Office Space

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I love that out of everyone who posted, one person, maybe two, have a dedicated office space that isn't steps away from their bedroom.

I shared an office with another DJ company from 2014 to 2016. The arrangement happened accidentally; I needed a quick meeting space one Saturday and called him up. He ended up renting me a room in his 3-room office for $300 a month, an arrangement that worked well for me because it was 5 minutes from my house, but had caveats that prohibited me from growing my business: no signage of my own, the occasional chance that I'd be meeting a potential client that was also considering his company, and the fact that I was essentially marketing his office and company every time I gave someone directions: "look for the signs that say 'XYZ Sounds' when you come in". Fortunately, that didn't happen too often. The location was at least an hour away from most of my couples.

I moved to a new location in January - it's 30 minutes from my house, but it's just 20 minutes away from where most of my couples are located. 2 miles north of the mall, 4 miles south of the casino - everyone knows where it is. It's a 15' x 15' room in a 3-office suite; the other tenants are a wedding photographer and a business writer so we attract a good mix of people with potential for cross-marketing. At $400 a month including everything except for an internet connection, as well as access to a shared kitchen and conference area, it's affordable and practical. My couples and prospective customers are wowed by the space and don't think twice about booking me. My space is clean and modern, comfortable and controlled. It's unlike any of my competitors' offices, which are typically cluttered and dated-looking.

While it's still questionable whether an office is really needed, still the nagging feeling persists that a dedicated office space will help support the perception that we're worth a higher price tag.

That's not perception, it's reality. When your logo is on the wall and there are no outside distractions, Starbucks seems like it's a million miles away.

I don't see a office space worth while unless you actually go to the office on a daily basis at least 4 days a week, and conduct business there with set business office hours.

In some professions, set business hours matter. In ours, it doesn't - nobody walks in off the street looking for a DJ, so it's perfectly fine to advertise that hours are by appointment. I dedicate at least one day a week to being at my office, scheduling appointments and following-up with customers, and I'm there whenever I have meetings scheduled. Beyond that, there's nothing for my business that I can't do in the basement of my home. Four days a week in the office would be a total waste of time for me - when I get so busy that I'm there four days a week, I'm going to hire somebody to do my job there.

Having an office is great.

You don't know that, but I agree that it is.

If I were to have a retail/commercial office space, one of the big reasons I would have one is for EQUIPMENT STORAGE.

I'm wary of storing gear in a building if there's signage all over the place that says "DJ service" - one break-in could potentially be catastrophic to the health of my business. Having my gear in a different location, unannounced to the world, keeps it safer. It's also why I lock up the computer at the end of the day (a behavior carried over from my former career in financial services).

I hear commercials on the radio all the time for these kinds of shared office spaces. I have no idea what they cost, but they have to be more economical than renting dedicated office space.

Around here, shared office spaces are affordable compared to the cost of renting your own space, but commercial lease rates around here are ridiculous. The catch with these month-to-month shared spaces is that you don't have your own signage, don't have your own desk, and don't have any control over the environment - you show up, find an empty cubicle, take out your laptop and get to work. There's nothing appealing about it to prospective customers ("Meet me at 55 State Street - call me when you get here, because this place is a zoo and you'll never find me just by walking in"). You might as well meet at a coffee shop - the shared office space is really just a workspace, not a meeting place.

But, if I needed an office space, I'd use a leased space option like Regus.

What if your potential clients can only meet with you after work, or on weekends? All of the Regus space I've looked at were open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.

Most clients are not going to drive over an hour to meet with you.

This is true. Don't choose a location just because it's close to you. Look at where most of your customers live, then look for a space near them. Because...

Is it a benefit? It sure can be if your clientele is within a local radius.

^ THIS. My current space is not as convenient for me as it is for my prospective customers, but I'm booking 4x as many appointments as I did when I was an hour away from them and 5 minutes from my house.

Here's a little peek at my office - the panoramic shot was taken the day I finished getting the furniture in (I've since changed out the lucite chair on the right for a white leather one that matches the couch).

eYC0hkd.jpg pOYBoaA.jpg
 
Brendan, just wow. That is an incredible setup you have. So you're getting that for $400/month AND you're able to put signage out front? If you don't mind me asking, what's your perception on how clients' reactions changed towards you once you moved into a dedicated space? Any tips or tricks that you'd care to share?
 
...Around here, shared office spaces are affordable compared to the cost of renting your own space, but commercial lease rates around here are ridiculous. The catch with these month-to-month shared spaces is that you don't have your own signage, don't have your own desk, and don't have any control over the environment - you show up, find an empty cubicle, take out your laptop and get to work. There's nothing appealing about it to prospective customers ("Meet me at 55 State Street - call me when you get here, because this place is a zoo and you'll never find me just by walking in"). You might as well meet at a coffee shop - the shared office space is really just a workspace, not a meeting place.
The shared office space is not where you meet with clients... Most of those places have a number of nicely appointed and equipped conference rooms available to you, and that's where you would meet with clients. The cubicles they make available would have little or no value for a DJ, but the live person to answer the phone, forward calls, and take messages would.
 
