tough times at present

[soundmaster mobile disco]

If im being honest with you guys,im finding it tough going at present. I am getting enquiries but not many bookings. Most of the need a disco enquiries are lower than my asking fees. I reply to most but never hear anything back. My website rankings on Google are both very good, they do bring in enquiries but unfortunately not many of these enquiries turn into bookings.

I do know for a fact there are lots of cheaper djs out there. Most are guys who do it as a hobby and do not treat it as a business. I blame Facebook and social media for exposing these guys.

gone are the good old days when potential clients would phone you up to book you.at least then you had an opportunity to speak to them and explain what you were all about and why they should book you.

I do hope things improve soon

[musicology]

You're assuming it's all about price. Maybe you should be looking harder at how you are are responding to those enquiries and find better ways to convert them into bookings.

[leelive]

I am finding 2015 to be a challenging year too. I have got an average of just 3 bookings per month. Last year it was more than double that.

This'll be the first year that I wont have had over 70 jobs

My prices have not gone up for 2 years - so no change there.

People will pay for quality so I am not chasing the cheep needadisco gigs.

There has been a lot of new-starts in my area so they must be the ones that are happy to offer a disco for under £200....

I have taken up photography with a view to start bringing in some money midweek. Will have a website soon: http://www.ourdream.co.uk/

Do you have any other hobby that you can develop or do you have another plan?

On a positive side... My wife is happier that I have less work.... She'll get to spend a few weekends with me this year!

Lee

[yourdj]

Could be a scotland thing? Do you do meetings in person Gary?
You're a very affable guy so it would favour you lots.

[Imagine]

If im being honest with you guys,im finding it tough going at present. I am getting enquiries but not many bookings. Most of the need a disco enquiries are lower than my asking fees. I reply to most but never hear anything back. My website rankings on Google are both very good, they do bring in enquiries but unfortunately not many of these enquiries turn into bookings.

I do know for a fact there are lots of cheaper djs out there. Most are guys who do it as a hobby and do not treat it as a business. I blame Facebook and social media for exposing these guys.

gone are the good old days when potential clients would phone you up to book you.at least then you had an opportunity to speak to them and explain what you were all about and why they should book you.

I do hope things improve soon

Same down here in East Anglia unfortunately

I'm doing some weekends with 2-3 gigs (such as next weekend), then three weekends off! It's not right.

Even kid's parties are dead at the moment.

Yes, to me it's a second income, but by no means a hobby (it's actually my pension so needs to raise a certain amount of money every month to pay for that), but bookings at the moment are well and truly down on last year.

NaD enquiries are coming in for amounts that I won't even consider (£100 for 5 hours?????)...I don't filter them though because I may be missing out on something.

I agree about the good old days...they rang, booked and the job was done....

I've taken out a week's worth of Facebook ads...nothing there yet (although getting likes which I'm told is important).
Next step is Gumtree of all places! I've had a free ad on there for a couple of weeks, two enquiries, both booked at my normal rate!

[soundmaster mobile disco]

Could be a scotland thing? Do you do meetings in person Gary?
You're a very affable guy so it would favour you lots.

Toby I like to arrange meetings for my wedding bookings but at present no one wants a meeting without knowing what my price is.Once I give them that they do a runner.

It was so much better when I got the chance to have a sit down consultation with them about there wedding but even that's not happening,Yes im still having meetings before the wedding but that's when the contract has been signed and I have the deposit.

[Pe7e]

I'm glad it's not just me! I've had a noticeable downturn in trade since last November, two new years eve hires (booked since last January) both cancelled due to lack of interest of their clients desire to party. January so far as been a wipeout, although to be fair, I was offered two large and potentially profitable jobs that I turned down as it would have involved investing in new kit that I may not have used again without changing the direction of my business. I think trade will pick up in the next month or so as the wedding season approaches, but I seriously doubt the market will grow. We have an election approaching, and both of the electable parties are advocating continuing austerity, and the continuing reduction of public spending, plus Europe seems to be sliding back towards recession. it's hard to see where any growth in the market will come from.
Those of us who are addressing the top end of the market will probably continue to thrive, all be it with increased competition, Those of us who service the middle to lower ends of the market will probably see a further downturn in trade and increased competition as more people seek to increase their income. Personally, I've decided to give it another year, my pensions have recently kicked in, and when combined with the rent I would get from my house, plus the cash I would get from the sale of my hire stock, it would enable me to buy a decent apartment and live a very comfortable life on a beach in tropical Asia, it's VERY tempting.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Sorry to hear that a few people are experiencing a quiet period. It's always like that at this time of the year as we all know. However, I have to say that personally the last few weeks (since new years day actually) have been a bit mad for enquiries and confirmed bookings for me.
I'm not trying to wave the old you know what or attempt to rub it in.
This year is already looking good for me with lots of bookings already in the diary that were booked towards the end of last year and I also have some new venues interested in me and I have been networking too so it could get better.

