How To Start a DJ Business or Go Full Time as a Wedding Disc Jockey or Part Time Party DJ
I recently answered an emailed question sent in by a Break-Even Hobby DJ... Someday's, I open my InBox and there's something which really motivates me to pluck away at my keyboard. Such is the case when I responded to a DJ's inquiry concerning how to take their part time "break-even" hobby dj business to the next level, either part time profit business, or full time dj business. Based on true events; only the names and places have been changed :)
The original email went something like this:
"Todd: I had actually meant to chat with you about that (starting a dj website and online dj marketing).
I have a domain set aside but have never put the effort into setting up the site. At this point my business
is running about break-even and is largely driven off of friends and such. It has never seemed like a true
full-time opportunity and I have only made modest investments in building it up.
That said, I would love a different take on the subject. Thanks, DJ _________"...
I have read articles written by others and seen plenty of forum posts covering the topic of "when to go full time with your DJ business, but never attempted to tackle the question myself. Over the years I have helped several DJs who asked the same questions, but never outlined it. I decided finally to put it down in writing. Here was my response to this part-time hobby disc jockey:
DJ _____________,
I was cleaning up my InBox and came across your message again.
I understand your position. You are one of many who share the outlook, or situation where a DJ hobby stays a hobby. Some prefer it like this, because they DJ for fun primarily. Others will break into Full Time DJ Business either because they have a serious passion for it, or they see the income potential in being a Mobile Disc Jockey. I personally have never been more than a hobby DJ and then only because I build loudspeakers and need real world opportunities to test them.
HOWEVER, The DJ Business is as serious as you make it, just like anything in life. I suppose the biggest advantage for DJs is they can bootstrap more easily because once the initial investment in equipment and music is started, the rest is negligible and the opportunities for work abound. I hang out in DJ forums occasionally and would recommend checking out ProDJ Forum or interaction with DJs of both varieties, (full time DJs and part time DJs). I would also recommend a subscription to MobileBeat Magazine and membership in the American Disc Jockey Association ~ Please tell all these sources Todd from FDJA sent you.
The $41,000.000,000 per year wedding industry fuels the mobile entertainment business. From the DJs, to the DJ equipment manufacturers and advertising providers like me, we all count on people getting married! There are only 52 weekends in each year, so while there might be 1000's of DJs, finding one which is both capable and available for a wedding can be a challenge. Many mobile entertainers who go "Full Time" are opportunists who realize that. Of course there are a multitude of "filler" events usually from folks planning parties and the music is the LAST thing they think of. Thousands of party planning clients visit my DJ Directory which they find web surfing, from obvious searches like: "wedding entertainment" to more abstract searches brides-to-be might make, like "popular wedding music", to those highly focused narrow searches people do when things are getting down to the wire or specifically searching for a DJ, like massachusetts dj, or "dorchester dj".
I do not claim to be an expert in the DJ Business end of things. I do have an informed opinion, based on working with DJs directly over the past six years. Whether they are part time DJs, who simply do it for fun and are satisfied with 20 events per year, to full time disc jockey companies booking 500+ events per year, and which enough is never enough. Some of them fall somewhere in-between and might be full time, but get by on 30 - 50 good paying events each year. It makes sense too, because if a DJ is willing to spend their weekends away from home, and spend their holidays with strangers instead of family it's simple math that it can support a person. The capital investments are negligible, advertising is cheap, profit margins are huge. I run a "drone" ad at my wedding entertainment dj directory and a "drone" dj website, which both create enough activity that if I were really a DJ, I could easily be busy all year. Instead I simply email these inquiries to other DJ Businesses in my network.
I have client DJs for whom I conduct advertising for, who will do $250,000 year by themselves, like "Big City DJ" in a highly focused big city metro area, to "Small Town DJ" in a more remote rural area, who DJs himself, plus uses sub-contracted employees to the tune of over $500,000 per year across a several hundred mile radius. I have others who may have started as a part time DJ, and then became a full time DJ, to those who have been full time or part time operators for 20 years running. I think that's the real attraction to Djing, is that you can do it however you want, unlike other small businesses which are either limited by the type of business it is, or the scalable growth it is capable of. Disc Jockeys can go from answering the phone "hello" and doing 6 backyard house parties per year, to having answering services and booking gigs from coast to coast. It all depends on what you want to do.