So you're getting that for $400/month AND you're able to put signage out front?

My logo is on the exterior door, so it's visible from the street and parking lot. I'm considering better signage streetside, but it involves a permitting process through the town which will take some time to get approval on. Having additional signage isn't a must for me at this point - nobody's going to drive by and say "hey, I need to stop there".

what's your perception on how clients' reactions changed towards you once you moved into a dedicated space?

People are really mind-blown, mostly because of the modern vibe and simplicity of the space - when I moved in, I didn't want to fill it with DJ gear or cover every inch of the walls with photos, awards or other stuff. Women love the white furniture, guys love the artwork above the couch and my L-shaped metal and glass desk (left here by the previous tenant... it was free!). The uplights are usually programmed to teal to match the accent pillows and I change them up during the conversation once we start talking about wedding colors. The TV (a 60" Samsung 4K) runs a slideshow off of a USB stick until the conversation turns to custom things that I can do at their venue, or the planning details. When we get to that point, I control the TV using my Surface Pro 3 and a Chromecast hookup - the TV auto-switches inputs so I don't have to futz with a remote or do anything other than pick up the Surface. Everything is wireless, and I never talk across my desk - couples take the couch, I get the side chair, and I bring out the lucite chairs if they bring their parents or other guests along. My meetings are very conversational and the contracts are done electronically. People love that I make them comfortable, they're amazed by the way I have things organized, and there's never any question that I'm not 100% dedicated to making events amazing. Nobody in a coffee shop with an iPad can look this good.
 
The shared office space is not where you meet with clients... Most of those places have a number of nicely appointed and equipped conference rooms available to you, and that's where you would meet with clients. The cubicles they make available would have little or no value for a DJ, but the live person to answer the phone, forward calls, and take messages would.

But the conference spaces are so neutral by design - how can you emphasize fun and tell your customer that you understand their vision for their party when you're in a room has nothing about you in it (other than you)? You might as well be there to close on a house purchase. And again, no night or weekend access. There's no point in paying for a Regus space if you still have to meet in coffee shops to work around your customers' schedules.

I disagree about the live person to answer the phone being helpful; so few people contact us by phone nowadays and the receptionist there isn't worth the price of the space considering that she's only there from 8:30 to 5.
 
What if your potential clients can only meet with you after work, or on weekends? All of the Regus space I've looked at were open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.

I think that's a fair observation. But again, I haven't found the need for a dedicated space. Most of my selling is done over the phone, over e-mail, and via my website. Maybe someday, but I'm pretty comfortable with how I do it now.

Your space does look very nice though, well done.
 
Did you ever get feedback from potential clients who saw the office and thought you were over-priced?

Price is an interesting thing with me. I think I'm priced high, but some companies in my area charge more for similar services. A great number of companies charge much less. If talent is important to couples and their budget has a bit of wiggle room, I'm able to deliver the results they want while providing a very good value.

Nobody has told me that I'm overpriced.

Out of the first 15 meetings that I was able to set, only 2 couples haven't booked and it wasn't because of price - I'm not the highest-priced DJ in the area. The first was a referral from a venue that almost never recommends me and the couple was really not a good fit (I'm still not sure why the venue sent them to me in the first place - probably to show them that their budget for the things they wanted for their wedding - a second marriage for each of them - was unrealistic in 2017). The second was a bride who showed up solo, at the end of her work week in Boston and while on the way to her parents' house and an appointment with a florist - she was 35 minutes late to her appointment with me and had about 10 minutes until she had to leave to get to her next stop. She had no idea what she was looking for, and my info packet is probably still on the passenger seat of her car. I'll be surprised if her wedding starts within an hour of the time printed on her invitations.
 
I love that out of everyone who posted, one person, maybe two, have a dedicated office space that isn't steps away from their bedroom.

I shared an office with another DJ company from 2014 to 2016. The arrangement happened accidentally; I needed a quick meeting space one Saturday and called him up. He ended up renting me a room in his 3-room office for $300 a month, an arrangement that worked well for me because it was 5 minutes from my house, but had caveats that prohibited me from growing my business: no signage of my own, the occasional chance that I'd be meeting a potential client that was also considering his company, and the fact that I was essentially marketing his office and company every time I gave someone directions: "look for the signs that say 'XYZ Sounds' when you come in". Fortunately, that didn't happen too often. The location was at least an hour away from most of my couples.

