Is All This Becomming Over The Top?

[am.entertainment 0]

Hi all before i start i just want to say this is just my opinion and the way i feel about this industry at the moment.

 

i think that all this dj,kj,vjing is starting to get abit boring! what has happened? rules,regs and licences that are put there to squeeze another few quid out of us! making us have to charge more for overheads etc...

 

(personally if its not a legal requirement i wont buy it!)

 

then we start going on about the beer money dj's!!!!!! Whats the problem with them its not damaging our rep! people know that every company is different just like you get cowboys in all professions! if people do want to book the cheap dj and they are crap then the customer will know for next time!

 

i know a couple of dj's like this and they make a good living off doing the pubs around my area! and there stuff is all great stuff!

 

i totally understand that there are functions were there is a very high standard required but i think that we all think we can do this and maybe our problem is not the cheap dj but our selves destroying our own rep!

 

i know my limits and i stick to them its not a comfort zone its the point of not destroying somebodys night or making my self look stupid!

 

please please don't be offended by this if you are then i am sorry!

its just my opinion maybe right or wrong???

[Tonsk 0]

Dude, I don't take offence to what you've written.

 

It is horses for courses really, pay peanuts get monkeys sorta thing.

 

I too started off somewhere and didn't have great equipment - infact I remember one birthday party where the speakers I was using died so I had to go home to get my Hi-Fi speakers (and the Hi-Fi to plug it into) to finish the gig with, in a car which died on the way so I had to flag down a taxi to complete the last couple of hours - where I only charged beer money.....

 

That was about 12 years ago and now I use professional equipment, ensure that the service I give is exemplorary, have additional transportation on speed dial if anything did go wrong, take backups of equipment, ensure that I am legitimate (tax, PLI etc) and have a family.

 

All this adds up to me not wanting to go out twice for £150 if I can go out once for £300 and thats what I have worked up to...

 

My experience is what the punter is paying for, along with the expertise I give to make their party the best it can be.

 

You did say one thing that I think is slightly incorrect, that if the DJ is crap they will know for next time. Usually there isn't a next time - or, if there is, it is a long time difference.

 

For example if you needed someone to carry out some building work for you, you probably wouldn't need anyone again for a while - so the next time you may have lost their number etc and need to just call round again. Most people will have key birthdays, engagements, weddings, anniversaries and thats about it - so not booking every day....

 

Anyway, keep your chin up!!

[Andy Westcott 0]

i know my limits and i stick to them its not a comfort zone its the point of not destroying somebodys night or making my self look stupid!

 

I agree totally - I stick to what I can successfully accommodate.

And I don't agree with the "we should all be charging top whack" sentiment.

[LEENEWSOME 0]

Well i think its where you feel comfortable in putting yourself. I cant believe iv just got back from a meeting with clients for their daughters 21st birthday, which i dont normally do & iv just quoted them £1100.00 and got the booking, they want the top disco, plasma screens the works.

 

Some people want beer money DJ's some people want just a little bit more. At the end of the day we all have to earn a living.

[davemoody 0]

We all know there are so many types of DJ's out there.

 

There is no real sense in comparing yourself to another one.

 

We are all different. We may play similar music but it is our personality that is distinct and individual.

 

Play to your strengths and always strive to be better.

 

If you are always comparing yourself to others, moaning about the £50 djs, not happy with how much you are getting for your gigs, one answer.....

 

GIVE UP AND DO SOMETHING YOU ENJOY

[sandysounds 0]

i read with interest 'i know my limits and stick to them' and 'comfort zone'....

Has no one the desire to develop, improve and up their game....or am i the only one!

I'm so intent on improving I went to New zealand to see another way of doing it (thank you Richard from award ents)and have been out with DJs closer to home too. I've taken the best of all of them and adapted to suit my own personality. I'm not satisfied with knowing my limits and sticking to them....I want to be top of my game...and i'm getting there!

Surely I'm not the only one!

[disco4hire 1]

 

Surely I'm not the only one!

 

No you're not on your own, I don't have a comfort zone and I wouldn't know what to do with one if I developed one. I quite like the buzz you get from pulling off a job thats more demanding than you've done before, and the big bucks are a bonus.