If YOU want to be a Full Time DJ, what's the WORST that can happen? From my experience, I would say that truly the only ones who make the transition from hobby to business, (either part time or full time, or full blown company), and start to struggle, are disc jockeys which are probably not the personality type which is assertive or entrepreneurial to begin with. They might be excellent mobile entertainers, but simply do not have the personality which makes them a good sales person, or business manager. I have also heard sad stories of business degradation that occurs when a well intentioned DJ turns a successful full time company over to a hired business manager or marketing person. Continuing to do all the physical work, their marketing/business manager spends more money than they have to spend on new marketing ideas, while detaching the company's long time tried and proven advertising channels. The result is a bunch of bills and no revenue, forcing the DJ business owner to have to fire the failed business manager and go back to work full time themselves, or take out business loans to try and recover. In other instances I have heard tales of well meaning full time DJs who decide to take the operators chair, being primarily a business manager, only to have their client base eroded and swayed away by a crummy disc jockey, or a devious opportunist DJ who performs well, but has their own agenda of making some quick cash, while stealing the business out from underneath the original owner. Finally the last aspect of a DJ Turned Business Owner, who may find it more difficult to progress than they thought, are those who by their very nature are very "controlling" and tend to micro-manage their new employees, demanding that the new employees do things "their way", and therefore stifling any natural creative growth which could occur. Just keep in mind that if you are a DJ who runs a DJ business, (a business meaning you own the business and others (employees), work for you, than you must also learn how to "let go" and delegate authority understanding that your employees will have different ways of doing things than you did. There is nothing more degrading to a hired professional, than for their employer to attempt to "re-train them" or mold them into the DJ they used to be. The same goes for any of your potential new hires, from the receptionist, to the marketing person. If you hired them based on their experience and pre-existing skill sets, by all means - LET THEM DO THEIR JOBS! That's what you hired them for... If you hire a webmaster, to create and maintain an online presence, let them do what they do best... Remember - YOU are not a webmaster - They are. That's why you hired them right?
Inherently, it seems the DJ business is of a type which seems to really prosper when it's "personal" rather than sterile. There are "old-timers" out there who started DJing in the 70's 80's or 90's and now are simply the "character", reputation and smiling face for a much larger operation employing young energetic Djs, well skilled and fully capable thanks to the master's training! Then there are others which operate large multi-state DJ companies, of which the client has no clue who they are dealing with and the Dj on their event day.will be someone they have never met and often is a "beginner" with limited experience or capability. There have also been those who are really nothing more than "booking agents" with no real staff or network of entertainers at all. They represent themselves as a popular DJ company, which is actually a scam run by a small team of swindlers investing in gobs of Internet Advertising and booking gigs from coast to coast, who take deposits for bookings and back out on the clients the week of the event. Thankfully I never advertised for them.
There is plenty of advice available to those who seek it though.
Let me know if I can be of more help. If going full time, here are some steps to take though:
1) Setup a separate bank account, (D.B.A. Business Account).
2) Get a Business License, Liability Insurance, Copyright your name, Hire an Accountant or get one lined up.
3) Start an Internet Advertising Campaign, (I can do the website, and get you started with Internet marketing).
4) Open a PayPal "Pro Account", which will enable you to process credit cards and echecks online and over the phone.
5) Join the ADJA, and any other local DJ clubs.
6) Start networking and learning from the DJs at the forums like ProDJ and by reading MobileBeat and DiscJockey News.
7) Brush Up on your sales and service skills.
8) Continue to invest in business tools like gear, music, effects, formal wear, party favors, etc.
9) Continue to grow your skills, (emcee, interaction, etc. learn from experts with video tapes, or at conventions and seminars).
10) If you plan to expand, simply overbook and refer to trusted colleagues, sub-contract pros, or hire apprentices.
Todd - FDJA
DJ How To Start DJ Business Full Time Wedding Disc Jockey Part Time Party DJ
DJ How To Start DJ Business Full Time Wedding Disc Jockey Part Time Party DJ
Who is Todd at FDJA?
Todd Donald is the creator of freedjamerica.com a nationwide dj directory. He has an extensive background in sales, service and the psychology behind what drives sales and service.
He has single-handedly grown freedjamerica.com from a simple home-brewed website consisting of literally one dj listing back in May of 2002, to the popular wedding and party planning site it is today, serving over 1000 unique visitors daily.
Todd also provides professional seo websites for small businesses and specializes in dj websites which are advertised through his site: DJWebsiteDesigner.com
He attributes his success by consistently providing "service first". Even after the sale, he continues to assist clients via responsive and thorough service, backed up with ongoing newsletters and articles providing informative advice for marketing, sales and website success. As an independent sole proprietor, Todd remains unattached from formal business relationships, positions within organizations or alliances with any one company, but has aggressively pursued grass roots cross marketing personal relationships with other "like" services and sites over the past five years and maintains friendly relationships with other popular dj industry professionals at ProDJ.com, DJIntelligence.com, WeDJ.com, WeddingMusicUSA.com, AllTimeFavorites.com, DJGold.com and many others throughout the DJ Industry.
While his specialty is DJ Marketing, Todd is also a God fearing Christian, devoted husband and father, in addition to being an avid loudspeaker builder. Although he doesn't; get out from behind his keyboard or home/office to attend DJ shows and cruises, he can be found frequently making posts and answering questions regarding marketing and sound systems across a multitude of DJ forums, SEO forums and Blogs.
Contact Todd via:
web: DJWebsiteDesigner.com
cell: 815-582-0562
email: toddsdonald "at" gmail.com
TokBox VideoChat: http://tokbox.com/FDJA
MSN Live Messenger:
FDJA "at "LIVE.com
Yahoo Messenger: toddsdonald "at" yahoo.com
AIM Messenger: ToddatFDJA
GoogleTalk: at toddsdonald "at" gmail.com
start.prodj.com: toddsdonald
MySpace: fdja
