Pro DJ UK - Sunday 8th May 2011

[Paul Forsyth]

Pro DJ UK - An event to raise your DJ business to the next level.

Do you relate to any of these statements?
• I want to raise my game and move to the next level.
• I want to improve my service to justify charging a higher than average price for my disco.
• I want new ideas to keep my service fresh.
• I want my website to work better for me.
• I want to convert more enquiries into bookings.
• I want to improve my performance as a DJ.
• I want to get more enquiries with less investment.
• I want to appear more professional.
• I want more bookings at the right price.
• I want to find out how other people tackle everyday DJ situations.
• I want to be inspired.
• I want my disco to be more than just a hobby.
• I want to make a living from being a mobile DJ.

What can you do about it?
Three of the UK organisations dedicated to the mobile DJ industry, The National Association of DJs (NADJ), Alliance of Mobile & Party DJs (AMPdj) and The South Eastern Discotheque Association (SEDA), have joined forces to present an exciting day of seminars and workshops called Pro DJ UK.
Is it for you?

The day is aimed at all mobile DJs who want to improve their business, their service and/or their performance. There will be seminars beneficial to those just entering the industry and also seasoned DJs who remember vinyl records.

What's in it for you?
Members of SEDA, NADJ and AMPdj have all benefitted from networking, sharing of ideas and learning from each other. Together, we want to extend this further to all DJs and provide an informative, thought provoking and inspirational day. Our aim is that every attendee will leave the day with at least 5 new ideas that they can implement to improve their DJ business.

What can you expect?
Each seminar will be approximately half an hour and aimed specifically at mobile DJs. Two consecutive seminar halls will run throughout the day giving you a choice of topics to suit your own needs and requirements.

Find Sundays boring?
The date for your diary is May 8th 2011 from 10.00am to 4.30pm. The month of May often signals the start of the busy season with an increase in parties, corporate events and of course weddings. What better way to start the summer season than to focus your thoughts on improving your business and service.

No good at map reading?
On the Lincolnshire/Nottinghamshire border lies the small village of Marston near Grantham. The Olde Barn Hotel at Marston is a large luxury venue with excellent conference facilities. With its close proximity to the A1, and only 30 miles from the M1, it is a central location for DJs from a wide area.

A priceless experience
At £17.50 for non-members and £10 for NADJ, AMPdj and SEDA members, we’ve made it affordable for all. The ticket entitles you to attend as many of the seminars and workshops as you wish.

A quick word from Paul (NADJ) Paul (SEDA) and Paul (AMPdj) ... confusing isn't it?
Paul from AMPdj said, "This is a unique period in the evolution of the 3 organisations when the people at the helm of each are all named Paul. What better way to create confusion than work together. Plus there's the added bonus that if there's a hiccup, it's gotta be Paul's fault and not necessarily mine!"
He added, "On a serious note this is a great opportunity to pool resources, knowledge and experience for the benefit of DJs everywhere.”

Paul from SEDA said, “This is a no brainer, to not attend this event if you can, is madness. As DJs we spend far too little time working on the centrepiece of our business, us the DJs. I really hope that we will be as enthused and encouraged by the turnout as the attendees will be by what they get out of the day.
This is a great time for DJs across the country to take time out of their business to put something into their business. On a practical note think about car sharing which will provide even more time to network on the journey.
See you there!”

Paul from NADJ said, “There’s been a gap left in the DJ orientated events of previous years for a dedicated day set aside just for education, training & networking and hopefully between our three organisations we can fill this with an event that could help shape any DJ’s business for the better”
Full details can be found at the dedicated website www.prodjuk.co.uk which will be updated regularly.

[Tom Lovick]

Might try and make my way up there to come to this!

[Paul Forsyth]

Cheers Tom,

Would be good to see you!

Paul Forsyth

[Corabar Entertainment]

Is there an itinerary for the day? (ie seminar titles / times, etc)

[Paul Forsyth]

Hopefull should be up by the end of the week Angela

Paul

[Corabar Entertainment]

:thumbsup:

[hammy]

Would love to attend, But a 4 hour drive. When you going to have something like this for us southerners?????

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Oh come on....

Are you a mobile DJ or not?

[Jason]

I'm still unsure - need to see more info about the seminars and the industry expects that will be presenting.
The effort and cost to attend needs to be balanced with what the DJ will get out of it.
The attendance fee is not the issue its a good price, but spending the day being told "networking","marketing" isn't of much interest here.

