New equipment… does the client even care?

Who are you designing the show for- your clients or other DJs?

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Simple Math: Filling the Dance Floor a Year Ahead of Time

The equation really is simple math:

Focus on Guests + Delivery of Great Guest Experience = Desired Behavior (Dancing)

But not everyone is good at math, so class begins now – a year before the test.

There are so many factors that can contribute to (or take away from) a full dance floor at a wedding reception or other special event.  Many of these factors have nothing to do with the DJ.  Time and location of the actual ceremony, venue of the reception, weather, parking, traffic all have an influence on the guest experience and therefore on the dance floor itself.  Obviously, we can’t control all of these things, but as entertainment consultants we have to help clients become aware of these factors, control whatever can be controlled and adapt them to contribute to a full dance floor.  This takes careful planning from the very beginning of the planning process.  The actual event may be a year from now, but because there are so many things – let’s call them “dance floor factors” – that can be controlled and need to be planned far in advance, our team’s job is to start filling the dance floor…now.

Great parties don’t just happen. They have to be meticulously planned.  Actually, great parties can “just happen”, but that’s usually coincidence.  When planning the entertainment for an event on the scale of a wedding reception, nothing should be left to coincidence.   One of the very first things I try to do when helping new clients plan entertainment at Jerry Bruno Productions here in Cleveland is to try and get them to see a much bigger picture than just what songs will be on their playlist (which is often the first thing they want to talk about followed closely with concerns over “cheesy DJs”).  My first goal is to get them thinking about all the different elements that can contribute to or take away from a full dance floor, many of which they may not have considered before. Then I can incorporate their vision, personalities and creativity into a plan for their party that is focused on achieving a full dance floor.

I try to get them to think of themselves not so much as bride and groom, but as objective members of an entertainment committee.  This committee often starts with just three members – me and them.  I think it’s important that they be able to step outside of their roles as Bride and Groom and really take an objective look at their event.  From where brides and grooms sit at the Centers of the Reception Universe, everything seems like a good idea, because they are the center of attention.  But what about guest #40 and #41, for example?  Not many brides and grooms consider the correlation between seemingly little things like the hassle of an inconvenient parking situation, for example and how that can specifically effect the dance floor.  And why should they?  As the B&G, they never have to worry about driving, parking or any of that.  But their guests – the specific consumer group our committee should be focused on and that we desire certain behavior (dancing) from – do have to worry about how they’re getting from point A to point B.  The last thing we want #40 & #41 thinking about is where their car is or leaving early to find it.  Our committee has to be focused on what the total guest experience will be and how it effects the dance floor.  Isn’t the idea of inviting “honored” guests, to actually honor them?

I love that moment in a client meeting when I can see the light bulbs light up over the heads of Brides and Grooms and their parents when this concept start to make sense to them.  They immediately start taking notes and start applying these concepts to their own plans.  They can see how the ripple effect of everything that happens that day effects the dance floor 8 hours from now. Suddenly discussions about specific songs and music genres fall away as the bigger picture of planning great entertainment takes center stage.  Suddenly, the planning morphs from being about “my day” to actually planning a great dance party for everyone.

DJs and Bands sometimes can get credit for good things that happen at events that they actually had very little to do with.  If the members of the entertainment committee that are responsible for setting up the structure of the day have done a great job of creating an exceptional guest experience, they probably have delivered a crowd of people to the DJ who are ready and willing to dance and probably will despite the fact that the actual DJ might not be the best DJ in the world.  Because the guests had a great all-around experience, they might walk out of that reception saying the DJ was great because the dance floor was full all night!

This goes both ways.  Sometimes we get blamed for things we had nothing to do with.  A DJ could be the greatest MC and Event Host ever.  She carefully planned and rehearsed a creative, personalized Grand Entrance.  She contacted the other vendors in advance to share timelines.  She made professional and eloquent announcements. She played a great mix of music all night.  But if the other members of her committee dropped the ball and only focused on 2 people as opposed to 200, the dance floor may be empty at 10:00.  What do the guests say then?  “That DJ wasn’t very good.  No one danced”.

The point is is that this is all show business, even for the Bride and Groom. We all have to work as a team to appeal to the largest possible audience/customers/guests.  Otherwise, why were they invited?

There will be a test.

 

Planning for the future at the end of the year

It is hard to believe how fast this year has flown by! If you are like me this is about the time of the year when you pull out that proverbial New Year’s Resolution, maybe even dust it off, and evaluate how well you did.  Having difficulty finding it may be the first indication how how well you did.  Year in and year out we promise ourselves that we are going to do better next year.  Starting off with a full head of steam and then only to be kicked in the face by that thing they call LIFE!  I’d would like to offer 8 suggestions that have helped me and will hopefully help you make your resolution for next next more of a reality than ever…

1. Write It Down
It is proven that when something is written down and re-read often it becomes cemented into your way of thinking and increases your chance of success.

