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Although it lacks the evangelical fervor of the Million
Man March or the Promise Keepers, the DJ Expo has profoundly
changed the way DJs run their businesses. Seven years ago,
Steve Ransom’s Hillard, Ohio-based company, Night Music,
was a small DJ service. “We were running two systems and
thought we were big,” says Ransom, whose perception of the
DJing world was altered forever after attending his first
DJ Expo in 1993. “I was running a business that had no exposure
outside of the Expo. It’s not like I was an insurance agent
and could go to other State Farm buddies and ask, ‘How do
you do your accounts payable?’”
Like
all DJs, Orcutt, Calif.-based Paradise Entertainment’s Mike
Alexander has no time on weekends to do anything other than
perform gigs and troubleshoot employee problems. “I don’t
have the chance to go see other DJs perform and learn new
things,” he says. “I’ve been going to these Expos for years,
and every year I see something new. The networking opportunities
are great. My company has national accounts. For example,
Brigham University will ask us for a DJ in Fargo, North
Dakota. It doesn’t make sense for them to fly me there,
but I know of a DJ out there who’ll do a great job. These
national accounts trust me to get them quality DJs and the
best way for me to do that is by going to the Expo. So in
this way, the Expo has expanded my business.”
So
too for Mad Joe Martin, owner of Wichita Falls, Texas-based
All Star Disc Jockeys. “The first Expo that I attended was
in ’94 in Atlantic City, and it impacted my business by
making me more aware of business,” he says.
For
many attendees, the comprehensive swath of seminars and
workshops are the most appealing part of the show. “Learning
certain things, like how to handle employees and how to
run a financially successful business, is what I’m interested
in,” says Martin. “It’s extremely helpful to hear advice
firsthand from professional lawyers and CPAs, like in the
legal panels that are given. I personally found the employer-employee
relationship seminar to be the most useful. I had one employee
at the time and I considered him a subcontractor. I found
out very quickly that that would not wash with the IRS.
It’s better to find out now than when you’re hauled off
in handcuffs.
“The
marketing panels are also helpful,” continues Martin. “When
you’re in your own respective market, you think what you’re
doing is great. But I remember Tom Quiner of Breakthrough
Marketing, who showed us some brochures that were just phenomenal.
I jumped on that right away and bought his service. We went
from the run-of-the-mill stuff to those custom full-color
brochures. That was a lifesaver because guys like me can’t
go out and spend 10-15 thousand dollars on a brochure like
that.”
Alexander,
suffering once from a DJ employee drought, found a solution
in a “Pricing Your Services” panel. “The biggest thing I’ve
learned is to raise my prices,” he says. “In years past,
I’d raise my prices only to lower them again when a client
balked. But one panel advised me to weather the storm. By
doing that, I’ve been doing fewer gigs, but making more
money, thereby cutting down on the number of employees I
need to hire.”
Gerry
Siracusa from Wayne, NJ-based Golden Note Entertainment,
found through the Expo a relatively inexpensive way to improve
his advertisements. “Paul Binder introduced me to stock
photography,” he says, “And that’s improved my flyers dramatically.
I had no idea that existed.”
Though he now uses a professional photographer, rather than
stock photography, to take photos of his DJs at work, Siracusa
credits the friends he made at the Expo for getting him
on the right track.
“I’ve
made good friends at the Expo over the years,” he says.
“We talk about issues that we’re dealing with in our businesses
and give each other advice, which is especially useful if
one of us has gone through a similar problem before. We
talk and brainstorm with one another about things. It helps
my business.”
Paradise
Mike agrees that seminars aren’t the only things he finds
worthwhile. “I like to have lunch with four DJs I don’t
know, in order to find out what they’re doing in their markets
and what techniques are working for them. I pick up ideas.
I like to see what other people are doing,” he says.
And
it isn’t only the panel members at the seminars that are
useful. Sometimes, the handouts help attendees long after
the Expo has ended. “I keep all the paperwork for every
panel,” says Ransom. “One time I got a handout that was
golden. It was a one-page training checklist, designed to
help an owner keep a record of what you’ve covered with
a trainee and what you still need to cover. We had a training
manual, but we didn’t really keep good track of where we
were with a trainee. I sort of kept track in my mind about
what we needed to cover with each person. When I saw that,
I immediately made it a part of my training program.”
