So last issue Pro Mobile hit the 100th edition milestone - what a fantastic achievement! I wonder if back in 2003, when issue one appeared with a handy guide to ‘Digital DJing’ , there was even an inkling that readers of issue 100, published in the third decade of the magazine’s existence, would be almost exclusively digital DJs in one form or another? This industry changes so rapidly, it must have been hard to imagine what the future of the mobile DJ would look like.
Looking back on any period of history teaches us that it’s impossible to predict the future. Recent history has taught me that my concern of short supply of equipment from Europe due to the changes Brexit would bring, has been over shadowed by the cancellation of all public events and the closure of all the venues we work in due to the coronavirus outbreak – wow, we really didn’t see that coming! Predicting the future then is a hazardous occupation.
Yet all businesses need a vision of what they want to achieve – given all available information combined with the aspirations of the owners. Like Eddie when he first setup Pro Mobile magazine had a vision for what the publication would become, you will have had an idea of what type of DJ you wanted to be when you set out on your personal journey. Did it look something like the photos we see of Fatboy Slim mid-gig? Whatever the grand vision of your DJ career was, I’m sure it will have looked very different to how it turned out to be.
Along the way there will have been painful lessons, loads of unexpected twists and turns, bumps in the road and, I’m sure, also some big achievements – the end result can only be loosely what you expected it to be. You are though, reading this magazine so it is safe to say you are a working mobile DJ. Reaching issue 100 is a good time for Eddie to take stock, look back at the (enormous) achievements of Pro Mobile, but also think about the future. So, what does your future hold?
Reaching a milestone is always a good time to draw a line and restart with renewed purpose. We often start to shape the future when we hit major birthdays, or when we experience major life changes such as moving house, getting married or starting a family. All of these are great opportunities to stop, look back at where you have been, and think about where you are going. But any business can perform a strategy rethink at any time.
My most recent one was at the start of this year. I always try to give myself a kickstart having wrapped Christmas up, looking ahead to a new year. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. " This saying may have been wrongly attributed to Albert Einstein, but is still a fabulous mantra. Incidentally, I had no idea Albert was wrongly credited until Tony Winyard revealed this injustice at last year’s Pro Mobile Focus event (apparently the saying first appeared in a book by Rita May Brown some 28 years after Mr Einstein’s demise).
But in a world of uncertainty, where it is difficult – if not impossible – to predict the future, where should we start when we want to try doing things differently? A review of your business is always worth doing and now is the perfect time since we all have plenty of extra time on our hands! However, you need to do it in a constructive way, with an honest appraisal. Whenever I stop and think about my business, I focus in on four key areas: sales, service, risk and people.
Let’s take a moment to consider each of them. First, I feel it only fair to warn you now, the following contains a lot of business speak. However, I make no apologies for this. The moment you exchange your time and expertise for payment, you start a business… even if you don’t want to be business manager, it pays to think like one.
Sales How is this going for you? Do you have a healthy diary with the bookings you want? (Or at least, did you before Coronavirus put a temporary halt on up-coming events). Is your effort profitable enough for you, and are there opportunities to improve revenue? The best way to look at improving sales is to By Peter Holding A full-time mobile DJ and wedding host since 2013, Peter Holding set up his business – All Parties and Events – with his wife Michelle in 2012.
Prior to that he spent close to 30 years working in Sales, Sales Management, and finally Corporate Communications, mostly within the banking sector. search out businesses which are successful. I look for inspiration both in and outside of our industry. I also cannot overstate the importance of sales training.
I appreciate my last article in Pro Mobile looked at the importance of Customer Service [‘The Four Pillars Of Customer Service’ , issue 99] (I’m coming back to this subject shortly), but Sales is a vital part of your success. Books to look out for are Wedding Marketing for DJs, Coffee’s For Closers, Shut Up and Sell More – all available via the Pro Mobile Book Store. Also search for my own recent favourite marketing book: Rory Sutherlands’ The Surprising Power of Ideas that Don’t Make Sense.
This gives away a brilliant turn of phrase which has helped me to win more sales instantly – I’ll let you in on it for free if you stop me at any Pro Mobile or other networking event I’m at! Service Have you had a chance to read my last article on this very subject in Pro Mobile? As I explained in that piece, good customer service is essential for growing a business, especially in an industry like ours. This starts from the moment a prospective client makes contact, or tried to!
How easy is it to be a customer of yours? Can people get hold of you easily? When they call you, is the phone answered? When they email, do you reply right away?
A huge number of you will no doubt have daytime commitments and it’s hardly easy for you to answer your own business calls or emails whilst being paid to work for someone else. So, making sure that someone is looking after this for you is vital. By the time you get the chance to call or email back, your potential client will likely have already booked elsewhere. This is the single most important aspect of your business you can improve to get more bookings.
Risk I’m an advocate for positive thinking – I hate to spend any time at all thinking about negative stuff. But it is worth asking “what if?” . Your business is faced with all sorts of risk every day. A local DJ recently got to a gig and discovered he could not use the USB ports on his computer.
Fortunately, he could play out of the headphone socket, but this an example of a major potential risk that could have meant he was unable to perform. Every single item you use at every gig has the potential to fail – so a backup plan is essential. Do you have spares or at least a strategy for when something goes wrong? How are you going to get to a gig when your vehicle goes wrong?
These are important and urgent questions. But there is something else that could go wrong that poses the biggest risk of all: you! A vital question is “what would tomorrow look like if you could no longer work?” Which leads me neatly on to… People There have been some brilliant articles in Pro Mobile by Tony Winyard, Alan Marshall and others on making healthy choices to sustain your ability to do, what undoubtedly is, a very demanding job. Pro Mobile Conference always has keynote speakers on this subject as well.
Put simply, taking care of your health and wellbeing is essential. But things can, and do, still go wrong. So it is essential to have a back-up plan. Who could dig you out of trouble at a bad time?
Who do you have in your life who could stand in for you? Also, who would arrange a replacement and contact your clients to reassure them in the event of you being unable to do so? This is also a good time to ask about what would happen if you were permanently no longer around. It’s not exactly a brilliant subject, I hate to think about it for any time at all.
But your loved ones depend on you for many things, and a large number of you no doubt have financially dependant people who you would want only the very best for should the worst happen to you. Take a moment to think about these things, and by all means reach out to me for impartial (and free) advice on making sure that you are covered in the right way. “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” . Apparently, this one was Benjamin Franklin, and I have no reason to believe otherwise.
But it’s an important thought. And with it in mind, I wish you the very best of luck for the remainder of 2020 as we navigate the unprecedented situation we currently face during the coronavirus pandemic. Keep buying Pro Mobile magazine and help ensure that this massive asset continues to guide us through these perilous waters in which we choose to work! “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” Benjamin Franklin?
