What Happens When The Bottom Falls Out Of Your Pricing Model?

W2 (Employee) vs 1099 (Subcontractor) Classification: In response to the last episode, some listeners wanted me to cover W2 (Employee) vs 1099 (Subcontractors). I've actually run my company both ways a few different times. In this episode, I share the pros and cons to both and give you an option at the end that may be advantageous for those wanting to blur the lines between office workers/event performers. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

23 min listen

Should A DJ's Living Wage Be Given Or Earned?: It's an interesting time we're in. A lot of DJs (and event professionals at large) are dealing with clients who are asking for discounts, concessions, compromises to process, etc. This inevitably leads to the "woe is me" argument that has led some to suggest that all mobile DJs should be given a living wage as a baseline. Number one, this doesn't fix the problem and typically encourages bad behavior. Second, you place great risk on clients who hire you based on this flawed wages suggestion. Third, it's not sustainable and ultimately places a black eye on the industry. These hot takes and a host of more on this episode. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

16 min listen

Sales: Are You Leading Or Following Your Prospects?: In this episode, I talk through this idea of either leading or following prospects when it comes to a sales consult or discovery meeting. For so many, the idea of the DJ company driving those interactions may lead to repelling a potential client. Yes, that's true, but I believe that's a good thing...because you leave room for the right clients who are attracted and frankly excited about the journey you're going to take them on. Pricing really becomes secondary. So what it does it look like to lead? I unpack that on this one. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

12 min listen

Are You Asking For A Client's Event Budget?: This episode could be a game changing listen for you. At the very least, it should give you all the confidence you would ever need to go out to the world with your pricing, no matter what it is. In the last month and a half, I've been asking clients this question: What Is Your Overall Event Budget? Maybe I was naive for the last 20 years, but after reviewing what it is clients are spending on their events and what percentage of the pie we're receiving, it doesn't seem to me to be an even exchange when you look at the overall impact we have on events. I think it's time we change that. Listen and let me know if you agree. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

16 min listen

DJs Beware: Planner 'Dream Team' Verbiage and Fake Inquiries: I haven't done a rant in a while but this one is warranted. This "dream team"verbiage you're seeing by planners is not helping the industry. In fact, it further divides it. By creating this elitist category of creatives, it also has led to fake inquiries. Nobody deserves that. I address the elephant in the room on this episode. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

15 min listen

Your Contract Matters!: At the end of the day, your client contract tells the ultimate story of your business. With that premise, why is it that our industry often settles for copy and pasting from others or downloading contract templates? Not only does this potentially expose your business to tremendous legal risk but it robs you of the ability to truly differentiate yourself from others. In this episode, I give you 5 things to think about with your contract that I hope leads to us all leveling up our industry vertical. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

14 min listen

Is Expansion The Metric For Success?: Recently, there was a discussion in the private event DJ world about how the McDonald's model should be considered as something to emulate - selling services for cheap (and potentially even a subpar product) to produce big net revenue numbers. But is that fool's gold? What are the pros and cons of such an approach? The opposite of this is to sell to less clients for more money. But is there another way other than those two options? I believe there is. We discuss all of this and more on this episode. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

14 min listen

INTERVIEW: Malike Adigun - The Building Of A Brand: I thought this interview was lost. We recorded this 5 months ago but the file was corrupted. Somehow, I worked some voodoo magic and I was able to bring it back to life. Thank God because there's some gold in here. Malike Adigun is crushing it in Florida with company, Curate Entertainment. A large part of that success has been his marketing and branding. In that vain, he recently launched a new venture called "The Curated DJ" which is a branding and social media agency aimed at helping the mobile DJ figure out their brand identity and tell that story. We talk all the things in this episode. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

35 min listen

Goal Setting Strategy in 2024: Is goal setting hard for you? It was for me. For years, I felt like I struggled striking the perfect balance between making goals too easy and too hard for myself. There was no rhyme or reason to how I'd figure out what my goals were. A few years back, I started to get real intentional about my goals and put together a structure that not only serves my business well, but also is used for me personally and for my family. I wanted to share it with all of you in hopes of helping you create a goal strategy that sets you up for success in 2024. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

16 min listen

Working With Billionaires: In the last couple years, I've been blessed to punch up in working with high net worth clientele. At the ultra luxury level, there's quite a difference in what those types of clients value and the behavior that needs to go along with it. While I have been able to naturally adjust, I wish I had some of the nuggets I share in this episode without having to adapt on the fly. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

