New Year Resolutions for 2016

[Imagine]

Sorry....couldn't find last year's thread on this one so starting another since we're so close the event

I seem to remember that last year I said I was going to double my turnover buy fewer shiny lights etc. and buy a van...

Yup...done all that

In fact, I'm more than chuffed with how the year's panned out. It started worryingly lean on booked events, and I ended up with 15 more events than last year (with a 100% increase on weddings). My turnover is just under double what it was last year (bear in mind I'm still a weekend warrior....yes I'm waving gentlemen vegetables for all to see).

I've increased my charges for a night (that one had me worried....I NOW don't know why....I've increased my fees again for next year too). One day (very soon), I'll be commanding £500 a night (I'm currently between £300-£350 on average).

I'm now going into year 4 of being back after an 18 year "retirement". Oh Boy am I still learning!

OK - I've spent a LOT less this year on kit, mainly concentrating on replacing stuff which has broken (plus a lot of 80's stuff for specialist nights which are doing well for me at the moment....apart from the costs of replacement bulbs).....but that kit just looks better than LED dots....

On a personal note...I'm now 4 weeks and 2 days without a cigarette!!! (big round of applause please...it's been hard inhaling the odour of smokers at parties so far but I've resisted!!!!)

So, for 2016 (which is only just over a week away)

* Double turnover again. This is going to be tricky....but things are happening in my full time job which should allow this to happen . If things go the way I'm planning, I'll be earning a full time living out of the disco in two year's time which is far greater than my full time job as a software engineer.
* Spend less on kit (there really IS nothing new I need anymore....it's just replacement now)....shouldn't be too hard
* Sort out my lockup and bin/sell anything I haven't used recently. I've got a load of kit that'll probably never see the light of day again, plus stuff which has blown up, isn't repairable and really shouldn't be in there!
* Cut out the adult parties and concentrate on just weddings and kids parties (I'm damned good at both...18th's and 21'sts are a struggle)
* Lose a LOT of weight. I ideally need to lose a couple of stones....that one's going to be tough as I DO like a glass or three of Chablis when I get home after a gig just to help me sleep.



So ladies and gentlefolk...what are YOU planning for the next year?

[SC Events]

1) Lose 3 or 4 stone - I currently weigh around 17 stone. As well as making me healthier and helping my recovery after a back injury two years ago, it also ties in with my next goal...

2) Finally land myself a full-time Pilot job. I have applied to various airlines and had some interviews, but no such luck yet. I did go for an interview this week for a ground-based position with the possibility of taking up a flying role with the company in the future... fingers crossed on that one, I find out on monday! To go back to my first point, as well as making me healthier by losing some weight, some of the light aircraft I fly and teach in, have a maximum weight of around 100kg per person so are currently out of the question.

3) Expand the business further in to the Corporate Events world. I have made some very good contacts over the past 2 years since launching the Conference & AV, Theatre & Live and Equipment Hire subsidiaries, so therefore I hope to secure a lot more corporate work (conferences, product launches, awards ceremonies, fashion shows etc) during 2016 and do less DJ'ing, as that's what I prefer... it's also much better money!

I think that's about it...

[Nakatomi]

This year has been fairly hellish (death of my old black Lab, redundancy, new day job but a massive pay cut), but also one of the happiest I can remember for all kinds of reasons. I took the plunge & started my own business, which is just starting to get off the ground - and I'm in a position now where I know at least two other DJs nearby who I can trust to cover for me when I need a break.

Next year then.. maybe the same volume of work, but for more money & more of the ball being in my court I hope. New PA beckons, but I really need to get on the ball with marketing before I splurge a couple of K on a couple of K.

I'm currently reading DJ Hank's book on how to be a better mobile DJ & it seems that although I'm good I could be doing things much better. Not that I've had any complaints - far from it. So a bit of self-improvement is on the cards too. From a customer service perspective I'm doing alright but my execution is still a teensy bit amateur IMHO - not that it hasn't come on a lot in the last 12 months!

