I used to think this was ok but i've had a big change of heart.

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LOL. $500 vs $3000 ...it doesn't matter I can pretty much guarantee that no matter which formula you follow you will both be making about the same net income in the end. A DJ is a DJ no matter how much polish you put on it.

It takes money to make money, so chase a high price clientele and you will also throw more time and money at the effort. $90K gross is not enough money to justify a retail lease.. you shouldn't even be thinking about it until you cross the half million mark. Most of you forget that Bobby's photographer wife is a whole 2nd income stream for them - versatile and more lucrative really than any DJ could be on their own. It's a nice case of 1+1=3

To make $90K gross at $500 (avg) you only have to work 14 gigs a month (3.5 /wk) - that's a school dance on Friday at $300, 2 weddings on the weekends at $600 each, and a karaoke bar on Wednesday/Thursday for $200 each. Easily within the reach of everyone in this thread. For any single rate above raised by just $100 you can drop one gig per month and still hit $90k gross.

The $3000 guy will spend that time making montages and custom intros while you're out pressing the flesh. It all comes out in the wash. Most professional full time DJs earn a net income between $60K - $150K any way you slice it. High end, low end, multi, or solo. The formulas change but, the job description and wages really don't.
 
I'm game for this volley

jtnichol said:
I DJ weddings in my market for $825 and I'm as busy as I want to be. I'd rather go out 2 (instead of one) times to make $825 using a really good system of planning I use. Half the time the BG and I meet ONCE, half the time not.
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Not sure how the price relates to how many visits. Is this something you include in your price?

jtnichol said:
For a BG interested in my services at $1650 (or double what I make now) I'm certain would require me to have potentially more visits for a client to justify that price (or for me to to justify it).
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How are you certain of that when you have no idea what the client wants (you haven't met them yet)? There may be no difference to the amount of visits you have now. More visits justifies double the price? Maybe everything needed done, you can take care of from home (or in a similar fashion as you already do).
 
ittigger said:
Not sure how the price relates to how many visits. Is this something you include in your price?




How are you certain of that when you have no idea what the client wants? There may be no difference to the amount of visits you have now. More visits justifies double the price?
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I guess what I mean is that if I'm going to charge triple what most make in my market I had better be prepared to have a schedule open to visit the BG and visit a planner and visit a venue and work on slide shows and chase down extra things etc.

At my price I'm immediately attracting a bride who expects a world of fun without a world of me running around to make it happen. Does this make sense?

I'm also not into doing a "love story" commentary or silly interactive games to get the paycheck. It's all cute and all but as a Part timer I'm outta time for it....as a result, I'm out of higher paying brides.
 
jtnichol said:
I guess what I mean is that if I'm going to charge triple what most make in my market I had better be prepared to have a schedule open to visit the BG and visit a planner and visit a venue and work on slide shows and chase down extra things etc.

At my price I'm immediately attracting a bride who expects a world of fun without a world of me running around to make it happen. Does this make sense?

I'm also not into doing a "love story" commentary or silly interactive games to get the paycheck. It's all cute and all but as a Part timer I'm outta time for it....as a result, I'm out of higher paying brides.
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My point here is that while the thought is there - that for the higher price, you may have to do all of this extra work, you may not have to. If the client deems you worth your value, then so be it - for the same amount of work you do now. There's nothing in stone anywhere that says for 3x as much, be prepared to do slide shows, etc, etc. You deem the shows value (by what it entails). If they agree, then its sold.

Don't assume a higher price means anything other than ... a higher price. You've seen time and time again on here about people make lots more than we do for 1/10 of the work.

Be proud of what you do and put a value on what you do. Like it or not, it's yours.
 
ittigger said:
My point here is that while the thought is there - that for the higher price, you may have to do all of this extra work, you may not have to. If the client deems you worth your value, then so be it - for the same amount of work you do now. There's nothing in stone anywhere that says for 3x as much, be prepared to do slide shows, etc, etc. You deem the shows value (by what it entails). If they agree, then its sold.

Don't assume a higher price means anything other than ... a higher price. You've seen time and time again on here about people make lots more than we do for 1/10 of the work.

Br proud of what you do and put a value on what you do. Like it or not, it's yours.
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Thanks for this. Good stuff. In some cases this is already happening. I have comfortable shoes for now but I'm starting to get my Prom prices higher and more gear etc. In time....But I just like my $825 brides a lot. I'm afraid if I get higher pay that somehow it will be OK for clients to expect a higher QOS than I'm even close to being able to fullfill as a part timer. It's a value thing. I'm giving superb value. I hate to under deliver.
 
jtnichol said:
Thanks for this. Good stuff.
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Welcome

jtnichol said:
In some cases this is already happening.
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Great news ... each show has a value. Sometimes they're similar, sometimes they're not.

jtnichol said:
I have comfortable shoes for now but I'm starting to get my Prom prices higher and more gear etc.
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More gear should not / does not always mean higher price. The quality of the service you provide should mean alot to you. From the clients view, if I'm asking for music in a 100x100, I could care less if you brought 4 speakers or 8, I just want it to sound good and to have a good time. If you can sell me on 8 speakers, then so be it. If you can sell me on 4, then so be it - the price between both vendors may be similar.