It WAS worrying though for me though as when I finished DJing on New Years Eve, the only booking I had for January, February and March was a wedding on Valentines Day (which is next week). That would have been a fair few weeks without work which after paying for Christmas and the tax bill would have been quite a pain in the proverbial BUT...as I said, bookings have come in and not from residencies or regular customers either and my local where I do 2 gigs a month never has anything on during January anyway but this year the guy in charge decided not to have anything in February either. That was quite a disappointment to say the least.

One of the reasons I think that it has worked for me is because in the first week in January I decided to do a 'sale' and offer discounted services throughout January and February. I designed a flyer and put it on the front page of my website and it has obviously worked. I haven't discounted my prices by much at all but customers like to think they're getting a bargain and so not only have the enquiries come in but 90% of them have turned in to bookings. I've decided to extend the 'sale' until the end of April.
I was always going to do something like this because my 10th birthday was on 1st February so I made that the reason for the 'sale'.

I ended up with 3 bookings in January. I now have 5 in February and 1 in March. For some reason, March is proving very difficult to get anything for hence why I have extended the 'sale' until the end of April.
I'm not saying it's the thing to do but maybe if people are struggling to get the bookings in....well, it's worth considering isn't it?
Like I said, I haven't discounted much at all.

Good luck though. I hope things change pretty quickly.

[surround sounds]

In November of last year I only had 1 service/ Disco in Jan, 2 in Feb and 1 in march. Then straight after Christmas its gone mad with all different services I provide.
January
4 Discos
3 Dancefllors
2 Balloons
1 Chair cover
1 Back drop
1 photo Booth

Feb is roughly the same as January and March includes 3 Discos and 4 dancefloors.

Its been fairly good for me and getting better from year to year.

[soundmaster mobile disco]

Sorry to hear that a few people are experiencing a quiet period. It's always like that at this time of the year as we all know. However, I have to say that personally the last few weeks (since new years day actually) have been a bit mad for enquiries and confirmed bookings for me.
I'm not trying to wave the old you know what or attempt to rub it in.
This year is already looking good for me with lots of bookings already in the diary that were booked towards the end of last year and I also have some new venues interested in me and I have been networking too so it could get better.

It WAS worrying though for me though as when I finished DJing on New Years Eve, the only booking I had for January, February and March was a wedding on Valentines Day (which is next week). That would have been a fair few weeks without work which after paying for Christmas and the tax bill would have been quite a pain in the proverbial BUT...as I said, bookings have come in and not from residencies or regular customers either and my local where I do 2 gigs a month never has anything on during January anyway but this year the guy in charge decided not to have anything in February either. That was quite a disappointment to say the least.

One of the reasons I think that it has worked for me is because in the first week in January I decided to do a 'sale' and offer discounted services throughout January and February. I designed a flyer and put it on the front page of my website and it has obviously worked. I haven't discounted my prices by much at all but customers like to think they're getting a bargain and so not only have the enquiries come in but 90% of them have turned in to bookings. I've decided to extend the 'sale' until the end of April.
I was always going to do something like this because my 10th birthday was on 1st February so I made that the reason for the 'sale'.

I ended up with 3 bookings in January. I now have 5 in February and 1 in March. For some reason, March is proving very difficult to get anything for hence why I have extended the 'sale' until the end of April.
I'm not saying it's the thing to do but maybe if people are struggling to get the bookings in....well, it's worth considering isn't it?
Like I said, I haven't discounted much at all.

Good luck though. I hope things change pretty quickly.

March and April are very very quiet for me at the moment

Now there's an idea worth trying,the sale