2. Find A Replacement
If you find yourself writing down bad habits or activities you plan to break/stop,  replace them with good habits to counter the bad ones instead.  The gaol is to keep it positive and uplifting.

3. Tell Someone About It
In the fast paced society we all live in accountability is paramount.  Make the people you trust aware of your goals and aspirations and ask them to help hold you accountable.  In addition, allow them to assist you by providing resources and information you will need to accomplish your goals.

4. Take Small Steps (Daily)
Do not allow yourself to be overwhelmed.  It is proven that several small accomplishments give your the strength and encouragement to take on larger goals.  They give you the confidence to face greater challenges and not give up.

5. Don’t Forget To Also Take BIG Steps
As addressed in #4, small steps will help prevent you from becoming overwhelmed, it is equally important to know when to take Big Steps.  You should not take all year to accomplish things that ca be done in a month, a week or even a day!  Get to work and GET IT DONE!

6. Make A Decision and Take Action! Know WHY
It is important to know your “WHY”…Why are you doing what you are doing, why are you willing to sacrifice? When your “WHY” becomes bigger than your “How” and “When” you will be laser focused on the task at hand.  Write down your reasons why and refer back to them in a time of indecision or if you become stagnant.  One of my favorite quotes to live by is, “If your WHY doesn’t make you cry, find and other WHY!”  this mindset will implore you to take action.

7. Team Up
Just as was mentioned in #3, it is very important to find a “success buddy” or an “accountability partner”.  This should be someone you can check in with every week and evaluate your progress.  It should be someone who is not a family member, most family members are unable to remove personal feeling and put you in your place or call you out on the carpet when you need to be.  Choose someone you trust and can handle getting the truth from, even when it doesn’t make you happy.  Remember, it is designed for your growth not to hold you back.

8. Celebrate Your Successes
It is very important to celebrate your successes.  This will keep you more focused on your goals and provide a much needed boost of confidence and acknowledgment of accomplishment.

Implement these tips into your New Year’s Resolution and I can just about guarantee this time next year you will be jumping for joy at the increase in positive outcome!  Make it a Great Year!

Habits and Programs Part 2

In Part 1 we discussed habits and how they become installed into you much like a computer program and how they are installed.  In this follow up we will look at how your habits can affect other areas of your life.

During your Awake Time of each day you will continuously experience Up Time and Down Time:

Up Time – This is when you are in the game!  Doing what you do best and showing the world and yourself what you are made of.

Down Time – This is when you should be planning for your Up Time.  What can you do to be able to operate almost automatically during your Up Time?  Preparing will get you ready to perform effortlessly.

What is the best use of your time, both Up and Down Times? What will move you closer to your goals and dreams? Do you habits help or hinder your progress? Finding the answers to these questions help you formulate the habits that make sense and eliminate those that do not.  You are able to choose your habits if you JUST DO IT! (I know, shameless Nike plug) If you have habits you don’t want, CHOOSE to change or loose them and replace them with more positive and productive ones.

During your Down Time it is important to clear our Life’s Clutter:

- In your head
- In your home
- In your office

Helpful Habit Tips

Multi-tasking is a great way to accomplish things.  For many of us in the Event Industry we constantly find ourselves having to multi-task.  Small (or any size for that matter) business owners are the kings and queens of multi-taking.  Keep in mind though that multi-tasking is a division of your thoughts.  Again, much like a computer, if you are running too many programs your “operating system” can get bogged down and at times even freeze up or even worse shut down!

To prevent becoming overwhelmed, focus on something, make it a habit and THEN add something else

It is OK to say “YES” as a habit.  Doing so opens up a world of potential and opportunity.  Remember, you can always say No later.

As it pertains to time, focus on changing at least one habit that prevents you from spending it in a productive manner.  Remember that you can never manage, sow down or regain time.

Get in the habit of changing habits!

The best way to change a habit is to tell everyone you know about the change and have them hold you accountable for doing so.

Habits and Programs Part 1

How many things in your life are habits?

Habits are like programs in your computer, they are installed and work without thinking.  They, in theory, do the same thing every time.  Statistically, 86 – 90$% of what you do in a day is habitual and not a conscious decision.  It only takes 21 – 28 consistant day sto make anything a habit or change one.

While preparing a ham for dinner one evening a woman cut off both ends of the ham before putting it into the oven.  Her curious daughter watching this awkward action said, “Mommy, the oven is huge, why do you always cut off the ends of the ham?”  Her mother replied, “Because that is what your grandmother, your great-grandmother and her mother did.”  When looking into this future the story goes on to explain that the great-great grandmother who started this “habit” did so actually out of necessity because at that time the ovens were much smaller and it was the only way the ham would fit.  Each generation following repeated the behavior out of “habit”, watching her mother do it.