jtnichol said:
In time....But I just like my $825 brides a lot.
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A man dedicated to his clients. That sir, is awesome. :)

jtnichol said:
I'm afraid if I get higher pay that somehow it will be OK for clients to expect a higher QOS than I'm even close to being able to fullfill as a part timer.
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But that's all in your mind. It may nto be factual for some clients.

jtnichol said:
It's a value thing. I'm giving superb value. I hate to under deliver.
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I get it. I really do. I'm just proposing a view through a different set of glasses.
 
ittiger

Show me a DJ that charges 3000 for a set hourly package(4,5 or 6 hours) with additional costs for each hour over the package and i will entertain returning the volley. From my observations on 3 DJ forums and studying sales marketing tools from DJs trying for the higher dollar bride the technique the vast majority of them use is the personalized service which doesn't come from 1 or 2 meetings. There is also the separation technique they use to separate their service from the normal DJ that they will guide you through the entire process of you event starting with attending the rehearsal and following through to the very end.

Pit bulls can bite hard but i guess you will disagree with that also and i don't have to be bit by one to know it's true.

jtnichol.....I like your thought process.
 
Cesar, in turn, show me high dollar guys that don't. Are each of these out there? Absolutely. I don't have to prove them to you - y'er an adult, I'm pretty sure you can find them all on your own. Some of them may even be right here on this site.

There are DJ's out there that WILL charge 3k for a set of hours and more if they have to stay longer.

I know some club DJ's that make 5k per set - and it WILL end after a certain amount of time - unless you cough up the moolah.

As for the dog comment, ANY dog can bite hard. Do they all bite hard, absolutely not. If you had never heard of, seen or been bit by a dog, you wouldn't know anything about a dog bite. It takes knowledge to make an assessment. Similar logic applies here.

My response wasn't so much aimed for the high dollar guy as it was for the lower dollar guy. A high costing event doesn't necessarily mean any more anything. In turn, the lower dollar guy could have just as many meetings as the high dollar guy. If you can command the money, you WILL get it.

Do you HONESTLY think there is enough of a difference between buying a vehicle in location A versus location B to justify the extreme's that some car dealers go to? People still buy cars from both places. Some go cheap, some not so cheap. Same EXACT car.

On a similar path, some shows can sell as high dollar shows, some cannot.
 
Cesar said:
You can sell that stuff to a younger DJ ittigger this old dog isn't biting.
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So it's true .. you CAN'T teach an old dog new tricks ...
 
Cesar said:
You can sell that stuff to a younger DJ ittigger this old dog isn't biting.
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I didn't know I was selling something. I thought this was a discussion. You don't have to 'bite' - but the proof is out there. All you gotta do is look for it - it's right under y'er nose.
 
Even a seasoned retriever picks up the wrong scent every so often.
 
When you refuse to learn any more, you die. That right there is a fact of life. When your business refuses to learn anymore, it too will die. There's always something to learn and there's always a way to do it other than the way you do it. Some may be better, some may not. Some you may like, some you may not.

What you describe is a person that thinks they're an expert - the definition of an expert - a person who knows more and more about less and less until they know absolutely everything about absolutely nothing.
 
Old Blue never came back without the duck Steve148 (Insert Smiley Here)

ittigger DJ Rasec begs to differ but DJ Cesar says good luck to you in order to keep Dan happy. Enjoy the day
 
DJ Reggitti (look a that, I'm a italian) says you can beg all you want - the info is out there, readily available for you to locate and read, on everything I've stated.

Now pass the spaghettio's!

:)
 
Ttiger welcome to Cesars superior and knows all the answers 101. Trust me he will tell you he is the greatest.
 
Cesar said:
Show me a DJ that charges 3000 for a set hourly package(4,5 or 6 hours) with additional costs for each hour over the package and i will entertain returning the volley. From my observations on 3 DJ forums and studying sales marketing tools from DJs trying for the higher dollar bride the technique the vast majority of them use is the personalized service which doesn't come from 1 or 2 meetings. There is also the separation technique they use to separate their service from the normal DJ that they will guide you through the entire process of you event starting with attending the rehearsal and following through to the very end.
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Stop drinking the Kool-Aid. The "separation technique" is called "reputation" and if you have a profile of working and providing successful results at high profile events then that is the circle in which you will be referred and may charge accordiingly. It is no different than being a popular and very good band and having your name on the lips of influential people. "Rocking the house" is not enough - you have to rock houses that really matter from a social and business standpoint.

You can fake that kind of thing for a little while using pompous sales pitches and glittery advertising but the clients you "purchase" that way won't allow you to grow your income unless your reputation takes over and starts rolling the snowball for you. It has little to do with how many "meetings" you offer or the "personalized service" - it's about the responsibility you can assume, problems solved, and results you provide. Quality service = Peace of Mind which comes from proven results not face time.
 
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