Okay, 3 things....
#1.) Once again, this was a sweet 16... It's not my every day wedding setup. I do a fair amount of weddings, but they don't pay as well as the type of events I'll be using this setup for. Why does everyone only think Weddings.. you're limiting yourself sooo much.. Weddings are not where the big money is... I think it's just probably where the biggest money you think you're capable of getting is...
#2.) Tell me how approachable you want to be from now on after one of the guests drops an entire plastic cup of merlot into your 2 week old $3900 Allen & Heath Mixer. I work 5-6 days a week all year long... most events include alcohol... at many, if there was not a barrier, I'd go postal.
#3.) When I'm DJing, I do not have the time to "shoot the breeze", I'm mixing... I don't use auto play or a play list during the thick of the night.. I want guests to respect my boundary.. I do not want them hanging around telling me about how they were a dj back in college...
Just an aside, But as many others have found, perception is everything.. I know that a pivotal point for me was when I stopped using the venue's tables, and brought my own rolling rack.. secondly, when I started using a facade, I got comments like "You're so much more professional than (insert other local dj name here) he just slaps a pile of gear on the table..."
I started getting corporate work out the ass, because I was the "More professional DJ" The venues commented on how no one else "went the extra mile", and how my presentation was so "Pro"....
One of my favorite responses is "Well, if DJ so and so were such a professional, he'd own a dedicated vehicle capable of transporting all of the necessary gear to provide such professional service."
True or not, I've just created an even greater distance in quality between myself and every other weekend DJ who rolls through the joint... Unloading The truck, and not the Caravan makes me look more "professional". I had a heating and air guy come to my house a couple weeks ago.. he drove a honda civic... I watched him like a hawk.. he might have been awesome, but he felt amateur. had he pulled up in a big truck, i probably would have left him alone.
There are no wires visible in my setup, nor equipment.. Everything is permanently mounted in cases, not afterthoughts like many guys with external drives sitting on the table in the open, laptops and power supplies strewn about all in a huge spaghetti maze of cables...
I offer all options to clients... I prefer to bring nothing but speakers to an event, as it's super easy to get in and get out. The first component of the event the client gets to choose is the facade...
4' black, 8' black, Glowing, or none...
In 6 years, I've never had a guest not want a facade.
Next is the speakers... I've got some nice equipment...aside from those with live sound needs, or college kids who want the "Mexican street festival" look of speakers on sticks, or stacks, Almost every customer chooses the Bose setup for it's appearance. I get referred on speakers alone...
Next, the client gets to choose lighting...
I have never had a client choose "T-bars or light stands" ever!
The most common complaint is that they're ugly. DJ skirts make them even uglier... I strive to remove stands from the equation altogether.. I want my setup to look more "Permanent" as opposed to looking like a rental system.
High end brides and corporate customers do not pay you big bucks to blend in.. they are hiring entertainment. you get one shot to get it right.. You have to play the right music, you have to say the right things on the mic, (and more importantly know the right things NOT to say on the mic)
To me (just my opinion here..) those who give excuse after excuse for why they don't want to stick out, or don't want to carry a facade, or don't want to do any number of things reeks of insecurity on the part of the DJ.
Most of the time, I'm event entertainment, not Muzak... They're gonna' know i'm there.. The customer is going to feel that they're getting their money's worth, and the guests will remember "that great DJ"
They would not have hired me if they wanted the guy with the 6' skirted table and the star ball....
Different strokes for different folks.
I guess my whole point is that you have to appear solid in all aspects of your business. When a guy who runs a 52 million dollar a year company knows he can just "Count on you", he'll call every time.. When Ludacris knows that you're the guy to call for his niece's birthday, He'll call.. When the city knows that you're the guy to call to get the fall festival done, the job is yours When CNN wants a DJ for their staff party who's not going to be an idiot around all of their on-air anchors, they'll trust you.
Fake it till' you make it... It doesn't matter if I ever use that setup again... That's a powerful picture on the front of my website that 99.9% of the other DJ's out there don't have...