16 min listen

Are Your Clients "Venue Poor"?: We've all heard of people who buy houses that are at the top end or above their budget and then they have no money to purchase the necessities to compliment the purchase. They are often referred to as "house poor". Believe it or not, this happens quite often in the private event world. Clients will secure a venue and not have any money to compliment the space with like-minded creatives. These types of clients can be referred to as "venue poor". It's such a shame that this happens for a special event that may only occur once in their lifetime. How do you overcome this issue? I give you 3 ways to do so in this episode. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

15 min listen

Package vs Option vs 1 Solution Selling: In the DJ vertical (and the creative space at large), "package" selling is the most predominant type. But do we understand the advantages and disadvantages to this versus "Option" selling and "1 Solution" selling? In this episode, I break down the various types of selling options and give my own endorsement to the one that I feel places the highest expression of creative value. I've never been able to articulate this as clearly as I do in this episode. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

26 min listen

The Fifty Thousand Dollar Theft (Update 3): Last year I posted an episode (Season 4, Episode 50) about a $50K theft I experienced. I had some progress on that front and shared update #2 (Season 5, Episode 22) in May of this year. Here's update #3 (more than 20 months after the theft occurred). Cliff notes version: I'm stilling clinging to the old adage that goes, "The wheels of justice grind slowly." by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

15 min listen

How To Prepare Yourself For The Next Level Of Clients: Are you in place where you want to punch up to the next level of clientele but are struggling to get there or at least have some consistency with landing the next level of clientele? Then this is for you. In this episode, I share with you three ways to prepare yourself for that next level and how you can bypass a lot of the trial and error that I went through in punching through. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

16 min listen

Vendor Gifting: Why, How, When And What: A listener requested topic. Gifting is so broad so I decided in this episode to zero in on "vendor" gifting. There are so many reasons why you should consider doing this. How you implement it can be just as varied. When you do this is critical for maximum impact. But everyone also wants to be unique with the what. I spill the tea on what I've done here but with so many resources now available for sourcing gift ideas, your options are truly limitless. Hopefully, by the end of this episode, I inspire you to get in on the gifting game. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

21 min listen

INTERVIEW: KRIEGER - Starting Your Business Over In A New Geographic Market by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

33 min listen

How To Pay Your DJs: 3 Options: One of those "learn on the job" things in the mobile DJ world is how to pay your DJs if you become a mutli-op owner. It usually starts with a copy and paste of someone else's way of doing it and then it morphs into whatever it takes to keep your Djs on the staff. Guilty, party of 1 of those approaches. Over the years, it's become apparent to me that there are 3 options to paying your DJs. I go through the pros and cons of each. At the end of the day, you have a 100% booking pie to work with. Once I wrapped my head around that, it was easy to figure out what I could offer my DJs. What are your thoughts? Am I missing a method? Does one I mention resonate for you? by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

15 min listen

Brian B's December's 2023 Music Review: With my music episodes, I try to present to you evergreen tracks that will be with you for a while. I subscribe to a ton of record pools beyond digging through blogs, Patreon, streaming services, Shazam, and the like. I thought I would share my top 10 most interesting musical track finds with you from the month of December 2023. Bonus: I'll give you the source on where to find the tracks I talk about. Not only do I hope to save you time in finding gems but I also give you my take on how/where I use them within my sets. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

21 min listen

With Bad Customer Service Comes Opportunity: I've been noticing the denigration of customer service...not just on the national level but on the local level and even within the event industry. Therein lies the opportunity. In this episode, I talk through some of things I've noticed with the decline of service and I give a few tips on how you can stand out. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

14 min listen

DJs: Getting Booking Agencies To Understand Your Process & Value: Here's a listener requested topic. You're NOT an owner...but a pseudo single-op who gets booked out by booking agents and DMCs. You've done the work to improve who you are and operate differently than when you were first added to the roster. How do you go about having that conversation about the "new you" and your "new rate" with new prospective agents/DMCs as well as the older ones who are booking you now and are used to the "old you" and "old rate"? by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

16 min listen

The DJC Recharge (July 2023): What To Expect and Why You Need To Be There: What is the DJ Collective Recharge? Yes, it's different than our annual November event. I sincerely wish there would have been something like this when I was starting off so that I didn't have to ONLY learn from personally making massive mistakes as a DJ owner early on. As a now more "seasoned" company owner, I have come to understand the value of real-time mentorship and still have it in place today. This is for every level of DJ owner/operator. You don't want to pass this up...trust me on this. In this episode, I share insight into how this event taking place in Raleigh, NC July 24-25 is laid out and why you need be one of the 50 people in the room. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