Many people find themselves devaluing their time (see Planning and Prioritizing for more on this topic) by doing unimportant activities out of habit yet expect to improve at the same time.  How many programs or habits were installed in you by your parents, role models, etc.?

There are 4 distinct ways to consciously formulate habits:

1. Family & Friends
2. Emotional Events
3. Authority Figures
4. Repitition

Every habit you have are created and can be affected (changed) by one or more of the above four ways.

Think of the last time you changed something, maybe your sleeping pattern or your ability to multi-task better or be a better leader. Now think of how it may or can be affected by these four ways.

- Is there a family member or friend whom you can associate with the change?
- What strong emotion can you associate with the change? Did something happen or does the new action evoke a specific feeling?
- Is there an authority figure on the subject that “taught” you to change or that you feel can help you change something?
- Is there a pattern that has been interrupted that has caused the change?

Analyzing and understanding the answers to these questions can help you think more on your own instead of falling into the trap of a habit being installed into you.  Create a situation for yourself that promotes healthy habits and daily activities.

Planning and Prioritizing

During the last few weeks of the year many of us find ourselves looking ahead to next year and what we can do better to get us that much closer to our goals and dreams.  Here are some helpful tips to apply to your daily and weekly planning and prioritizing.

The first and most important factor is that you MUST value your time.  When you consider that over 80% of the time we do things that we don’t even consciously think about it is vital to properly manage the time that you do think about.  Evaluate if your day is in control of you or are you in control if it?  Also realize that responding to the day creates unhealthy and unproductive habits.  Your effectiveness is dramatically decreased when you don’t plan ahead and make sure your day and your time responds to you.  Take a few moment each day before you go to bed and visualize the following day.  See every moment of it and how you will be productive.  Once you have that image in your mind, head off to sleep and dream of your perfect day!  Wake up the next day with the perfect plan in mind.

Time to plan and prioritize…

Right off the bat you want to accept that to have what others will never have you have to do what others are not willing to do.  Start with the most difficult things first and work your way down.  This way everything becomes easier as you begin to eliminate everything “more difficult”.  Put your weekly tasks on paper and put them into an A, B, C order each day:

A – Time sensitive, things that need to be done TODAY! (this should only be 2 things max)
B – Everything else important for the week
C – Everything that didn’t get done last week

The following week, start all over again!

Know the difference between “activity” and “productivity”.  Sure, you can spend all day doing “something” but is what you are doing productive?  Is it bringing you that much closer to your deadlines, responsibilities and goals? If the answer is no then you must have the discipline to file it into the “activity” category and only resume it when you have done everything possible that day to be productive.  this is not to say that you should not take time out to enjoy life, but there must be a balance.  Also understand that “Time Management” is a myth, we cannot manage time.  As of this read, remane it Priority Management.  Managing your priorities will afford you all the time needed to accomplish your daily, monthly and yearly goals.  The only time is NOW!  Be sure to add to your “A” list every day and every week.  By the end of the month it will become a habit and something you will look forward to.

Focus on thinking and doing vs. perfection.  To become highly successful, perfection is impossible.  Also, remember that if you are being pulled in 100 different direction you have no direction.  Be where you are going in your mind now, your body and progress will always follow.

Finally, when YOU value you your time, others will value YOUR time!

 

Mastering Relationships Part 2

In Mastering Relationships Part 1 we went over a checklist of questions to ask yourself in an effort to help master your relationship with others.  Now that you have hopefully given yourself an assessment and know where your strengths and weaknesses are it is time to build upon this list.

Negotiation

For a moment think of a relationship as a “negotiation”.  Mastering a relationship requires you to keep the “and” in mind.  In other words, How do they get what they want AND you get what you want?  A key tip is to always think of them first.  As I refer to many times, one of my montras and Zig Ziglar quotes, “You can have everything you want in life if you help others get what they want.”  This is not just a montra or quote but a true philosophy of life that when understood, embraced and executed will bring your relationships to a new level of mastery that can only be lived to believed.

Is the battle worth fighting?

How many times do you find yourself in a battle or argument and before you know it you forget why you were even fighting or arguing in the first place?  So often we feel like we just have to be “right” regardless of any other feelings.  The real question should be do you want to be “right” or happy?  To be “happy” first means you have to not care who is “right”, you are willing to rise above your inclination to have the last word and in essence ask yourself, “Is this even going to matter in a day, a week or a year?”  Grasping this way of thinking helps you grow one step closer to Mastering Relationships because you start to look at yourself and others in a completely different perspective and are able to evaluate what is worth truly standing your ground on and what is better just to rise above, walk away from and live to “fight” another day.