[NRG Roadshow 0]

Surely I'm not the only one!

 

No your not the only one who is striving to improve their game, I have been doing that since I started, allways trying to make improvments to every aspect of my company.

 

You are you the only one I know of who was silly enough to spend a small forturne to go to NZ to learn "the Richard way".......but each to their own.

[jamesmurphy 0]

You are you the only one I know of who was silly enough to spend a small forturne to go to NZ to learn "the Richard way".......but each to their own.

 

I'm not so sure she's silly. If you find only one thing that improves your business and helps you develop and increase your income, then over time that will pay for itself.

 

I have spoken to Richard on the phone, and he comes across to me as a man with a passion for his business and also someone who is willing to put himself out to help people. I know that he helped me and for that I thank him.

 

As for Sandy... good on you girl! You must be doing better than me coz I can't afford a trip to NZ at the moment...lol

[sandysounds 0]

I'm not so sure she's silly. If you find only one thing that improves your business and helps you develop and increase your income, then over time that will pay for itself.

 

I have spoken to Richard on the phone, and he comes across to me as a man with a passion for his business and also someone who is willing to put himself out to help people. I know that he helped me and for that I thank him.

 

As for Sandy... good on you girl! You must be doing better than me coz I can't afford a trip to NZ at the moment...lol

errr....I sold my car (mx5) to pay for the trip....but it has paid off tenfold. Richard gave me a new found confidence and a different way of approaching enquiries.....and those two things alone increased my fee and number of bookings i secured. I learnt many other things....but in brief....it was worth every penny....plus Richard is an ace guy and a very good friend to boot (and before anyone starts putting 2 and 2 together and getting 5....i became great friends with his wife too!!!)

[Robster 0]

I am one of those DJ/KJ's growing and learning i will however as Take that said "Never forget where you've come here from"

 

I started with really poor gear , bad choices and tiny selection of records , terrible mic technique and rubbish karaoke tracks BUT i was eager and keen to learn and i still am

 

i know you said "i know my limits and i stick to them its not a comfort zone its the point of not destroying somebodys night or making my self look stupid!"

This is true if you do functions i suppose and i have only recently started doing functions (last two years)this is where being a Pub DJ first as a sort of training school has proved very useful to me.

 

looking back i was terrible.. but the pubs kept asking me back so i was just not as terrible as i thought or as bad as others trying out.

 

I have always been on time and turned up and that alone can set you apart in publand!

 

Functions are quite different to the pubs i play.. in terms of music choices and it is a steep learning curve.. which looking through play lists here and elsewhere has helped me massively.

 

I think the key thing to any success is pushing yourself to be better and learning from your mistakes.

 

This next year i am going for it ..I am going full time and going to have a web site etc ..onwards and upwards!!!

 

[DJ JENX 0]

I too am one that will never understand my limits, If i try and fail, i learn from it and get better for it, If i try and pull it off, then ill try something bigger.

 

Never get put down or give up.

 

Im not saying in any way im more succesful tha anyone, but i try my best to get the most out of my business.

 

Its all a game and we have competition everywhere, we need to do something different to stand out from the crowd.

 

I have just decided to host my own wedding fayre, who knows how it will go until I try.

 

If it goes as plan ill get a free stand and tons of free publicity and hopefully a lot of bookings, if it goes bad ill be out of pocket.

 

As i said, who knows until you try.

[am.entertainment 0]

I am one of those DJ/KJ's growing and learning i will however as Take that said "Never forget where you've come here from"

 

I started with really poor gear , bad choices and tiny selection of records , terrible mic technique and rubbish karaoke tracks BUT i was eager and keen to learn and i still am

 

i know you said "i know my limits and i stick to them its not a comfort zone its the point of not destroying somebodys night or making my self look stupid!"

This is true if you do functions i suppose and i have only recently started doing functions (last two years)this is where being a Pub DJ first as a sort of training school has proved very useful to me.

 

looking back i was terrible.. but the pubs kept asking me back so i was just not as terrible as i thought or as bad as others trying out.

