Hi

[Imagine]

Hello everyone

I'm a newbie, but not a newbie if that makes sense.

I had a disco during the 90's which I had to sell up to get married/buy house/have kids etc.....

But now...I'm back

I've only officially been back in business since the start of Feb, but already bookings are slowly trickling in (could do with a LOT more though to pay for the new kit). The kit is a mix of this new fangled LED stuff and the good old retro incandescent bulbs (oh yes....my frontage is made up of a couple of 3ft square Showtec lightscreens....I just love 'em). Finally used to using a laptop and Newmark mixer instead of bits of 7" vinyl, and it's a lot easier to cart into a venue than it used to be

So, that's me. I'm old but new (and steadily getting used to Pitbull and Avicii et al). I seem to be doing a lot of kid's parties at the moment (not a problem...it's all money at the end of the day), but after any tips I can get on how to re-promote myself in this modern day and age and get more business (it seems very quiet at the moment).

I know a lot of what we do is word of mouth and it's going to take a couple of years to get going again, but any tips on how to get more bookings in this internet connected age would be really appreciated. I've got a web site, and I'm taking referrals from ampDJ for the entire of East Anglia (there aren't many of those at the moment and I've managed to convert a couple of them without even talking to the client.....weird!).

Soooo...any help will be really appreciated. Things have changed a hell of a lot since I last did this thing. I'm a fast learner and have picked up a LOT of new information since I restated. Any help from the seasoned professionals???

[Excalibur]

Hello Wayne, good to have you here.
Help from the seasoned professionals? Well this is the best place I know to get it.
If you promise not to put Yorkshire as an area, it might be worth having a look at NeedaDisco. Many folk pick up work there, but you may have to travel a bit.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Welcome Wayne.

[Shaun]

Hello and welcome. :-)

[Imagine]

Wow - thanks for all the welcomes

Hello Wayne, good to have you here.
Help from the seasoned professionals? Well this is the best place I know to get it.
If you promise not to put Yorkshire as an area, it might be worth having a look at NeedaDisco. Many folk pick up work there, but you may have to travel a bit.

I had a look at NeedADisco when I first started out again (amongst many others). Do you get many enquiries from them though?
And don't worry - I won't put Yorkshire as an area...no problem with travelling but that's more like emigrating from out here in the Cambridgeshire Fens

[musicology]

Welcome along!
Most of my bookings come through the internet from good search placing and from directory sites. NeedaDisco, which may seem expensive at first glance, actually does work very well. So definitely focus on your web presence. That's how people are looking for their Dj these days. AND it's a whole lot cheaper than the old style of advertising!

[soundmaster mobile disco]

welcome to the mdd wayne

[Imagine]

Welcome along!
Most of my bookings come through the internet from good search placing and from directory sites. NeedaDisco, which may seem expensive at first glance, actually does work very well. So definitely focus on your web presence. That's how people are looking for their Dj these days. AND it's a whole lot cheaper than the old style of advertising!

OK - If you search for a mobile disco in Ely....I'm on page one of Google
I spoke to a chap in a different county yesterday (got some very nice RCF boxes from him) and I appear to be doing the same as him, including the same pricing. I've got a web site (www.imagineentertainment.co.uk....I'd appreciate any feedback on this one), but still it's very slow

OK - I'm "new" as far as clients are concerned (I've been out of the game for a few years and now coming back)...but in reality they don't actually know any different...do they?
No problem with signing up with NeedADisco...it's tax deductible ), except I don't have a PAT cert because all my gear is under 12 months old (and isn't PAT testable since it's under manufacturers guarantee at the moment)

The current environment is alien to me at the moment as someone who ran a very successful disco in the 90's. I prefer to talk to clients rather than email them...it seems to be like a Dutch Auction of the lowest price wins.

Don't get me wrong....I don't necessarily want to be out 5 nights a week (although that would be nice)...just something every couple of weeks would be nice at the moment (am I greedy)..my next booking is the end of May!

Where am I going wrong? Am I just being impatient or is it genuinely slow at the moment?

[Shaun]

I don't have a PAT cert because all my gear is under 12 months old (and isn't PAT testable since it's under manufacturers guarantee at the moment)

You can still PAT test new equiment (in fact, some retailers offer this service at the point of sale).

[Imagine]

Well....it's six week's since I came out of the woodwork and introduced myself on here and 3 months since I officially went back into business, and I'd like to offer everyone on here a big thank you.

If you look at my first post you'll see I was panicking about a lack of business (I really was worried back then with a couple or three grand invested in new kit and no bookings coming in).
Thanks to the advice on here (the main one being to join need a disco), business is now well and truly booming. I've just now booked up my third wedding of the year, and my diary is full every weekend from now until the end of August....and they still keep coming! (I've even potentially got a Page 3 girl's 21st birthday in December...yet to be confirmed but working on it....and I've got more than enough people offering to be roadies on that one before you all start offering!).

I'm now one VERY happy bunny I used to be out virtually every weekend when I did this back in the last century, now it looks like I'm going to be able to go back to where I was and make this thing work again

One thing I have noticed (and I don't know how many of you find the same thing)....If I can physically TALK to the client using that old fashioned thing called a telephone rather than batting everything around by email, I'll 99% of the time get the booking. So, call me old fashioned, that's the way I'm starting to work.

Again, thanks for all your help so far. Even if it hasn't been directly - I've been reading through a lot of posts and they've all helped me to get back into business properly and actually start making some money