I moved to a new location in January - it's 30 minutes from my house, but it's just 20 minutes away from where most of my couples are located. 2 miles north of the mall, 4 miles south of the casino - everyone knows where it is. It's a 15' x 15' room in a 3-office suite; the other tenants are a wedding photographer and a business writer so we attract a good mix of people with potential for cross-marketing. At $400 a month including everything except for an internet connection, as well as access to a shared kitchen and conference area, it's affordable and practical. My couples and prospective customers are wowed by the space and don't think twice about booking me. My space is clean and modern, comfortable and controlled. It's unlike any of my competitors' offices, which are typically cluttered and dated-looking.



That's not perception, it's reality. When your logo is on the wall and there are no outside distractions, Starbucks seems like it's a million miles away.



In some professions, set business hours matter. In ours, it doesn't - nobody walks in off the street looking for a DJ, so it's perfectly fine to advertise that hours are by appointment. I dedicate at least one day a week to being at my office, scheduling appointments and following-up with customers, and I'm there whenever I have meetings scheduled. Beyond that, there's nothing for my business that I can't do in the basement of my home. Four days a week in the office would be a total waste of time for me - when I get so busy that I'm there four days a week, I'm going to hire somebody to do my job there.



You don't know that, but I agree that it is.



I'm wary of storing gear in a building if there's signage all over the place that says "DJ service" - one break-in could potentially be catastrophic to the health of my business. Having my gear in a different location, unannounced to the world, keeps it safer. It's also why I lock up the computer at the end of the day (a behavior carried over from my former career in financial services).



Around here, shared office spaces are affordable compared to the cost of renting your own space, but commercial lease rates around here are ridiculous. The catch with these month-to-month shared spaces is that you don't have your own signage, don't have your own desk, and don't have any control over the environment - you show up, find an empty cubicle, take out your laptop and get to work. There's nothing appealing about it to prospective customers ("Meet me at 55 State Street - call me when you get here, because this place is a zoo and you'll never find me just by walking in"). You might as well meet at a coffee shop - the shared office space is really just a workspace, not a meeting place.



What if your potential clients can only meet with you after work, or on weekends? All of the Regus space I've looked at were open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.



This is true. Don't choose a location just because it's close to you. Look at where most of your customers live, then look for a space near them. Because...



^ THIS. My current space is not as convenient for me as it is for my prospective customers, but I'm booking 4x as many appointments as I did when I was an hour away from them and 5 minutes from my house.

Here's a little peek at my office - the panoramic shot was taken the day I finished getting the furniture in (I've since changed out the lucite chair on the right for a white leather one that matches the couch).

eYC0hkd.jpg pOYBoaA.jpg

Brendan that looks great there's nothing I can pick out that a client wouldn't love coming in to that space.

I considered an office for a while and I almost pulled the trigger but in reality I don't need it. I have very few that actually want to meet most are more than happy to do email or phone having an office for a half dozen meeting a year isn't cost effective.

The one advantage would be I'd be the only DJ with an office space on the market

I do have a great space in my home but it's off the beaten path and I have Kids. They are good kids but still kids do at best it's a distraction. I also have use of the board room at the radio station that's fully equipped and I also could use an office space we have for an organization I'm on the board of directors for that comes with two fully smart meeting rooms. Both are wide open evenings and weekends

More often than not I wind up at a Tim Hortons
 
Nobody has told me that I'm overpriced.

Sorry, this is my advertising mindset at work.
I love to try to figure out how people think.

I was asking about perception.
Did you ever get the feeling the office makes you APPEAR overpriced?
("Well, if this guy can afford a fancy office...")
 
Did you ever get the feeling the office makes you APPEAR overpriced?
("Well, if this guy can afford a fancy office...")

Never. I do get compliments on the my office decor (which came mostly from Ikea... the coffee table and artwork were found on eBay), but those same people who compliment it also point out my WeddingWire and Knot "Best Of Weddings" plaques on my desk and below the TV, noting that I must be really good at my job to have received so many of them. The rest of the office suite (the entrance and stairwell and shared reception area, which I don't have photos of) is nicely decorated but not modern. The town where the office is located is a working-class suburb; I could have picked an address in a wealthier community but the rent would have been 4x as much and then people would assume that I'm expensive before asking.

I don't think anybody comes here thinking that I'm loaded (and if they do, that thought is probably erased when they park next to my '08 Toyota minivan), but having an office lends to my credibility - people can come in and see that I'm established, I care about presentation, and I've worked hard to be successful at what I do.

On a side note, people are far more eager to meet when they know the meeting location beforehand. What used to be "If you'd like to learn more, I'm happy to meet anywhere that's convenient for you" is now "If you'd like to come in, my office is in North Attleboro - right off of Route 1 and just north of the Emerald Square Mall". It's a night-and-day difference.
 
The real question is what are the financial implications of having an office as a Mobile DJ?

