Do you track the time you spend on each event from the initial sales call to the end of the event to any followup actions?
Time Tracking or Time Travel?
- Thread starter jokerswild
- Start date
nope... complete waste of time, I do whatever it talks to get er done.... some clients take uber time, some dont take any.
Rob interesting question and perhaps something to consider in the future. It might open some eyes in regards to price structure for some. However I have offered unlimited meetings and my 7 hours to my clients thus making it pretty much a one meeting effort along with time spent. Thus far in my recent yrs.
Could Be Benefical......
It would be nice to know how much time it takes to prepare for the event.......just to be able to justify to the "Na-sayers" how much preparation is involved in putting on their event.
People seem to be more tolerant of cost when its correlated to hours of work......
It would be nice to know how much time it takes to prepare for the event.......just to be able to justify to the "Na-sayers" how much preparation is involved in putting on their event.
People seem to be more tolerant of cost when its correlated to hours of work......
I figure I put in about 15 to 20 hours of prep time sometimes more... and so if you take say a price point of 900.00 for a 6 hour gig... for a total of about 26 hours invested...
900.00/26 = ~$34.00/hour for some brides knowing this might make the prices we charge more acceptable. I think most brides hear $900.00 and go OMG we are paying $150.00/hour forgetting all the meetings, emails, research, planning, phone calls, etc... that we put into their event.
Many will never understand, but if you were able to break it down for them maybe, just maybe some would understand.
The reason I posted this was because I was thinking back on some of the questions I've been asked by brides... one was:
"Does the 6 hour package include setup and tear down time?"
Translation... "Am I going to get a full 6 hours of music or are you only here for a total of 6 hours?"
She was concerned that if it took me say 1hour to setup and 1hour to tear down that she would only get 4 hours of music time... and understandable question. To which I explained, "The package time is performance time and excludes setup and tear down time so you get the full package time as performance time."
She later remarked to me, "Wow I didn't realize there was sooooo much involved in planning a reception thank god you have helped sooo much." For her that's when the light dawned and she understood that she wasn't paying for just the 6 hours of performance time but also the time put in to plan her event.
So when the question of cost comes up I break it down for them and then when they see that they know they are truely getting a lot for their money. This works for some of the budget minded brides. Others, they just book no question asked... it's weird some don't care just get the job done.
900.00/26 = ~$34.00/hour for some brides knowing this might make the prices we charge more acceptable. I think most brides hear $900.00 and go OMG we are paying $150.00/hour forgetting all the meetings, emails, research, planning, phone calls, etc... that we put into their event.
Many will never understand, but if you were able to break it down for them maybe, just maybe some would understand.
The reason I posted this was because I was thinking back on some of the questions I've been asked by brides... one was:
"Does the 6 hour package include setup and tear down time?"
Translation... "Am I going to get a full 6 hours of music or are you only here for a total of 6 hours?"
She was concerned that if it took me say 1hour to setup and 1hour to tear down that she would only get 4 hours of music time... and understandable question. To which I explained, "The package time is performance time and excludes setup and tear down time so you get the full package time as performance time."
She later remarked to me, "Wow I didn't realize there was sooooo much involved in planning a reception thank god you have helped sooo much." For her that's when the light dawned and she understood that she wasn't paying for just the 6 hours of performance time but also the time put in to plan her event.
So when the question of cost comes up I break it down for them and then when they see that they know they are truely getting a lot for their money. This works for some of the budget minded brides. Others, they just book no question asked... it's weird some don't care just get the job done.
Oh boy. Here comes my exposed fanny again but maybe, just maybe this DJs ideology might help shed a new or alternative light or thought for a few of the "How Much Do I Charge For A xxxx" posts.
Tracking time spent on an event, from the beginning phone call through what ever follow-up procedures one employs post-event should be tracked, at least for a year or two, just to get a feel for the time efforts expended for a "typical" client.
Then, by taking all the expenses and efforts for the business side that is spread across being in business even if one does not do one event, a picture evolves as to what the costs are just being in business even if never leaving the house.
Then, by determining how much money one wants to earn every year after expenses, perhaps a yard stick dollar figure can be obtained and apply to every event and event style.
Let's use an example. This is JUST an example.
In order to achieve a $100,000.00 annual gross income, use a figure of $100/hour (this is NOT a contract $100/hour, it is a number used to define what to charge, whether ala carte or all inclusive pricing platforms are the preference)
A typical wedding client event.
Phone call : 30 minutes
Meeting (travel & time) : 90 minutes
Paper flow to lock in the client : 30 minutes
Contract received, event planner sent, etc : 30 minutes
Before lifting a speaker, a light, or playing a tune, there's already a three hour investment, thus $300 needs to be factored into the fee.