What would be of interest would be sales skills, negotiation, tax advice, business workshops, presentation (DJ, and gear). I think someone mentioned mixing techniques in the Orange forum.

So, I can't decide if its worth going until more info is released.

[Excalibur]

Would love to attend, But a 4 hour drive. When you going to have something like this for us southerners?????
I daren't reply to this. :D :D :D :D :D :D I haven't been able to construct a measured and polite response.

Most of the ones I rejected started along the lines of " Bog off and stop whingeing" :p :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D


The attendance fee is not the issue its a good price, but spending the day being told "networking","marketing" isn't of much interest here.

What would be of interest would be sales skills, negotiation, tax advice, business workshops, presentation (DJ, and gear). I think someone mentioned mixing techniques in the Orange forum.

So, I can't decide if its worth going until more info is released.
The price isn't excessive, even for tight gits like me. ;) I would have said that it would be a person with a very closed mind who went to such an event and didn't learn something of value that they hadn't considered.

Plus, if any of the reprobates/usual suspects from here are going, it's worth the admission fee just to say hello to the folk we only see at the shows/events. :D :D :D :D :D

[DAVESOUNDS SERVICES]

Just googled this its 86 miles
i might get there anyone else up for it?

Dave

[Andy Goodtimes]

I reckon that anyone serious about DJing should be there...obviously things like being booked for clients that have had client meetings and having holidays booked up and paid for are unavoidable but this is what we have been waiting for in this country.

[Excalibur]

Just googled this its 86 miles
i might get there anyone else up for it?

Dave

Yes Dave, but it's in Lincolnshire. ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) Have you ever driven there? Miles and miles of cabbages. :D :D :D :D

77 miles for me, and Wakefield isn't on that route. :( 40 miles to my house, if you want a ride down. ( Assuming I go, and that one or two others on here attend. )

[hammy]

Due to not wanting to offend Excalibur :D and as pointed out about being a mobile Dj I guess I`m going to go (geez how easily pursueded), anyone wanting a lift on the way give me a shout

[Excalibur]

Due to not wanting to offend Excalibur :D and as pointed out about being a mobile Dj I guess I`m going to go (geez how easily pursueded), anyone wanting a lift on the way give me a shout

Sir, you have already offended me grievously!!!!!:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
Fortunately, this may be righted by tapping me on the shouder, and proclaiming in confident tones " You are Excalibur, and I give you this free :beer1: ". :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[hammy]

Sir, you have already offended me grievously!!!!!:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
Fortunately, this may be righted by tapping me on the shouder, and proclaiming in confident tones " You are Excalibur, and I give you this free :beer1: ". :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Well seen as I shall probably be booking a hotel near by this my dear fellow shall be done, But will you be wearing your pink dress??

[Excalibur]

Well seen as I shall probably be booking a hotel near by this my dear fellow shall be done, But will you be wearing your pink dress??

:kiss: :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[weekender45]

The content sounds great, is there a limit on numbers attending?
Just worried that with so many seminars you may not be able to cope with the numbers likely to attend.

[DAVESOUNDS SERVICES]

Just aired it with Wifey! she says she will pack my sandwiches so its a DEFINATE YES from Davesounds!!..now can i buy any Flea-Buy tat from around there?????

Wonder if they want a PAT tester in attendnce??????

Cheers
are you a definate Excalibur????

[Excalibur]

Just aired it with Wifey! she says she will pack my sandwiches so its a DEFINATE YES from Davesounds!!..now can i buy any Flea-Buy tat from around there?????

Wonder if they want a PAT tester in attendnce??????

Cheers
are you a definate Excalibur????

I am the definite Excalibur. Accept no imitations. :Naughty: :D :D :D :D :D

Dave, I want a word with you, I'll give you a call soon.
Yes , as far as going to this meeting, count me in. I'd be happy to taxi you down from here. ;)

[Jason]

I have a gig the night before and to get there for 10 will mean 5hrs sleep.. I'm a grumpy bugger in the morning! lol

Looking forward to more information. Without any agenga to see what is relevant, its stupid to say "any serious DJ should be there", currently its just a meet-up with hints of seminars - unless I'm missing something on the website?
Once these are fleshed out to a basic list with each stream, then we can start planning what is relevant, and when to head to the bar :beer1:

I get invited to seminars for the day job, most have much more information to allow me to justify it.


I'm not trying to be too negative, but it looks like all 3 organisations had the idea and are now trying to flesh it out.
Perhaps later in the year would have been better, simply to allow more time for planning and to ensure industry leaders can be booked for the presentations.

