“The Tipping Point: Lessons from a Multi-Op” will be regular feature, where DJ Mike Walter, owner of Elite Entertainment, will offer advice culled from years running his company.
How cool is this? A regular column on the DJ Times website! And I even got assigned a bitchin’ title: The Tipping Point – Lessons From a Multi-Op. As soon as Brian O’Connor offered that to me I was happy. I’ve read just about everything Malcolm Gladwell has written and I’m a regular listener to his podcast. So any association with him is a good one.
If your desire is to start growing your company, then a full calendar is a great place to start.
O’Connor’s title for this column also made me think about the question I am often asked by DJs: “How do I know it’s time to go multi-op?” In other words, What’s the tipping point for a solo entertainer to start adding more DJs? And while the answer is way more in-depth than I can go into here in a few hundred-word blog, I’ll answer it the way I often do:
- What does your calendar tell you?
- Are you booked up on a lot of the weekend dates?
- Are you constantly referring work to another local DJ because you’re generating leads but you’re unavailable?
If the answers are “Yes” then you’re at the tipping point — or more accurately, you’re at a crossroads.
If you want to stay solo (and there is nothing wrong with that — never feel forced into growing a company), then I’d recommend you raise your rates. Try a 10% increase and if you’re still filling your calendar too easily, be bold and go up 20% from your original price. Your closing percentage will probably go down, but that’s a good thing right? Better to close 50% of your leads at a higher price than 80% at a lower price. Instead of turning down work on those precious weekend dates, you’ll be making money from clients who truly appreciate your value.
Better to close 50% of your leads at a higher price than 80% at a lower price
But if your desire is to start growing your company, then a full calendar is a great place to start. Think about it, you can add another DJ to your roster and not even incur any additional marketing costs or efforts because you’ve already got the leads coming in to start filling his or her schedule. And instead of referring a friend (and watching not only the revenue from that event go away, but any future referrals that may come from it vanish as well) you can keep the party under your company name. That’s what I call a win-win.
How do you start adding a DJ (or two or three) to your roster? Stay tuned to this space where I’ll be sharing those types of tips and suggestions. Or, purchase my book “Running Your Multi-Op” where I offer plenty of advice on the topic.
Either way, get pumped! You’re about to begin an exciting journey.
Prince aficionado and owner of Elite Entertainment in Tinton Falls NJ, Mike Walter’s multi-op employs 20 MCs and runs more than 1,000 events annually. For more advice on running your multi-op you can purchase his book here.
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