Now there is the planner review : 30 minutes
Perhaps an hour or two consultations (we'll take the middle ground for discussion purposes) : 90 minutes
Load the equipment, travel to the event, and set up (conservative guess): 90 minutes
Another three hours; another $300.
Event duration : Four hours
Pack up, travel home : 90 minutes
Event follow-up, banking, paper closure : 30 minutes
By doing a time study such as the example above has, defining a base dollar/hour number, and an annual income target, using the basic examples above, a typical four hour wedding is actually 12 hours, probably more.
12 hours @ $100/hour equates to a minimum fee of $1,200.00 (Hang on here, folks, this isn't a GWYW endorsement, it is an EXAMPLE that happened to work out to that number!!!!)
Add any other time sensitive features to the equation naturally adds more money. If custom intros, specialized parent dances, love stories, et al requires 20 more hours of prep and client meetings, add another $2,000 to the fee.
Conversely, using this formula of time study, it would be easy to back into a "price" to quote for any event if the ala carte pricing model is a preference.
Also, if a typical time study reveals a 12 hour time expenditure for something bare bones and typical, if you're giving and adding more time and equipment (lights, karaoke, big screens etc) and one is charging $500, odds are that equates to about $15/hour after expenses.
This, again, is offered only as a formula and in support of why tracking time expenditures can be equally as important to a business as buying "stuff".
This is also NOT offered to suggest that this equation be used in a sales pitch as justification for a fee quotation or quote a dollar per hour price.
Tracking time spent on an event, from the beginning phone call through what ever follow-up procedures one employs post-event should be tracked, at least for a year or two, just to get a feel for the time efforts expended for a "typical" client.
Then, by taking all the expenses and efforts for the business side that is spread across being in business even if one does not do one event, a picture evolves as to what the costs are just being in business even if never leaving the house.
Then, by determining how much money one wants to earn every year after expenses, perhaps a yard stick dollar figure can be obtained and apply to every event and event style.
Let's use an example. This is JUST an example.
In order to achieve a $100,000.00 annual gross income, use a figure of $100/hour (this is NOT a contract $100/hour, it is a number used to define what to charge, whether ala carte or all inclusive pricing platforms are the preference)
A typical wedding client event.
Phone call : 30 minutes
Meeting (travel & time) : 90 minutes
Paper flow to lock in the client : 30 minutes
Contract received, event planner sent, etc : 30 minutes
Before lifting a speaker, a light, or playing a tune, there's already a three hour investment, thus $300 needs to be factored into the fee.
Now there is the planner review : 30 minutes
Perhaps an hour or two consultations (we'll take the middle ground for discussion purposes) : 90 minutes
Load the equipment, travel to the event, and set up (conservative guess): 90 minutes
Another three hours; another $300.
Event duration : Four hours
Pack up, travel home : 90 minutes
Event follow-up, banking, paper closure : 30 minutes
By doing a time study such as the example above has, defining a base dollar/hour number, and an annual income target, using the basic examples above, a typical four hour wedding is actually 12 hours, probably more.
12 hours @ $100/hour equates to a minimum fee of $1,200.00 (Hang on here, folks, this isn't a GWYW endorsement, it is an EXAMPLE that happened to work out to that number!!!!)
Add any other time sensitive features to the equation naturally adds more money. If custom intros, specialized parent dances, love stories, et al requires 20 more hours of prep and client meetings, add another $2,000 to the fee.
Conversely, using this formula of time study, it would be easy to back into a "price" to quote for any event if the ala carte pricing model is a preference.
Also, if a typical time study reveals a 12 hour time expenditure for something bare bones and typical, if you're giving and adding more time and equipment (lights, karaoke, big screens etc) and one is charging $500, odds are that equates to about $15/hour after expenses.
This, again, is offered only as a formula and in support of why tracking time expenditures can be equally as important to a business as buying "stuff".
This is also NOT offered to suggest that this equation be used in a sales pitch as justification for a fee quotation or quote a dollar per hour price.
Thank you so much for that extreamly informative post Cap... I couldn't agree more.
Not only from the clients point of view but from the business owners view this can be important to determining if you are being profitable or just barely getting by on the margin.
All of this is going to add up to the ability to justify going full time or remaining part time for me.
But, I also hope that anyone who is new to the biz also gets something out of these types of posts. I know I have which is why I've posted them the way that I have as open ended questions.
Not only from the clients point of view but from the business owners view this can be important to determining if you are being profitable or just barely getting by on the margin.
All of this is going to add up to the ability to justify going full time or remaining part time for me.
But, I also hope that anyone who is new to the biz also gets something out of these types of posts. I know I have which is why I've posted them the way that I have as open ended questions.
Cap thank you for giving this great tidbit to consider in my future as a full timer. For once someone laying it out in an honest and non-condescending manner. Kudos my friend.