My personal interest would be;-
-Making the jump from part-time to full-time. The speaker should be someone who is doing this right now (not someone who subsidises their DJ with other activities!)
-Mixing for a wedding DJ (so not back-to-back 130bpm house stuff!)
-Tax advice
-Sales techniques

I've been to many seminars in my main occupation, only to be disappointed - the level has been too low, or irrelevant, meaning a wasted day- so that could be clouding my opinion here..


Jas

[Excalibur]

Looking forward to more information. Without any agenga to see what is relevant, its stupid to say "any serious DJ should be there", currently its just a meet-up with hints of seminars - unless I'm missing something on the website?
Jas

Oh poo. :( :( I can't do serious. Flippant and frivolous, yes. Immature and childish yes. Serious, no. :o :o :o :( :(

[Paul The Party Dj]

The joys of living on the South Coast - a three and a half hour drive the morning after two late night bookings!

As others have said, a Sunday in the Wedding season isn't ideal. I write off BPM weekend because it's October and the bookings I might get don't tend to be such high value.

I'd love to be there - but I can't commit yet.

[supersound]

Oh poo. :( :( I can't do serious. Flippant and frivolous, yes. Immature and childish yes. Serious, no. :o :o :o :( :(

And this guys coming to our NADJ meeting in Darlington.

I will organize a cresch and a Nanny.

[ppentertainments]

And this guys coming to our NADJ meeting in Darlington.

I will organize a cresch and a Nanny.
Don't worry Paul, still time to put him off :D :D

[Andy Goodtimes]

Well Jason excuse me for being stupid.

I would have thought it pretty obvious that with the 3 organisations involved and considering the experience and skills of the 3 Pauls and all the others that will be assisting with this that the content will be appropriate...not to mention the obvious benefits of networking which is good both for the social side and its always a good learning experience to meet other working DJs.

[flatliners]

well i am up for it if anyone from the north east is going.
we as a forum should attend such events ie paul, chris, steve and mary or andy

[Corabar Entertainment]

Posted 4 weeks ago:-
Is there an itinerary for the day? (ie seminar titles / times, etc)

Hopefull should be up by the end of the week Angela

PaulStill no news?

[Paul Forsyth]

Posted 4 weeks ago:-
Still no news?

Sorry Angela

CHeck here

http://www.prodjuk.co.uk/category/seminars

Paul

[Corabar Entertainment]

Thanks

[STEVE HANLEY]

Mary and me will almost certainly be attending this:) :)

[pdarnett]

Some members (of all 3 organisations) have asked us about bringing along their roadie or wife (could be same person!) and could we offer the same admission price to them as well?

We thought the best way to do this was via a token or voucher.

So visit here (http://www.prodjuk.co.uk/uncategorized/voucher-for-attend-as-member-status) grab the voucher and it's sorted.

Only one per member, but should help out those bringing others on the day.

See you there!

[Booche]

If anyone from around this way is going i'd love to attend :D

[sandysounds]

eeeeek....3 weeks today!

I'm really looking forward to it. Fantastic line up in both rooms. I've spoken to alot of people who are attending....some from quite a distance (Cardiff, Plymouth, Bournemouth etc) looks like it will be a cracking crowd.... I still reckon I'll be the furthest travelled (Larne, NI)!

[Pink Elephant]

Who is going from the South?
I am travelling up on Sunday so if anyone wants to car share let me know.

Cheers,

Neil

[sandysounds]

It's tomorrow! Hope to see some of you there!

[Andy Goodtimes]

Just wondering how it went? Did many forum members attend, was it well attended in general and was there lots of interesting and useful content?

Looking through the list of seminars and obviously there was the odd one that I thought wasn't for me but on the whole it did look a decent range of topics presented by folk that know their stuff, pity I have been working all over the week-end and not able to attend myself but I hope it went off well and there will be another event planned for the future.

I would be really interested to hear a review from anyone that attended when you get a few minutes spare.

[sandysounds]

Still on the road home at the moment. Not many forum members there at all...from any forum......but it was well attended and a huge success. The atmosphere was fantastic and all (yes ALL) comments were positive. The three organisations, AMPdj, NADJ and SEDA have shown what can be achieved when DJs work together. It was a great day all round....I'm still buzzing.

[Andy Goodtimes]

Glad it went off well.

I guess its easy to loose sight of the big picture as the various forum members only represent a very small percentage of UK DJs...maybe it would make an interesting thread one day as I for one have heard various conflicting estimates of how many DJs there might be in the UK.

Sandy...just out of interest what percentage of AMPDJ members are also DJ forum members?