#1.) Once again, this was a sweet 16... It's not my every day wedding setup. I do a fair amount of weddings, but they don't pay as well as the type of events I'll be using this setup for. Why does everyone only think Weddings.. you're limiting yourself sooo much.. Weddings are not where the big money is... I think it's just probably where the biggest money you think you're capable of getting is...
#2.) Tell me how approachable you want to be from now on after one of the guests drops an entire plastic cup of merlot into your 2 week old $3900 Allen & Heath Mixer. I work 5-6 days a week all year long... most events include alcohol... at many, if there was not a barrier, I'd go postal.
#3.) When I'm DJing, I do not have the time to "shoot the breeze", I'm mixing... I don't use auto play or a play list during the thick of the night.. I want guests to respect my boundary.. I do not want them hanging around telling me about how they were a dj back in college...
Just an aside, But as many others have found, perception is everything.. I know that a pivotal point for me was when I stopped using the venue's tables, and brought my own rolling rack.. secondly, when I started using a facade, I got comments like "You're so much more professional than (insert other local dj name here) he just slaps a pile of gear on the table..."
I started getting corporate work out the ass, because I was the "More professional DJ" The venues commented on how no one else "went the extra mile", and how my presentation was so "Pro"....
One of my favorite responses is "Well, if DJ so and so were such a professional, he'd own a dedicated vehicle capable of transporting all of the necessary gear to provide such professional service."
True or not, I've just created an even greater distance in quality between myself and every other weekend DJ who rolls through the joint... Unloading The truck, and not the Caravan makes me look more "professional". I had a heating and air guy come to my house a couple weeks ago.. he drove a honda civic... I watched him like a hawk.. he might have been awesome, but he felt amateur. had he pulled up in a big truck, i probably would have left him alone.
There are no wires visible in my setup, nor equipment.. Everything is permanently mounted in cases, not afterthoughts like many guys with external drives sitting on the table in the open, laptops and power supplies strewn about all in a huge spaghetti maze of cables...
I offer all options to clients... I prefer to bring nothing but speakers to an event, as it's super easy to get in and get out. The first component of the event the client gets to choose is the facade...
4' black, 8' black, Glowing, or none...
In 6 years, I've never had a guest not want a facade.
Next is the speakers... I've got some nice equipment...aside from those with live sound needs, or college kids who want the "Mexican street festival" look of speakers on sticks, or stacks, Almost every customer chooses the Bose setup for it's appearance. I get referred on speakers alone...
Next, the client gets to choose lighting...
I have never had a client choose "T-bars or light stands" ever!
The most common complaint is that they're ugly. DJ skirts make them even uglier... I strive to remove stands from the equation altogether.. I want my setup to look more "Permanent" as opposed to looking like a rental system.
High end brides and corporate customers do not pay you big bucks to blend in.. they are hiring entertainment. you get one shot to get it right.. You have to play the right music, you have to say the right things on the mic, (and more importantly know the right things NOT to say on the mic)
To me (just my opinion here..) those who give excuse after excuse for why they don't want to stick out, or don't want to carry a facade, or don't want to do any number of things reeks of insecurity on the part of the DJ.
Most of the time, I'm event entertainment, not Muzak... They're gonna' know i'm there.. The customer is going to feel that they're getting their money's worth, and the guests will remember "that great DJ"
They would not have hired me if they wanted the guy with the 6' skirted table and the star ball....
Different strokes for different folks.
I guess my whole point is that you have to appear solid in all aspects of your business. When a guy who runs a 52 million dollar a year company knows he can just "Count on you", he'll call every time.. When Ludacris knows that you're the guy to call for his niece's birthday, He'll call.. When the city knows that you're the guy to call to get the fall festival done, the job is yours When CNN wants a DJ for their staff party who's not going to be an idiot around all of their on-air anchors, they'll trust you.
Fake it till' you make it... It doesn't matter if I ever use that setup again... That's a powerful picture on the front of my website that 99.9% of the other DJ's out there don't have...
As I look to expand my game show ideas I now have something to run with.
