Am I Charging Enough?

[milo]

Hi guys,

If anyone has seen my previous posts they will know that I’m a Children’s Entertainer and not a DJ, but I have a nice little disco with a 3m x 2m star cloth, some decent lights, a good amp and speakers etc. I use Virtual DJ to do all the work for me and wouldn’t have a clue how to use decks or any of the real DJ stuff.

I have done quite a few kids discos for corporate clients now and many of them have come back and booked me for their adult functions (especially over Christmas), is this because I’m cheap?

I charge £150.00 for a kids 2 hour disco with games & competitions etc and I’ve just been quoting the same for the adult ones. An adult disco is more like 5 hours, but I don’t actually have to do anything other than set up a play list and put on requests.

What should I be charging for corporate discos and weddings?

Thanks.

Milo.

[discomobiledj]

Market Research. What are your competitors charging?

[Vectis]

(costs) + (hourly rate) + (desired profit margin)

My kids 2 hour discos usually go out at £120-£170 depending on day of week and time of year.

My corporate 5 hour full-on discos usually start FROM £250 and more often than not are in the £350-£400 bracket as they are inclined to take more options than your private punter BUT expect a lot more in return.

[milo]

I just didn’t want to waist other people’s time by calling around asking for bogus quotes and I doubt many people would be that helpful towards their competitors if I were to be honest with them.

I try to give everyone the same service whether it’s a five year olds party or a corporate gig, so I don’t know what else they can ask for to make the quote higher? I have all the usual lighting, smoke, bubble & snow machines, HSM cut outs, inflatable palm trees, inflatable guitars, saxes & mics, wireless mics for announcements/speeches and all that jazz. What would you expect to do differently for a £400.00 booking?

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

What should I be charging for corporate discos and weddings?

Enough to enable you to cover your expenses and make a profit. Have you worked that out yet?

[Vectis]

smoke, bubble & snow machines, HSM cut outs, inflatable palm trees, inflatable guitars, saxes & mics, wireless mics for announcements/speeches and all that jazz.

You can get away with charging extra for most/all of these items for a corporate gig. Perhaps not HSM cut-outs, obviously

A few of the 'extras' I offer include video playout (big screen(s) or monitors) with abstracts, shadowdancers, live dancefloor camera etc.; video recording then onto DVD or website afterwards; event photographer (Mrs VV); event management service including venue hire & liaison, catering, casino/band/vocalist/magician/whatever, uplighting; over-the-top-in-my-opinion-but-some-customers-love-it mega super-huge lighting rig with everything known to man and a bit of tinsel on there for good measure....; pre-event requests; themes; special printing for the events - flyers, lyric sheets for singalongs; the list goes on and on. And for everything you do OTHER THAN provide a disco, charge for it.

[milo]

Enough to enable you to cover your expenses and make a profit. Have you worked that out yet?

Of course I’ve worked that out.

The question is how much profit is justifiable? I want to make a living, not a killing, but at the same time I don’t want to sell myself short.

I have 21 bookings for December, but in February I may only have 5-10. I know “my” market very well (i.e. kids parties) and I am both competitive and popular, but if I can get more wedding and adult event work in the quiet seasons I may just be able to warrant quitting my day job.

First thing’s first though…… I need to know what a fair amount to charge is, so I can promote the DJ side of things.

I’m sure no one would appreciate loosing half of their bookings to a Children’s Entertainer who’s undercutting them by 50%.

[rob1963]

Hi guys,

If anyone has seen my previous posts they will know that I’m a Children’s Entertainer and not a DJ, but I have a nice little disco with a 3m x 2m star cloth, some decent lights, a good amp and speakers etc. I use Virtual DJ to do all the work for me and wouldn’t have a clue how to use decks or any of the real DJ stuff.

I have done quite a few kids discos for corporate clients now and many of them have come back and booked me for their adult functions (especially over Christmas), is this because I’m cheap?

I charge £150.00 for a kids 2 hour disco with games & competitions etc and I’ve just been quoting the same for the adult ones. An adult disco is more like 5 hours, but I don’t actually have to do anything other than set up a play list and put on requests.

What should I be charging for corporate discos and weddings?

Thanks.

Milo.

If you're charging £150 for a kids party, I'd say full discos should be priced somewhere around 50% to 100% more than that.

This is roughly in line with what vectis said he charges, and is also similar to the rates charged by a friend of mine...who does kids discos as well as the normal wedding type stuff.

[DiscoPromotions]

Question here I think, is what do you actually want to make from your business, along with your own personal objectives.

So, if you want to be out every Saturday night you would charge differently to I only want to be out if the fee is good.

[milo]

I like the photo idea! I know some photographers who might come out and do that with me and I could give the organisers their own page on my website to view the photos and purchase albums, framed pics etc. They would be good for staff to buy as secret Santa presents!

Oh ….. Idea…….. Cardboard cut outs of playboy girls and Chippendale strippers with head holes to put your face in! A couple of drinks and everyone would be posing! Oh….. Another idea….. Stocks for the bosses to get chained to!

I’ma thinking now!!!