help needed....flat stoney broke

[cara]

oops i've hit a bit of a crisis, well not a crisis but a dilemma

i've run out of money, and i've still yet to:

get business cards printed
get p.a.t.
get p.l.i.
aquire DJ Stand
Buy A Van (Currently Have an estate car)

all my money has gone on:

1000w powered mixer
500w speakers
500w bass bins
dual core laptop
twin cd/mp3 decks
speaker stands
10 in 10 out usb ext sound card
2x 250 gig ext usb hard drives
1x njd chaos
1x njd chaos 2
1x geni xtc
1x geni wild blaze
t bar lighting stand
various leads & cables
up to date music cd's
all in one printer

i'm getting £500 next week but that will really be the last money i have

does anyone have any reccomendations on how to best spend the £500 judging by the equipment i have and what i think i need (plus anything i've forgot about)

for instance would it be best to spend x amount on business cards then spend x amount on advertising in my local paper

i've looked into p.l.i. and i can get that by paying monthly (£14) so that shouldnt be a problem

is p.a.t. required by law? would i be able to get away with it until i generate some income because all my gear is brand new?

guys, any advice on how to bring in some work now would be greatly appreciated

thanks a lot in advance for any advice offered:beer1:

[Ricesnaps]

Mmm, where to start!!!

Sell the lighting and start again? lol!

But seriously, there are some easy and cheap wins here if you want them.

Question first - have you been out and done any gigs yet?

I ask because it's really useful and good publicity to get some work under your belt, even if you do it for free or cheaper than usual. then you can take photo's, ask for feedback or even see if the client would act as a reference for you to allow other clients to call and ask how good you are!

Forget the business cards, or don't worry about them. I have a pile in the van and very very rarely use them. If you are likely to get recomendations, the person interested will generally ask the person who booked you who you are. Most of my work comes from my web site and it's nearly all one off wedding work. So my effort isn't put into promotion on the night. However if you do want some cards, why not just design and print out your own. There are some very good card stock available these days. Otherwise, get yourself along here - www.vistaprint.com and order some free ones. Good quality too, my wife swears by them!

Advertising - honestly? Spend you money on a good web site and get yourself a good positioning on the search engines. IMHO this will do you far more good than a newspaper advert. Get yourself listed on as many free disco and entertainment directories as you can and if you have any budget left pay for a couple of the good ones - for me that's UK-Disco and Hitched, but others may recomend some more. Consider the type of work you want to do and then do some almost free target marketing. I know that Crazy K (or at least he used to) mailshots all the local schools, I've had some success writing to local hotels. keep an eye in the paper for things that are coming up and get in touch to see if they need a disco. I would say the newspaper is a last shot for you and in my experience will bring lower paid work.

PAT is a sticky subject. The bottom line is that NO it isn't a legal requirement and YES if you were really really stupid, you could work without it. The problem is when something goes wrong. Fingers crossed it never will, but we all work on maybe's don't we! You may also find that your PLI becomes invalid if you don't have it done. The generally best practice advice i am sure you will get here is make sure you have it done

Also, don't forget to think about what is going across the front of your deck stand - light boxes, star cloth or a black sheet, you do really need something to keep those wires out of site!

And don't forget the velcro!

[Dragonfly]

my advice ditch the Bass Bins and use the money for pli pat dj stand ....I used 15 inch full range speakers for years before I could afford a bass bin.

maybe get rid of the cd decks for something cheaper as I'm assuning your main playout system will be laptop and the cd players as backup?

[Danno13]

I don't see any reason to sell anything. £500 should easily cover the things left to buy.

PLI - £100
PAT - £70
Business Cards - £40

That leaves almost £300 for advertising, which is plenty!

If you can fit everything in your estate car, then just use that for the time being.

[Mission]

Yeah What Dan Said.

Does it all fit in the estate, if not leave the Bass Bins behind for now.

For Cards try Vistaprint, you can get 250 free for around £4 postage, they also do postcards 100 free again plus £4 postage which I have found of use.

Then the PAT, PLi, Stand and you would have plenty of change left for many glasses of pop at you gigs :D

Have you got a good mike BTW, didn't see it in the list :D

[Penfold42]

Have you got a good mike BTW, didn't see it in the list :D

I've got a megaphone on the cheap for £10.....:p

As the guy's have said. I use my estate at the moment but if you can add a roof rack with a roof box that may get you over the problem - not for your bins - but your stand should go in there.

[rob1963]

I don't see any reason to sell anything. £500 should easily cover the things left to buy.

PLI - £100
PAT - £70
Business Cards - £40

That leaves almost £300 for advertising, which is plenty!

If you can fit everything in your estate car, then just use that for the time being.


I'm with Danno on this one.

Spend the last £300 on a website & some online advertising.

Good luck! :)

[groovy-nights]

Get a listing on uk-disco

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Well, you mentioned the PAT...get it done for your peace of mind ok. Just phone around for a qualified sparky or maybe you know someone that knows someone etc etc and they will do a proper job for you but cheap....I was lucky, I got well over 100 items done for £50.00.

PLI - you have said that you have that sorted already. It's how I do mine (monthly) so stick with that.

