normally charge by the hour,
so I just increased that amount a little.