| It must be great. You work on Saturday night for 5 | | | | · When it's time to discuss details, your disc |
| hours and make $1,000 or more. What a life. It has | | | | jockey will again drive to meet you and spend another |
| been equated to selling drugs - the lucrative wedding | | | | hour with you going over details, they'll return to the |
| disc jockey business is not what it's cracked up to be. | | | | office, type up this information and send you a copy. |
| The reality is - this is far from the easy money that a | | | | They'll spend a couple hours organizing music, talking |
| potential wedding client thinks it is. They are shocked | | | | on the phone and sending/receiving emails from you |
| when they first hear the price that professional DJs | | | | over the course of the two months prior to your |
| charge and think that they are being ripped off | | | | wedding. You can figure they've just invested another |
| because "wedding" was in their vocabulary when they | | | | 5 hours into preparing for your event. |
| called for a quote. | | | | · The total time invested per event will be around |
| Here are some interesting facts to understand better | | | | 17 - 20 hours when it's all said and done. That $1,000 |
| what the life of a wedding disc jockey really is like: | | | | for 5 hours is now really $1,000 for 20 hours of time. |
| · Clients call at all times of the day - the phone | | | | · A wedding disc jockey will spend about $2,000 |
| rings from 8am until around 11pm virtually every day. | | | | or more each year on music updates. They might |
| For the most part, you must be available to answer | | | | invest $2,000-$6,000 in equipment, repairs and |
| the calls because most people won't leave a message | | | | upgrades each year. They will spend $1,000 - $10,000 |
| if you don't. | | | | in advertising, bridal shows, printing, etc. They will spend |
| · Most weekday nights are spent away from | | | | $5,000 - $20,000 for office supplies, computers, and |
| home meeting with clients or potential clients. | | | | business services. They will spend $500 - $1,500 on |
| · Most weekends are spent away from friends | | | | liability insurance policies. They will spend $2,000 to |
| and family working at your events. Forget the 4th of | | | | $5,000 on postage. They will travel to one of the |
| July picnic and New Years Eve. | | | | national DJ conventions to keep up to date with the |
| · Wedding Disc Jockeys are booked a year or | | | | industry and spend around $1,500 doing so. They will |
| two in advance - so that last minute call from your | | | | have a 800 number, cell phone, fax and voice mail |
| friend asking you to dinner or to a concert is a wasted | | | | services costing them around $5,000 each year. They |
| call. You're already booked. | | | | will spend $5,000 each year on health insurance. They |
| · Your daughter's concert that is on a Friday in | | | | will spend $5,000 in gas getting back and forth to |
| May - you will most likely miss. Again, you are already | | | | meetings and events. |
| booked. | | | | · A wedding disc jockey will drive 25,000 - 35,000 |
| · Try standing for 5 hours straight and see how | | | | miles each year between meetings and back and |
| your legs and feet feel. | | | | forth to their events. That will be approximately 750 |
| · Did you know one of the most feared things to | | | | hours away from home each year just in travel time. |
| do is speak in public? As a wedding disc jockey, that is | | | | The reason that wedding disc jockeys charge the |
| what we do every weekend. | | | | price that they do is simple. It is the cost of doing |
| · Most people bring a cup of coffee to work - a | | | | business. The value that a professional disc jockey |
| wedding disc jockey brings over $15,000 worth of | | | | brings to your event is priceless. Take away the music |
| equipment and another $20,000 or more in music to | | | | and you're just inviting friends and family to eat and |
| most events. | | | | drink. That accounts for about 2 of the typical 5 hour |
| · A wedding disc jockey will haul in about 1,000 | | | | wedding reception. Your professional wedding disc |
| pounds of equipment into and out of the reception - | | | | jockey is responsible for coordinating all the details of |
| that means up stairs, across rickety stone paths and | | | | the flow of the event - from introductions to the cake |
| through parking garages, through kitchens and in the | | | | cutting. They are the middle man between the banquet |
| cold and rain. | | | | staff, your photographer and videographer. They are |
| · A typical wedding lasts for 5 hours. Your | | | | your wedding coordinator. Without proper quality |
| wedding disc jockey will arrive an hour early to setup, | | | | entertainment - guests will leave soon after dinner. If a |
| will be there after guests leave tearing down and | | | | typical wedding reception costs around $25,000 (or |
| typically drives 30 minutes to 60 minutes each way to | | | | $5,000 per hour!), and your guests leave 2 hours |
| the event. They have to spend time preparing | | | | before the end due to poor entertainment - you've just |
| equipment before they leave the office. They have to | | | | wasted $10,000 of your wedding budget. If you're |
| unload and put away gear when they return. That | | | | debating between a cheap $500 DJ and a |
| adds up to between 8 and 10 hours on the day of the | | | | professional DJ costing $1,500, the decision should be |
| event alone invested in your wedding. | | | | easy. Trying to cut corners on entertainment could |
| · A wedding disc jockey will typically meet you | | | | cost you $10,000. The additional $1,000 is money well |
| prior to booking (pre-sales meeting) for about an hour. | | | | spent when the big picture is in focus. The time and |
| Most disc jockeys will drive to meet their clients. | | | | effort a true professional disc jockey puts into your |
| Presales and travel to and from this meeting will add | | | | event will be worth every penny. |
| about 2 hours of their time into your event. | | | | |