Agreements

Relationships are not only negotiations and the occasional battles but also about agreements.  A person who has mastered relationships understands that agreements start with complete clarity from the beginning.  Nothing is left vague or misunderstood.  Agreements are often much more powerful when put in writing.  This is very necessary when entering into a business relationship with others.  Mastering a business relationship means that both parties know exactly what is going on and the goal is of the relationship (or partnership).  Occasionally we may jump into agreements that are not even clear to ourselves.  This can become a tremendous hinderance as we cannot expect to be clear with others if we are not even clear with ourselves.

Growth

Mastering Relationships also require you to surround yourself with people who will help you grow.  Understanding the difference between a relationship that encourages your growth and a “friendship” that hold you back from reaching your greatness.  Knowing the importance of walking away from these relationships, as difficult as it may be at times, shows yet another step toward Mastering Relationships.

The circle of growth

You need to grow, to grow is to learn, to learn is to teach, to teach is to grow!

Get out there and Master the Relationships you have in your personal and professional lives using the checklist, the suggestions and even your own ideas that develop from applying them.

Profiting from Non-For Profit Events…WITHOUT Having To Donate Your Services!

We have all received those calls…someone planning a fundraiser for a non-profit organization requesting a donation of entertainment services for their event. Before hanging up the phone, there ARE several ways to actually book the event, get compensated AND gain some business!

So when such an inquiry comes in, you should research to see what organization the proceeds are benefitting. Are they legitimate? Or is this a fundraiser to help someone who has experienced a devastating life event. There’s nothing wrong with helping your fellow man, but if it’s a non-profit organization, the Internal Revenue Service has clear guidelines regarding tax deductible contributions. Unfortunately, because our services consist of our time, such donating our services for their event is NOT a tax deductible contribution. For more information, or an explaination, check out IRS Publication 526 (“Charitable Contributions”. Understanding charitable contributions and the IRS rules around them, plus a little education with your prospective non profit clientele can help you benefit WITHOUT having to donate your services. And the benefits go beyond financial compensation.

The first way to benefit by working with non-profit organizations is by getting the tax deductible donation the RIGHT way. When booking with a non-profit organization and educating them (in my experience, the majority of the people who book events for non-profit organizations believe that your donated services can be a tax deduction), offer to make a donation in the amount of your services IN EXCHANGE for being compensated for your services. In this case, there is no immediate financial benefit, but your donation is considered to be tax deductible.

You may also consider doing a discounted rate for non-profit events. This could be a discounted fee direct to the non-profit organization, or you may use the above technique by being compensated your total fee, and providing a partial donation back to the organization. In the end, the profit will allow you to cover expenses such as fuel, travel or any unexpected expenses that may come up from doing the event. In either case, remember that the dollar amount of the donation written to the non-profit is the amount that would be tax deductible.

In addition to the above, there are several different ways to maximize future business from performing these events. One way is to offer to help raise funds by offering your services. Have the organization promote you to their affiliates, guests of the event or staff, and offer to make a donation to the charity for every event that is booked as a result of your performance. (ie. For every event booked by a guest, staff, or affiliate of the charity, you will make a $25 donation to the charity.) This is a great way to give back, even after the event is over.

Using some of the above information when you receive your next call asking about services for a fundraiser or non-profit event is just another smart way to “profit from a non-profit event.”

Mastering Relationships Part 1

In one of my past articles 10 Things you should Know and Do before you are 40 I briefly touched on the importance of Creating Solid Relationships.  I would not like to take that a step further and focus on Mastering Relationships.  This will be Key Tips in bullet point fashion to help you start to Master Relationships.  Take a moment and reflect on the meaning of each point and how it applies to you.  Measure your success with relationships and allow the Key Tips to help you grow where necessary.

• How can I give more value to the relationships in my life?
• The quality of life is based on the balance of relationships.
• All relationships start with “me”. I must love “me” before other can.
• How do I value my relationships with others?
• I decide how people treat me.  Do they walk all over me or treat me with respect?
• I must love myself for who I am and visualize myself in my perfect state.
• Treat yourself in a perfect way and others will too.
• Take yourself seriously  and others will too.
• Keep in mind that often what you don’t like in someone else may also be what you don’t like in yourself.
• Vibrate on a higher plane.  To notice someone’s negatives, you have to be vibrating negatively yourself.
• Strive to find something good in everyone.
• Hold onto your beliefs as to inspire and empower others to do the same.
• Remember that everyone is doing the best they can with what they have been given in life.
• Show others how to be in a good relationship with you by being the example you would like them to be.
• You can attract the people you need to help you achieve your dreams by being the person you want to be.
• Connect with others on a personal level and then bring them up with your excitement.  also, allow them the bring you up with their’s when necessary.
• See yourself more exciting, you will become more exciting and attract others
• Be sure that what you communicate is being carried out by your actions.
• Communicate to the RIGHT people.

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