FLASHBACK ARTICLE FROM MAY 2007
Spring is Here
I’ve come to know many DJs from across this great country. Fantastic entertainers in California, sprawling Multi-Ops in Chicago and just wonderful representatives of our industry everywhere. And one of the things that we all share in common is that the Mobile DJ Industry is seasonal. There are peak times and slow times for all of us. Times when we wish we had 20 more DJs (or for my Single-Op readers 20 more Saturday’s in a month) and times when we wish we could just hibernate till the Spring.
Well, the Spring is here! And with it comes more parties. Here in the Northeast, and pretty much everywhere in the country for that matter, the arrival of Spring ushers in more and more events. Brides who were reluctant to roll the dice on a winter wedding (who wants to get hit with a Nor-Easter and have only a third of your guests show up?) start lining up to get married on the Saturdays in May and June. And with all that works comes added pressure for us all.
This is a great time of year for me to be more thorough and make sure my staff is completely ready to represent my name. This means reviewing policies and brushing up on programming at our monthly meetings. It means hiring new assistants to get ready for the busy days ahead. And it means personally getting ready for the responsibilities of over-seeing an increasingly busy schedule. The time and energy it takes to get through a ten event weekend (like most of our Winter weekends were) is far less than what it takes to manage a forty event weekend (like most of our May and June weekends are.)
As far as our monthly meetings, the ones that takes place in April and May are our most intensive. In contrast to the Winter monthly meetings, which are normally less than an hour and focus on a single topic, when we get together as a group this time of year our meetings can run 90 minutes to even 2 hours. I like to review our “Policies and Procedures” for the benefit of any new employees but also as a refresher to the veterans. I also like to run an annual meeting we call “Let’s Talk About Sets.” I did an entire article in these pages a few years ago about this meeting format so I won’t expound too much on it. Suffice to say our annual “L.T.A.S.” meeting gives everyone on staff a chance to present an idea for a three to five song set that they’ve been using with success at their events. There is no better way to brush up on programming than hearing 20 great ideas in one night.
As far as hiring goes, I’ve spent enough time in this column offering ideas for recruitment. Well, now is the time to implement that plan. April and May are two of the most active months we have here at Elite in terms of casting the net and bringing in new talent. Some will stay, some will go. But in the meantime, they will serve as valuable music mixers for all those two-person weddings in May and June.
And for me personally, I always try to take a vacation in early April. This year I am heading west to see the Grand Canyon and parts of Utah. Recharging the battery for me this time of year is essential. I know full well that with the increase of gigs, comes an increase of work and responsibility and pressure. Entering a 10 week stretch like that with no break would be foolish and it would set myself up for burnout. But taking some time now to relax and get away from the office, makes those 40-event Weekends somehow more bareable.
Hopefully where ever you are reading this right now, the weather is warming up, your garden is blooming, your baseball team is in first place and your upcoming schedule is packed. Spring is many things to many people but civilizations forever have thought of this time of year as a time of renewal. It’s the perfect time to renew your commitment to this great industry of ours by preparing for a busy and eventful season!
Mike Walter is the owner of Elite Entertainment of New Jersey and a nationally recognized expert in the area of multisystem company development and staff training. You can contact Mike at mikewalter@discjockeynews.com.