16 min listen

Airline Loyalty Programs: Recently got off a mileage run and documented that journey. I was flooded with questions about what that meant and why airline loyalty programs matter. With that in mind, I decided to record an episode on it. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

13 min listen

What's The Right Amount of Involvement of The DJ With The Timeline?: This is a listener requested topic - whether it's a planner or a DJ or a venue representative, each (in a lot of cases) feels like they should control the timeline. How do you handle a situation where there is dissension amongst the client and vendor team on this issue? In this episode, I give you the answer within the first 60 seconds then dive into the nuances (of which there are many). I think you can set yourself up to shine but most of the work has to be done on the front end to succeed. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

13 min listen

The DJC Experience (2023): Philosophy, Changes And Differences: This is follow up to my previous episode on the DJC Recharge. In this episode, I explains the differences between our November experience and what is happening in July (our Recharge) as well as how this differentiates between other learning experiences out there in the DJ vertical. I also talk through some of the more foundational things you can expect a DJC experience if you are considering attending for the first time as well as some of the changes we're making for 2023's event (if you're a veteran who's been before and/or coming back this year). Some of it is breaking news! by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

20 min listen

PSA: An Open Letter (Podcast) To Destination DJ Gear Providers: Ever been hit up by a travel DJ for gear and don't know what to charge or how to quote? Or maybe you're getting asked to DJ out of market and want to get the inside scoop on how gear providers should be charging and what's typically included. I feel like with the amount of traveling DJ gigs now happening, this open letter (podcast) was needed. Let me know your thoughts. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

27 min listen

What Are Planners Looking For In DJ Gear Set-Ups?: As you move into higher end events, you will inevitably be working with a planner. So it makes sense to ask, what are planners looking for in DJ Set-ups? This may influence what you invest money into. I don't think it's as complicated as it may seem. Communication is key. In this episode, I talk through what is truly important here and share a few of the things that have worked well for me. DJs: Interested in Heavy Hits Music Pool? Go to heavyhits.com For my podcast listeners only, enter promo code: BRIANB - it gets you a 30 day trial for $5. Try it now. Have a topic you want covered? Drop me a DM at @thetraveldjblend. Has this podcast helped you? Share your thoughts by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast App. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

11 min listen

How and Why I Get A 75% Deposit Upon Booking: I've been pretty vocal about the need for me to get a 75% deposit from clients upon booking. This isn't about a money grab - in fact, far from it. In this episode, I break it down to help a DJ who tried to make the shift to this 75% with a client and it caused some pushback from said client. The DJ was looking for advice to counter this and book them. Context is everything. Listen to this episode for clarity here. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

20 min listen

INTERVIEW: Matty P, Coresmart - Fitness For A DJ: I've always been relatively healthy. That said, I had my fair share of late night eats and energy drinks to get me through gig seasons. But as I got into my mid-late 30s, I definitely was starting to feel the effects of some of these poor choices. I would randomly get injured, back flair ups, indigestion, etc. It finally hit a head and I had to figure this out. Working out was never my thing. I opted for sports. But in 2020-2021, when the world in NYC (where I lived at the time), was essentially shut down, I needed something I could do in my apartment. Enter in Matty Pattison, owner/founder of CoreSmart. This has been a total game changer and I'm excited to share this with you. In this current season of the podcast, I've been sharing certain tools and resources of mine in an effort to help others. There's no paid endorsements here...just giving back to the DJ community at large. Enjoy this interview with Matty P. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

26 min listen

"We'll do it live!!" (Big Podcast Insider Issue 163): Topics covered in this episode: Dealing with the stress and challenges of podcasting, including burnout, creative expansion, and overcoming the pressure for overnight success. The importance and power of local content in podcasting, including... by Build a Big Podcast - Marketing for Podcasters (A Podcast on Podcasting)

30 min listen

What Are Clients Really Paying For?: As a continuation of my last episode, the question of what clients are paying for is going to be more prevalent than ever. I speak from recent personal experience. This is great news for those that take the time to define what it is they do (beyond the pretty) and spell out where the client's dollars are earmarked. I believe the future of the business will demand us go there in defining uniqueness. This will make it impossible to replicate for every DJ business out there. by The Travel DJ Blend with DJ Brian B

16 min listen

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What Happens When The Bottom Falls Out Of Your Pricing Model?

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