My summer wraps up on September 4th and I am both happy and disappointed. I doubled my bookings from last year, which was my first year under my own banner, but I had hoped to still have a few more bookings to flesh out the summer and into the fall. I have so many things I would like to do to improve my services.

My August was short only two shows, and not for a lack of trying. I think I only had 2 calls for the last two weeks of the month all year. I have had more calls about late August next year than for this one. I hear fall colors are a hit so maybe that is why I had a couple dates in October booked up, which is typically a slow month. Unfortunately one had to cancel, which is always a shame to hear a loving relationship ended too soon.

I am eagerly waiting for the corporate season to begin booking up. Trouble is I have found too many low priced (and quality to follow) djs advertising. More than usual which tells me these are not serious professionals, just guys out to make a few bucks while they camp on E.I. or something. Bitter? Me? Yes…

I am not one to usually stroke my own ego or be prideful about what I do. I am not the best, I say this with honesty because I am always learning new things from the many DJs and entertainers I speak with from all over North America. I like to learn and I think it makes me a better DJ all the time. What I can crow about is this.

I am one of only 8 other DJ Companies in Red Deer who has taken the time to get a Business License also means registering a business name. It is easy to see there are far more than 8 DJ companies in Red Deer and I doubt the people who go to hire their DJ really care.

I have also taken it upon my self to obtain 2,000,000 liability insurance. This is to protect my clients and myself in cases of injury or damage to them selves or my equipment. Most DJs won’t carry this which means if someone gets hurt it becomes the responsibility of the hosts (bride and groom) to pay for any damages. No one has yet to ask me if I have insurance because people either do not know or care.

All my music is licensed and legal; I carry an A.V.L.A. license as part of my business. This is to show my clients that I care about the quality and sources of my music. My clients do not need to worry about songs sounding low quality or being obtained from free download sites and being mislabelled or corrupted part way though. Most people don’t care because they download songs them selves for free which is only legal for personal use and not for public performance.

I have a legal contract which is very comprehensive in outlining each parties obligations and rights, as well as clearly outlining the billing, contact info and other details. Most people have no idea what a contract should have in it, it is very much like a service contract you would find with a contractor who might do work on your house. Most people don’t think they need to worry about a contract.

I am a member of two DJ associations and looking to join a third to better network with other DJs all over Canada and the U.S.A. to learn how I can expand and improve on my services to my clients in an effort to always increase the quality and value of my work. Other benefits are if I for what ever reason am unable to make it to a booked event I have a pool of DJs who can back me up so my clients are not left like so many others every year with out a DJ. Most people do not ask if a DJ is part of a network or association leaving them vulnerable.

I could go on, with back up equipment and more, but the point is, people who care don’t often get less than they expect and feel disappointed that their money was “wasted” thankful they didn’t spend the extra money on someone. They could have been left feeling like they got more than they expected and happy their extra investment had such a positive out look on their event.

It is hard to educate people on what they need to look for when there are so many poor quality entertainers spreading misinformation in their attempts to gain more bookings. Which also seems to lead to even more unsatisfied clients who then tell their friends that DJ’s are low quality so go cheap anyway?

People seem to do a great job of looking into the legitimacy of mechanics, plumbers, roofers and other professionals who would work on or in their houses, cars or other personal positions yet fail completely when looking at the people they hire for one of the most important days of their life.

Would you let just anyone who claims to be a doctor deliver a baby or would you want to be sure they were trained and experienced and had the proof?

I will leave this open to your comments. I look forward to reading them.