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Had every intention of going however with a long Saturday meant I didnt get back til 5am I was never going to make it up and I think its a view thats likely to be shared by many DJ's.

Sundays during the off season are far easier to make or of course a day during the week. I know you can't keep everyone happy however I hope my point will be considered if/when the next one is arranged.

[Andy Goodtimes]

Deckstar; I felt the same about it but of course its hard to keep everyone happy.

Pity there's not been any useful reviews about it on the forum but judging from telephone conversations and emails I have had it sounds like it was a worthwhile event and I hope there will be another and a little more notice would be appreciated.

I have been out Fri, Sat and Sun and again tonight and Wed then it all starts off again next Fri, it was also a bit of a journey for me and what with other non-work related stuff its too much really.

TBH I have always fancied the Mobile Beat show but what with it being a couple of grand for travel, hotel and spending money and also loosing a couple of grand in income that's never really been an option for me either.

Lets just hope the Pro DJ event becomes a regular calendar event for us.

[supersound]

Well I Went and have the pics to prove it lol.fantastic .............................................Carve ry and real ale....and the seminars were ok too.

To be serious the event in my opinion was a milestone in colabaration and education.
Well done to those that attended.
Those who thought it was too far to go after a late gig....well Danno is an inspiration to us all,that fella attends eveything and is eyes were held open(pic to prove that fact)http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=11584&stc=1&d=1304958672http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=11585&stc=1&d=1304958690http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=11586&stc=1&d=1304958704http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=11587&stc=1&d=1304958724http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=11588&stc=1&d=1304958744

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Love the fact that they are all dressed in fairly formal wear and Alex of all people is letting the side down :P

[Andy Goodtimes]

Paul; I appreciate what you are saying about Danno, he certainly supported me when I was trying to get a branch of NADJ up and running in this area and nothing stopped him attending as regular as clockwork. But in all fairness he is a bit younger...only a bit though and I could be wrong but don't think he has the same sort of commitments.

I am not about to go into lots of detail but my Wife is not well and I am her main carer and as she has been unable to work for a while now I have to do as much as I can and juggle it with everything else. I have just cooked and cleaned up afterwards and am out working again at about 7.45 this evening and won't be home till knocking on 3am....Ok, put the violins away now its no one elses problem but its genuine as I am sure Sandy and Paul will confirm as they saw the extent of things when they were here last week and many times before.

It would have been nice to have attended and hopefully picked up a couple of tips to help the business along and also meet folk such as yourself, but in my case there's a lot to consider when planning something like that.

Yes its a big milestone and exciting prospects with BPM and hopefully Pro DJ and the colaberation between the organisations happening again.

[Alex]

Yeah Yeah Yeah... I was wearing a gray top!! I did actually scream " Hang on I need to change " and was going to change!

But you should all know me by now... I like to make an entrance and stand out from the crowd ( literally in this case! ) hahaha!

----

Still it was a bleeding fantastic day! Hats off to AMPDdj, NADJ and SEDA for coming together! A huge thank you to the three pauls too :D and also to all the speakers and "extra hands" we had in the morning!

Look forward to the next one... .as it was a great laugh ( exactly what I needed after the last few weeks )

[Booche]

Love the fact that they are all dressed in fairly formal wear and Alex of all people is letting the side down :P

HaHaHa that was the first thing i noticed when NADJ posted the pic's on Faebook lol

[sandysounds]

Glad it went off well.

Sandy...just out of interest what percentage of AMPDJ members are also DJ forum members?

errrrr... about 1%

[sandysounds]

Had every intention of going however with a long Saturday meant I didnt get back til 5am I was never going to make it up and I think its a view thats likely to be shared by many DJ's.

Sundays during the off season are far easier to make or of course a day during the week. I know you can't keep everyone happy however I hope my point will be considered if/when the next one is arranged.

This was the first of its kind ever... and the first one organised by the three organisations as a collective.....plans are afoot for more to follow.

As with anything that is a 'first'.....you learn and develop the idea. We will certainly take on board anyone's suggestions when planning the next one, especially with regard to date, location and timings.

[Excalibur]

It's a shame I missed it, but plans altered here at a late stage. :( Congratulations to all the organisers and helpers, and let's hope there's another one, which more of us will attend.

[Alex]

Roll on the next one :D

PS: Sandy... glad to see ya home safely :)... apologies for missing your call this morning (but thanks hehe)! I was totally zoinked out!! lol I stayed in the hotel bar till about 12:15am ish LOL