Based in NYC, DJ Brian Buonassissi is a successful internationally-travelling DJ/MC specialising in luxury destination private events. He runs a multi-city mobile DJ/event business with offices in Southern California, Florida and New York City. You can connect with him at . ? I’ll be blunt.
My leads have dried up to almost a complete stop. We’re over a month into a “stay at home” order in NYC and clients are not pulling the trigger on booking events until we have a little clearer of a timetable to when this is going to be over. The first thing I thought of when this all hit was my existing clientele. Thankfully, most are postponing instead of cancelling.
So the work is still there, but what’s gone away is the cash I would have had in hand as their final payments came in. (Our policy is final balances are due 30 days prior to the event date). For these postponed events, I’ve now shifted to asking for 50% of the final balance due on their ORIGINAL event date and the other 50% of the final balance due 30 days prior to the new date. This puts some cash in my pocket now to get me through this impasse. The current situation has also reinforced for me the importance of having multiple revenue streams.
Luckily, I was ahead of the curve on this with a few side streams of income in place. I was lambasted by a lot of DJs for preaching this practice but now a lot of those same DJs are on life support with their single income DJ businesses right now! If you don’t have a side hustle, how can you start one now, you ask? Here’s a few ideas.
Sell some of your DJ gear that you don’t use anymore (we all have some) online, sell playlist creation services to corporate or individual clients, host a workshop on a skill you excel at. Outside of the industry, maybe become an online product reviewer? The sky is the limit! The second quote that I live by is attributed to Darwin and goes, “It Is not the strongest or the smartest species that survive, but the ones that are the most adaptable to change ” .
There is no doubt that we will emerge out of this, but DJ companies are going to have to do the work now to be relevant and in business when we emerge post COVID-19. We’ve been on the cusp of virtual events taking a huge piece of the event pie for some time, but were still waiting for technology to make it possible (hello 5G) and clients to embrace the concept. While we don’t have 5G readily available yet (it’s coming though), all humans (outside of family) are having to connect online right now.
I really do feel this situation we find ourselves in might be the thing that pushes this ‘virtual’ concept into the mainstream. I’m seriously looking at online/virtual parties as a viable platform for future business. In my case, I’ve been hosting ‘couples date night’ events the last few weeks. I’m holding these weekly and charging $50 a couple.
Last week, we had 12 couples on for a 2-hour event. This included a dinner menu paired with beverages (suggested), attire recommendations, games, music, etc. It was a huge hit. It’s not ‘normal’ pay by any stretch but it’s seeding an idea and future repeat business that could grow exponentially from the comfort of my home.
But what about our model of what we were all offering clients pre- COVID-19? There’s no denying it, commodity-based businesses are going to suffer when the pandemic crisis ends. Clients are going to be tight on funds the longer this goes on (many will likely have been living on credit or had to take out loans to survive), so they’re going to be looking for deals. This doesn’t have to be your story, which begs the question: What is your story?
When things get back to normal, how are you going to be able to sell your services as unique and one-ofa-kind to maximise their perceived value? The companies that tell that story best are the ones that are not only going to retain their rates but be able to raise them. Now is the time to define and tell your story. One idea for doing this would be having clients leave you reviews now if you’ve been able to accommodate date changes (this shows human empathy and being easy to work with).
Is there a specific product or service you provide that is truly something only you can do? In my case, one of the things I see as a differentiator is my musical curation. To promote this, I’m mixing online three times a week at the moment (catch me on IG live at @djbrianbofficial) showing a variety of styles. I’m not looking for an uptick in bookings right this second, but I’ll have a stable of video content to share, demonstrating my versatile mixing ability, when people start to book again.
I’m also releasing a ton of event DJ tips, both directly to clients and with publications who are looking for content, as well as releasing episodes of my podcast directed to my clientele that showcase myself as an expert in my field. All those things add up when a client is looking to decide not only who to book but how much budget to allocate to a creative partner. How are you going to spend your time right now? What are you doing to be viable post-COVID-19?
There will be a new normal. Start working on being prepared for it right now so you can be ahead of the curve and thrive. "DJ companies are going to have do the work now to be relevant and in business when we emerge post COVID-19"
