Interesting Week with phone calls...from other DJs

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... items such as photo booths and dancing on the clouds have never come into his inventory, and therefore when the clouds were big he lost a number of brides there too...

We are talking about the same thing, you're just attributing failure to inventory when it's clearly a result of an unwilling or unskilled person.

Everything you cite can be rented rather than purchased. It can even be rented with a technician to run it for you. So, the problem is not a lack of inventory - it's a lack of knowledge, effort, resources, or skill on the part of the DJ. He's simply too lazy to be responsive to opportunities that land in his lap. If all that stood between him getting the gig was "dancing in the clouds" then he could have easily added it without having to own or operate anything himself. In fact, it's probably a better choice than compromising your role as the DJ to roll a fogger around the dance floor.

but you'll still possibly alienate those looking for those trends if you're not offering and showcasing them...

I don't agree that reverse engineering the novelty business to make up for stagnated wages is a good long term plan. The increase in the ticket price is offset by the diminished significance of your core product. You can't have it both ways - if a lack of trendy inventory accounts for the devalued DJ then the underlying value of any DJ in the middle of all that inventory is also declining. Novelties are not a new form of DJing - they are something other than DJing.
 
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Sparklers are not a top tier expectation, they are a gimmick and like all of these toys the fad runs it's course and you are right back where you started - looking for another gimmick to stay relevant. (The topic of special effects doesn't even come up until AFTER I've been hired. They are development ideas - not selling points.) The application of sparklers and other fads is no different than wearing a different outfit to work each day. You can't expect to show up in the same suit every day and not have clients get bored with you. These toys primarily serve distraction to aid those DJs who's routines have become so familiar in their market that they are like the guy wearing the same suit to work each day.

The sad part of how you explain strategy is that the moment you're not relevant on social media your business ceases to exist. The notion of sparklers as a lead comes across much like a strobe light in the window of a retail store. It will turn heads but, it will not sustain a long term client base. To develop a life long career in this field you have to advance yourself - as a person with real skills, high production values, and decisive ability - rather than a guy with easily copied inventory.

Sooner or later all top tier customers tire of the gimmicks and move on to higher caliber entertainment - that being DJs and entertainers with true talent, novel ideas, and event planning skills. What you bring will never be as important as knowing what actually matters to a given client.

The DJs calling Ricky are out of work because they never had what it takes to advance a career in the event business. They got by doing THEIR version of a DJ (the thing that they thought was important) during the low tide - that era where CDs/PCs made it easy and the public was still lagging behind in equivalence. That era is over.

The DJ calling you is the next generation of fall out. Sparklers will not save him. (It's a lame excuse.) His qualifications, skills, age, and personal expectations of the business have all converged to render him obsolete. There is no sparkler bright enough to hide that. For example, when the bride tells me she wants a lot of hip-hop line dances led, etc. I bring a young hip dancer along with me to emcee those segments from the dance floor. It's irrelevant how well I can do the wobble - the fact remains that a middle aged white guy teaching hip-hop isn't credible. It's the wrong visual, wrong feeling for that moment. Unfortunately, a lot of DJs don't know when to yield center stage for the sake of producing a better show experience. Adding gimmicks won't fix poor production values.
I'm a big fan of Taso and Bob Carpenter. The reason why is because not a lot of DJs can command the amount they get paid and stay there for years. Their starting price is what a lot of DJs wish they could say they were getting paid to do an event. Hell they might have a heart attack if someone even mentioned paying them that much.

The big hit is they don't have to settle for any potential client looking to book a DJ. Because they know another client is around the corner that will pay the price they want and not haggle with them. Now Bob did say he has times when he does get concerned when the next client is going to come into his office paying the amount of money he wants for his services. Both don't panic when bookings are a bit slow. They know in their case things will turn around after a while. What separates them from a lot of DJs is they can offer a lot of things other DJs wish they could offer. They also keep reinventing themselves and their business. Hell Bob showed a picture of his office and it looked better than a lot of DJs setups.
 
Actually you want to be at the beginning/start or create a trend, by time everybody knows about it you want to be already working on your next one. Of course you have to have all your other bases covered and be starting something which is applicable to your market/clients
 
Even if the trends lead him further away from what is his core product and value?
They always do .. unless a DJ is supposed to be changing wax cylinders ...

His core product is entertainment. I think it all slots in around that ..
 
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Send those DJs to me....I have three to five gigs every weekend and struggle to find and keeping good help to accommodate my workload of events.
 
This previous Friday I spoke very briefly with the DJ that does my daughters school dances when we did the business card exchange and he asked me how booked I was and I told not very and he responded that he is booked solid thru 2022 and no longer booking anything, and that is with 7 DJs that work for him.............., now I know I why I cant get anything book, he has all the business 😄
 
This previous Friday I spoke very briefly with the DJ that does my daughters school dances when we did the business card exchange and he asked me how booked I was and I told not very and he responded that he is booked solid thru 2022 and no longer booking anything, and that is with 7 DJs that work for him.............., now I know I why I cant get anything book, he has all the business 😄

Even for a VERY busy DJ.. that sounds like BS. But in either case... I'd explore why and understand why he's busy.

If you're anywhere near that busy, I'd suspect you've either created exceptional demand, or you're pricing aggressively to win the business.
 
This previous Friday I spoke very briefly with the DJ that does my daughters school dances when we did the business card exchange and he asked me how booked I was and I told not very and he responded that he is booked solid thru 2022 and no longer booking anything, and that is with 7 DJs that work for him.............., now I know I why I cant get anything book, he has all the business 😄

His is a LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE!!!

The old 10x game. Tell everyone your insanely busy by 10 fold what you truly are...when in fact you are very slow or at best about average with other like businesses.

The only person I believe is as busy as they say they are is TASO...Because he backs up what he says

I know a few other DJs who are "BUSY", but I can tell you without a doubt that all of them have many dates left in 2020, maybe 1 booked in 2021, and do not have bookings for 2022 yet. DJs simply don't book 3 years out, LOL. If they do, it's usually someone who says "You are 100% doing my wedding 3 years from now" ...and they consider it a booking, but there is no signed agreement or deposit paid at this point in time...
 
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Even for a VERY busy DJ.. that sounds like BS. But in either case... I'd explore why and understand why he's busy.

If you're anywhere near that busy, I'd suspect you've either created exceptional demand, or you're pricing aggressively to win the business.
To be clear, I don't really believe him either.

That was my excat thought Ross that he is undercutting drastically to win business.
His is a LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE!!!

The old 10x game. Tell everyone your insanely busy by 10 fold what you truly are...when in fact you are very slow or at best about average with other like businesses.

The only person I believe is as busy as they say they are is TASO...Because he backs up what he says

I know a few other DJs who are "BUSY", but I can tell you without a doubt that all of them have many dates left in 2020, maybe 1 booked in 2021, and do not have bookings for 2022 yet. DJs simply don't book 3 years out, LOL. If they do, it's usually someone who says "You are 100% doing my wedding 3 years from now" ...and they consider it a booking, but there is no signed agreement or deposit paid at this point in time...

Like above, I am leaning towards I do not believe him unless he is pulling what Ross said and under cutting and working for scraps . It will be interesting to see if I hear from and I will entertain the idea of talking with him to see what he has to say out of just curiosity .
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