 

I have always been on time and turned up and that alone can set you apart in publand!

 

Functions are quite different to the pubs i play.. in terms of music choices and it is a steep learning curve.. which looking through play lists here and elsewhere has helped me massively.

 

I think the key thing to any success is pushing yourself to be better and learning from your mistakes.

 

This next year i am going for it ..I am going full time and going to have a web site etc ..onwards and upwards!!!

 

i totally agree with you i should have made my self more clear i do big functions and i do alot of work for big companys but like your self i will never forget were i come from and how i started out carrying god knows how many records etc.....

 

and i have moved with the times and gone digital etc.... It just frustrates me that people on this forum"and i have seen it in past posts" have this problem with beer money dj's or lower value dj's but i'm sure this is were they have all started and forgot about how they started!

 

should we not incourage this? as they are the future of our trade just like some of us started out and we have grown and got better with experience. You are always going to get a few bad apples but hey you live with it!

 

the customers aren't daft 95% know what they are getting into with the cheaper dj inexperience,maybe"not all the time" not the best stuff! so they will use a dj who charges abit more for our service!

 

just what i think anyway!

[D.X 0]

I can understand people getting frustrated at DJ Beer Money, especially those who DJ full time. It would be the same in other professions. Cake makers charge hundreds of pounds for tiered wedding cakes but I bet they'd soon moan if large numbers of cake hobbyists started making them for £80 and they had to get a second job.

 

What strikes me as odd is that DJ Beer money, if he just bucked his ideas up a little bit, could double his money. He might be doing it for fun but it'd be even more fun earning twice as much.

[DJ JENX 0]

I can understand that "everyone must start somewhere"

 

However I started, my very first gig was in a lavish hotel for a fee above the average in the area, I started at the high fee.

 

But i look at it as a business not a hobby. I do enjoy it, but i enjoy the money more.

 

Perhaps thats the difference. I have no problem with people charging less than me, that is competition.

 

I phoned an agent who wanted to give me £70 per gig. I told him where to go and he couldnt understand it.

 

I told him the prices I had been doing gigs for and he was amazed that anybody in this area could get the work.

 

Needless to say I didnt tell him how i did it, I just thought, ah well more fool you.

[sandysounds 0]

I can understand that "everyone must start somewhere"

 

However I started, my very first gig was in a lavish hotel for a fee above the average in the area, I started at the high fee.

 

But i look at it as a business not a hobby. I do enjoy it, but i enjoy the money more.

 

Perhaps thats the difference. I have no problem with people charging less than me, that is competition.

 

I phoned an agent who wanted to give me £70 per gig. I told him where to go and he couldnt understand it.

 

I told him the prices I had been doing gigs for and he was amazed that anybody in this area could get the work.

 

Needless to say I didnt tell him how i did it, I just thought, ah well more fool you.

me too........i had no intention of starting at the bottom and went straight in with a £200 gig and have never looked back. On my second gig i was congratulated and asked how i'd found the change from vinyl to cds. I didn't admit to them how long i'd been doing it and that i wasn't doing it when vinyls were used and cds came in! I think it boils down to attitude and personality.

[otronics 0]

"what has happened? rules,regs and licences that are put there to squeeze another few quid out of us! making us have to charge more for overheads etc..."

 

Agree with you there..

[Big B 0]

I know my limits and stick with it, i know a guy in cornwall who has been in this game for many many years he is now over 60 and still goes out doing gigs he has a very old set up no lights or up to date equipment. People love him and he gets only beer money and he told me once he has had the same set up all the time and has never gone wrong.

 

 

[sandysounds 0]

I know my limits and stick with it, i know a guy in cornwall who has been in this game for many many years he is now over 60 and still goes out doing gigs he has a very old set up no lights or up to date equipment. People love him and he gets only beer money and he told me once he has had the same set up all the time and has never gone wrong.

but surely it comes down to whether its a second income, hobby just for fun or its your main income and business. If its the latter, of course you want to improve, up your game and earn a decent living from it.

[hugobose 0]

i only do 3 gigs a week, dont want any more to be honest.

