There are basically two things you need to know to make your DJ nights successful. They are the DJ equipment needs, and they are the DJ night schedule. Let me break these down for you. You don’t need the DJ equipment, if you are actually playing music. The equipment is only a necessity for a club night which seems to be the case with 90% or so of the clubs out there.
You do need a good disc jockey machine though. You can actually skip this step and go straight to the DJ equipment. Go into the nearest music equipment store and you will find one or two of these machines for a fraction of the price they cost on a used music store. These used music establishments often get tips from the DJ’s who work there since they will fix your equipment if needed.
You will need to make sure you have a good night schedule. You need to make sure you have all the time in the world to promote your night’s gig. You will have to use some basic tactics to accomplish this. It doesn’t mean you have to use only the tactics you think are best. You just have to find some tactics you can use.
If you are hardest person to work with, tell them you are hardest person to work with. Tell them you will be the hardest person to work with. That alone may get you a gig. If you are the nice person with the calming smile, you may get a gig as well. There are nights that are not going to be cyber tonight. Sometimes you may need to show that you are the most responsible person with the calming smile. Go to the store and get a few smile coupons. Wear them around your neck and introduce yourself to the store clerk. Pretend you are working at the local department store and you need to get some things straightened out.
You already know that the most important thing is to have fun. If you are not having fun, you will find that there is a good amount of work. You have to find a balance. You have to make sure that you are growing as much as you would like in your DJ business, be unpredictable, and have a fantastic work ethic. You will have to have a great time, because you can not stay in business if you are not having fun.
You also want to make sure that you don’t forget something very important; your customers. When you send out a mixed clear designer bag of 45’s and 33’s, make sure you get adequate vocals. Set a goal of making minimum 50% of your business this way.
So now what? What do you do if you have no gigs coming up within two weeks? Well if you are worried about your gigs, I am very glad, because there is nothing more thrilling than making your own gig. You are going to be so excited to get to your new gig, that you will forget about everything else. You will not think about bills, about bills, about food or rent. You will not think about a crazy virus or about mugging someone, or even about paying a bill. You will feel excited about your own gig, and you will remember every second of it.
October is your goal for October. Just use the example that you can use for whatever month you are in. If you are in Houston, Texas, just use the example of October, Houston, Texas. If you are in Boston, Massachusetts, just use the example of October, Boston, Massachusetts. If you are in Chicago, Illinois, just use the example of October, Chicago, Illinois. And so on.
Remember, you are not going to be able to utilize the same strategy that you use for a whole month. During the whole month you are going to be doing a lot of promoting yourself. Just because you only have a couple of days to promote the last month does not mean you cannot promote a whole month. Do not worry about whether or not you can play two shows in a row anymore. Remember that you are always going to be working. You are always going to be working in some new venue. So what are you going to do in two weeks? Are you going to turn your gigs into ads, or are you going to turn them into a seminar? Or are you going to skip the middleman and just hold an open mike night?
Be creative! Do something! Put something new and different online, or in your local newspaper, or what ever. Again, if you are doing ads and you miss the ball, just put another ad up. Do something! Put something new and different in your town, or send out a flyer to all your friends.
Remember that you are trying to teach a lesson to someone. You are not trying to teach opera, or triathlons. Teach children to learn from you. Teach adults to learn from you.