For
Ransom, the marketing panels make the trip worth it. “Brian
Doyle always does the marketing panels and offers at least
100 different marketing ideas you can go and use,” he says.
“Since seeing that panel, we started writing cards to our
clients and potential clients, even if we’ve just met them
briefly. For example, we met with an eight-person committee
from AT&T just the other day. I got all their names, then
after the meeting we sent them all a little card that read,
‘Hey, nice to meet you. Looking forward to doing your party,
etc.’ Those little personal contact things work well. We
also send little postcards to places that we’re going to
be performing at — just as a little reminder to say, ‘Hey,
we’ll be coming to do your event...’ We’ve got a very good
direct mail type thing going. That’s something that I specifically
learned from Brian Doyle. We use it as a part of a routine
business practice.”
When
we called, Ransom’s jocks were using a performance technique
gleaned from a past Expo. “What I’m doing right now is wrapping
a gift about 10 times in packing tape. Inside, there are
a bunch of goofy things like head boingers and goofy glasses
and stuff like that. Silly stuff. It’s for a game that we’ll
be playing at four of our corporate events tonight. It’s
called Pass the Parcel. It’s like Hot Potato. I learned
this game at one of the Atlantic City Expos, in ’95. It’s
a little performance-oriented thing that we’ve latched on
to and used and it’s worked very well for us.”
Alexander
sees the Expo as a way to rejuvenate his attitude. “The
bottom line is that there are so many people who have great
ideas,” he says. “For someone like me, who’s been doing
it for a long time, it helps eliminate burnout. I see some
young kid doing something and it gives me a kick start to
try something new myself.”
Ransom has trouble sorting through all the ideas. “The toughest
part about all the ideas that you pick up at the Expo,”
he says, “is that you see that there are thousands of ideas
and that you can only realistically use a few and implement
them well. I think that can be a little overwhelming.”
But
there’s more to the Expo than simply networking. Attendees
can peruse equipment from major manufacturers in the exhibit
hall, the main reason Doug Darrah, owner of Hot Wax DJ Service,
makes the trip every year from Norwich, New York. “The Expo
is like Christmas to me,” he says. “I spend all of the time
on the exhibit floor. I get new ideas. Like three years
ago I bought Aqua Lights and incorporated them into my service
as an upsell. I charge $40 to use them and have since paid
for them probably four times over. I use them mostly for
weddings and as part of my school-dance package. It makes
you look better and they look nicer than other lights. I
see a lot of new things at the Expo that aren’t being used
in my area. When I pick them up, I’m usually the first to
have them, which helps me get more business and helps me
maintain my position as the most expensive DJ in the area.
We’re working all the time and have been in the business
25 years. I credit that, in part, to the Expo.
“I also get to meet the dealers that I buy from there, which
is nice, especially because they’ll keep you in mind when
something comes in that they think you might like,” continues
Darrah. “So if I’m buying inflatable guitars or something,
and something comes in that’s in the same vein, the dealers
give me a call. I’ve made quite a few friendships and kept
them up by going to the DJ Expo. I make friends there that
I wouldn’t have otherwise. I have two or three people I
call with any questions about equipment and any other issues
I need help with. Before I buy new equipment, I check with
them and they give me the lowdown on the products. It definitely
saves me money because they, in addition to giving me advice,
tell me where to go and who to talk to get the best prices.
Even if I don’t end up saving money, I know that I’m talking
to someone I can trust. ”
Siracusa
sums up his Expo experience this way: “I have a lofty goal.
I want the DJ business to take itself seriously, and I think
the Expo has a big part to play in raising the bar of the
industry.”
If
you have any questions for TCB, please write to
DJ
Times c/o TCB,
25 Willowdale Ave.
Port Washington, N.Y., 11050
fax 516-944-8372
e-mail djtimes@testa.com.
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