 

but use decent kit, not the top of the range by any means but i have a booth and cloth, about 15 lights to choose from.

 

i think i put on a decent show and have a good laugh with my regular punters.

 

thats my niche and i stick with it.

 

i have done weddings and posher do's but i feel a bit uncomfortable really.

 

always worrying and wondering if i am doing what they want.

 

so i stick to my comfort zone.

[McCardle 1]

but surely it comes down to whether its a second income, hobby just for fun or its your main income and business

 

Yes but why adopt this philosophy?. I see people posting "Oh but i'm part time' like its some sort of defence or excuse!. Why??

 

'I don't issue contracts because i'm part time' - Well hellloooooooo Duh! - you can still be ripped off / refused payment / taken for a ride / generally shat upon whether you are full or part time!!. Issuing contracts and protecting yourself is common sense and has no bearing on your business status or rather it shouldn't have. A bounced cheque has no conscience!.

 

In fact, if you appear to be less than professional in your business dealings, and if you are the type who let debts linger, whether from clients or agents then you are going to get a reputation for being a push over and more and more people are going to be engaging your services for all of the wrong reasons - getting any form of contract, signed, sealed and delivered is a must, those seat of yer pants business people who don't are walking a bloody tightrope, and its not 'if', but rather 'when' the brownstuff hits the fan.

 

Do part time caterers get any leniency or concession within the profession whether part of full time?. Do part time caterers get general exclusion from hygiene or general health legistation? are they immune from prosecution if it all goes belly up and somebody gets hurt, poisoned or killed - Nah, get real!. There is nothing in consumer law which discriminates between part and full time proprietors, and neither does the inland revenue or HSE for that matter, and the penalties for failure to do so, or where liability is proven, are all of the same. Being part time is not a get out of jail free card.

 

No business is excluded from general consumer legislation and UK LAW, so if a client gets let down by a deejay, then they can report them to the T.S or take them to court or get their wedding insurers to fire hell and brimstone at recovering all lost monies, and it doesn't matter whether you are full or part time, the repercusions / action and logical ending and statutory rights of the consumer are all the same. So in short we should all be covering our collective asses and ridding this mentality and promoting the fact that operating in this industry should treated just as seriously as running any business should be treated.

Edited October 11, 2008 by McCardle

[Slimboy Fat 0]

Do part time caterers get any leniency or concession within the profession whether part of full time?. Do part time caterers get general exclusion from hygiene or general health legistation? are they immune from prosecution if it all goes belly up and somebody gets hurt, poisoned or killed - Nah, get real!. There is nothing in consumer law which discriminates between part and full time proprietors, and neither does the inland revenue or HSE for that matter, and the penalties for failure to do so, or where liability is proven, are all of the same. Being part time is not a get out of jail free card.

 

No business is excluded from general consumer legislation and UK LAW, so if a client gets let down by a deejay, then they can report them to the T.S or take them to court or get their wedding insurers to fire hell and brimstone at recovering all lost monies, and it doesn't matter whether you are full or part time, the repercusions / action and logical ending and statutory rights of the consumer are all the same. So in short we should all be covering our collective asses and ridding this mentality and promoting the fact that operating in this industry should treated just as seriously as running any business should be treated.

 

Alternatively you could just try keeping your appointments and doing a good job. Everyone's happy! You don't need to be a professional in order to adopt a professional attitude.

[C.S 0]

I know my limits and stick with it, i know a guy in cornwall who has been in this game for many many years he is now over 60 and still goes out doing gigs he has a very old set up no lights or up to date equipment. People love him and he gets only beer money and he told me once he has had the same set up all the time and has never gone wrong.

 

Must run in the blood, i am also cornish , started djing in 1974 and go out with cds and hardly any lights, mind you i am expensive, do mostly club work and people dont love me !

 

[supersound dj 0]

Must run in the blood, i am also cornish , started djing in 1974 and go out with cds and hardly any lights, mind you i am expensive, do mostly club work and people dont love me !

 

awww im sure your family does.

[C.S 0]

not as a dj they dont ! tongue out icon