[caption id="attachment_107516" align="aligncenter" width="721"]                                                                             Social Distancing Tips for DJs[/caption]   Social distancing. It's a new term that is basically all you may be hearing about, lately. Regardless of how you feel about the current Covid-19 pandemic, you are likely impacted by all of this. For me, I'm based in Austin, Texas, and it has really hit the Austin service industry hard! SXSW was canceled, and most people thought it was a terrible idea, at first. Now, here we are, just a few weeks later, and... [read more]

If you've received client inquiries in the last month, I am willing to bet that at least one of them either didn't like your price. That person may have also mentioned a price that someone else quoted them (cheaper than you). How did you react? Did you price match? The choice is always yours, but just know that every dollar you take away from your current price is profit that you're giving away! My recent example is from a client inquiry I received last week. The client said: "I got a quote for $650. I want to spend no more than around that, possibly up to $800." I politely declined and said that we cannot match those rates... [read more]

No one wants it. Nobody likes it. We all dread it but everyone needs it now and then. Criticism. Is it a litany of stinging words that knock you right off your pedestal of awesomeness or just a dose of reality? That depends mainly on you and your tolerance for hard truth. Many of us send out those cute little performance sheets after an event because we want some "real feedback". Seriously though, do you actually ever think you're going to recieve anything back other than a "nice" review? I'm sure more than a few of you read that last paragraph and thought,"Well, I value constructive criticism. That's why I send out those forms." The big pr... [read more]

Wedding Receptions: A Variety of Views It's actually been a while since we've focused on the key mobile DJ area of wedding receptions. In this issue we look at a bunch of different aspects of this topic, and our writers offer some unique perspectives that are really worth considering, as you build your own reception business. ~ Dan Walsh, Editor-in-Chief CLICK HERE OR ON THE COVER TO THE RIGHT TO READ NOW ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLAYLIST: MBLV24 The Mad Stuntman - Mike Cordeiro Rick Parisi: Generating Connections - Dan Walsh WEDDING RECEPTIONS: A VARIETY OF VIEWS 10 Ways to Be a Better Wedding MC - Michael Walter Best of Times o... [read more]

Imagine your in charge of an event with over 800 people. The event is outdoors and you have multiple things happening at once. You need 200 people to play their part on cue and the other 600 to cheer them on enthusiastically at the right moment. Suddenly one of your 200 forgets what they're doing and throws everything off. What do you do? Can you reset? I was in this exact situation last weekend while working on a new Disney movie in Boston. I've been doing back ground work for almost ten years now. This particular scene was a holiday parade. We were shooting over night on a few shutdown streets in the middle of Boston. We started rehearsing the sc... [read more]

Before bookings became a certainty in my business, I was often distracted from achieving goals by my inbox, and I didn't even know it! I'd wake, check emails and instantly react to messages that had nothing to do with motivating engaged couples to book me, the next thing I knew, the morning was gone and sometimes part of the afternoon too! I was being bossed around by other peoples messages that were not helping me to fill the booking gaps in my calendar - can you relate to that? If you do, do you think you need to fire yourself and re-hire a more business-focused version of ... [read more]

MBLV24 is less than 30 days away. Time to double check your plane, hotel and car reservations. Make sure you have your show passes ordered and air out your suitcase. Besides having a ton of networking and learning opportunities jammed into four and a half days (Sunday night pool party), the after hours scene is off the hook this year. Not only does your badge get you into the big show on Tuesday night, it gets you access to some of the hottest clubs and shows on the strip (Including Steve Aoki at Hakkasan on Thursday night). If you're not a big night club person or you are bringing family along, here are my reccommendations for some fun alter... [read more]

It's always nice to get a referal friends or previous clients. I always feel good to see my company name tossed into the ring for an upcoming event. Like most towns we have a few local Facebook group pages where people can ask for recommendations for services. I'm always amazed at how quickly these posts go from a courteous "We'd love to help with your event" to a used car salesman pitch of, "Pick me pick me -we're better and cheaper than everybody else". Recently someone was looking to hire a DJ for a graduation party. People started to drop names and emphatically proclaim the greatness of their referral. I was unpleasantly surprised to learn just how many DJ's in my area are "The best around" or have the biggest library and best sound system( granted some of the referals are friends of mine and very good... [read more]

In It for the Long Haul After the obligatory look into the future offered in the previous issue, we pause to consider what it means to have "staying power." We'll look at how to develop stamina in business, how to make your gear last longer, and much more! ~ Dan Walsh, Editor-in-Chief CLICK HERE OR ON THE COVER TO THE RIGHT TO READ NOW ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLAYLIST: TECHNOLOGY Protecting Your Tech - Stu Chisholm Music Tech Extravaganza: NAMM 2020 - Staci Nichols NAMM 2020: Back to the Future? - Mike Buonaccorso PEOPLE AROCK and BPM Supreme - Mike Cordeiro Reflecting on a Decade - Mike “Dr. Frankenstand” Ryan BUSINESS ... [read more]

It's the end of January and I'm wondering how many of you have fallen off the resolution wagon already? Have many of you have abandoned the gym, eating better, practicing more or sticking to those changes you promised yourself that "This year, I'm going to do it"? I'm not here to preach. I'm in the trenches with you. I've already let a few things slide or get moved to the back burner. I've been pretty good at sticking to the top changes I want to make for myself this year. I'm eating better, working out more and sticking to my reading goals. It's been challenging already. Life is constantly throwing curve balls or trying to pull out the rug from under... [read more]