Residency - Hmmmm?

[AlexEntertainment 0]

Guys,

 

I've been contacted by a restaurant just outside of town, in a lovely posh and rich area....

 

They want me to be their resident mobile disco for Friday and Saturday nights... playing 60's 70s and 80s

Between the hours of 9pm and 1am

 

They want to trial it for 6 weeks..... sounds great... until...

 

They are offering £110 per night.

 

-------------------

 

My question is really... would you accept and work there for that amount?

 

My view is... thats only £220 per week before taxes and stuff.... and also it's BOTH prime nights for private bookings.

 

 

[milhouse 0]

If it was mid-week I would take the work. However it's not a lot for Friday and Saturday, like you say "prime" nights for other work.

 

If I had nothing else on and was not likely to receive any other work I'd take it. If I was working other nights in the week and was free Fri& Sat it could be a nice top up to my income.

 

You'd have to look at the market area, is it competitive and that's the most amount you're going to get in the area you work? Or are you able to command £180+ a night?

 

The other point to worth considering is they want it as a trial for 6 weeks. Is this with the hope of making it a permanent feature? If so then I'd probably give it a go. £110 a night for 6 weeks then ask for a pay rise when they want to make it fulltime. Often you have to "spend money to make money" - although in this case you would still be making a profit. I once worked for a bar for £60 a night as a trial. They're now paying me a nice healthy salary to work 5 nights a week.

 

Remember the restaurant will have a tight budget and won't want to be spending money they don't make back as a benefit of having you there.

 

I hope whatever decision you make it'll all turn out well

Edited February 12, 2010 by JonWhittaker

[Teez 0]

I'm sure there's plenty of advice out there but I'd add two comments..

 

1. Why not double up with a trainee/assistant. That way you can alternate and keep big pay days free.

 

2. It's a low fee but if you have equipment permanently there or some sort of permanent booth and speakers that means you could turn up, plug in a USB and just press play. That makes the £/hr more interesting.

 

:joe:

[milhouse 0]

I'm sure there's plenty of advice out there but I'd add two comments..

 

1. Why not double up with a trainee/assistant. That way you can alternate and keep big pay days free.

 

2. It's a low fee but if you have equipment permanently there or some sort of permanent booth and speakers that means you could turn up, plug in a USB and just press play. That makes the £/hr more interesting.

 

:joe:

 

 

Good advice ;)

 

Before tax it's about £1300 over the six weeks, or 11.5k a year prorata for two nights per week work so it's not too bad :)

Edited February 12, 2010 by JonWhittaker

[JBs 0]

business wise, depends on your diary

see this forum area for further advice

[greatracks 0]

business wise, depends on your diary

see this forum area for further advice

 

Could you not accept on the understanding that friday and saturday nights are "prime" and you may have to put in another dj as good as you in the event more lucrative bookings come in?

[deejaymitch 0]

The residency question is always a tough one. Do you take guaranteed work at a lower rate then usual or risk it to get private bookings at a higher rate? That is the general quandry. However in this case it is even more complicated. Over the years I have had up to 6 residencies a week, but I've never had the same residency on a Friday and Saturday (the 2 most prime nights). The reason for this is over-reliance on one venue. If you fall out with a manager there, or they hit hard times, it leaves you high and dry. Having turned away a lot of work due to your residencies you could find yourself unemployed on Friday and Saturday nights, and severely out of pocket.

 

I would think about taking one of the nights and sub-letting the other to an apprentice who you work with, train, and take a cut of the fee for.

[milhouse 0]

The residency question is always a tough one. Do you take guaranteed work at a lower rate then usual or risk it to get private bookings at a higher rate? That is the general quandry. However in this case it is even more complicated. Over the years I have had up to 6 residencies a week, but I've never had the same residency on a Friday and Saturday (the 2 most prime nights). The reason for this is over-reliance on one venue. If you fall out with a manager there, or they hit hard times, it leaves you high and dry. Having turned away a lot of work due to your residencies you could find yourself unemployed on Friday and Saturday nights, and severely out of pocket.

 

I would think about taking one of the nights and sub-letting the other to an apprentice who you work with, train, and take a cut of the fee for.

 

Good advice again, it's better not to put all your eggs in one basket. Spreading residency work over 3+ venues is a general rule of thumb.

 

I think possibly the best idea I've heard is to sub-contract one of the nights to someone of the same calibre as yourself, someone you can trust will look after it for you on nights you are doing private bookings.

[McCardle 1]

With respect, you have already answered your own question to some extent, and on the same post as the question itself.

 

The only person who can answer the question on what you can afford to work for is YOU. Everybody has a different business model, some Dj's are in hock with finance agreements for their gear or maxxed out credit card for their pre-xmas spending and other Dj's owe nothing. Therefore everybodies personal expenses and business expense sheet is different to the next as are their career goals and business expectations

 

In short, even an accountant would struggle to answer questions like this, without knowing what your figures, liabilities and your expected / desired standard of lifestyle that you expect to get from the DJ'ing activities and whether you run as a hobby / sideline or for a living, so its going to be pretty impossible for us to answer on whether £110 / gig is viable. This figure can be considered riches for some, or barely heat the swimming pool or fill the Jag's fuel tank of others.

 

However, as you have already stated on the original post that you would personally expect / intend to earn more than at least £220 a week in order to meet your business obligations and enjoy some profit then accepting a £110 / gig I suspect won't do you any favours or get you onto the rich list, once the balance and expense sheet is consulted. After all, non of us know your business better than you .

 

Personally, netting a guaranteed £220 after tax and all business expenses would be more in line with what even a mundane, similarily unqualified 9-5 shop-floor Job would pay, and the bonus is, you will get the additional 3 days off . But that would be my minimum business model and is probably not compatible with anybody elses.

 

Before tax it's about £1300 over the six weeks, or 11.5k a year prorata for two nights per week work so it's not too bad :)

 

Well, most businesses tend to work on a profit margin. 33.3% profit from turnover after all expenses and tax is deducted is considered pretty good and average for any legit business. So 33.3% of £11.5k per year is £3829.50 profit. Okay as a sideline, or to plough back into the business but won't pay a mortgage.

 

I suspect that some Dj's will earn above the average 33.3% as their overheads are low, they employ no staff and most work from home, but if its an additional occupation then even paying 22% tax on every penny your DJ'ing activities earn will immediately part you with £2530 from that magical looking £11500 figure, effectively giving the taxman a 22% share of your business profits and putting you well below £10k per year, and thats before deducting your costs for new music, insurance, N.I, fuel, vehicle costs, equipment costs, advertising, telephone, stamps, home office, pro-dub etc etc. I suspect that even a good and thrifty business model, run from home would return its operator no more than £4500 - £4800 from a £11500 turnover.

 

£11500 sounds good until you do the math and work out what actually goes into your pocket. As the Dragons say, Turnover is vanity - profit is sanity.

 

If you do 3 or 4 £110 gigs a week then it will become far more viable, as it will as a mid-week gig in addition to taking on more lucrative weekend work but as a one gig event at the weekend?, well unless you run the disco as a hobby and purely for the love of it, then I suspect the coffers won't be vey full at the end of the year. Also remember when looking at multiple gigs that from an efficiency and business expense level, its actually more cost effective to do one gig for £220 than 2x £110! - laws of economics don't stop or cease to exist when the business activity in question is entertainment.

Edited February 14, 2010 by McCardle

[deejaymitch 0]

Welcome back McCardle!!! It's great to see you posting again.