I mean, in my area, it seems the cheapest offices that are anything larger than a small bed room are going to cost like $1,000 a month + utilities. If I were to drop $12,000+ a year on an office, I would want that office to guarantee me at least $12,000 more in revenue to offset the cost of having the office. Unless the office magically get's me way more Friday and Sunday bookings, and some more weekday work, I don't see it being a wise financial decision. ...And at the same token...do I really want to work more? Or will the office help me yield significantly more money per booking, and at least keep the same amount of bookings? I doubt that.
 
The real question is what are the financial implications of having an office as a Mobile DJ?

I mean, in my area, it seems the cheapest offices that are anything larger than a small bed room are going to cost like $1,000 a month + utilities. If I were to drop $12,000+ a year on an office, I would want that office to guarantee me at least $12,000 more in revenue to offset the cost of having the office. Unless the office magically get's me way more Friday and Sunday bookings, and some more weekday work, I don't see it being a wise financial decision. ...And at the same token...do I really want to work more? Or will the office help me yield significantly more money per booking, and at least keep the same amount of bookings? I doubt that.
This is why I bought space I hate renting anything property wise realestate is a good investment strategy if purchased properly
 
I have a couple of questions since we're talking about this. How much would you need to increase your price for doing events to make a dedicated office space work and could you make it work with the prices you charge right now?

To start the ball rolling I'll answer both questions. For the first one I don't know and the second certainly not.
 
How much would you need to increase your price for doing events to make a dedicated office space work and could you make it work with the prices you charge right now?

Even prior to me having a dedicated office, the answer was $0. When I got my first space in 2014 (sub-leased space in another DJ company's office), I was going into my third year as a full-time mobile DJ, doing 100+ events per year and I had an average sale of $1071.71. In 2015 the average sale was $1214.59, and in 2016, $1223.99. Taking on a $3000-$5000 annual rent expense at that time was worth a shot with no real downside. So yes, I could make it work.

I moved into my new space in January. Right now my average sale is $1840.00, and that's without any tweaking of my pricing. These averages are artificially low because I count promotional events (which bring in $0.00 income) in the event counts and income totals, but the year-over-year increases are due to two factors: First, my confidence has increased as I've become more comfortable in my office environment - I've become a better salesperson and I'm less inclined to offer up discounts or freebie add-ons in order to book the date. Second (and this is largely the reason for this year's average sale increase) - I'm able to show more options in my new space. Whether it's imagery on the TV (which my old space didn't have) or the uplighting (which looks great on the light gray walls), I've got better tools available to show off what I can do for prospective couples.
 
I think it's great that you can get such a professional looking space for such little rent.

It's the best of both worlds, having a place to meet clients that incorporates visual tools you can use to showcase your talents, but doesn't leave you with a huge nut to crack if you happen to have a slow month or two. Very nice!
 
What B-sharp has is exactly what I want to look for in the future. I just need to find a couple other industry professionals to go in on it. I had a meeting yesterday morning and all of the typical meeting spots were packed. It was our first really warm Sunday morning here and everyone decided to go out for breakfast. I got there early and ended up calling the client and having them go somewhere else to meet. It would have been so much easier to have had an office.
 
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B-Sharp I love your office, nice & classy. Makes me want to finally straighten up my office & media room even though don't have clients coming by anymore. Actually the office shouldn't cost you any more as you should have any increase in closing rate for clients so come to your office. Usually those that make the trip are seriously considering hiring you. The one caveat is that your potential clients need to be located near where your office is. Even when I had my office set up in my home 70% of my clients were located more than one hr from me or corporate/university. So those required being handled differently. In the case of college/university and park/rec requires me to attend trade conferences.
 
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Update: My wife and I are going to look at an office space this evening. This would be a sub-let for a music producer, been in the biz a long time. It's a nice, up-scale business area and he's actually in our former accountant's office (who moved). The room is 14'X16' and he's wanting $500. Tan walls and wood flooring. If I can get him to go month-to-month, that would be preferable and it may be a great setup to pickup album covers and headshots for his acts. Will let you guys know what we decide.
 
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Boys, I'd be a darn fool if I didn't jump all over this. In addition to a large office area, which we can setup for shooting portrait sessions, he has a nice waiting area and conference room that we get use of. That conference room alone is worth the rent. The building is located right on main street in the Hazel Path subdivision. Here's a google link:

Google Maps

The building is owned by my former accountant. This past Sunday, they had a waterline break in the upstairs office and so the offices have gotten all new drywall and they're installing wood flooring. We got our choice of room and the painters will use whatever color we choose. The guy is a Christian music industry guy and makes his living doing a syndicated TV show where he sells product. The other tenant is a computer consultant who stays gone most of the time. I'm going to call him tomorrow and tell him we're taking it. Oh yea, he's willing to go month-to-month on the rent. We can try it for a while and if it doesn't pan out, no big loss. BTW, the office we chose is the far-left windows at the front of the building (facing main street).