Oh and photography & video.. I really need to crack on & get some great gig evidence.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Turnover isn't really what you should be focused on, it should be profit. Doubling your turnover is also a far fetched target unless you're dealing with really low figures (this isn't me being a keyboard warrior by the way just my experience from setting targets myself).

Focusing on Weddings is a smart move, mainly because people plan this stuff months and years in advance while adult and kids parties are much shorter notice (nicer to see the diary full for next year than just hoping things will drop in).

If you're considering going full time then I would seriously look into hiring equipment (ideally not manned services) so you can increase your earning potential over the popular dates in the year. For me it's been vital in developing the business and there's no way I could buy a house, paying myself a decent wage and putting money aside for pensions etc... without doing so. Remember as well you lose holiday pay and any sense of security so it's not something to be taken lightly.

For me personally my target is to reduce costs as I'm getting near the VAT threshold and with the current workload I should really employ someone else so to earn another 10% would set me back 20% plus wages (though once through that barrier the world is really your oyster)

[Imagine]

Turnover isn't really what you should be focused on, it should be profit. Doubling your turnover is also a far fetched target unless you're dealing with really low figures (this isn't me being a keyboard warrior by the way just my experience from setting targets myself).

I was waiting for that one

Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity....appreciate and know that. The past couple of years whilst building things up, there's been no profit. Every penny the disco has made (and some) has been ploughed back into the business (eek!!! That makes me a hobbiest!).

Next year (around April conveniently), I start to turn a profit. I don't need any shiny new trinkets and the like, I'm happy with the entire setup now and the way it works, so expenses other than the usual music, insurance, storage, fuel etc. are hopefully going to be minimal. So, increasing turnover is very much going to increase profit for me

[DJColsie]

Reducing expenses will increase profit even if turnover remains the same.

[mattydj50]

My New Year Resolution for 2015 was to stay alive (after my heart attack in 2014).

And I'm pleased to say that I have.

[DazzyD]

After a really bad 2015 (multiple family and friends deaths, health issues, not doing so much disco work as previous years), then I'm really hoping 2016 will be better! If it is any worse then god help us all!!

Anyway, I'm going to try and get back in shape. Like Scott, I'm around the 17st mark and could do with losing a quarter of that. Or at least making moves in the right direction.

As for the business, I've been sitting on some website domain names for a while and it's time to put them to some good use. So there'll be a total revamp of my online presence. One of my sites hasn't been updated for a long, long time and that will be a priority.

In terms of increasing work, I've turned down a fair bit this year due to flare ups with my arthritis. So I'm confident of maintaining those enquiries and turning them in to bookings.

So here's to 2016!

[saduffy1]

1) Visit friends I keep on saying I'll go to visit and then don't!

This year will be different.

2) Dispose/donate some of the gear that I still have but no longer need because I don't do many gigs these days and certainly wouldn't bother using if I did go out.

3) Continue to be as strict as I was with eating in early December 2015 because it sure worked!

As I'm largely semi-retired from DJing, I get to spend a lot of Saturdays doing whatever I like. I often don't do exciting things, granted, but it means I get to go to the gym and go swimming when it's nice and quiet. This helped me maintain a reasonable shape the last few years, but like most I want to improve further still.

I really have to recommend something I tried during early December called the British Heart Foundation 3 day diet. Bizarrely it has nothing to do with British Heart Foundation so why it's called 'British Heart Foundation diet' is anyone's guess. I don't usually bother with things like that but I thought I'd give it a go.

You have to be very strict with it, but I didn't find it remotely difficult to do. What I think it emphasises is that the key thing is portion size, which is hard to do. I'm the world's worst for eating more pasta than I should. I got used to it straight away though. You even get to eat ice cream for dessert with that diet, though I went for frozen yoghurt instead.

I think it's a good way to kick start a healthier approach to eating. Might try the strict 3 days again in January and then plan my portion sizes better for the rest of the month and see how it goes.

[Pe7e]

Same as last year, retire to a tropical beach and watch the sun go down over the South China sea with a decent malt whisky in my hand. Chances of success? about the same as last year < 50% / 50%, you can still dream though can't you?