DJ Stand - You can get these for around £80.00 for a 4ft one with goalposts (I've got 3 x 4ft Giraffe stands and 1 x 6ft Giraffe stand).

Cards and Postcards - As above, go to Vistapint. Sign up with them and you will get some awesome deals and quick delivery (ish).

I would then spend a few quid on some stamps and envelopes and do a mail shot. Forget the advertising for the moment because when you have got your PAT and PLI done, you can add that to the advert.

BUT...before you get the cards done, do something about a website. I'm with Easyspace (there are far better out there though) and my charges for my domain name and webspace etc are very cheap and also, you can pay monthly as well if you want.

Van - If you are getting by with the estate car then why go for a van? Go that way when you have a bit of cash behind you. If you can get all of the gear to the functions safely now then a van is not important is it. There's no point having a van full of gear if no'one knows you even exist.

I was the same when I started, at one point I nearly gave up but I didn't, I stuck with it. I think the difference with me is that I started with the intention of it being not just me who was DJing. I got my first set up, was still in debt and then got my second...I am still in debt now but I have just completed my third set up and I also have spares of everything. It's hard to start it all up and I know where you are coming from but once you get out there and do a few functions and word of mouth goes round how good you are, you'll be able to do the rest and then get more gear or better gear etc.

Hope that helps.
Gary

[CRAZY K]

I've got a megaphone on the cheap for £10.....:p

As the guy's have said. I use my estate at the moment but if you can add a roof rack with a roof box that may get you over the problem - not for your bins - but your stand should go in there.

Roof Boxes are brilliant but to be any use you obviously need a big one.

I carry lightish items, although the Dynatwins go in ok with speaker poles.

I have the mother of all Roof Boxes on my estate and I love it--but it cost over £300. :eek: They dont come cheap and definitely dont buy cheap ( unless second hand) otherwise you might find your equipment covering the Motorway in a million pieces:eek:

I am able fully loaded to travel comfortably at 70mph on Motorways without problems even in high winds:D

Yes Rice is correct I use to Mailshot Schools for many years but its not worth it for me anymore as im concentrating on better paid gigs, if your starting might be worth a go writing to the School PTAs in your area.

CRAZY K

[Have a disco]

If you want to design your own business cards the buy DECAdry PC Papers I use their Business cards and print what I need off as and when I need cards costs about £10 per pack of 100 blank cards.

Get the word of mouth going and even get 5000 A5 flyers printed for about £100 then go around and put them in house letterboxes on car windowscreens or anywhere you find a noticeboard you'll soon get noticed.

Hire a van as to save time on insurance costs and fuel costs. I have a regular mate whom hires me his van of a weekend and Im a named driver as to help keep his premiums down as well

You can get a website designed for £99 by DEVmac Systems Ltd WWW.DEVMAC.co.uk or you could ask richie on here whom does it for a living for a slightly better working site (dont let that go to your head richie)

I would suggest getting an LED covered DJ stand for about £230 ish but also invest in some "2' x 3' lightboxes and 24 channel light controller (4 channel lightboxes) about £120 for 2nd hand just checkout ebay

[Ricesnaps]

I would suggest getting an LED covered DJ stand for about £230 ish but also invest in some "2' x 3' lightboxes and 24 channel light controller (4 channel lightboxes) about £120 for 2nd hand just checkout ebay

Are you suggesting your light boxes have met there maker?

[Have a disco]

Are you suggesting your light boxes have met there maker?

No but could compiment a booth for extra width (Please note there are now LED lightboxes out there???) and it helps keep that retro looks at some venues

[Ricesnaps]

No but could compiment a booth for extra width (Please note there are now LED lightboxes out there???) and it helps keep that retro looks at some venues
Got a link to a web site with these LED Lighboxes?

[Have a disco]

ZOOM or Kams website I believe they were at the plasa show and were first generation LED lightboxes subject of them discussed last year I believe mate

here you go

http://www.kam.co.uk/products/lighting/prod13.htm

[Ricesnaps]

Mmm, HOW SMALL???

[Have a disco]

In olde english terms they are 2' x 3' lightboxes but they are thin at 8cms

Hense I went for Zoom moodbars

[Ricesnaps]

In olde english terms they are 2' x 3' lightboxes but they are thin at 8cms

Hense I went for Zoom moodbars

Mmmm, I think they might be great for a dolls house disco - bloody expensive for what they are

[Have a disco]

Very true but eventually the price will drop as time moves on and maybe better versions will come

[Penfold42]

Roof Boxes are brilliant but to be any use you obviously need a big one.

I carry lightish items, although the Dynatwins go in ok with speaker poles.

I have the mother of all Roof Boxes on my estate and I love it--but it cost over £300. :eek: They dont come cheap and definitely dont buy cheap ( unless second hand) otherwise you might find your equipment covering the Motorway in a million pieces:eek:

I am able fully loaded to travel comfortably at 70mph on Motorways without problems even in high winds:D


CRAZY K

I agree.
I've got a large one...ooerr :) but your right, managed to get it thrown in when i bought the car. Not put it to the test yet.
I have tried packing it though can get stand, poles, CD cases and other bit's and bobs.
But as Crazy K said i wouldn't put it at the top of your list unless you can get a good second hand one.;) Oh and it will sup the fuel a bit but better than buying a van.