Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.
A. Weddings and other mobile gigs.
Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A. Look for someone who not only provides quality service but also someone who you would like to invite as a guest to your wedding. If you find a vendor who you normally wouldn't invite or click with then stay away from that person.
Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?
A. If I were a customer then I would wish I knew how important entertainment is at an event. Although with wedding budgets the least amount reserved is for entertainment (on average), that small amount spent is actually the one thing that is remembered most by guests.
Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?
A. Being a DJ is who I am and unlike other DJ's out there I also have music education through college so I can have a deeper level of understanding how music works and moves people. Music truly is a universal language and I love being able to communicate through it.
Q. What do you like most about your job?
A. I love doing weddings, getting to know the bride, groom and their families and then being part of their special once in a lifetime day.
Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A. Most common question is am I willing to travel, and the answer is yes! That's another part of running my DJ business that I love, being able to see every part of Oregon and the Northwest.
Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?
A. Favorite story - there are way too many to pick from! Mainly remembering weddings and the impact I had that day on creating a fun and positive celebration.
Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?
A. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that customers don't see. From maintaining equipment to keeping everything clean, staying current in music, digging into genres of music that at times are not as familiar to a DJ as other genres and regular vehicle maintenance that occurs more often than the average driver does.
Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?
A. Having a music background I realized one day that I have all this equipment from playing with bands, that eventually led to doing a company picnic for my first call center job and after that it's something I have always pursued and loved doing.
Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.
A. The last wedding I did went great! There wasn't one time when the dance floor wasn't packed - yes there was a bit of drinking involved but everyone had a great time and the bride and groom thoroughly enjoyed themselves :-)
Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?
A. I regularly attend conferences and expos whenever I have the chance to and watch other DJ's daily online via YouTube, blogs and other sources. I always practice daily whether it's mixing techniques or improving my piano or saxophone chops.
Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?
A. Three letters - LED! LED lighting has definitely been the biggest thing as now DJ's have an option to have a huge light show without the worry of tripping any breakers, plus LED is green technology so we're helping our planet at the same time!
Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.
A. I recently did an outside wedding past Elkton at a campground. Ceremony and Reception were in two separate locations and I provided a sound system for each location. A lot of Iron & Wine music for the ceremony which created a nice, calming atmosphere for the reception. During the ceremony you knew just by looking at their eyes that the bride and groom truly loved each other.
At the reception there was dinner music, followed by toasts, cake and then their first dance was performed by two guitar players/vocalists who I did sound for. After that there was the Father/Daughter dance, Mother/Son dance and then a dance for the whole Wedding Party, after which it was open dancing for the rest of the night. During dancing there was also a projector setup showing movies silently in the background for kids - Finding Nemo and the three Ice Age movies.
Total time was from 4-10 with ceremony and reception and including travel and a tip it was $540 for the day. Total time actually spent that day getting ready, driving and setup/tear down was probably 12pm-1am the next day (so a six hour wedding for me was a 13 hour work day!).
Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.
A. Pricing varies depending on the type of event, amount of time, location and packages to be used. Feel free to call me or e-mail to receive a free quote and consultation meeting for your event. Weddings start at $400 for reception only and $500 for ceremony and reception.
Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?
A. Only work in this profession if you truly love what you are doing. People can and will tell if it's for the wrong reasons (money, fame, etc.). As with everyone who has started out, start small but dream big. Help others, learn from others and in turn when you look out for other people then others will look after you.
Q. Write your own question and answer it.
A. How long have you been in business?
Since 2004
